Soundadvice

Get Out!

Every couple of months/weeks/minutes, a rad indie dance band comes out of the U.K. whose twerpy sound is hardly worth changing bug-eyed sunglasses for. But as always, Making Time finds the top of the crop. This month, they grabbed hold of the shoegazing pride of St. Albans, Friendly Fires. Not only will crank-yanks tracks "On Board" and "Paris" keep you on your toes, the rest of their out-next-week eponymous Beggars Banquet label debut, will do something deeper: make you think. Ooooh. Dumb dance bands beware.

—A.D. Amorosi

Making Time presents Friendly Fires, Fri., July 25, 9 p.m.-3:30 a.m., $10, Transit, 600 Spring Garden St., igetrvng.com.

Guitarist Rick Iannacone has been an integral, if too often overlooked, thread in the Philly jazz tapestry for seemingly ever. Providing a wiry counterpoint to his frequent collaborator, the burly, dreadlocked Elliott Levin, or wending his elastic way through the dense thickets of Bobby Zankel's big band compositions, Iannacone's shock of hair and bright orange pants offer a visual analogue to his eccentrically colorful playing. But Iannacone is set to leave Philly, so the Sci-Fi series is hosting a going-away party with his long-running Interplay ensemble, with Levin and a trio of percussionists.

—Shaun Brady

Sun., July 27, 8 p.m., $5, with Brinsk, Gojjo, 4540 Baltimore Ave., scifiphilly.com.

Forget about the trial, and the other trial, and the kid dangling over the hotel balcony. This Thursday at The Fire is dedicated to Michael as he should be remembered. Among the locals covering the King of Pop: The Baptist Preachers, Oud Blues, Heather Henderson, Naeemah Phillips and The Waddsworth Sisters. Any song from any era is up for grabs and no repeats.

—Aaron Moselle

Thu., July 24, 8 p.m., $7, The Fire, 412 W. Girard Ave., 267-671-9298, iourecords.com/thefire.

The childlike drawings and cut and paste collages that adorn the Ruby Sun's second album Sea Lion tell you something about their sound. They are musical bees, cross-pollinating a variety of melodious styles (Polynesian folk, African rhythms, psychedelic indiepop) into flowering bursts of song. They subvert rather than steal, utilizing these elements as directional pointers instead of stylistic crutches. Live, the New Zealand-based band swap instruments, exchange vocals and pretty much bang on anything they can lay their hands on. This is lo-fi World music for anyone that still owns a battered old four-track.

—Kevin Pearson

Sun., July 27, 7:30 p.m., $12, with Tilly and the Wall, First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut St., r5productions.com.

The Chicago jazz scene exerts a gravitational pull on musicians seeking to evolve the continuum between composition and improvisation. (You want to reinvent the wheel these days, move to Brooklyn.) That moment when post-bop built a bridge to the avant-garde is certainly present in the music of altoist Aram Shelton, who combines the tart angularity of influences like Ornette Coleman and Jackie McLean with an expansive reach inherited from the AACM. Arrive is a quartet comprised of young Windy City powerhouses: vibist Jason Adasiewicz, bassist Jason Roebke, and drummer Tim Daisy.

—Shaun Brady

Wed., July 30, 8 p.m. $10-$12, with Matt Davis and Dan Blacksberg's New Group, Borowsky Gallery, Gershman Y, 401 S. Broad St., bowerbird.org.