On this day in music history in 2003, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) disclosed its "plans to fight Internet piracy." The plan was to sue hundreds of individual computer users "who illegally share music files online." Hey! That worked out well, didn't it?

Scotsmen Frightened Rabbit are back at The Mohawk this Thursday, this time with Oxford Collapse and Austin's Peel. It's a FREE show, and it's early (8 p.m.), so be sure to get there even earlier; Frightened Rabbit's likely to be in high demand after their much-discussed performance on June 5 with the French Kicks last time they came through town. What is it about Scottish guitar bands that just screams atmospheric rock?

Austin's pop-punk outfit Cruiserweight is doing a CD release party in celebration of their latest EP Rocks The Moon at the Red Eyed Fly this Friday. Openers are Driver F, Kingsley, and The Scotland Yardsale. The night also represents the tour kickoff for Driver F, who will cover the nation in support of their latest release, Chase the White Whale. Tickets are $10, and Cruiserweight goes on at 12:15 a.m.

Old school Texas singer/songwriter/rocker Alejandro Escovedo is playing two (2) nights at the Continental Club this Thursday and Friday to celebrate the release of his latest record, Real Animal. He's also playing a free in-store performance at Waterloo Records this Thursday at 5 p.m. The show starts at midnight on Thursday and 10 p.m. on Friday, and all tickets will be sold at the door (no advance sales, "first come first served"). Of special note: In 2005, after having gotten over a near-fatal case of Hepatitis-C, Escovedo learned that his song "Castanets" had appeared on the iPod playlist of President George W. Bush. Upon hearing the news, Escovedo banned the song from all his live performances.

Cometh the shoegazer metal, and metal-heads rejoice. Boris, the Japanese soundscape champions on everyone's lips these days, are coming back to The Mohawk this Saturday in support of their latest release, Smile. Their music reminds us of riding Falcor into the depths of Hell through a haze of sonic dreamscapes that smell like cotton-candy ... but, er, maybe that's just us reliving some sort of childhood daydream, or something. Anyway, Torche and Clouds open. Music starts at 9 p.m.