The Dandy Warhols Play Mr. Smalls; Altar Bar Hosts We Came as Romans (Mon., 4/18/16)

1) The Dandy Warhols know what they like. The quartet’s name is a nod to this area’s most famous pop artist. Sonically and vocally, “(Tony, This Song Is Called) Lou Weed” sounds like it could have been composed and sung by the late rock contrarian Lou Reed himself. Welcome to the Monkey House, the band’s fourth studio album and a commercial breakthrough, takes its title from a Kurt Vonnegut short story and book. The cover from that album is also a half-peeled banana, harking to the Velvet Underground’s debut. On the Dandy Warhols’ newest release, this year’s Distortland, there’s a song called “Catcher in the Rye.” All of this goes to say, if you also like these influences, the band’s concert at Mr. Smalls may be for you. Need more convincing? The group opened for the late David Bowie on his last tour. They are also co-subjects, along with contemporaries the Brian Jonestown Massacre, of the rock documentary Dig!, essential viewing for those looking for a real-life This Is Spinal Tap. Seratones open. 8 p.m. 400 Lincoln Ave., Millvale. (CM)

2) Dave Stephens provides the screams; Kyle Pavone, the singing. So goes the one-two punch of We Came as Romans’ vocalists. Beginning with the band’s third studio album, 2013’s Tracing Back Roots, Stephens started to display his more melodic side, like on the single “Hope.” That shift toward melody continued with the group’s most recent release, 2015’s self-titled album. Still, We Came as Romans are, at their center, a post-hardcore band, one in which the guitars sprint and the drums thrash. The sextet originated in Troy, Michigan, a suburb just north of Detroit, in 2005. They began playing the Motor City’s clubs and have since toured nearly every corner of the globe, including appearances on the Vans Warped Tour. This month they play Altar Bar. Miss May I, Wilson, and Sworn In open. 7 p.m. 1620 Penn Ave., Strip District. (CM)

3) The Boss – Melissa McCarthy stars in this comedy based on a character she created when she was a member of the L.A. troupe The Groundlings. Michelle Darnell is a hard-charging business tycoon who makes money as fast as she does enemies. It turns out some of her financial gains are of the ill-gotten variety and she ends up in prison for insider trading. After her release she’s bankrupt, friendless, and homeless … and moves in with her former personal assistant, a woman Michelle humiliated every chance she got. From such acorns do mighty comedies grow. Or maybe not. But the cast is great; in addition to McCarthy there’s Kristen Bell, Peter Dinklage, Kristen Schaal, Kathy Bates, Cecily Strong, and Margo Martindale. If any group of people could make a comedy fly, it would be this crowd. Check Fandango for screens and times.

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