Our Critics' Picks

THURSDAY 6/5

Dog Days of SummerLAPPY HOUR The great ideas are the simple ones: an Internet search engine, a pop music reality show, an all-sports cable channel, and now, a happy hour where you can bring your dog. On the first Thursday of every month, Eastland Café hosts “Lappy Hour,” an ingenuous event where you can enjoy $5 cocktails and appetizers while your mutt ambles about and fetches you a companion. For your dog, there’s plenty of water and gourmet treats, which you can dole out if your little Rover proves to be a better come-on than any of your tired one-liners. Now you don’t have to feel guilty downing shots while your canine bangs up against her crate. Instead, the mutt can witness you make a fool of yourself—while it may undo years of obedience training, what kind of best friend has never seen you buzzed? 5 p.m. the first Thursday of every month —MATT PULLE

MusicNADA SURF Lucky, the latest effort from veteran indie poppers Nada Surf, opens with a song that perfectly encapsulates the band’s aesthetic—“See These Bones” is hopelessly pretty and exquisitely wistful, augmented by a cooing harmony and an oblique reference to West Side Story. Throughout this deceptively simple album, the band’s fifth, frontman Matthew Caws continues to make grand statements and then undercut them with dreary details. On the crisp “I Like What You Say,” he sings, “They say you have to have somebody, they say you have to be someone’s, they say if you’re not lonely alone, boy there is something wrong.” Nada Surf are a band that can be easy to dismiss, and not just because of “Popular.” They rarely veer toward the experimental or the uncomfortable—instead they just work really hard at what they do, and do it perfectly, like the unassuming place on the corner that just happens to make the best slice of pizza in town. 9 p.m. at Mercy Lounge —LEE STABERT

Stars and CarsDOUBLE FEATURE: INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL/IRON MAN What?!? You read that correctly: Through tonight, the glorious Stardust Drive-In in Watertown offers the summer’s two biggest movies back to back under the stars. You know what that means: a dinner date with Tony Stark and Indy, catered by a concession stand stocked with Brown Cows, Flash Pops, egg rolls, crinkle-cut fries, Philly cheesesteaks and—what’s this? Cappuccino? Security! Take I-40E to Exit 239A, then travel 9.2 miles east on Highway 70 and turn left onto West Main Street; look for the blue-and-white marquee. Tickets are $7 for adults, $3 for kids 6 and under, kids 5 and under are free. Opening Friday: Kung Fu Panda and You Don’t Mess with the Zohan. Sundown at the Stardust Drive-In (310 Purple Tiger Drive, Watertown) —JIM RIDLEY

MusicLORD OF THE YUM-YUM Chicago grade-school music teacher Paul Valet is spending his summer touring around as his weirdo alter-ego Lord of the Yum-Yum. Equipped with only a microphone, a couple of pedals, a bright-blue tuxedo and some seriously goofy dance moves, the Lord arranges all your music class favorites—from “Flight of the Bumblebee” to Bizet—to be performed a cappella. Valet scats, grunts, beat-boxes and sometimes even sings as he gyrates around his loop pedal. Think Bjork’s Medulla, but much more fun. If nothing else, Lord of the Yum-Yum stands as a testament to better teacher compensation. Not only are more teachers taking on summer jobs, but this guy is resorting to bizarre shit for some extra scratch. 9 p.m. at Springwater —MATT SULLIVAN

Cartoon NetworkingANIME NIGHT Thousands of people attended April’s Middle Tennessee Anime Convention; where were you—watching Assy McGee (snicker)? If you don’t know a ball-joint doll from a Barbie or manga from a mango, feast your wet round eyes. The Nashville Public Library’s Bordeaux branch celebrates Japanese animation and pop culture with a movie screening, snacks and comics in the stacks. It’s free and open to the public as part of the Teen Summer Reading program. 5:30 p.m. at Bordeaux Branch Library (4000 Clarksville Pike) —JIM RIDLEY

FRIDAY 6/6

MusicAND THE RELATIVES These guys work hard. From rough home recordings done in bassist Eli Beaird’s basement to drummer Patrick Rodgers’ Beastie Boys-circa-“Sabotage” facial hair, the effort is definitely there. Drawing from influences such as The Black Keys, Black Sabbath and Pavement, this trio’s raw, self-produced sound benefits from staying stripped down and simple. On most tracks, frontman Andrew Brassell flips on the distortion and vocal reverb, evoking his inner Ozzy. ‘”Kitchen Sink,” off of the upcoming album Below and Above, includes a vamped-up Dan Auerbach-style guitar intro that gives way to a kick-drum-driven first verse. And the Relatives are still working to nail down a cohesive sound—but that will come with time, or perhaps more mustaches. 9 p.m. at Springwater —VINCENT AMOROSO