In most cases, opening acts are little more than a grind on the knees and feet. Meanwhile, smoking-break escapes from such bands are boon to cigarette manufactures, and Pabst Blue Ribbon owes much of its hipster cred to showgoers in need of cheap relief after a young band’s shaky live performance. Very few shows—aside from summer festivals—will field a lineup as satisfying as tonight’s bill: No Age, Abe Vigoda, and High Places. All three built followings the old fashioned way, by gently tweaking rock conventions and playing all-ages shows. No Age and Abe Vigoda excel at making guitars interesting again and made their bones in the sweet spot of the Los Angeles underground: the all-ages art-space the Smell. No Age warms its feedback with bright melodies; Abe Vigoda pixelates its guitars into sheets of clean and bent notes. The effect is almost dreamy. High Places, a Brooklyn duo, update one of the most maligned genres—twee—with kitchen-sink Afro-pop beats (mixing bowls struck with mallets is listed as one of the group’s not-so-secret methods). The performances begin at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 8, at the Rock and Roll Hotel, 1353 H St. NE. $12. (202) 388-7625.