The Locust
(LOUD, HECTIC, COSTUME-HEAVY MUSIC) Of all the bands to rise out of the fertile San Diego hardcore scene, none have had anywhere near the longevity or bizarre widespread appeal of the Locust. Bizarre, because the Locust make fast, loud, difficult music. But unlike the many hardcore bands that stagnate in a hermetic world of increasingly fast riffs, predictably chugging rhythmic breakdowns, and macho bullshit, the Locust are uncontainable experimentalists and constantly mutating musicians. Despite their roots in hardcore, the Locust more accurately belong amidst avante garde sound and noise pioneers such as John Zorn and Boredoms. Their live shows are hectic, costume-heavy, often short, and punctuated by some of the snappiest banter/heckler retorts in punk rock. With Daughters, Cattle Decapitation. (Neumo’s, 925 E Pike Street, 709-9467, 7 pm, $12/$15, all-ages, bar w/ID.) ERIC GRANDY

Leslie & the Lys
(Musical Performance Art) After bursting into humanity’s consciousness as that chick on the internet with all the gem sweaters, artist Leslie Hall got busy with her true calling: rocking the fucking mic. Citing L’Trimm and Apple’s GarageBand as key influences, Leslie & the Lys create a honky hiphop hoedown you won’t forget. (Think Dina Martina as a rap act, with an actual vagina.) With Scream Club and Team Gina. (El Corazón, 109 Eastlake Ave E, 381-3094. 10 pm, $8, 21+.) DAVID SCHMADER

Jesse Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter
(Musical) With its husky androgyny and deeply resonant, hard-won soul, Jesse Sykes’s voice calls to mind a more rockin’ Nina Simone. The connection is especially evident in the sultry, hushed ballads on Sykes’s latest album, which she is celebrating with a pair of shows this weekend. Her wounded-but-empowered persona shines when she’s under the spotlight, buoyed along by her band like a dry leaf in the wind. (Tractor Tavern, 5213 Ballard Ave NW, 789-3599. 7 pm, $10, 21+.) JONATHAN ZWICKEL