E-Mail This Article to a Friend Hot rock Sleater-Kinney at the Roxy, a treat for those of you not yet sick of Kaiju Big Battel and more

Hot rock

Sleater-Kinney have parted ways with Kill Rock Stars, the label that’s released the band’s past four albums, beginning with their 1997 breakthrough Dig Me Out and culminating in 2002’s post–September 11 magnum opus One Beat. And though they’ve yet to sign with a new label, they’re writing songs for their next album and will preview some of them on a tour that hits the Roxy, 279 Tremont Street in the Theater District, on April 25. The group have also finally gotten around to creating their own Web site; check out www.sleater-kinney.com. Sub Pop punks the Thermals — whose sophomore album, Fuckin’ A, is due in stores May 18 — open the Roxy date. It’s 18-plus, and tickets are $16; call (617) 931-2000.

Monster squad

Saddam may be in custody, but the nefarious Dr. Cube is still on the loose, and an army of mutant soup cans, insects, vegetables, and other culinary weapons of mass destruction are battling for control of the universe. Yes, Boston’s gift to the worlds of Japanese monster movies and pro wrestling, Kaiju Big Battel, are back with another evening of skyscraper-smashing mayhem. Coming off a year that saw the premiere of Kaiju’s MTV special and their publishing debut, Kaiju Big Battel: A Practical Guide to Giant City-Crushing Monsters (Hyperion), they’ll bring the pain to Avalon, 15 Lansdowne Street in Boston, for a May 1 showdown with music by Allston indie-punk stars Officer May. Tickets go on sale this Friday, March 26, at 10 a.m.; call (617) 423-NEXT.

Speed kills

Chicago speed-rap phenom Twista spits consonants the way James Hetfield used to play rhythm guitar: fast, hard, and technically flawless. As such, he’s a frequent guest star better known for form than for content, and he’s reduced to playing second fiddle on his own hit single, "Slow Jamz," where the line that’s gotten all the press — "She’s got a light-skinned friend looks like Michael Jackson, she’s got a dark-skinned friend looks like Michael Jackson" — goes to producer Kanye West. Not so on the rest of the long-delayed Kamikaze (Atlantic), where Twista’s ballistic, quadruple-time histrionics cut through cameos by R. Kelly, Too Short, and TI. Striking while the single’s still hot, Twista shows up at Avalon, 15 Lansdowne Street in Boston, on April 15; call (617) 423-NEXT.

In bloom

The Museum of Fine Arts heralds the coming of spring — we don’t care what the calendar says; it ain’t spring till the snow melts — with its 28th annual "Art in Bloom" exhibit, for which go-getting local flower folk put the culture back in agriculture by creating gardens of earthly delights based on works in the MFA’s collections. On view April 25 through 27, the three-day visual feast also features lectures, demonstrations, and workshops for the high-minded floral-arrangement enthusiast, as well as an outdoor flower market. The MFA is at 465 Huntington Avenue in Boston, and tickets are $15, which includes a return admission to the galleries within 30 days; call (617) 369-3395.