Tues. July 24

 You don't look a gift horse in the mouth, right? We have no idea where that came from, but it seems to mean if you're handed something good ... take it. It would seem that's the case Tuesday July 24, starting at 10 a.m. and ending at 10 p.m. The good folks at Live Nation New England are offering up a limited number of tickets to shows at the Bank of America Pavilion and the Tweeter Center for ... $10. Too good to be true? No, but it's an offer "subject to availability" and only "while supplies last." So, this could mean your seats are on the lawn for Tweeter and at the rear for the Pavilion and it could mean there may be no tickets available for the show you really want to see. So, it's a bit of a mystery. Also: This day - called "Ten Dollar Tuesday" - is being sponsored by Ben & Jerry's. We're not sure if that means B & J are picking up the added cost of the tickets, or it's just a cool promotion to have their name on. But to you, the concert goer, that's not a concern. What you want to do is to go to the Ticketmaster site below, a Ticketmaster location or the venue itself - as early as possible, we'd suggest - and try your luck.

www.ticketmaster.com

Tues. July 24

Neil Popkin and his sister Becca may just be a couple of kids - well, he's 23 and she 25 - out of Natick, but their band, War Tapes, recently completely three opening dates for Smashing Pumpkins and will tour this fall with the Bravery. Not at all bad for a band that has released zero music - save four songs on www.myspace.com/wartapes, and is but two years old. Neil sings and plays guitar; his Becca is on bass. Her husband, William John is the drummer and and Matt Bennett plays guitar. Neil says he and his sister have been playing together since childhood. They moved to Los Angeles a couple of years ago - not for rock stardom reason, Neil says. "I just wanted to explore. We started writing songs, making demos, met Matt. For me, it just kind of happened. We just wanted to make dark, powerful music that people can relate to." Dark, perhaps, but there's a real sense of uplift as well, not unlike the Boston band Aberdeen City or the godfather of it all U2? "Yeah," Neil concurs on the uplift query. "We wanted to create something reminiscent and nostalgic of bands we grew up with - '80s goth, new wave, the Manchester England sound - dark and melodoic at the same time." (In case you're wondering about the above image, the band hasn't released photos yet - just this logo.

The Pumpkins gigs game about, Neil says, "because they got our music somehow, got in touch with our manager, and invited us to play three shows." Remember, this is an unsigned band, with no real CD out yet. The response they got? "Great. Not too many hecklers." After just a few moments of nervousness, "It was a rush." And while trying to keep a level head about where they are, Neil says, " We're looking at everything, We're really stoked. War Tapes returns to Massachusetts to play T.T. the Bear's Tuesday July 24. They're on at 10. The Clicks take the stage at 11 and Cheater Pint opens at 9. Tickets: $8.

10 Brookline St., Cambridge, 617-492-0082 www.ttthebears.com

Mon. July 23

"I don't like Mondays." Bob Geldof sang it so bittersweetly with the Boomtown Rats back in the day. Of course, his song wasn't sparked by the workingman's bane of existence but by the shooting spree of one teen named Brenda Spencer, who, when asked why she killed classmates answered, "I don't like Mondays." Geldof sort of immortalized the refrain. Which leads us to ... Mondays. Yes, in the entertainment end of the world, it's generally the down day (or night.) The reasoning is people go out and party and spend their dough on the weekends (or later in the week) and use Monday as a recovery day. Well, you can recover in a state of grace Monday July 23 at the Middle East Upstairs with Great Northern. The L.A. quartet is back in town, touring beind their debut CD, "Trading Twilight for Daylight." What we like: the balance of the cinematic widescreen sound and the haunting intimacy. There's a Delgados-like quality about these folks - and that's a big plus in our book. The Comas are the actual headliners and Falcon starts things around 9. Tickets: $9,

472 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, 617-864-3278 www.mideastclub.com

Sun. July 22

 Two-Cow Garage. I typed it in wrong (Two-Car) when I first tried. And what is this five-year old trio - which plays at Great Scott Sunday July 22 - about? Well, they've made "Enter III," their darkest record to date, which means - maybe? - their dreams of rock 'n' roll stardom have caught up with them. Says guitarist-singer Micah Schnabel: "There's a guitar, that's leaning on my wall, the instrument of my ultimate downfall." (Old rock star reference point: Mott the Hoople's "All the Way From Memphis" and Ian Hunter's "instrument of shame - ha ha!") "And notebooks scattered all over my floor. Six hundred pages all filled with regrets, and hundreds of songs that ain't finished yet.  And a job application getting harder to ignore." Bassist Shane Sweeny talks about when he "questioned whether or not I wanted to be in Two Cow anymore.  I was very angry. I really just wanted to explode but at the same time I was so incredibly disappointed. I wanted to hide away." You can hear all this angst poor out in concert Sunday. Now, we've saved, maybe, the best for last. The headliner on this bill is Lenny Lashley & Friends, and you might know Lenny from the punk-drunk band of joy that is Darkbuster. His friends? Who knows? Probably has lots of 'em, though, and some can probably sing or play instruments. Drag the River is in the middle of the bill. Two Car - no, that's Cow, dammit - Garage kicks off the $9 show at 9 p.m.

1222 Commonwealth Ave., Allston, 617-782-6425 www.greatscottboston.com

Sat. July 21

 Johnny Angel used to sing, play guitar and write songs for Thrills, later called City Thrills, and then Blackjacks. The Bostonian moved to L.A. some years ago, where he's established himself as a left-wing talk show host (imagine!) on KTLK-AM. Angel is back in town Saturday July 21 for two eulogies: One for his father, who died in April, and another for Barb Kitson, the singer for the punk-pop Thrills and City Thrills, which hail from the first punk rock era. Those bands wrapped anger and frustration into three-chord celebration, and rarely fell short of a hook-packed melody. Kitson was an exuberant, gloriously unpolished singer.  And last October she died at 51. So, Angel will speak at his dad's memorial service during the day and revert to rocker form at night where he and Robin Lane will play a free set at the Abbey Lounge in honor of his ex-bandmate. They'll play songs from all bands, including Lane's Chartbusters - a new wave band of the same era. It should be nostalgic, sad, and fun. Starts at 7 p.m. Want more? We rang up Angel and asked him to email us his thoughts on Barb and those days. Please continue ...

3 Beacon St., Somerville  www.abbeylounge.com