It’s hard to imagine a more satisfying consolation prize than finally winning the war after losing a battle. Such is the case with North Carolina’s post-grunge/hard-rock singer Chris Daughtry, the former “American Idol” contestant ousted in a late-season upset last year who later went on to release this year’s second-best-selling album and multiple hit singles, topping charts from hard rock to adult contemporary.
Daughtry comes to Juanita’s Cantina Ballroom on Monday, April 2. We hope you’ve already purchased tickets — the 10 p.m. show with New York rockers Eve to Adam and Maryland rock pop group Cinder Road is a sellout.
On Wednesday, Portland’s floating indie experimental trio Menomena slides in for a show with the Drift at Sticky Fingerz (9:30 p.m., $8). The group has been lauded by Pitchfork Media for its ability to make music that’s “extremely accessible yet entirely unconventional” — a weird but not too weird, near-effortless marriage of pop’s airy bones and post-rock’s disaffected stare toward the music mainstream.
In news outside the traditional club scene, the Space at 209 S. Victory (a.k.a. the Arkansas Sustainability Network building) is hosting a benefit for nonprofit community radio station KABF, 88.3 FM, on Saturday, March 31 (9:30 p.m., $5). While a small portion of the proceeds will go to help keep the new ASN building in operation, the majority of the money raised will contribute to the welfare of the 23-year-old radio station and, in particular, the Sound Salvation radio show.
Acts on the all-local bill include aggressive progressive group the Thing That Always Explodes, self-proclaimed garage psychobilly band Bloodless Cooties, ’50s-style rock/punk fusion artists Ace of Spade and the Whores of Babylon, and instrumental powerhouse post-rock explosion Cracker Creeptacular.
With those big shows mentioned, it’s time to take a look at Thursday’s lineup. Tonight, see real New Orleans style jazz with Ted Ludwig and Co. at the Afterthought (8 p.m., $2) … Memphis ’80s dance rock cover band Twin Soul comes to Cajun’s Wharf (8 p.m., $5) … And triple W.C. Handy Award nominee and Arkansas native Michael Burks plays Sticky Fingerz (9 p.m., call 372-7707 for price).
On Friday, popular Ohio indie rock group Lovedrug and Toronto emo pop punkers Boys Night Out play with Dear and the Headlights, a pure pop band out of Phoenix, and Conway’s up-and-coming rock group Latture at the Village (8 p.m., $12 advance, $14 day of show) … At the Revolution Music Room, it’s house-style and techno with Flip, featuring Nigel Richards from Philadelphia and the founder of 611 Records (10 p.m., $10) … Former Sugar and the Raw rockers who reinvented themselves as jam band the Winter Furs make an appearance at the Afterthought (9 p.m., $6) … Local light rock band the Gettys do Cajun’s Wharf (8:30 p.m., $5) … Ohio lite metal/rockers Sacred Reign, Conway metal group Innocence No More and more are scheduled for Downtown Music (9 p.m., $5) … Conway alterna-rock jam band Daybreak Bandits get the crowd going at Juanita’s (10 p.m., $7) … Old local favorite the Amy Garland Band does one last set at the White Water Tavern before pulling back from the scene for awhile to regroup and write new songs (10 p.m., $5) … And Electric Eve, an all-’80s cover band, throws a dance party at Sticky’s (10 pm, $5).
If you didn’t manage to scrounge up an invitation to the March 31 Hush Hush Party at the Art Scene in North Little Rock, there’s still plenty to do about town Saturday. At White Water, it’s self-dubbed “sex rock” with New York’s Bang Bang, joined by Poeboy Society (9 p.m., $5) … At the Rev Room, San Francisco acoustic blues folk rocker Tim Reynolds, who has palled around for years with Dave Matthews, plays with former Lilith Fair favorite Abra Moore (you might remember 1997’s “Four Leaf Clover”) at 9 p.m. ($10 advance, $12 day of show) … Austin Americana bluegrass group the Greencards, who first made waves with fans here in opening for Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan at Ray Winder Field two years ago, appear with Posey Hill at Sticky Fingerz (9 p.m., $10) … Wailin’ soul and R&B leads the way when Gerald Johnson and Co. take the Afterthought stage (9 p.m., $5) … Despite their increasing notoriety, Fayetteville alterna-rock Thanks for Nothing plays mainstream Cajun’s Wharf (8:30 p.m., $5) … Southern Lord Records and MidSouth Metal Society present Chicago group Lair of the Minotaur with Little Rock’s Shitfire and Powerbastard at Downtown Music (9 p.m., $6) … Fayetteville’s alterna-rock group Silverstone holds its debut album CD release party at Juanita’s with local metal/alterna-rock groups MonoXide Project, Kind and Prosovere (9:30 p.m., $6) … and the Herione (formerly known as Naos Project) plays with the Tristan Betrayal, Fairwell and the Vanity Affair at Vino’s (8 p.m., $5).
Monday: It’s Monday Night Jazz with Tom Cox on piano at the Afterthought (8:30 p.m., $5) … and Phil Wickham brings mainstream alterna-rock pop from San Diego to Cajun’s.
Tuesday: Smart, unconventional hip-hop and pop-rock out of Austin is on the bill at Juanita’s with former Scabs frontman Bob Schneider and acoustic soul singer Sharon Little (9 p.m., $15) … Across town, Kalamazoo, Mich., punk group the Goddamn and fellow Kalamazoan punk rockers (to be fair, more rock than punk) Hell or High Water continue on the White Water tradition of no-cover Tuesdays (10 p.m., free) … And local blues talent Michael Prysock shows you what he’s made of at the Afterthought (8:30 p.m., $2).
Wednesday: At long last, Easy Street Piano Bar at Seventh and Center streets brings in touring bands via Treehouse Booking to its cabaret side room — a tiered black box of a place that you might otherwise know as the Red Octopus Theater. On this particular night, Oklahoma’s Jack-White-whine indie rock group El Paso Hot Button, Netherlands-based noise pop Harry Marry and old-school Regina-Spektor-meets-folk-rock-and-heartbreak artist Ali Harter play the all-ages venue (8:30 p.m., $5) … And Vino’s brings an all-Christian hardcore death metal show with Tennessee’s A Plea for Purging, With Blood Comes Cleansing, North Little Rock’s Kaiden and the Johnny Depp Experience (7 p.m., $7).