THREE DAYS GRACE
Sandwiched between those young music lovers who fill their days (and iPods) with hip hop and R&B Lite, and those who prefer quirky electronica, pop country or the fey faux-folkiness of bespectacled collegians strumming acoustic guitars, are the rockers.
Angst, anxiety and alienation, not to overmake the point, are big sellers among teen and young adult rock fans.
Three Days Grace, from Canada, is a guitar-driven rock band making hard, smart, radio-friendly tunes somewhere between Green Day's surly declarations and the screechy over-posturing of Nickelback.
Bandleader Adam Gontier writes songs that dance along the edge of depression - "Animal I Have Become," "I Hate Everything About You," "Pain" - and the band gives them a towering, anthemic structure that works in stadia and other big rooms crowded with angsty young rock fans.
The band's first two albums, Three Days Grace and One-X, have been certified multiple platinum in the U.S.A. Their latest, Life Starts Now, made its Billboard chart debut at No. 3.
What kind of rock music is it, you ask? It's the kind that always seems to be on the house speakers at FYE when you're in there looking for something else. Listen & learn: www.threedaysgrace.com.
With Chevelle and Adalita's Way, at 7 p.m. Friday, April 9 in the Johnny Mercer Theatre, Savannah Civic Center, 301 W. Oglethorpe Ave. $39 (general admission).
SECRET ARMY
It's pretty easy to draw comparisons to George Clinton's Parliament Funkadelic and Secret Army, two extremely funky outfits currently decamped in Tallahassee, Fla. The deal is, Secret Army - returning for an encore appearance this weekend at the Live Wire - is pretty much the same band, without Clinton. Danny Bedrosian, the keyboard whiz who double-duties as Uncle George's right hand man, leads the nine-member aggregate. Then there's guitarist DeWayne Blackbird McKnight, drummer Rico Lewis and bassist Lige Curry. There are backup singers, too, and more. Bet they'll tear the roof off the sucker. Listen & learn: http://www.dannybedrosian.com.
At 9 p.m. Friday, April 9 at Live Wire Music Hall, 307 W. River St. $8.
TRAVIS PORTER
We don't get a lot of rap shows here in Savannah, so let's turn our attention to this weekend's appearance by the freewheeling, funny and funky Atlanta-based indie trio Travis Porter (Strap, Quez and Ali). With their band, the guys will perform a show (their best-known regional songs are "Bananas," "Get Naked," "Go Shorty" and "All the Way Turned Up") following a screening of the documentary film they've made about themselves, Unbelievable. Listen & learn: www.wearetravisporter.com.
At 8 p.m. Saturday, April 10 at the Shoreline Ballroom, 40 Folly Field Road, Hilton Head. $25 advance, $30 day of show.
THE LARRY STEPHENSON BAND
The weekend's premiere acoustic show puts the spotlight on this Virginia-based traditional bluegrass band. Stephenson, five-time winner of the Contemporary Male Vocalist of the Year Award from the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music, is celebrating his 20th year on the road. His brand-spanking-new CD (titled, funnily enough, 20th Anniversary) features appearances by Del McCoury, Marty Stuart, Ricky Skaggs, Dailey & Vincent and other bluegrass notables. Listen & learn: www.larrystephensonband.com.
At 8 p.m. Friday, April 9 at Randy Wood Guitars, 1304 E. Highway 80, Bloomingdale. $25.