Music A-List

Station 4

Original co-billed headliners Decapitated won't be at Station 4 on Sunday, thanks to a tragic October 29 collision in Belarus that totaled the band's tour bus and claimed the life of drummer Witold "Vitek" Kieltyka four days later. (Singer Adrian "Covan" Kowanek remains hospitalized.) But even minus Polish technical death-metal prodigies, the lineup is rife with dicey enchantments. Amon Amarth walk an unusual path for Scandinavians in metal. Like dozens of other bands from Bergen to the Faeroes, the sole remaining headliners identify as Viking. But, rather than skewing black and/or folkish like most of their co-religionist colleagues, the Swedish quintet wrap lyrics informed by the Norse belief system around robust, melodic death metal. (They also bang their heads in unison live!) Seattle-based Himsa are quickly becoming one of America's most formidable thrash bands. While not yet exactly themselves, melodic death-metal openers Sonic Syndicate show considerable promise. All ages. $18/$20 at the door. 5:00 p.m. 201 E. Fourth St., St. Paul; 651.298.0173. —Rod Smith

Hanson

Steve Gullick

Some celebs have their own S&M dungeons, but Richard Hawley has a whole amusement park

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First Avenue

A couple of years back on an episode of Family Guy, resident hound Glenn Quagmire, after being informed that Taylor Hanson was, in fact, a guy, copped to having "posters and magazines and...oh my God!" In short, Hanson had become a huge punch line. Yes, they were a little girly, and they blew up and fell back to Earth in what seemed like only a matter of weeks, so it's hard not to poke a little fun. So what do you do to combat being considered washed-up by the general public by the time you reach middle school? Well, the Hanson boys (Taylor, Zac, and Isaac) kept on making music, of course. It just went unnoticed by the masses—in short, they went about their lives as if they never had been caught in the blindingly bright klieg lights of fame for even a few seconds. All of them are now married (between Taylor and Isaac they have what conservatively seems like 14 children), but the show goes on—albeit to far fewer people. It seems to suit them just fine, and in interviews over the past few years they seem to wish "MMMBop" could simply be erased from history as much as the rest of us do. 18+. $25/$30 at the door. 7:00 pm. 701 First Ave. N., Minneapolis; 612.332.1775. —Pat O'Brien

MONDAY 12.10

Lemonheads

Varsity Theater

Sometime around the early '90s, the Lemonheads, a Boston trio with solid punk-pop origins, were flirting with next-big-thing status amid mainstream media's fascination with indie rock. Evan Dando, who had by then essentially become the Lemonheads, thanks to a revolving cast of bassists/drummers, had been officially declared a beautiful person by People. Despite a smattering of solid albums, it all fell apart, at least partially due to Dando's personal excesses. During a Lemonheadless decade, Dando cleaned up, recorded a low-key solo album, and engaged in such curious projects as fronting the resurrected MC5. Dando revived the Lemonheads last year, with bassist Karl Alvarez and drummer Bill Stevenson (both ex-Descendents), and an eponymous disc (on Vagrant) full of assured, melody-rich rock that charges along with purpose and style. Dando's charismatic voice floats over the scurrying mix with dark though effervescent lyrics, while the band's flowing propulsion—amended here and there by Dinosaur Jr.'s J. Mascis and the Band's Garth Hudson—never falters. 21+. $16/$20 at the door. 7:00 p.m. 1308 Fourth St. SE, Minneapolis; 612.604.0222. —Rick Mason