Daily Agenda: July 10

Milwaukee hard-rockers Father Phoenix—playing tonight at Cactus Club—appear to have one goal in life, and that is to be Deep Purple. While the band fails at pulling off a complete metamorphosis into Ritchie Blackmore and co., it sure does sound like a bunch of Jägermeister-swilling troglodytes bashing out bluesy, megaton riffs on the new Large Bodies EP, which is celebrated with this show. On the title tack, Father Phoenix sounds a bit like a drunker Wolfmother, chanting something about a “sleepy vagina”—we might be hearing that lyric wrong—over some kick-ass organ fills. Anybody else need a beer? Here’s some shadowy footage of the band performing at Cactus last winter.

If you’re looking for something even heavier tonight, you’re probably already psyched to see German band Necrophagist at the Rave/Eagles Ballroom. Necrophagist plays rapid-fire death metal that is as headbanging as it is headache-inducing. Its technical prowess, though impressive, can be overwhelming—which, for metal purists, is the idea/appeal. The band hasn’t released anything new since 2004’s Epitaph, although a yet-to-be-titled disc has been announced for sometime this year. Necrophagist headlines here with plenty of classic material and seven-string guitars, as part of the heavy-hitting Summer Slaughter tour, which features such likeminded acts as Suffocation, Dying Fetus, and Darkest Hour, to name a few.