Soundadvice
Nowadays, his name is often linked to his musical offspring, Rufus and Martha. But Loudon Wainwright III has always been a stand-alone talent, enthralling audiences for decades with his prickly wordplay, wry social commentary and understated pathos. His comedic stage presence can sometimes seem to overshadow his immense songwriting talent, but not by much. Wainwright's latest album, Here Come the Choppers!, unflinchingly tackles everything from the absurd state of our nation's politics, to overbearing admirers, to love — which, in true Loudon fashion, he likens to a lesion.
Sun., Nov. 26, 7:30 p.m., $31-$34, with Melody Gardot, World Café Live, 3025 Walnut St., 215-222-1400, www.worldcafelive.com.
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You've seen British people with funny insignias and slogans on their T-shirts make glossy, catchy dance music. Frankie Goes to Hollywood ring a bell? Take that level of slick contagion and make it vicious in that slashing post-punk way y'all like — that's ¡Forward, Russia!'s Give Me a Wall debut CD. Yelping, cackling singer-songwriter Tom Woodhead even names his danciest tracks numerically. How much easier can loving ¡Forward, Russia! be?
Wed., Nov. 29, 9 p.m., $10, with Snowden and Hail Social, Johnny Brenda's, 1201 Frankford Ave., 215-739-9684, www.johnnybrendas.com.
With little left to say about the rude sexsensational headliner Peaches, let's focus instead on Nathan "N.J." Whitey and his rude, lush, bedroom laptop pop-hop. Though accompanied on tour by a messy band filled with sequencers, records like The Light at the End of the Tunnel Is a Train are all himhimhim. And he manages to fill his songs with the wide, synthy production of ye old Beach Boys, while mired in the neurotic soul-hop of Gnarls Barkley. No joke.
Sat., Nov. 25, 8 p.m., $17-$20, with Peaches and Mr. Quintron & Miss Pussycat; after-party in the Balcony with David Pianka and Rory from Trash in London, free, The Trocadero, 1003 Arch St., 215-922-5483, www.thetroc.com.
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With a name like that, this five-piece Scottish-Canadian band sure sounds a heck of lot better than it should. Known for their high-energy live shows — Saturday's World Café Live appearance is being filmed — Enter the Haggis is touring to plug its latest disc, Soapbox Heroes (United Opportunity), helmed by multi-Grammy-winning Neil Dorfsman. Claiming to include more than 15 musical genres in its mix — with rock, bluegrass, agitpop, Latin and folk among them — ETH grooves on experimentation and sonic flexibility, while retaining a passion for the Celtic music that holds it all together.
Sat., Nov. 25, 7:30 p.m., $14-$16, with Patrick's Head, World Café Live, 3025 Walnut St., 215-222-1400, www.worldcafelive.com.
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For Louis Hayes, maintaining the legacy of his former boss, Julian "Cannonball" Adderley, and his brother Nat, has a lot less to do with performing the brothers' music than it does with perpetuating their sense of hard-charging swing. And Hayes is uniquely equipped to do just that, having provided the propulsive backbeat for the Adderleys during some of their most productive years.
Fri.-Sat., Nov. 24-25, 8 and 10 p.m., $30, Chris' Jazz Cafe, 1421 Sansom St., 215-568-3131, www.chrisjazzcafe.com.
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Carah Faye's crisp voice, Chad Petree's Ocasek-like guitars and Jeremy Dawson's cleanly wheezing synths are snap-crackling their way through the heavenly dancefloor in my memory banks. Think Pulsations new wave nights, or Emerald City, or even Milk Bar. I mean, "Le Disko" — they're going to play that at my funeral. Though not everything on their CD, We Are Pilots, is as exceptional as "Disko" (or for that matter, the sci-fi frenetic "When They Came for Us"), it's a nice start.
Thu., Nov. 23, 7 p.m., $16, with The Sounds, North Star Bar, 27th and Poplar sts., 215-787-0488, www.northstarbar.com.
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