There is only so long that we’re going to be able to hold out before the entire list of the week’s picks will be outdoor venues. Well, that’ll probably never happen until they dome the roof at Paradise and we can rock under the stars. We are, however, ecstatic about the warmer temperatures and the daylight which stretches until late – it helps us gear up for the night’s show. After a weekend of arts and fests it’s time to keep the momentum going. And in case you forgot that’s mass times velocity – since we’re working on the bathing suit body for the summer we’re going to have to work to keep the pace up. If anyone wants to calculate the momentum of our "air pick" as we're wailing our "air guitar" with signature roundabout strokes we'll give you the measurements.

Tuesday 5/9
The Casual Lean
Allston Rock City plays host to the group outta the whaling capital of – well, New Bedford, MA. They’re not quite Rhode Island and they’re not quite Massachusetts and they may not have a phone - but they’ve been rocking their way around the Hub and we’re digging on their sound pretty hard. Hail Social, Army of Me and Shelby are also on the bill.
Great Scott
$8, 9pm
The Casual Lean: MySpace | Exploit Boston Listing

Verona Downs
The Verona Downs residency @ the Lizard with Choo Choo La Rouge & the Dreadful Yawns.
Lizard Lounge
Verona Downs: myspace

Lifestyle
Synth-heroes Lifestyle continue their residency with the latest incarnation of Cassette (nee "We are Cassette" and "Eject", briefly).
Abbey Lounge
Lifestyle: myspace

Wednesday 5/10
Dave Douglas Quintet (also Thursday)
Dave Douglas is one of Bostonist's favorite jazz trumpeters musicians. Widely considered one of the most inventive and exciting voices in jazz, Douglas leads several groups focusing on a dizzying array of styles -- from electronica infused avant garde to jazz funk to Balkan and Eastern European Jewish folk music. He's also one quarter of John Zorn's free klezmer unit Masada (one of the best quartets playing today). Catch Douglas, who studied at Berklee and the NE Conservatory in the early '80s, with his quintet featuring Donny McCaslin (saxes), Uri Caine (fender rhodes), James Genus (bass), and Clarence Penn (drums).
Regattabar
$24, 7:30pm
website | wikipedia | blog | purchase

The Boston Pops play Elvis Costello
This week, Symphony Hall is more brash than burnished, as the Boston Symphony begins to prepare for its summer season at Tanglewood and the Boston Pops move in to liven things up. Elvis Costello is the featured composer in this season opener, which will feature his first full-length orchestral work, Il Sogno (The Dream).
Symphony Hall
6 p.m., Sold Out
The Boston Pops
"I'm just making music": Elvis speaks about Il Sogno

Thursday 5/11
Pretty Girls Make Graves
PGMG's most recent album tries to convince us they're not *that* emo. We'll check out the show to see if they convince us.
With, Giant Drag, The Joggers
Middle East Downstairs
Pretty Girls Make Graves: myspace

Friday 5/12
Ad Frank and the Fast Easy Women
After catching their free set at Mayfair, we'd still pay to see more of Ad Frank and the Fast Easy Women.
Aslo appearing: Gene Dante and the Future Starlets (CD Release), The Sterns, The Glass Set
Middle East Upstairs
Ad Frank and the Fast Easy Women: myspace

Pat Martino Quartet (also Saturday)
A major voice in the soul jazz scene of the '60s and early '70s, guitarist Martino made a remarkable comeback in 1987 after spending years recovering from a brain aneurysm. Since then this "legend of acid jazz" has knocked out a series of great albums and contributed to ?uestlove's Philadelphia Experiment. On his latest CD, Martino pays tribute to one of his heroes and early mentors – Wes Montgomery. Check this modern master with Scott Robinson (drums), Gregory Ryan (bass), and Rick Germanson (piano).
Regattabar
$25, 7:30 & 10pm
website | wikipedia | "Sunny" live performance video from YouTube

World Premiere of Guillermo Klein's Solar Return Suite, feat. Bill McHenry
Guillermo Klein, composer in residence at MIT and former Berklee student, premieres his Solar Return Suite with the MIT Wind Ensemble and saxophonist Bill McHenry, a rising star in the New York jazz scene. Klein's Una Nave, performed with his large ensemble Los Guachos, was among the New York Times' top ten jazz albums of 2005. As the NY Times' Ben Ratliff notes, Klein's compositions contain everything from "brass choirs, Cuban rhythm, fugue-like passages, talking, whistling, mechanical repetitions over a groove and bits of aerated rock" (plus the folk melodies of his native Argentina). The MIT Wind Ensemble also performs three other works including Michael Gandolfi's Vientos y Tangos and Bernstein's Profanation from "Jeremiah, Symphony No. 1."
MIT's Kresge Auditorium.
$5, 8pm (7:15PM Demonstration/Lecture by Guillermo Klein)
Guillermo Klein: website | Purchase

Saturday 5/13
Air Guitar Championships
Rocks Off Presents: USA AIR GUITAR CHAMPIONSHIPS BOSTON ROUND. If you think you can faux-shred with the best, you can still sign up at boston@usairguitar.com.
Harper's Ferry

Convivium Musicum
This fledgling choir is one of the most superb early music groups going. They are led by the extraordinary conductor and violinist Scott Metcalfe in a program featuring Victoria and other composers of 16th-century Spain. If the prospect of taking the commuter rail isn't exactly appealing, you can catch them next Saturday and Sunday in Cambridge and Brookline, but be warned, these shows sell out early, and with good reason.
Trinity Lutheran Church, Worester
8 pm, $15, $8
Convivium Musicum: Website
Audio sampler of Convivium: Listen

Dmitri Hvorostovsky
The dishiest baritone EV-er at last comes to Boston. Hvorostovsky, also known as the Siberian Tiger and the Barihunk, brings a program of songs by Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, Duparc and Rachmaninov, although, quite frankly, he could easily have gotten by with a program of the telephone book. Any telephone book.
Jordan Hall
8 p.m., $61, $51, $41
Bank of America Celebrity Series: Listing
Unofficial Hvorostovsky fan site

Sunday 5/14
Mogwai
Slow core specialists Mogwai, with Torche.
Avalon
Mogwai: myspace

Sigur Ros
It's been a few years since we found out that there are other cool things from Iceland, beside Bjork. We still can't pronounce their name, but we look forward to shouting out a proximation on Sunday.
Bank Of America Pavilion
Sigur Ros: myspace

Wally's Jazz Jam
End your weekend on a good note with Wally's traditional Sunday sit-in jam session or jazz-funk set. Get your jam on.
Wally's
5-7 pm -- Traditional Sit-In Jam Session
9pm-1:30am -- Wally's Stepchildren Jazz Funk Gig

Lora Valente, Matt Durutti, and C. Fernsebner, and Christina Linklater contributed to this list