Jade of Days

JADE OF DAYS plays that style of music that, when you hear the first chord drop, pick up the blazing guitar and the driving bass and drums, then hear vocalist Dana Kelley's delicate lilting voice over the beat, you think to yourself that this is what every alt band should sound like. Kelley's melodic and emotional vocal chops perfectly compliment the amazing musicianship of guitarist Paul Borges, bassist Nelson Medeiros and drummer Junior Medeiros—the sound is clean, amazingly harmonized and spans musical styles ranging from hard-hitting punk-inspired choruses to driving rock solos to intelligent alt-indie numbers that meld into a sound rarely heard these days. Point 3, Atomic Mint, Phoenix Rising and Otto round out the bill. (Ryan Osterbeck)

Jade of Days plays Friday (Nov. 17) at 9pm at the Blank Club, 44 S. Almaden Ave., San Jose. Tickets are $8. (408.292.5265)

World Champs

ATREYU, which exploded onto the Orange County metal and hardcore scenes back in '02, hasn't stopped blazing a trail through the musical wastelands of tomorrow since hitting with their first mind-bending release, Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses. Since that initial sonic bomb, Atreyu—taken from the character in The Neverending Story—has rocked the Warped Tour and Ozzfest in the process redefining the term overnight success. It latest, A Death-Grip on Yesterday, sees the band toning down the screamcore a bit in favor of more melodic vocals flying above the same hard driving licks. Atreyu's World Championship Tour features opening support from Every Time I Die and Chiodos. (Ryan Osterbeck)

Atreyu, Every Time I Die and Chiodos play Friday (Nov. 17) at 7pm at the San Jose Civic Auditorium, 145 W. San Carlos St., San Jose. Tickets are $25. (408.998.TIXS)

Audrye Sessions

LEAD SINGER who emotes onstage with liberal use of falsetto: check. Chick-on-bass action: check. Lullaby-land tunes that teach your body to sway like branches in the breeze: check. Weepy violin whose strings are actually a part of your heart: check. Oakland-based Audrye Sessions lays it all out, tucking away a little rock between spacey, ambient jams. With music that's mostly toned down, the quintet turns up the energy onstage, creating a balance ripe for both the moody and the gung-ho. After a string of California and Nevada shows through the end of the year, Audrye Sessions heads to Los Angeles in January to work with Matt Radosevich (Taking Back Sunday, Street to Nowhere, the Matches) on its second full-length album, tentatively scheduled for a summer release. My Former Self and Conway also perform. (Claire Taylor)

Audrye Sessions plays Friday (Nov. 17) at 6:30pm at Almaden Community Center, 6445 Camden Ave., San Jose. Tickets are $10. (myspace.com/audryesessions)

Send a letter to the editor about this story.