Concert Previews

It's not Mardi Gras time, but so what? Here's a chance to catch two of New Orleans' greatest musical ambassadors on one bill, as they team for the Mardi Gras Mambo Tour. The Neville Brothers - Art, Charles, Aaron and Cyril - long ago established their reputation as the Crescent City's First Family of Funk, mixing earthy R&B, soul and gospel grooves with Aaron's ethereal tenor. Perhaps they'll also perform something from Cyril's strong new solo album,

Brand New Blues.

Dr. John, meanwhile, angered by what has happened to his beloved native city in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, has been making some of the most inspired music of his career. On City That Care Forgot, winner of the 2009 Grammy for best contemporary blues album, the Good Doctor sees corruption, conspiracy, and neglect. But he and his band, the Lower 911, set it all against the kind of spicy musical feast that makes you care about New Orleans in the first place.

- Nick Cristiano

If

melodic punk

sounds like an oxymoron, you haven't heard the Bouncing Souls. For 20 years now, the Jersey quartet's airtight anthems have inspired untold amounts of fist-pumping and pogoing. Despite its no-nonsense propulsion, the band consistently displays heart, smarts, and a deadpan wit. To celebrate the two-decade mark, the Bouncing Souls have spent this year releasing a new digital tune every month, as well as a quarterly installment of vinyl singles. And for this two-night blowout at the Troc, which includes support slots from the equally seminal bands 7 Seconds and Lifetime, there will be a screening of a filmed "anniversary special." Very few bands reward their fans with such gusto.

- Doug Wallen

Led by the unassuming Roland brothers (lead vocalist Ed, 46, and rhythm guitarist Dean, 36), Atlanta-based rockers Collective Soul have managed to ride out countless musical trends since their mega-selling 1993 debut,

Hints, Allegations, and Things Left Unsaid.

While this decade saw an end to their string of anthemic, guitar-driven chart-toppers (singles "Shine" and "The World I Know" among them), Collective Soul's "Tremble for My Beloved" - included on last year's

Twilight

movie soundtrack - seems to have opened up a whole new (tween-aged) audience for the band, which will release its eighth studio effort,

Collective Soul (Rabbit)

, next week. Recorded at Ed Roland's Georgia lake house (the process became the subject of opening track "Welcome All Again"),

Rabbit

(as devotees are calling it) sounds decidedly inspired - from the rousing first single, "Staring Down," to the contemplative closer, "Hymn for My Father." There should be a lot of good energy onstage tonight as Collective Soul treats its now multigenerational audience to a mix of old and new.

- Nicole Pensiero