Vampire Weekend’s hot streak continues with Vegas debut

If their name sounds like it was cribbed from some dodgy, low-budget horror film, it's because it was.

Borrowing their handle from a homemade movie their frontman made when he was a kid, Vampire Weekend thankfully don't suck like the titular fiends of said flick.

Awash in pan-global influences and a pronounced literary bent, Vampire Weekend's influences range from percussive African music to touches of classical to spry, highly self-aware indie rock.

As such, you can hear elements of the Police, Paul Simon and Pavement in their equally symphonic and understated tunes, which refract about in any number of directions, like light passing through a prism.

It's a somewhat unlikely sound that's catalyzed an equally unlikely success story: After garnering early buzz on the Internet last year, Vampire Weekend's hot streak has continued, as they were named "The Year's Best New Band" in Spin and played "Saturday Night Live" this past spring.

Check 'em out when they make their Vegas debut next week. It'll be a lot to, um, sink your fangs into.

See Vampire Weekend at 8 p.m. Monday at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel, 4455 Paradise Road. Tickets are $20; call 693-5066.

You gotta love Al Green, if only because so many of us likely were conceived to his tunes.

An ordained pastor, Green sings like a preacher at his pulpit, his voice as smooth as silk linens and just as inviting.

For a time, Green took a break from R&B and focused solely on gospel music, but these days he's back on the top of the pop charts, with his latest disc, "Lay Me Down," becoming his first album in two-and-a-half decades to hit the top 10 when it was released earlier this year.

Produced in part by The Roots' ?uestlove, the disc is a warm and organic study in classic soul that surely will put plenty of bedsprings to the test.

See Al Green at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Star of the Desert Arena, Interstate 15 South at Primm. Tickets are $38.45 and $60.45; call (800) 386-7867.

"90210" is back -- hey, at least it'll save you money in ipecac -- and though Veruca Salt and the Toadies never played the Peach Pit like the Flaming Lips did, those bands are revelling in the '90s nostalgia like the return of the aforementioned TV show.

Veruca Salt came to fame with spunky femme rock that toned down the sexual politics of the Riot Grrls and turned up the AC/DC lovin' guitars.

The Toadies broke through with a hard-edged hit, "Possum Kingdom," and then disappeared after a long-gestating sophomore album failed to gain much traction.

Nowadays, both are back in action, catering to those who grew up with "Real World" reruns and stayed up late for "120 Minutes."

Hey, Steve Sanders would've dug 'em, and that should be good enough for you.

See Veruca Salt at 10 p.m. Saturday at Wasted Space at the Hard Rock Hotel. Call 693-4040.

See the Toadies at 7 p.m. Sunday at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay, 3950 Las Vegas Blvd. South. Tickets are $25 in advance, $27 day of show; call 632-7600.

Contact reporter Jason Bracelin at jbracelin@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0476.