The Perishers @ Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, May 21 (opening for Sarah McLachlan) In the vein of Damien Rice or The Hotel Alexis, this Swedish foursome is very quiet. Unlike the aforementioned bands, they are not especially catchy or interesting. Vocalist Ola Kluft's falsetto and hushed delivery imparts a lot of emphasis on his words, but with little behind them to care about. Perhaps it's lost in translation? Skip the opener and have an under-$6 beer at a local bar before the show.

Also on the quiet side but with a better groove and some good jams is The Slip @ The Stone Church, Wednesday, May 4 and Thursday, May 5, at 9 p.m. nightly. On their CD Alive Acoustic, recorded at Club Helsinki in Great Barrington, Mass., the Berklee School of Music dropouts manage to evoke a summer evening on the front porch with friends. Though, I guess your friends would have to be pretty damn good folk musicians-the Slip combines guitar, bass and drums with all sorts of down-home instruments like steel drums, ball bearings and tape recorders. Also, not averse to a kazoo. What's not to like? Both shows are 18-plus, and these will be The Slip's only shows for the rest of the spring.

If you're looking for fun night of roots music, you can't do much better than Lowell, Mass.-based Hot Day at The Zoo @ the Blue Mermaid Friday, April 29. These five milltown pickers (guitar, mandolin, banjo, bass and dobro) combine raucous, urban lyrics with bluegrass picking in a form they've declared "ZooGrass." Jazz legend David Amram, who jammed with them at the Kerouac festival last year, said, "Hot Day at the Zoo is a breath of fresh air... Listen to them." Should you argue with David Amram? I think not.

Portland Maine's Spouse @ The Red Door's Hush Hush series on May 2 should be a great show. Founder Jose Ayerve will be doing a solo electric night, sure to feature the song "Moonshot Manny," which was included in the new Farrelly brothers film "Fever Pitch." The latest Spouse record, Are You Gonna Kiss or Wave Goodbye from Pigeon Records, sounds a little like Spoon, in the best ways, with Ayerve's voice a bit Bono-like, without all the political overtones. With a great catchy mix of melodies and rhythms, Spouse updates the 1980s and '90s indie rock sound, making for a very listenable album. As always on a Monday night at The Red Door, remember to use your inside voice.