MONDAY
>>Two turntables and a…slide rule? If you thought nerdcore hip-hop was isolated to Weird Al’s latest hit, you were wrong. Two of the genre’s best known artists, Optimus Rhyme and MC Frontalot, bring in tha geekiness to The Red & The Black tonight. What better way to gear up for the new Transformers movie than by listening to someone rap about it? $8
>>School’s in after summer, and Alice Cooper is taking a break from the golf course to don costume and makeup for another tour. With a full complement of dancers, whips, swords, and over the top theatricality, the Warner Theatre may never be the same. 8:00 p.m., $32.50-$55
>>Third Programme, who draw heavily from Brit-pop and New Wave, with a healthy dose of Zeppelin-esque riffing for good measure, have completed their first EP, and they’re celebrating with a CD release show on the Black Cat backstage with Alcian Blue. 9:00 p.m., $6
TUESDAY
>>British sadcorists Mojave 3 have spent over a decade now crafting dreamy folk-tinged songs bound to make you sway slowly and smile wistfully. With singer-songwriter Tim O’Reagan opening, it should be an ethereally beautiful night at the Black Cat. 8:30 p.m., $15
