The members of Toronto’s funk and world-influenced Mr. Something Something get intimate this Tuesday (The Palomino)

If you really need this column to help you find something to do in the next two weeks, you’re just not trying. Between Virgin Festival, the Calgary Jazz Festival and Sled Island, there’s something going on for almost any musical taste. The hardest part will be deciding whether your hard-earned dollars are best spent on an afternoon with The Flaming Lips or an evening with Wynton Marsalis. If only we had such options the rest of the year.

With all the festival hooplah, though, it’s only fair to shine a spotlight on some of the shows that are being overshadowed. Take Toronto afro-funk sextet Mr. Something Something, who’ll be at The Palomino this Tuesday, June 24. Their furious rhythms, frantic energy and razor-sharp horns make for an intense live experience, and one that’s well worth going out of your way for. Their 2007 release, Deep Sleep, was Earshot’s top world music album last year, meaning it got more community and campus radio play than any other world music album — despite coming out in October. Obviously, these guys are on to something.

Vancouver’s Tranzmitors are another weekend hidden treasure. The sharp-dressed four-piece, set to play The Marquee Room this Saturday, look like Buddy Holly and sound like a cross between Cheap Trick and The Buzzcocks. They’ll be joined by local rockers 20 Centuries of Stony Sleep and the Sub-Linguals.

Even front man Art Alexakis would probably agree, Everclear’s glory days are behind them. Still, the band’s 1995 release, Sparkle and Fade, had more depth than your average grunge knock-off, and even at their worst, the band’s biggest crime was a fondness for schmaltz. Their newest, a collection of covers dubbed The Vegas Years, sees them taking the old lounge singer tack of covering some classic tunes. Fitting, then, that they’re playing the Stampede Casino on Saturday — this self-awareness alone is reason enough to recommend the show.

Lastly, Calgary’s quartet of indie-rock wunderkinds, The Neighbourhood Council, are all set to release a new EP this weekend. Along with Azeda Booth and The Consonant C, they’ll be setting up at Olympic Plaza on Saturday — think of it as another mini-festival.