SATURDAY
Ryan Adams and the Cardinals, 8 p.m. at Chicago Theatre, 175 N. State St., $27-$35, 312-462-6300
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Even when Ryan Adams records aren’t tremendously interesting, he’s so utterly flawless at being an effete artist-brat that it’s impossible to not pay attention. His debut, “Heartbreaker” (Bloodshot) was a dumbfoundingly perfect record, so much so that roughly a zillion half-good records later, his audience still awaits a repeat. Instead it’s been like watching a high school kid try to find himself: the Grateful Dead phase, the punk phase, the drunk bad-boy phase. Strangely enough, his latest, “Easy Tiger” (Lost Highway) may signal a return-to-form: mature, sweet country. Songs such as “Tears of Gold” — he owns it. Others evoke the work of early ’80s soft-rocking wonder Christopher Cross (of “Ride Like the Wind” fame). Hey, at least he’s keeping us guessing.
World/Inferno Friendship Society, 8:30 p.m. at Logan Square Auditorium, 2539 N. Kedzie Ave., $12, all-ages, 773-252-6179
Thanks to the popularity of Arcade Fire, it’s not uncommon to see bands up on stage nine-strong — the fad of the mini-orchestra rock band is well upon us. All those zither-come-lately crews got nothing on New Jersey’s World/Inferno Friendship Society, who have been rolling sometimes 17-members deep for over a decade. Their first trip through Chicago, the ragtag band outnumbered the audience they drew at the Fireside Bowl; word of their ferocity, powerful horn section and flawlessly configured gypsy-punk weirdness — and I seem to remember a lady “playing” a long leather whip — guaranteed packed crowds from then on. A decade later, the band remains fun and frightful — they’re shows feel like some hell-bent “revue” — as consummate entertainers as you can find in the underground. Frontman Jack Terricloth is a ruthlessly sharp-tongued wit and commands the stage like a tent evangelist, though in his tight suit and slicked hair, he looks like a punk rock Fuller Brush salesman. Their latest album, “Red-Eyed Soul” (Chunksaah), is a party record that busts at the seams.
No Age, 10 p.m. at Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western Ave., $15, 773-276-3600
Amid a usual-suspects lineup of this year’s Adventures in Modern Music series is the don’t-miss set of the year — L.A.’s No Age. In a relatively short period of time, the noisy pop duo has gone from being a band to a religion: They are undoubtedly the centerpiece of Los Angeles’ scene explosion. In the mere nine months since they began releasing records they’ve done singles and EPs releases with six of the coolest U.S. and U.K. labels going and just inked a multialbum deal with Sub Pop. Listening to the compilation of those singles — “Weirdo Rippers,” which was just released by Fat Cat — the band’s energy is palpable and unrepentant. Scraggly melodies, waves of guitar fuzz, a hail of loose pounding — their fiery dichotomy of aggression and pop pledges allegiance to L.A.’s halcyon punk heyday as well the classic California pop the proceeded it … though the band would probably puke at the suggestion that they are of anything other than the here-and-now.
TUESDAY
Bat for Lashes, 10 p.m. at Empty Bottle. $12, 773-276-3600
Perhaps, like me, you missed Bat For Lashes’ Chicago debut earlier this summer — though your friends certainly didn’t and since then, they will not shut up about how unexpectedly transcendent it was. Alas, British chanteuse Natasha Khan and her band of merrywomen are back. Bat For Lashes’ debut, “Fur and Gold” (Caroline), has won an easy spot in hipster hearts Stateside as it’s the intersection of the two hot-now sounds: the girl-group revival and nouveau folk. The album borrows some of its bleak emotional resonance and mood from popular trip-hop icons such as Massive Attack and Portishead, though Khan has a thin, airy voice and favors handclaps over electronic beats. Live it’s purportedly her and three other model-beautiful hippie girls, playing wonderfully spooky enchanted-forest pop.
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