“16 Shots” MC Battle — April 29 at SDSU, 8 p.m., $16

In the wake of UCSD b-boy mania, we need some word games to put the rap back in hip-hop. Illuminari Entertainment (behind the Pub’s recent dance-off) has packed up the party and unloaded at San Diego State’s Montezuma Hall, where a 16-contestant MC battle is set to go down. This time, Asian sensation Jin Tha MC will take a turn on the mic, and underground get-around man DJ Fingaz will coax the disses from behind the turntables. From Jin, expect comebacks like “Ask your girl / She had my egg rolls and my dumplings in her mouth” — he fights the onslaught of stereotypes, but can’t resist occasionally using them in his favor. (SW)

Dungen — May 1 at the Casbah, $14/21+

The Swedish are best known for their stinking herring and their rock ‘n’ roll — either death metal or the by-the-numbers pop-rock that’s fun, but soon fades from the top of the playlist (see Hives, Hellacopters). Dungen are neither. Sounding somewhere between a forested freak-out, early Floyd and a bit of campfire guitar, these strange Swedes manage to make it all sound brand new. For most bands that look up to Syd Barrett’s sugar cubes and Jethro Tull’s flutes, it’s hard enough to make an album that can’t be bested by something from a ’60s bargain bin. But then again, they aren’t Dungen. (CBN)