The All-American Rejects are one of those bands that you probably know, even if you don’t know that you know them.
The scruffily attired, slickly produced pop-rock group writes the type of ear worms that get played continually on pop radio and grocery store sound systems.
The band, which headlines the Showbox SoDo at 7 p.m. Saturday, first cracked onto the charts a decade ago with the rocking crossover hit “Swing Swing.”
Subsequent tracks like “Move Along” and “Dirty Little Secret” are all the type of songs that most people will recognize, and maybe even enjoy, even if they struggle to name the band responsible.
The group is touring behind its new album, March’s “Kids in the Street,” which debuted at No. 18.
Tickets are $25 at showboxonline.com or 888-929-7849.
The same venue will host an icon of the 1980s at 8 p.m. Friday night, when Billy Idol plays the SoDo for a fan, Michael Henrichsen.
Henrichsen was working as an intern for the Everett Silvertips two years ago when he decided to try to get Idol to play a show in Seattle for his birthday. He started a website and snagged celebrity endorsements to attract Idol’s attention. And it worked.
Henrichsen’s affinity for Idol isn’t unusual. The bleach-blond pop-punk singer hasn’t faded in popularity. His greatest hits collection, released in 2001 and featuring the hits “White Wedding” and “Dancing with Myself,” continues to land on the Billboard charts more than a decade later.
Idol’s Seattle show for Henrichsen sold out in about a week, and will feature Henrichsen’s own Idol cover band, Nite Wave, as an opening act.
Deep-pocketed fans may still find tickets at a significant mark-up at stubhub.com.
The SoDo’s sister venue, the Showbox at the Market, will host another long-lasting act on Halloween, when the Toadies play at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
The Toadies scored a big hit in the mid-1990s with “Possum Kingdom,” a twisted little song about love and murder that was included on the group’s debut album, “Rubberneck.”
Despite that early success, Interscope Records shelved the band’s sophomore album, unimpressed with the batch of songs. The group seemed destined to be a one-hit wonder.
Flash-forward more than a decade. The band’s fans remained, and so did the Toadies. The group unearthed those shelved songs, and independently released them on the album “Feeler.”
The group is now touring behind another new record, “Play.Rock.Music,” and will share the bill during its Seattle show with the alt-metal act Helmet.
Tickets are $20 at showboxonline.com or 888-929-7849.
A few smaller market shows also will hit the Neptune Theater in Seattle over the course of the next week.
First, singer-songwriter Sera Cahoone will play the venue at 8 p.m. Friday night. The low-key singer is touring behind “Deer Creek Canyon,” her second album for Seattle’s Sub Pop Records.
Tickets are $15 at stgpresents.org or 877-784-4849.
Then, the critically adored indie electronica artist Dan Deacon will headline the Neptune at 8 p.m. Saturday, as he continues to tour behind his latest album, “America,” which crept onto the Billboard 200 this year at No. 147.
Tickets are $13 at stgpresents.org or 877-784-4849.
Finally, the high-energy, much-loved indie pop duo Matt &Kim will play the Neptune at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
The group — Matt on keyboards, Kim on drums — is touring behind its new album “Lightning,” but don’t be surprised if they also play their gold-selling hit, “Daylight.”
Tickets are $22 at stgpresents.org or 877-784-4849.
Andy Rathbun: arathbun@heraldnet.com.
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