Sound Investments

Time to think about getting back to normal. The annual summer blitz of festival bills in big venues is winding down, and that bloated, force-fed feeling that comes with a seven- to 12-hour menu of music can begin to subside.

Urp.

To celebrate, here’s another in Calendar Weekend’s periodic guides to getting the most out of your pop-music entertainment dollar. Willing to brave the clubs and dives? Satisfaction awaits for no more than $10 a night.

The Muffs. Not a band to play a nice, tidy, efficient set and be done with it, the Muffs tend to be a little . . . volatile.

Kim Shattuck has, however, toned down her trademark screaming eruptions on “Happy Birthday to Me,” the third album by this L.A.-based band of O.C. expatriates. Her hooky songwriting flips a coin between ‘60s-pop wistfulness and ‘70s-punk obstreperousness and winds up calling it both heads and tails.

Shattuck and ex-beau Ronnie Barnett, the Muffs’ bassist, have one of the more interesting friendly enemy relationships in rock ‘n’ roll, which may be why Shattuck’s song protagonists can never make up their minds whether to give a significant other a kick in the pants or a tender caress.

Don’t tease the performers, whatever you do; the last time I saw the Muffs, Barnett responded to some obnoxious fan behavior by trying to harpoon the offender with his bass. Call him Ahab.

9 p.m. tonight. With Chixdiggit, Groove Ghoulies. Club Mesa, 843 W. 19th St., Costa Mesa. $9. (714) 642-8448.

Beaumont / Lunar Rover. Besides having both grown up in northwestern Orange County, Mike Martt of Beaumont and Jon Melkerson of Lunar Rover share a common overriding theme: How does Everyperson face life’s cruelties, humiliations and pair-of-deuces deals of the deck and still cling to dignity and a reason to go on?

Martt has evolved from a punk rocker to an honest, sympathetic portraitist who understands the heart it takes to live the tattered, street-level life. The Celtic-folk-tinged Low & Sweet Orchestra is Martt’s main vehicle; he’s moonlighting in Beaumont with help from violinist Jonathan Segal, whose fiddling in the ‘80s helped the excellent Camper Van Beethoven burn.

Melkerson has fronted three O.C. bands since the late ‘80s, all of them superb. Lunar Rover, in which Dan Lawrence provides a strong guitar foil to fretmeister Melkerson, packs even more punch than Eggplant and Eli Riddle and allows Melkerson to pursue his productive addiction to Television (not the tube, but the classic underground guitar-rock band) without restraint.

The bill also features a good, developing melodic-rock band, Exit, and a return engagement from lounge jesters Lovingkindness.

9 p.m. Friday. Linda’s Doll Hut, 107 S. Adams St., Anaheim. $6. (714) 533-1286.

Delphines. The Lilith Fair was the most satisfying of the all-day summer fests, but I couldn’t help thinking it needed the extra spark and raucous bite of something just like the Delphines.

With former Go-Go’s members Kathy Valentine on guitar and Gina Schock on drums and Dominique Davalos providing garagey glamour as bassist and main singer, the Delphines can lure you in with infectious tunes, knock you back with aggressive playing and win you over with their evident pleasure in playing straight-on, blues- and pop-based rock ‘n’ roll.

Also featured is Pinwheel, the new incarnation of the Trouble Dolls, worth catching to check out the latest from front-man John Surge, who has a crafty way with a rough-edged, pure-pop song.

9 p.m. Saturday. With the Measles and the Relatives. King Arthur’s Pub, 7821 Westminster Ave., Westminster. $6. (714) 895-9143.

The Crowd. Virtually everyone who’s into Orange County punk rock is following the Crowd.

This isn’t a snide aspersion against musical herd instincts in our trendy little pasture, but a simple statement of fact.

The Crowd gathered force playing parties in Huntington Beach backyards in 1978, became the first O.C. band to land on an influential compilation album (1979’s “Beach Blvd.”), recorded some cult-classic songs that came 15 years too soon to be the hits they ought to have been (especially “Modern Machine” and “Right Time”) and are still at it making records and playing spirited shows.

Singer Jim Decker, guitarist Jim Kaa and drummer Dennis Walsh remain from the early days; with recent additions Brad Logan and Mike Rouse, the Crowd advances toward its 20th anniversary.

9 p.m. Saturday. With the Shutdowns, Welt and Peace Corp. Linda’s Doll Hut, 107 S. Adams St., Anaheim. $6. (714) 533-1286.

Big Sandy and His Fly-Rite Boys. Robert “Big Sandy” Williams and his cohorts were swingin’ long before swing meant a thing to trend-jumpers.

The Anaheim band’s music, heavily influenced by Western swing, is faithful to its long-ago sources, yet fresher than virtually everything being played on modern-rock radio.

Williams is a slyly witty songwriter with a warm handshake of a voice, and his “Boys” fly right, indeed, with some of the sharpest, most interactive playing you’ll find in any style. “Feelin’ Kinda Lucky” is the latest in their series of worthwhile CDs.

8 p.m. Saturday. With the Torquays and South Paw Johnny and his Right Hand Men. Galaxy Concert Theatre, 3503 S. Harbor Blvd., Santa Ana. $10. (714) 957-0600.