Monster Magnet Fitzgerald's, December 3

They don't make too many rock bands like Monster Magnet anymore, but maybe they don't need to. Such clear descendents of Deep Purple you can almost see the smoke on the water -- though we bet "Highway Star" is more their speed -- Dave Wyndorf's New Jersey-based marauders love good drugs, fast women and (strangely enough) science fiction. No matter the subject, though, Monster Magnet hammers their songs home with some of the tastiest, most righteous hard rock of the past 20 years.

You probably remember them from 1998's "Space Lord" (motherfucker), but after a period off exploring other galaxies, Monster Magnet is right back in your face with brand-new Napalm LP Last Patrol. With Royal Thunder, Anti-Mortem and Venomous Maximus. CHRIS GRAY

Bri Bagwell Dosey Doe, December 3

You won't find many boys clubs less receptive to a woman's touch than modern Texas Country, except maybe over in Nashville. Be that at it may, tall blonde Las Cruces singer-songwriter Bri Bagwell has become a rare and welcome exception to the relentless testosterone of past few years.

Feisty enough to be "Banned In Santa Fe," also the title of her 2011 album, Bagwell is equally adept at tearjerkers like "Whiskey" or "So Wrong," both from her 2010 EP Midnight Hour. Lately she's been enjoying a run in the Texas Music Chart's Top 10 with "Hound Dog," stating her opinion of caddish behavior in no uncertain terms. CHRIS GRAY

Paul Ramirez Band Continental Club, December 4

A weekly gig is about the best way for guitarists to hone their craft, and Houston's Paul Ramirez has done just that Wednesday nights at the Continental Club for more than a year now. It pays off in debut CD Sex With a Dragon, released about this time last year, which throws in a little Santana and New Orleans R&B into Ramirez's stick-to-your-ribs Texas blues-rock and shows some salty reverence towards Blind Lemon Jefferson's "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean." CHRIS GRAY

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