The Gourds at Ashland Coffee & Tea

Nobody — nobody — puts as much twang into Snoop Dogg’s hood epic “Gin and Juice” as Austin alt-rock weirdos The Gourds. It’s possibly because of the intense musical churn of that city that bands become such a stew of styles while retaining a sense of the ridiculous. They learn their craft, then make fun of it. With The Gourds, that means throwing bluegrass, rock and country down a well and listening for the strange noises made when they hit bottom. The fall itself is delightful. The Gourds play Ashland Saturday, June 17, at 8 p.m. $15. 798-1702.

Mensrea at Canal Club

Spawned by members of GWAR, Mensrea promises to be similarly metal-crazed, if not quite as, you know, phallic. Creeping into the mix of heavy guitar and the ever-popular thrash chords is something not unlike a bit of jazz, which may be the most shocking thing of all. Mensrea’s taking off on a tour but plays one last show with Fail-Safe, Omegalord and Separation Friday, June 16, at 8:30 p.m. $5. 643-2582.

Pedals on Our Pirate Ships CD Release at Gallery5

Another idea aimed at improving things on our little planet, this project was the result of Richmond musician Matt Seymour getting the gift of studio time and wanting to compose a sort of album-length ode to bike-riding. He called in friends from Avail, Landmines, Triple Twins and a few other bands and … an acoustic/pop/punk homage to our little town and all its two-wheeled residents was born. The conspirators play the CD release party at Gallery5 Friday, June 16, at 8 p.m. $5. 644-0005.

John McCutcheon at the Singleton Center

Folk-singer McCutcheon comes to Richmond with a few ideas on making the world a better place. It may sound like a tough pill to swallow, but he coats the thing with the kind of gentle humor that can be found in his children’s books and provides a soundtrack for learnin’ with the guitar, autoharp, fiddle and hammered dulcimer. He plays the Singleton Center Friday, June 16, at 7:30 p.m. $12-$20. 232-1002.