BLACK KEYS This rust-belt duo’s third album, Rubber Factory (Fat Possum), was recorded in a makeshift studio the guys set up in an old tire plant, which is almost too bad in a way; it’s funnier to imagine deliberately crude rattlebag stuff like this being generated bit by bit in some high-end digital emporium. Probably couldn’t happen, though–feel isn’t just a myth, after all. The band’s sound displays a few new traits, including occasional ballad-friendliness and a 70s blues-rock sense of structure: there’s more than a little ZZ Top here, and “10 A.M. Automatic” is a better rip of “All Right Now” than the entire Bad Company catalog. The Cuts (see below) open. 10:30 PM, Metro, 3730 N. Clark, 773-549-0203 or 312-559-1212, $12, 18+. –Monica Kendrick
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NORTHERN STATE So much of the press about this unlikely Long Island crew fumbles to explain why it’s OK or not OK for three white suburban girls to make hip-hop. Surprisingly little of it bothers to acknowledge that there’d be a lot fewer raised eyebrows if they were boys–the Beastie Boys knocked down that barrier during the Reagan administration. Northern State’s new All City is competent and clever, but not an awful lot more–nor is it trying to be. The band isn’t copping Timbaland power or 50 Cent cool, but rather projecting a brainy sort of charming clunkiness with a retro simplicity. Anyway, any album that has guest appearances by Har Mar Superstar and members of the Roots and Cypress Hill has to be doing something right. This show is part of Estrojam; Sini Anderson and Harriet Dodge open, and Depeche Mode tribute band Violator headlines. 10:30 PM, Martyrs’, 3855 N. Lincoln, 773-404-9494, $10. –Monica Kendrick
JILL SCOTT, FLOETRY Contentment drives Jill Scott’s long-awaited second studio album, Beautifully Human: Words and Sounds, Vol. 2 (Hidden Beach). Most of the songs by the spoken-word-artist-turned-neosoul-diva address her affection for the man she married a few years ago, and while some of her lyrics are oddly prosaic–“I can even stain and polyurethane” isn’t a line you’d expect in a love song–assured singing and tight arrangements prevent the proceedings from getting too saccharine. A few tunes tackle subjects other than matrimonial bliss: “Family Reunion” enumerates the quirks and drama of extended family, while “Rasool” personalizes gang violence. Regardless of what she’s riffing on, Scott generally nails it, packing her phrases with jazzy curlicues and never reaching for melismatic overkill.
RITCHIE BLACKMORE & BLACKMORE’S NIGHT Deep Purple cofounder Ritchie Blackmore, songbird Candice Night, and their merry band have established themselves as the premier makers of courtship music for Medieval Times regulars. Their repetitive, twee, yet indescribably infectious piping is a weird hybrid of geekish authenticity and pop blasphemy, and its continued success probably surprises Blackmore and company as much as it does me. Beyond the Sunset: The Romantic Collection is a brand-new compilation of mushy highlights from their last four albums, plus a DVD of five songs performed live just outside (surprise) a castle. The Bristol Renaissance Faire in Kenosha closed Labor Day weekend, but drop those mothballs: fans wearing bodices and poufy shirts will be let into tonight’s show ahead of plebes in jeans. 8 PM, Congress Theater, 2135 N. Milwaukee, 312-923-2000 or 312-559-1212, $30. All ages. –Monica Kendrick
CATTLE DECAPITATION Crushing, intense death metal legends-in-the-making Cattle Decapitation urge their fans to vote the right wing out of office this November after changing the cover art to their new Humanure (Metal Blade) under duress; seems some stores or distributors may have gotten squeamish about stocking the original, which depicted a slurry of bloody body parts pouring out the ass end of a cow. I doubt the change will help, frankly. Watch also for their contribution to an upcoming Birthday Party tribute album. Jungle Rot opens, Goatwhore plays third, and Deicide headlines. 6:30 PM, House of Blues, 329 N. Dearborn, 312-923-2000 or 312-559-1212, $20. All ages. –Monica Kendrick
DAVID KILGOUR In 1982 David Kilgour scrubbed his band the Clean, the fountainhead of New Zealand indie rock, at the height of its popularity, and he’s refused to be shackled by success ever since. True to form, he’s followed up his 2002 solo masterpiece A Feather in the Engine, recorded at his home studio in Dunedin, with Frozen Orange (Merge), made in Nashville with members of Lambchop; the new disc replaces its predecessor’s spacious mix and vivid lead guitar with densely layered keyboards and mellow soul grooves. But just as Kilgour gets back together with the Clean every few years, he maintains certain core values–simplicity, elegant tunefulness–throughout his work, and Frozen Orange is no exception. This is his first one-man show in Chicago. Palliard opens. 9 PM, Open End Gallery, 2000 W. Fulton, 312-738-2140, $8 suggested donation. –Bill Meyer
NOW IT’S OVERHEAD, TILLY AND THE WALL Guest appearances by Conor Oberst and Michael Stipe might give you a hint what you’re in for on Fall Back Open (Saddle Creek), the second album by the Athens band Now It’s Overhead–dour but poppy, dreamy but tame, moody yet contained, the unforgettable fire lit on Sterno. Openers Tilly & the Wall are from Omaha, and Oberst produced their Wild Like Children on Team Love, his Saddle Creek offshoot. They might be too much fun for Saddle Creek proper, what with their sing-alongs for grown-ups and their flirty, woodsy spirit. What’s more, on tour they use live tap dancing for percussion–which could improve a lot of Saddle Creek bands, come to think of it. Rilo Kiley headlines. 9 PM, Abbey Pub, 3420 W. Grace, 773-478-4408 or 866-777-8932, $15, 18+. –Monica Kendrick
