Dead Meadow

Thu., April 17, 9 p.m., $9, with the Shirks and the Three 4 Tens, Johnny Brenda's, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 215-739-9684, johnnybrendas.com.

by James Saul

rock

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Last year, D.C.-bred quartet Dead Meadow lost a member and skipped town for Los Angeles, but that hasn't stopped them from churning out their trademark nod-along psych rock. Now a trio, a more mature Dead Meadow appears on their new Old Growth (Matador) — many of the album's grooves escape the drab stoner formula regularly abused by Sabbath acolytes. "Between Me and the Ground" cruises nicely in three, with Jason Simon's vocals soaring alongside epic wah-wah solos and shuffling drums. As a live band, Dead Meadow are still loud as hell, ready to unleash their bong-shattering frequencies upon the space cadets that crave them so deeply. Their performance may show some Growth, but you'd be hard-pressed to call it "old."

Thu., April 17, 9 p.m., $9, with the Shirks and the Three 4 Tens, Johnny Brenda's, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 215-739-9684, johnnybrendas.com.