Follow Cults to Mr. Smalls; Love in the Air at Thunderbird (CPs Sat., 2/15/14)

1) It seemed as if New York City’s Cults set up their Bandcamp account on a Tuesday in 2010 and were world famous by that Friday. The twosome, consisting of singer Madeline Follin and vocalist/guitarist Brian Oblivion, swiftly rose to success on the strength of the electro-rock rhythms of their self-titled debut album and their glam-ish good looks. Follin and Oblivion proved it wasn’t a fluke on last year’s Static, which added some disheartened post-break-up lyrics to the mix. (There is apparently a Lindsay Buckingham-Stevie Nicks thing going on between the two.) Atlanta alt-rock band Mood Rings will open for Cults at Mr. Smalls tonight. 8 p.m. 400 Lincoln Ave., Milvale.

2) Sometimes it seems that a third of the songs ever written are about being in love and another third about breakups (with the final third being songs that Snoop Dogg wrote about his love of weed). So there will be plenty of material to pick from when the acts playing tonight’s Rock and Romance IV at the Thunderbird Café compile their set lists. At the fourth installment of the annual Valentine’s show, local honky-tonk band The Beagle Brothers, singer/songwriter Elliott Sussman, and St. Marys, PA-based rockers Black Hand Night will perform some songs to get you in the mood for love. 9 p.m. 4023 Butler St., Lawrenceville.

3) James Dewees, keyboardist for the pop-punk band The Get-Up Kids, has a side project called Reggie and the Full Effect (though there is no one in the “band” named Reggie; Dewees plays all instruments on these albums himself). Humor is a cornerstone of the act, and in addition to playing the usual pop-punk, Dewees and his touring accompaniment are fond of dressing up and imitating other genres of music (new wave, death metal, etc.) for a song or two. See them do so tonight (we hope) at Altar Bar. Dads, Pentimento, and The Spacepimps open. 7 p.m. 1620 Penn Ave., Strip District.

4) Didn’t catch the Newport Jazz Festival this year? Luckily for you, several all-star performers are making America’s premiere annual jazz event a months-long, multi-venue thing with the Newport Jazz Festival: Now 60 tour. Stopping at the Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild for two shows tonight will be an ensemble that includes Anat Cohen, Karrin Allyson, Randy Brecker, Mark Whitfield, Peter Martin, Clarence Penn and Larry Grenadier. 7 and 9:30 p.m. Manchester Craftsman’s Guild, 1815 Metropolitan St., Chateau.

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