Pop Punk and Doom Metal Highlight This Weekend's Concert Picks

As we sweat through the throes of summer 2011, back to school sales are already underway. Before you know it, Halloween will be here, then you-know-what: The Holidays. Luckily, this weekend is offering up an array of options to get your end-of-summer party on.

The SickSick Birds are playing at the Wind Up Space with fellow Baltimore bands The Shirks and The Adults at 10 p.m., and if you’re in the mood for some quality indie/pop punk, the Wind Up Space is where you should be Friday night.

Serpent Throne, an all instrumental psych rock band from Philly, will be a few blocks away at Golden West, along with Malungeon, The Pilgrim and Dangerbird. Without any vocalist to mar the fuzzy guitar leads or dueling solos, Serpent Throne cuts through layers of murk while the drums steadily propel it forward. Most importantly, Serpent Throne never gets boring or repetitious, a common pitfall of doom metal bands. Show starts at 10 p.m. and cover is  $5.

• Friday, at Ottobar: Arboretum, Disappears, Psychic Front., doors at 9 p.m., cover is $10.
• Monday, at CCAS: Foundation, Mindset, Harm’s Way, Rotting Out, Carrying the Fire. 7p.m., donation requested.
• Wednesday at Golden West: Scott Reynolds of ALL performs the songs of ALL, along with Deep Sleep and Brian Flannel.