Friday April 9

MUSIC | Leo Kottke

HepTunes presents this annual solo performance by Leo Kottke, singer and acoustic guitar player who has released over twenty albums and has toured all over the world. Tickets $27-29. 8 p.m. Sanders Theatre. (SLS)

MUSIC | The Wrens

After releasing one of the brightest gems from last year, The Meadowlands, their first album in seven years, New Jersey’s the Wrens have been getting a lot of much deserved attention, making this a show not to be missed. Ester Drang, the Douglas Fir and Lincoln Conspiracy will open for the thoughtful indie popsters. Tickets $10 advance, $12 day of show. 18+. 9:15 p.m. T.T. the Bear’s Place. (SLS)

MUSIC | Blonde Redhead

Expect brooding dissonant guitars and stilted lyrics from indie-rockers Blonde Redhead, the New York trio who just released their seventh album, and 4AD debut, titled Misery Is a Butterfly. Texan alt rock band Secret Machines open. Tickets $16. 18+. 9 p.m. The Paradise Rock Club, 969 Commonwealth Ave., Boston. (SLS)

FILM | Walk Cheerfully

In this 1930 gangster pic, the Yasujiro Ozu festival at Harvard Film Archive brings the Japanese version of a very familiar archetype: a criminal with a taste for movies, jazz, flappers and snappy suits. But then love walks in the door for “Ken the Knife,” convincing him to go straight, eventually leading him to a steady job as a window washer. They don’t end up together, though; he continues to stay with a girlfriend who is into dangerous men. She is bored with his new conformity and attempts to “pull him back in.” Catch quality Goddard 30 years before he began making films and marvel at the legendary “tatami shot,” in which the camera is placed at the level of a person sitting on a tatami mat. Tickets $6. 7 p.m. Harvard Film Archive. (SAW)

Saturday

April 10

MUSIC | Runner and the Thermodynamics

Boston’s retro rock band Runner and the Thermodynamics are all set to release their self-titled debut on this night of explosive guitars and no frills rock n’ roll. If the buzz they have generated around the local scene is any indication, it’ll be show overflowing with excitement and fun. Like-minded bands the Mittens, Unbusted and the December Sound also take the stage. Tickets $8. 18+. 9:15 p.m. T.T. the Bear’s Place. (SLS)

MUSIC | Ben Kweller

Whimsical Texan singer/songwriter Ben Kweller teams up with indie darlings Death Cab for Cutie for a pop-filled night that is sure to leave you feeling all gooey inside. Kweller just released On My Way, his follow-up to the irresistibly charming Sha Sha. Death Cab are touring off their Seth Cohen of the OC approved 2003 album Transatlanticism. Tickets $18. All ages. 6 p.m. Avalon Night Club, 15 Lansdowne St., Boston. (SLS)