Live music picks for WEDNESDAY JULY 20 through TUESDAY JULY 26, 2011.

WEDNESDAY JULY 20 / YOUNG THE GIANT / MOD CLUB / 722 COLLEGE ST / $15 / ALL AGES
Locals Wildlife open for California indie-rock band Young the Giant, who are frantic on stage, with band members weaving left and right, their instruments jostling for position. And front-man Sameer Gadhia belts out confident vocals as guitar licks pierce the crowd.

THURSDAY JULY 21 / NIGHTS & WEEKENDS / LEE'S PALACE / 529 BLOOR ST W / $6 / 19+
Electronic trio Nights & Weekends, along with folk musician Rob Lamothe and Graydon James and the Young Novelists, play a benefit concert at Lee's Palace in support of Olee's Initiative. The benefit show is part of a series of concerts that help raise funds for a music program in Ghana that allows youth refugees the chance to create and sell their art.

FRIDAY JULY 22 / PAT JORDACHE / THE GARRISON / 1197 DUNDAS ST W / $10 / 19+
Pop Montreal presents the "Pop Off Tour," featuring Edmonton's Gobble Gobble and Montreal's Grimes and Pat Jordache. Patrick Gregoire (also known as Pat Jordache) energizes his audience with baritone melodies coupled with looping post-punk grooves, while Claire Boucher (Grimes) seethes onstage with dance beats and big bass lines. Finally, get ready for mayhem when Gobble Gobble throw it down, wearing their hockey helmets and playing their random assortment of percussions on and off the stage.

SATURDAY JULY 23 / EMA / THE GARRISON / 1197 DUNDAS ST W / $10 / 19+
Brooklyn experimental-pop artist Roberto Carlos Lange - known simply as Helado Negro - opens for EMA, adapting his Latin-infused tropical waves and beats for a live setting. Erika M. Anderson (EMA) plays in support of her debut LP Past Life Martyred Saints - an introspective record that pulls listeners in with raw emotion and lush arrangements.

SUNDAY JULY 24 / THE WEEKND / MOD CLUB / 722 COLLEGE ST / $25 / ALL AGES
It's been a great year for Toronto-based R&B breakout artist Abel Tesfaye aka The Weeknd. His self-released LP House of Balloons turned The Weeknd from a local secret into an international phenomenon, not to mention being named as a short list nominee for The Polaris Music Prize. Don't miss The Weeknd this weekend!

For more music listings, head on over to our events calendar.

Looking for tickets? Check out Rotate This or Soundscapes to avoid Ticketmaster robbery.

Have an event you'd like us to plug? Submit your own listing to the BlogTO calendar, contact us directly or use our handy facebook app.

Lead photo of Young the Giant by StreetPress.