CROUCH STOCK
Suicide ain’t no way to live. Fast, slow, or mid-paced, hara-kiri, self-destruction, self-immolation, and the like are not cool. Each week over 100 young people take their own lives in the United States. Thus it is good that we have The Jacob Crouch Foundation raising awareness about the devastating reality and prevalence of suicide in our society. Jacob Crouch Foundation is a local non-profit organization working toward erasing the stigma of suicide; volunteers visit local area high schools to talk about the seriousness of this issue, discuss warning signs and encourage students to look for signs and help others at risk. Crouchstock is the annual fundraising effort of the Jacob Crouch Foundation. This year they’ve got the crater-banging power pop of Cowboy Mouth and “the hardest working band in the New Orleans,” The Topcats, providing the live music for the day. Both bands are high energy pulsation mashers with industrial degrees in electrical-pharmaceutical masonry and crowd pleasing, respectively. Be there at Parc International on May 1. All proceeds raised here in Acadiana help support educational programs aimed at suicide prevention and awareness. Food and beverages will be available. Admission is $10. Free before 6 p.m. For more info, call 234-1828.

LIL’BUCK
Local god of torque and twang, Lil’Buck Sinegal returns to the Blue Moon to do his thing. Raised in Veazay, reared on the roots, Lil’Buck honed his chops with Buckwheat Zydeco and Lee Allen Zeno, playing the brown butter of blues. He’s the “master of the Stratocaster” who pulled magic from the mud plug of frozen flames with his bare hands. Lil’Buck plays Blue Moon on May 1.

DAX
Louisiana’s own dark star Dax Riggs returns to Grant Street on May 1. If you like your rock and roll dark and dangerous rather than wimpy and friendly, go check him out. Juliaan Primeaux opens the show.

SKILLET HEAD
Rocking ain’t just for the devil, buster. Christians like to do it, too. While all stripe of rabid and horny heathenish hellfire boys have cultivated the flame of heavy metal and hard rock for the past three or four decades — owning it like mad Vikings, celebrating at the top of Black Death Mountain, shooting up, smoking out, and drinking down — Christians have been quietly noodling away, looking for a way into the Stone Castle of rock & roll. Sometimes they get in (Creed), but end up addicted to the Reaper’s seeds and rolling around the muck-caked floors of the slaughter house. It’s a tricky ride if you want to rock and roll. You have to write good tunes, play shows, and watch out for the Dirt County Sleazers — because they’ll put you into jail! It looks like the Tennessee modern rock band Skillet is the latest of the Christian kind to climb the frosted summit of the pop charts. Over the past 13 years, Skillet has played hard rock, industrial rock, and symphonic rock — wisely forgoing the glockenspiel metal trend of 2006-06. As of March 2010 they have sold 1.6 million albums worldwide. People like this stuff. And they will pay to see it. Skillet plays the Cajundome on April 29.

ANTLERS DOWNTOWN, BABY!
Don’t forget about Antlers! Johnny Walters gets mad at me when I don’t throw him some ink, so here’s to you, buddy. A Lafayette tradition since 1921, Antlers has been serving up great food and fun to Louisiana for a lot of years. They specialize in authentic Cajun cuisine, but they also got some cool cooks in the back who don’t mind cooking you up a burger or some fried mushrooms. They’ve got a lot of live music going on, too. Every night after Downtown Alive!, you can walk on over to Antlers and the place will be packed with humanoids. This week you can see the power pop rock of Slack Jaw Jane right after DTA wraps up on April 30. Go get it.

ETC
True Man Posse bring the Creole-reggae and the Haile Selassie vibe to Downtown Alive on April 30… Don’t forget about Antlers after DTA...On April 30, Jake Smith throws his CD release Party with the Preservation at the Blue Moon…On April 29, there will be a Crawfish Fest Kick Off Party with Corey Ledet at the Blue Moon… Grammy Award-winning country music artist Suzy Bogguss will be performing at The Gougenheim in New Iberia on April 30 at 8:30 p.m. Her music ain’t bogus. It’s country… Joe Hall and The Louisiana Cane Cutters and Cedric Watson and Bijou Trio play Artmosphere on April 30…The Nouveau String Band plays Café des Amis on April 28. Go check it… Myka Relocate, Chasing Autumn, Weapons of Mass Seduction, and Redemption Hill play the all-ages club The Underground Sea in New Iberia on April 30.