Friday18
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ALVIN YOUNGBLOOD HART Critics peg Alvin Youngblood Hart as a rootsy bluesman, but rootsiness can be a complex thing. Robert Johnson spiced his performances with everything from polkas to pop tunes, and Hart’s oeuvre accommodates western swing, electric urban blues, and covers of the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, and Captain Beefheart. An inventive guitarist, he regularly improvises on blues chord structures and scales, and as a singer he’s capable of shifting away from the swampy sensuality of down-home tradition. On his most recent album, 2002’s Down in the Alley (Memphis International), he returned to the Mississippi Delta, attacking blues and folk chestnuts by Charley Patton, Son House, Leadbelly, and others with a blunt urgency that makes them sound like modern-day dispatches. Rory Block headlines. 8 PM, Old Town School of Folk Music, 4544 N. Lincoln, 773-728-6000 or 866-468-3401, $22, $18 seniors and kids. All ages. –David Whiteis
LES GEORGES LENINGRAD The purposely half-baked ideas on this Montreal outfit’s previous record, Deux Hot Dogs Moutarde Chou, made it tough to swallow, and their charmingly retarded “petrochemical rock” fell a little flat last time they were here. On the new Sur les traces de Black Eskimo (Alien8), fuzzy bass, shimmery keyboards, and spacey ringlets of tart ‘n’ twangy guitar surround Poney P’s vocals, which have three distinct modes: pained yelling, tortured screaming, and bobcat-in-a-cave howling. But overall the album is less rickety and more dancey than its predecessor, with its standard-issue disco beats either ridiculously blown out or so dead and muted they sound like they’re being played through a pillow–the band shouldn’t have trouble keeping the crowd moving this time. The Dirty Things open. 9 PM, Open End Gallery, 2000 W. Fulton, 773-276-3600 or 800-594-8499, $10. All ages. –Liz Armstrong
Tuesday 22
HEARTLESS BASTARDS On its debut, Stairs and Elevators (Fat Possum), this Ohio trio specializes in a raucous, molasses-thick, garage-boogie crunch. Front woman and guitarist Erika Wennerstrom has the kind of voice that deserves to be described in language employed by single-malt-scotch nerds, and it’s the band’s best asset; the songwriting isn’t distinguished yet, though Wennerstrom’s willingness to go it alone on piano for one song on the album is a good sign. Living Blue (formerly the Blackouts) and Addison open. 8 PM, Bottom Lounge, 3206 N. Wilton, 773-975-0505 or 800-594-8499, $8 in advance, $10 at the door. –Monica Kendrick
