Live music picks for WEDNESDAY AUGUST 24 through TUESDAY AUGUST 30, 2011.

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 24 / THE WAR ON DRUGS / THE DRAKE HOTEL / 1150 QUEEN ST W / $12 / 19+
Brooklyn-based band Caveman and London, UK's Porcelain Raft warm up the crowd before Philadelphia four-piece indie-rockers The War on Drugs take the stage. Adam Granduciel (vocals/guitarist) leads The War on Drugs, who play confident textured sets of ageless rock with a blend of Americana, anchored by Dylanesque lyrics and sweeping solos. The War on Drugs play in support of their newest LP Slave Ambient.

THURSDAY AUGUST 25 / THE HOA HOA'S / THE BOAT / 158 AUGUSTA AVE / $12 / 19+
The Hoa Hoa's, whom we featured recently in a Call & Response interview, play back-to-back release shows at The Boat for their self-titled EP. The Thursday line-up includes locals Revolvers, The Auras and Ostrich Tuning. The Hoa Hoa's play bliss-pop with giddy energy, their songs rich with sublime melancholia to get the bodies in the crowd moving.

FRIDAY AUGUST 26 / COLIN STETSON / THE DRAKE HOTEL / 1150 QUEEN ST W / $12 / 19+
Colin Stetson has worked with a number of bands, including Arcade Fire, Bell Orchestre, Bon Iver, Tom Waits, and most recently with Jeff Mangum (Neutral Milk Hotel); the list goes on. The bass saxophone player and Polaris short-list nominee (LP New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges) produces organic sound as natural as music can get with each breath and blow of his horn, a translation of a vocal tune and form.

SATURDAY AUGUST 27 / ZORCH / THE SILVER DOLLAR / 486 SPADINA AVE / $8 / 19+
Toronto shoegaze noisemakers Rituals and garage-punk group Rattail entertains at The Silver Dollar, opening for Austin's Zorch, a duo offering a minimalist barrage of electronic music.

TUESDAY AUGUST 30 / ROYAL BATHS / THE SHOP / 1566 QUEEN ST W / $7 / 19+
Up-and-coming trio Bruised Knees create eerie and tribal songs full of shattering percussion and nocturnal vocals and rhythms. The Toronto band opens for San Francisco psychedelic three-piece Royal Baths, who mesmerize with moody guitar drones and a deafening buzz of tailspin-blues.

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Lead photo of Colin Stetson by Ming Wu.