[POP ROCK] + THURS, JUNE 13

It seems like all the best bands know just how to mix the tried and true methods of the icons of their genre with their own brand of freshness and intrigue. A Leaf is one of those bands. Hailing from Tacoma, A Leaf is Chris Bridges (guitar,) Nate Daley (vocals/guitar,) Stephen Demuth (drums,) Andy Wambam (bass) and Shannon Donahue (vocals/guitar.) A Leaf has the honest qualities of '60s psychedelia and harmonic folk with a splash of this generation's shoe-gazey pop rock. The band's songs range from groovy instrumental to Beatlesesque love songs. {NIKKI MCCOY}

A LEAF, w/Owl Parliament, A Breakthrough In Field Studies, 8 p.m., The New Frontier Lounge, 301 E. 25^th St., Tacoma, $5, 253.572.4020

[BENEFIT] + SAT, JUNE 15

The New Frontier Lounge in Tacoma plays host to a Humane Society Benefit show Saturday featuring Death By Stars, Oh Dear!, I Like Science, Ever So Android and Julian Najar. This line-up is sure to get into your summer skin and cause a heated reaction of soul tingling vibes and uncontrolled appendage shaking, accompanied by the occasional fist pump and squinty-faced hair whipping. Yes, I mean dancing. And, by God, it's all for a good cause. "The Humane Society and animal welfare are extremely important issues to Death By Stars," says Patrick Galactic. "We are financial supporters of many animal rights organizations. To share an all-star bill with some of our favorite bands is icing on the cake. It's going to be an electric and eclectic show that ultimately benefits our furry friends who need the care the most."  {NM}

Humane Society Benefit, w/ Death By Stars, Oh Dear!, I Like Science, Ever So Android, Julian Najar, 8 p.m., The New Frontier Lounge, 301 E. 25th St.,Tacoma, cover TBA, 253.572.4020

[WIZARD ROCK] + MON, JUNE 17

Harry and the Potters may well be the nerdiest band in existence: They Might Be Giants-esque power pop that only concerns itself with Harry Potter ephemera. That they've been around for over a decade and released roughly one album a year in that time is a testament not only to how mythologically dense and circuitous that book series was, but also to the bloody-minded tenacity of the band itself. Over the years, they've enjoyed a robust career of touring clubs and libraries, playing to kids excited to delve into the Potter series, as well as drunken 20-somethings that grew up with the books. Now that Harry Potter has become as much a recognizable literary character as, say, Dorothy Gale, it seems as though Harry and the Potters can stick around for the long haul. {REV. ADAM MCKINNEY}

HARRY AND THE POTTERS, 7 p.m., Northern, 414 ½ Legion Way, Olympia, $8

[WH-WHAT?] + WED, JUNE 19

PECK the Town Crier is a honest-to-goodness mystery, to me. A genre-hopping artist from San Rafael, Calif., PECK tends toward faux-smooth hip-hop, when he's not incorporating bits of boogie-woogie Americana or Beach Boys-esque sunny surf rock or '70s AM gold. I think it would be easy to write off PECK the Town Crier as a perpetrator of insincere hipsterism, but the more I sift through his output, the more convinced I am that PECK is just an honestly enthusiastic fan of all kinds of music. It's as if those obnoxious people who claim to like "all kinds of music" actually did like all kinds of music, and then went out and made music. It'd sound weird, like this stuff does. PECK the Town Crier's willingness to drift dreamily from genre to genre without apology or explanation is what makes him so simultaneously interesting and off-putting. {REV. AM}

PECK THE TOWN CRIER, w/Shye Powers, 10 p.m., Le Voyeur, 404 E. Fourth Ave., Olympia, no cover, 360.943.571