Weekend Riff: Jazz at Espresso Royale, New Music Mondays, Misery Index

-Monday: Monday doesn't qualify as the weekend, but we're breaking the rules and kicking off this week's Weekend Riff with Monday, because this week marks the return of New Music Mondays. Lansing-based musician and booker Todd Karinen used to hold the original live music evening at Rendezvous on the Grand, and when that venue closed, New Music Mondays ended, as well. Until now. The night is now at Gus's Bar on West Michigan Avenue. The debut line-up includes experimental rock band Drinking Mercury (Lansing, pictured), noise-jazz band Puberty (Ypsi) and punk-experimental band Ouch Me Arse (Lansing).

"We're very excited about bringing back New Music Mondays," Karinen said. "We're just trying to keep [founder] Ken Knott's philosophy going, which is just to do shows someplace and give the people some good shows." Sahweet!!

-Friday: Metal mayhem at Mac's Bar with Baltimore, Md., metal band Misery Index (Relapse Records), as well as a local line-up that includes Dagon (Lansing "Ocean Metal") and Satyrasis (Lansing thrash). Also: Espresso Royale has opened in the old Cappuccino Cafe location, and the coffee shop hosts a jazz show on Friday.

-Saturday: Lansing based singer-songwriter Jeremy Quentin releases his debut album, Our Dusking Sound, with his solo project Small Houses at Scene Metrospace. Read an interview with Quentin here.