Iggy Pop

If it weren't for bad luck, Social Distortion wouldn't have any at all. But Mike Ness has been turning adversity into enthralling punk rock -- the kind rooted in the dirt and the dust of country, rockabilly, and rhythm and blues -- for a quarter-century. Following a hiatus during which he made a couple decent solo discs, and with a long-delayed full-band studio album said to be coming next spring, Social Distortion kick off their first national tour since the death of long-time guitarist Dennis Danell with a three-night stand in Boston. They're at Axis (617-262-2437) on Friday, then take a very short roadtrip up Commonwealth Avenue to the Paradise (617-562-8800) for shows on Saturday and Sunday.

Lust-for-lifer Iggy Pop got all neo-metal on his newest disc, the sarcastic and scorching Beat 'em Up (Virgin) -- another semi-baffling salvo from the sinewy proto-punk legend, who remains in late middle age a danger to himself and others. Iggy brings the broccoli to Avalon (617-423-NEXT) in Boston on Friday and to Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel (401-272-5876) in Providence on Saturday. We suppose you could count Slayer as Iggy Pop fans -- they did a covers album a while back with a massacre of a Stooges song they called "I Wanna Be Your God" -- but most of the talk about metal's reigning deities has centered on the eerie coincidence of their new album's having appeared on September 11. It doesn't help that the disc's called God Hates Us All (American), but for cryin' out loud, it's Slayer -- would South of Heaven have sounded any better? Slayer play on Sunday at the State Theatre (207-780-8265) in Portland; on Tuesday at the Webster Theatre (860-525-5553) in Hartford; and on Wednesday at Avalon.

The cream of the Elephant 6 crop has congealed into yet another spinoff, this one called the Circulatory System and featuring Olivia Tremor Control main man Will Cullen Hart and Neutral Milk Hotel main man Jeff Mangum. They play an afternoon gig at the Middle East (617-864-EAST) in Cambridge on Saturday, then head to Flywheel (413-527-9800) in Easthampton on Sunday in support of their recent homonymous debut on Hart's Cloud Records. And speaking of neo-hippie supergroups: the alliterative Primus-Phish-Police triple threat known as Oysterhead play a sold-out show at the Tsongas Arena (978-848-6938) in Lowell on Saturday.

If you can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen: Cake, the MTV-approved comfort food responsible for several nifty novelty tunes, have a new video that does for Iron Chef what American Hi-Fi did for Heavy Metal Parking Lot. And you can bet that their love of wordplay had at least something to do with their current touring partners -- the indie-rock utensil Spoon. Spoon spend a night off headlining their own show at the Middle East on Tuesday, then get back to work across the river opening for Cake at the Orpheum (617-931-2000) in Boston on Wednesday.