Friday, Jan. 15:

• Giant Battle Monster (seen here in comic form) shares a bill with Clockpole, Darwin's Finches, and Cop Warmth. Mango's.

• Acoustic folk-rockers The Wood Brothers come to us from Atlanta with their laid-back, earnest music. Touring with Nashville-based singer-songwriter Tristen, also very earnest. 10 p.m. Rudyard's. $6.

• Colorado's "Zen cowboy" Chuck Pyle has a lot of facts in his bio, but none are quite as impressive as this one: "His music has made him a favorite of Bill and Melinda Gates who have had him play at their home in Seattle." Well, shoot! You want to be in the same room with a folk singer who has sung a private show for Bill Gates, don't you? It might help that he sounds a little like Tom Russell. 8:30 p.m. Dosey Doe Coffee in The Woodlands.

• Feel like hearing some blues and roots? Check out Sonny Boy Terry at The Big Easy.

• DATE NIGHT PICK. Don't want to bother with bands? Urbane Guerrilla Sound System offers Fistful of Soul, a DJ night that will be pretty much what it sounds like. Soul music. Lots of it. The Mink. Free.

Saturday, Jan. 16:

• Psych/hippie-rockers Giant Cloud from New Orleans is the kind of band that travels with a xylophone. With Chris Rehm. Mango's.

• Mark May is a blues-rock guitarist/singer who toils away mostly in the suburbs because that's where blues-rock goes over best. His songs have a nice, professional sheen to them and the voice doesn't falter. He performs an in-store at Cactus Music at 1 p.m. Free.

• Come See My Dead Person is an impressive troupe of fearless folk-rock-gypsy-jazz-blues-everything players. If you're feeling like a trip to Galveston, you're assured a good time. Want to see what they look like first? Voila. 8 p.m. Old Quarter Acoustic Cafe.

• Local bass virtuoso Rozz Zamorano will play double-duty with his two bands: Fondue Monks (funk) and Yokomono (Latin rock). If bass is your thing, you should really see this guy play. 9 p.m. Bohemeo's.

• Thee Armada's final show will likely bring more than a few teenage girls to tears, but fret not, PYTs, Mechanical Boy is still going strong and will also play this bill along with TOO MANY BANDS: Select Start, the Last Place You Look, This Year's Tiger and Amber Skyline. Warehouse Live.

• I don't think Ezra Charles is the coolest guy, and I'm not a fan of his music, but I can't let his CD release show pass without mentioning it. He's put in his years in the Houston music scene and I know there are still plenty of people who love good-time boogie-woogie party music, and they probably are your parents. Tell them about this show, they will enjoy themselves. 10 p.m. The Continental Club.

• Brooklyn instrumental band Lymbyc Systym makes pretty noise alongside Springfield Riots at Rudyard's.

• Pop-rock singer-songwriter sensitive-girlrock fans: Sydney Harkreader will perform her lovely songs as you sip soothing tea. Ahhh. So unironic. 8 p.m. Te House of Tea. Free.

• DATE NIGHT PICK. Jazz pianist Pamela York, who put out one of my favorite albums of the last decade, plays at the always-intimate Cezanne. 9 p.m.-1 a.m. $10.

Sunday, Jan. 17:

• DATE NIGHT PICK. A trio of lovely voices -- Ginger Leigh, Sarah Sharp and Susan Gibson -- will make this a songwriters night to enjoy with a glass of red and some of your best gals. 6 p.m. Mucky Duck.

• This probably wasn't a hard gig to get, seeing as Andrew Karnavas was waiting tables at Block 7 when I visited a couple of months ago. I hope they won't have him pouring wine in between songs. 7 p.m. Block 7 Wine Company. Free.