Late August can be a bit of a slow season for touring, whether it's bands not wanting to deal with the blazing heat in most of the United States or record labels holding back tour support until closer to the lucrative fourth quarter releases. The upside is that local bands can sometimes benefit from a venue's slow month, and we're really excited about the chance to see Or, The Whale, Birds & Batteries and Social Studies at Great American Music Hall on Saturday night. Expect some special touches for this show; we hear that Birds & Batteries have been practicing with a string section. Enter for your chance to win a pair of tickets. (Contest ends Friday 8/24 at 4pm; winner will be notified via email.)

On to this week's show recommendations: Tonight see Built Like Alaska at Bottom of the Hill with Audio Out Send and The Parish. At Cafe Du Nord, hear Earlimart featuring the String Dream Team play songs from the just-released new album Mentor Tormentor along with opener Patrick Park. On Friday at Bottom of the Hill, see the lovely lasses in Au Revoir Simone along with Oh No! Oh My! and The Morning Benders. The Beastie Boys play at The Warfield on Friday and at The Greek on Saturday.

Listen to Earlimart's "Everybody Knows" [windows media player] and watch Au Revoir Simone's video for "Sad Song":

On Saturday night you have no excuse not to get out and see some great local music. We'll be at Great American to see Birds & Batteries and Or, The Whale. KFOG presents a Local Scene Night at Slim's featuring Honeycut, Lotus Rush and Elliot Randall. Over at Bottom of the Hill Live 105 presents Street To Nowhere with Foreign Born and Veil Veil Vanish.

On Sunday, Oakland's own Desa headline Bottom of the Hill with The Actual, Casket Salesmen and mythmaker. At the Swedish Hall, Arthur Magazine presents an evening with influential British singer songwriter Bert Jansch. Neil Young's quoted as saying, "As much of a great guitar player as Jimi [Hendrix] was, Bert Jansch is the same thing for acoustic guitar."

On Wednesday Gogol Bordello play their gypsy punk freakout at the Fillmore. At The Hemlock, see some feminine folk from Marissa Nadler and Mariee Sioux.

Watch Gogol Bordello perform "Not A Crime" on Later with Jools Holland: