September 07, 2016
Kelli McGuire/for PhillyVoice
of Montreal plays Union Transfer on Thursday.
Twenty years and more than a dozen albums later, Georgia band Of Montreal is still trying on new sounds. On the last month’s “Innocence Reaches,” Kevin Barnes’ shape-shifting troupe slid into the world of EDM with mixed results. To be sure, Barnes and company have never suffered from idleness — their discography is as meandering as it is prolific — but their restless experimentation hasn’t always landed upright. Ironically, the adventurous pop rockers’ best trick has been an enduring sense of self, and “Innocence Reaches” is representative of a band with a rigid core and flexible skin.
Doors 7:30 p.m. / Show 8:30 p.m. | With Ruby The Rabbitfoot | $20 | All ages
For almost every year since 2011, California label Top Dawg Entertainment has released a handful of albums from a half dozen artists, invariably producing some of the year’s most exciting hip-hop in the process. The fervor surrounding TDE, of course, belongs to its central star and one of hip-hop’s most vital contemporary voices, Kendrick Lamar. ScHoolboy Q is Lamar’s boisterous label counterpart, and his best work has been bubbling up for years, leading ultimately to his latest full-length, “Blank Face.” The new record, Q’s third, offers some of his most pop-savvy gangster rap to date.
Show 8:30 p.m. | With Joey Bada$$ & A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie | $44.50 | All ages
For the last couple of decades at least, Bruce Springsteen’s most interesting work has played out on stage. His latter-day studio recordings have lacked the genuine emotion of his best songwriting, but his live performances have never been more committed. The Boss’ already marathonic concerts have somehow gotten longer, clocking over four hours as recently as last week. A couple weeks out from his 67th birthday, the venerable Americana hero is on the verge of new material: Later this month he’ll release an autobiography and compilation album featuring five unreleased songs, next year he’ll share a new “ singer-songwriter kind of record.” But there’s an unexpected urgency surrounding this latest set of shows, and the guy known for putting it all out there has somehow mustered even more to offer to his fans.
Show 7:30 p.m. | $68-$150 | All ages
Virginia grindcore band Pig Destroyer has slowed down a bit. Their last record, an EP released in 2014, moved with a focused sluggishness, a sharp contrast to the characteristic speed that propelled much of 2012’s “Book Burner,” and the rest of their swelling discography for that matter. But Pig Destroyer will never grind to a complete halt, and the quintet’s commitment to brutally extreme heavy metal remains intact with a busy fall tour. (Philly fans can catch the guys at a rare meet-and-greet before this weekend’s show.)
Show 7:30 p.m. / Doors 8:30 p.m. | With Secret Cutter & Backslider | $17-$20 | All ages
Over the past year, Adele has pulled off one of the most charming pop star campaigns in recent memory. “25,” her commercially gargantuan third album released last fall, is morosely stuck on heartbreak, but as a celebrity the British singer has been downright chipper. The raw, affective ballads she’s built her name on have made it easy for Adele to sidle into an unusually mature form of success. And while it seems the rumors of an Adele-helmed Super Bowl Halftime performance were premature, the 27-year old is still packing stadiums with aplomb.
Show 8 p.m. | $39.95-$149.50 | All ages
In his seminal history of reggae, author David Katz grappled with the unusually singular influence of the Jamaican band The Skatalites. Despite the original band’s short-lived stint in the 1960s, the group “[holds] the distinction of being the act most closely associated with the ska form,” he wrote. “Within a year of the initial break-up of The Skatalites, a new style swept the nation: The cool and spacious sound known as rock steady.” The group reformed officially in the 1980s, helping cement their original place in Jamaican music’s history in the process. More than 50 years after the first outfit formed, The Skatalites are now a hand-me-down band made up of members largely picked by the original founders. Nonetheless, this second-hand group remains a lively legacy act that bundles up history in every performance.
Doors 8 p.m. / Show 9 p.m. | With RK$TDY & The Pandemics | $18-$20 | 21 and over
