Friday26
DEMENTED ARE GO Since 1982 this off-and-on London psychobilly band has careened through a B movie-worthy history full of drinking, breakups, and (on one occasion) front man Mark “Sparky” Phillips getting thrown in jail while wearing a silver dress and pink tiara. Live albums have been their recent medium of choice, and that’s probably for the best: songs like “Love Seeps Like a Festering Sore” and “Pervy in the Park” are cases better made to responsive crowds than the staff at a recording studio. Demented Are Go U.S. tours are rare, making this show the best chance to hear Phillips’s Cramps-inflected, souped-up Hasil Adkins warble in its proper setting. Street Brats and Massacres open. 6 PM, Bottom Lounge, 3206 N. Wilton, 773-975-0505 or 800-594-8499, $10. All ages. –Monica Kendrick
TOM JONES Confronted with the chains, chest hair, and trouser bulge, most are ready to dismiss Tom Jones as the leather-lunged embodiment of Vegas kitsch. Yet Jones’s deep and varied catalog argues for his gifts as an interpretive singer, from the tortured soul of 1964’s “Chills and Fever” to the lusty swagger of 1999’s “Sex Bomb.” Highlights and missteps alike (see the inexplicable “The Young New Mexican Puppeteer”) are collected on last year’s fine four-disc overview The Definitive Tom Jones: 1964-2002. Since then Jones has teamed up with former Squeeze keyboardist and BBC TV presenter Jools Holland for an album exploring their mutual passion for classic blues, R & B, and early rock. Legendary for delivering the goods live, the 64-year-old Welshman still does; although the Sunday show is sold out, tickets remain for the rest of the stand. 9 PM, House of Blues, 329 N. Dearborn, 312-923-2000 or 312-559-1212, $65. See also Saturday and Sunday. –Bob Mehr
MONSTER TRUX In September Craig Garber, the 32-year-old drummer (and manager) of local skate-punk institution Monster Trux, died in a construction accident. The long-standing and justifiably beloved band won’t continue without him; their final gig (with Matt Koschak of the Elvi and Extra Credit Assignment on drums) serves as the close of a chapter and a public memorial. Twenty Four Frames (for which Garber also drummed), Magnetic, Premium, the Elvi, Extra Credit Assignment, and Vacation Bible School open. 9 PM, Double Door, 1572 N. Milwaukee, 773-489-3160 or 312-559-1212, $10. –Monica Kendrick
SKINDRED The premise behind this Welsh band sounds dubious: dark reggae harnessed to a nu-metal-industrial-techno supercharger. But on the evidence of their debut album, Babylon (Lava), it works surprisingly well. On full-bore tracks like “Nobody,” the riffs and words merge rhythmically and irresistibly, and though the chrome polish wears off on the lesser material, sheer energy and an influx of musical and lyrical influences from South Asia and the Caribbean keep things lively. Korn and Breaking Benjamin headline; Instruction opens. 7 PM, Aragon Ballroom, 1106 W. Lawrence, 312-666-6667 or 312-559-1212, sold out. All ages. –Monica Kendrick
Saturday27
BLANCHE Detroit quintet Blanche has made the most of its White Stripes connection–the two bands have toured together, and killer pedal steel player Dave Feeny worked on that Loretta Lynn album Jack White produced. But even though White guests on their debut, If We Can’t Trust the Doctors . . . (V2), the Stripes have little influence on Blanche’s dark alt-country sound, which falls somewhere between the Handsome Family, the Gun Club, and the Tindersticks. Husband and wife Dan and Tracee Miller sing interlacing duets that vibrate with both love and hate, and the songwriting’s mighty splendid even if it’s not terribly distinctive yet. But the band borrows well: a dour, pine-box-funeral version of “Runnin’ With the Devil” is a hidden track. The Kills headline, Judah Johnson opens. 10 PM, Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western, 773-276-3600 or 800-594-8499, $12. –Monica Kendrick
TOM JONES See Friday. 9 PM, House of Blues, 329 N. Dearborn, 312-923-2000 or 312-559-1212, $65.
STAN MOSLEY Chicago native Stan Mosley’s most recent album, last year’s Good Stuff (Mardi Gras), showcases his Bobby Womack-influenced vocals at their most insinuating. The title tune, “Let’s Get It On,” and “Do Me” are effectively breathy, sweet-and-sour meditations on erotic bliss; on “Beat Down” he gives his voice an Al Green-like sheen as he offers an abused woman romantic sanctuary and then promises (with no apparent irony) to kick her tormenter’s ass. But the album’s production sounds phoned in: its beats are tepid, its female backing vocals are almost laughably delicate, and riffs and lyrics are borrowed from a half-dozen familiar sources. It’s a tribute to Mosley’s gifts that the CD still resonates with passion and emotional depth. Little Milton headlines; Jesi’ Terrell, Howard Scott & the World Band, and MC Travis Brown open. 9 PM and midnight, East of the Ryan, 914 E. 79th, 773-488-1000, $30 in advance, $37 at the door, food included. –David Whiteis
Sunday 28
TOM JONES See Friday. 9 PM, House of Blues, 329 N. Dearborn, 312-923-2000 or 312-559-1212, sold out.
Tuesday 30
DEEP BLUE ORGAN TRIO It’s been a long time coming, but Chicago Hammond B-3 specialist Chris Foreman has finally released his own recording, Deep Blue Bruise (Delmark). He first joined forces with guitarist Bobby Broom and drummer Greg Rockingham in the early 90s, but the three gigged together only sporadically until early last year, when they landed their current Tuesday-night slot at the Green Mill. The trio truly came into their own there, and their superb debut captures their classic attack; Rockingham swings crisply and Foreman injects his lines with gospel-driven funk, patiently building his solos like a preacher working his flock into a sanctified lather. Broom’s fluid, contemporary style, which he brings to masterful arrangements of pop hits like Prince’s “Raspberry Beret” and Earth, Wind & Fire’s “Can’t Hide Love,” gives this old-school group a modern edge. 9 PM, Green Mill, 4802 N. Broadway, 773-878-5552, $6. –Peter Margasak
Thursday 2
PATTERSON HOOD It’s been a joy to watch Georgia’s scrappy Drive-By Truckers build themselves into a serious force over the last half-decade or so. With their three most recent albums–Southern Rock Opera, Decoration Day, and The Dirty South–the Truckers have helped articulate southern identity for the indie-rock generation. At the same time their talent pool has gotten almost embarrassingly deep, with a front line of three singer-guitarists generating firepower worthy of Lynyrd Skynyrd or Blue Oyster Cult in their prime. In 2001, amid the band’s heavy touring and recording, de facto leader Patterson Hood made a solo album, Killers and Stars; much bootlegged since, it’s finally out for real on New West. Expect a moodier, eerier sound from Hood at this one-man show. 7 and 10 PM, Schubas, 3159 N. Southport, 773-525-2508, $12. –Monica Kendrick
TEGAN & SARA So Jealous (Vapor), the fourth album from this sister act, gets a long way on charm. The sibs twitter like birds in harmonies that layer like sun-kissed clouds, elevating the songs from their mundanely chorded roots. They evoke the mood swings of adolescent passion with an almost unseemly luminousness: “What I figured out / Was I need more time to figure you out,” they sing on “Fix You Up.” Splendid mediocrity. Rachel Cantu opens. 10 PM, Double Door, 1572 N. Milwaukee, 773-489-3160 or 312-559-1212, $10. –Monica Kendrick