Friday, July 7

Billy Price, Cat’s Cradle

Billy Price describes what he does as a niche market. That’s just a nice guy way of saying that he does a job as a soul man that many aspire to, but few white guys from Philly ever achieve. Price is no wannabe, as he’s got the real stuff and has been laying it out there for over three decades. Now it’s an avocation instead of a vocation, but even part-time he’s still as good as any of the classic soulmen. Come early: Word has gotten around of the intensity of his last appearance, and he’s sure to fill the joint up this time around. $15-$18/9 p.m. –GB

Blue Dogs, Brooks Wood Band, The Pour House

The Blue Dogs make Southern rock that’s as tasty as a glass of sweet tea on a muggy day. Whether it’s singing about drinking in a cosmic salon with cowboys at the end of a rodeo or losing their sweetheart, these Charlestonians create a sound that is genuine and organic, running in the same vein as classic Southern-rockers the Allman Brothers and Skynyrd. Raleigh natives the Brooks Wood Band start up the show with their own mix of bluesy-funk jazz. $10-$12/10 p.m. –KJ

David Quick, Bynum General Store

If you didn’t get acquainted with David Quick when he led the greaser punk band Jack Black, you might know him from his guitarist-for-hire stints in Hobart Willis’ Back Forty and other local bands after his move to the Triangle. Or maybe you’re familiar with the annual Elvisfest and Heavy Rebel weekend, two events founded by Quick. The common denominators are cranked-up guitars and a healthy sense of history. $3-$7 donation/7:30 p.m. –RC

Joe Romeo & The Orange County Volunteers, Erie Choir, Local 506

“Wearing Me,” the primo cut from former Fake Swedish frontman Joe Romeo’s first major batch of recordings with his new O.C., sounds a little like the Byrds cutting a Band song in Motown, a stoner-smile haze floating through a smart, hook-centric pop arrangement, a chorus of friends bearing the weight of its world-weary disciple. Philadelphia’s Adam Acuragi is big on alliteration but bigger on grand-scope singer-songwriter fare (that is, David Dondero, not Burt Bacharach), busking on his acoustic guitar’s major chords and minor personal questions tackled for major meaning. Erie Choir fits the middle of the bill. $6/10 p.m. –GC

Saturday, July 8

The Spin Doctors, Mood Cultivation Project, Moore Square Park

Who- or where-are-they-now seems to be the theme of Raleigh’s Downtown Live series. The Spin Doctors had their five minutes of fame in the early ’90s with a jam/pop/groove sound propped by great hooks. “Little Miss Can’t be Wrong” sounded like something out of Chuck Berry’s closet, and “Two Princes” got stuck in your head whether you liked it or not. Show up to find the answer: Where do jangly hippies go when the hits stop? The Connells provide local nostalgia. Free/2-11 p.m. –GB

Kyler England, Cole Guerra, The Pour House

L.A.-by-way-of-Raleigh singer/songwriter Kyler England (who must have a separate closet for all of her songwriting competition awards) has shared far-flung stages with artists ranging from Sting and Melissa Etheridge to Liz Phair and Avril Lavigne. On this night, she’ll return home to share one with Durham’s Cole Guerra, whose excellent Scarves & Knives offers moody, dusky pop that could serve as a soundtrack for psychoanalysis. $8-$10/7 p.m. –RC

Neil Hamburger, SNMNMNM, Local 506

Rupert Pupkin, the tragic comedian in King of Comedy, stole everything from Neil Hamburger, or maybe vice versa. The premise of Gregg Turkington’s Hamburger is pure Kaufman, too–a bow-tied wash-up with a combover from Nowheresville who makes off-color one-liners and has it all go wrong. But his pitiful character can’t disguise Turkington’s comic timing and knack for badly funny jokes. Get in front for “Zipper Lips.” $8/10 p.m. –CT

Tuesday, July 11

Petticoat, Petticoat, Early Morning Swim, Glissade, Wetlands

Lexington, Ky.’s Petticoat, Petticoat is a thinly veiled front for a pop princess waiting to happen: Kristin Messina. One look at the promo pictures tells the whole story: Messina in a low-cut dress, hoisted above the rest of her all-male band, decked out in nondescript formalwear. Then, of course, there’s the music, Messina’s hearty voice way up in the mix, everything else subdued in a near Okkervil River rock-grass stance, but way less disheveled. But that’s no reason to fault her. With these boys or not, Messina’s gonna make it. $6/8 p.m. –RM

Wednesday, July 12

Ozomatli, N.C. Museum of Art

Ozomatli is like seven blind men describing an elephant. Even if it would hold still long enough for an examination, you still couldn’t get to the true essence of it. Afro/Latin hip-hop funk is a pretty good working title, but five seconds after you slapped that label on it, you’d be trotting after it trying to scrape it off as it ran away laughing at you, bits of ska, jazz, reggae and salsa peeling off. $15/8 p.m. –GB