By Jill Furmanovsky via Big Hassle

This week rocks. We have the shows that you must see.

The Violent Femmes

Thursday 7:30 pm – Mountain Winery, Saratoga and Friday 9 pm – The UC Theatre Taube Family Music Hall

The legendary punk band is back on tour with two shows in the area this week in support of their latest album We Can Do Anything; their first in 16 years. Fans can likely expect classics like “Gone Daddy Gone” and “Blister in the Sun,” but shouldn’t dismiss The Violent Femmes’ new material, which strikes a surprising resemblance to their hits from the 80’s that helped garner the band worldwide success.

The Pretenders

Friday 8 pm – The Masonic, San Francisco

The English rockers are back on the touring circuit for their second tour since 20016 after going dormant in 2012. The Pretenders helped define the New Wave sound and will rock The Masonic on Friday night with jams off their latest album Alone, which is their first since 2008, but no one will give you dirty looks for shouting out requests to play “Back on the Chain Gang” and “I’ll Stand By You.”

Deer Rick (Opening for Trampled By Turtles)

Friday 8pm – Fox Theater, Oakland

The rootsy indie-rock darlings take the stage at the Fox Theater in Oakland this Friday in support of their 2017 release Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, which saw the band attempt to reinvent the wheel by releasing two albums simultaneously. Vol. 1 contains the bands more folksy/Americana sounding tracks, while Vol. 2 is chocked full of more aggressive punk/garage rock tracks. This is Deer Tick’s first proper tour in more than 5 years, so if you’re a fan, you probably don’t want to miss out because who knows when they’ll hit the road again.

Men I Trust

Friday 8pm – Sweedish American Music Hall, San Francisco

Men I Trust is a Canadian based indie rock band that has been seriously buzzing on the internet for the past year. They became a personal favorite of mine after their early releases in 2014. The band is a wicked cool mix of 90’s alt rock sounds, blended with a heavy dose of silky smooth electro-pop. This is a band that fully embraces the D.I.Y. lifestyle by recording, producing, and mixing all their own material, but don’t mistake that for low quality; their sound is one of the slickest in the scene today.