Contributors: Grant Britt, Rick Cornell, Grayson Currin, Rich Ivey, Kathy Justice, Chris Toenes, Eric Tullis

Wednesday, October 11

Built to Spill, Camper Van Beethoven, Helvetia, Cat’s Cradle

Built to Spill released their exceptional sixth full-length, You in Reverse, in April, but were forced to cancel their tour due to the inopportune eye surgery of singer Doug Martsch. Five months later, a post-op Martsch and company return for two nights of indie rock bliss. They’re joined by college radio legends Camper Van Beethoven and the ex-Duster space pop group Helvetia. See it all at the Cradle on Thursday, too. $18-$20/ 9 p.m. RI

Thursday, October 12

Village Green, The Purrs, Local 506

Pointing out The Kinks similarities for a Portland band called Village Green is redundant enough: Village Green writes right-on rock hooks with sweet singing, sweeping tube-amp tones and Mersey-soul drums. You probably knew that. But such description is flagrantly reductionist, as well: The duo manages to manifest Ray Davies adoration without pretense and, somehow, with a simultaneous understated snarl. The Purrsall tremolo tremors and minor chord semi-psychedelic changessound more like Fastball than Galaxie 500, even if that’s not the way they intended it. Stratocruiser opens. $7/ 10 p.m. GC

Jim Lauderdale, The Pour House

Releasing two records simultaneously, one with the tongue-in-cheek name Country Super Hits Vol. 1 and the other succinctly titled Bluegrass, could seem a might ambitious. But when you’ve had your songs done by Vince Gill, the Dixie Chicks and Patty Loveless, and you’ve recorded with the legendary Ralph Stanley, as Nashville stalwart Jim Lauderdale has, it’s more gift for the faithful than leap of faith. $10-$12/ 8 p.m. RC

Another Tombstone Dream, Kolyma, Dirty Little Heaters, Kings

Crusty and loud and ugly, Another Tombstone Dream chews guitars, drums and bass and spits them out in manic, happily obnoxious clusters. Get close and feel the love. Kolyma comes acid-washed and free, nervy aggression funneled into twisting alleyways folding into not-right angles with mathematical imprecision. Durham visitors Dirty Little Heaters get savage with guitar and drums, lightning garage rock pushed from the back by thunderous booms. 10 p.m. GC

Friday, October 13

The Sammies, A Rooster for the Masses, Barbarella, Local 506

Charlotte’s The Sammies don’t get too complicated with their rock, opting for the direct verse-chorus with a little foot-stomping that drives everything. Raleigh’s Rooster have a chip on their shoulder about today’s political quagmire, and express it in pointed songs fleshed out with jittery guitar work. Barbarella’s a new Chappie trio who claim Boris as a major influence. Go figger. $6/ 10 p.m. CT

Shawn Colvin, Brandi Carlile, Lincoln Theatre

Shawn Colvin’s 1996 hit “Sunny Came Home” earned her a quick-and-dirty pigeonhole among the Lilith Fair set, though a decade without a single has meant that most who owned her A Few Small Repairs barely remember. Still, her latest, These Four Walls, is gorgeous, warm, swaying tones wrapping Colvin’s deep-chill voice and words of not-quite-resigned despair in blankets of beauty. Columbia is still looking to make Seattle’s Brandi Carlile famous. Ten years ago, at the Dawn of Lilith, she would have been bigger than, say, Meredith Brooks. $25-$30/ 8 p.m. GC

Del Tha Funky Homosapien, Cat’s Cradle

What sort of emcee crouches onstage and flips through his Moleskin while the rest of his touted Hieroglyphics crew performs in regular b-boy fashion: that is, parading around the stage, just rapping? Del Tha Funky Homosapien does. He’s also made real hit-records with make-believe musicians (Gorillaz), surfaced and recorded under the intergalactic doppelganger Deltron Zero (Deltron 3030), waxed hygienically and advised you to “wash yo’ ass” (Both Sides of the Brain), comically and presciently humiliated the fictional poseur Bob Dobalina (I Wish My Brother George Was Here), andwith an affably august, Pentium Pro flowcrystallized the West Coast’s hip-hop universality. Oh yeah, he’s Ice Cube’s cousin. Can’t you see the similarities? Mike Relm, Motion Man, Bukue One and A-Plus all open. $16-$18/ 9:30 p.m. ET

Sloan Wainwright, Helios Six String Cafe

Musical genealogy buffs will spot some familiar names on Sloan Wainwright’s family tree: She’s the sister of Loudon Wainwright III and aunt of Rufus and Martha, plus there are Suzy Roche and Kate McGarrigle leaves labeled “sister-out-law.” Those connections might get your attention, but what the New York Times describes as her “earth mother voice” will keep it. (She’s also doing a Forty Acres house concert on Oct. 14.) $5/ 8 p.m. RC

Saturday, October 14

Benefit For The Piedmont Wildlife Center: The Backbeat, Cat’s Cradle

Rickenbackers? Check. Pointy boots and mop tops? Check. Spot-on four-part harmonies for a good cause? Well, yes, Chapel Hill’s The Backbeat have got the Beatles songbook down and in this fundraiser, they’ll play two sets by the Fabs. They’ve been at it a while, sporting a musical lexicon unlike most tribute groups. $10/ 8:30 p.m. CT

The Tourist, Danny Vaugh, Mike Dillon, Bickett Gallery

A crop of locals take solo acoustic turns: Hunter MacDermut, at least, has a bit of an advantage. Until recently, his music as The Tourist was almost always an individual affair. But, during his last Bickett set, he took turns with sidemen, yet another affirmation that he’s picking up more confidence in presenting his fantastic songs, or at the type of stuff that allows one to offer those songsoften gorgeous, nearly withering tides about being tossed about the world and pushing pastwithout feeling like a voyeur-in-reverse. Danny Vaughnnow active in DMVB and Noncanon, which began as a solo Vaughn projectwill play, along with Spader’s Mike Dillon. 10 p.m. GC

The Furniture, Felt Battery, Nightlight

Philadelphia’s The Furniture is one guy named Jordan and whoever plays with him at any given point: It’s prettily fucked-up major chord folk, like Nick Drake songs wired on coffee and baked with pot, pretty melodies bent in the middle and scuffed on the surface by whatever soundmaker (theremin, contact mics, loose-skin drums) is nearby. Hearing Hillsborough’s Felt Battery is somehow reminiscent of listening to the world go by, like riding with the windows down and autumn sun shining in: mimetic blurs and shifty perception. Also, Cassette Concret, To Kill a Petty Bourgeoisie, Cristal and Dandelion Fiction. $5/10 p.m. GC

Lil’ Ed & the Blues Imperials, Blue Bayou

“Used to be, you had to be a rough beatnick to have the blues,” says Lil’ Ed. “But nowadays, people know the blues ain’t just all old guys like Old Blind Melon Willie being beat by a whip, or working in cotton fields all dayit’s a part of life and living.” Ed demonstrated that in a hilarious appearance with Conan O’Brien accompanying him on guitar and “interpreting” Lil’ Ed’s lyrics. The nephew of J.B. Hutto, Lil’ Ed & the Blues Imperials play fiery Chicago blues inspired by Hutto and influenced by Elmore James, Albert Collins and Albert King. $22-$27/ 9:30 p.m. GB

Sunday, October 15

Say Anything, mewithoutYou, Piebald, Days Away, Cat’s Cradle

When Superchunk opened for the Get Up Kids on their 2002 tour, people were a bit confused. “Who the hell is Superchunk?” was more prominent than “Who the hell are the Get Up Kids?” Piebald opening for Say Anything and mewithoutYou is somewhat similar to that situation, but sparks a different question among many music fans: “Who cares?” $12-$14/ 7 p.m. RI

Buju Banton, Lincoln Theatre

Popular dancehall artist Banton nearly became more known for a 1992 homophobic song, “Boom Bye Bye,” and his 2004 alleged assault (practicing the violence he was preaching) than for his own music. But he moved into roots reggae, seemingly away from the violent scene in dancehall circles. He remains a widely known Jamaican singer, here and in Europe. With Assassin. $27/9:30 p.m. CT

Hit & Run Bluegrass, Big Fat Gap, The Pour House

Lately, popular modern bluegrass has undergone some serious twists and folds to distance itself from traditional fare. But here’s a glitch in the system: Boulder-based quintet Hit & Run Bluegrass is young, fresh and sticking to tradition, an anomaly in the grasscat circuit of youngsters vying for that spot on CMT. Lonesome harmonies over flat-picked guitar and standard strings (i.e. mandolin, bass, banjo, dobro) combined with tight arrangements and handspun harmonies make past-tense sound like present with sure-fire movement toward the future. Chapel Hill’s Big Fat Gap open the set. $5/ 7 p.m.KJ

Monday, October 16

Boxbomb, Summer Sorcerer, Yearling, New Me, Cat’s Cradle

Let’s call this show a “hearts on parade” sampling of the Triangle’s latest rock balladeers. Durham’s Boxbomb holds steady with piano-laden emo-tinged pop fare, while Raleigh’s Yearling and the New Me bring their hardcore post-grunge flavor similar to that of Taking Back Sunday to the mix. Bring on the boys in black. $7/ 8:30 p.m. KJ

Golden Arm Trio, Bickett Gallery

Graham Reynolds is 35, yet he’s finishing his fifth symphony and leading his Golden Arm Trio (more of a collective than a trio and touring this time as a quartet) around the country for a tour behind the soundtrack for Richard Linklater’s A Scanner Darkly. Reynolds spent a year and a half working on the score, and the results are as powerful as they are varied: Stretching between austere post-classical string swells and junk-house electronics, Reynolds’ ideas indicate a young composer worth relishing. 10 p.m. GC

Wussy, The Cave

This collaboration between Ass Ponys main man Chuck Cleaver and siren candidate Lisa Walker may have the same folk-rock foundation as Cleaver’s old outfit, but from there it spins off in directions even more daring and delirious. Call them a Richard and Linda Thompson for the new millennium or for a dissonant heartlandyour choice. 8 p.m. RC

Hank Williams III, Lincoln Theatre

Hank III is as raw-boned and rebel-eyed as his pop, and he’s capable of the same hellhound-haunted rural croon as Hank the Original. But with his various heavy side projects like Assjack and Arson Anthem, he can also summon a screaming storm that will send those hounds yelping back to their hell crates. Extreme metalists PsyOpus open. $14-$17/ 8 p.m. RC

Wednesday, October 18

Big Sandy and His Fly Rite Boys, Cat’s Cradle

Don’t say retro. It’s real ’50s rock ‘n’ roll, rockabilly with soul and a backbeat that’ll kick your ass all over the dance floor. And when you’ve worn yourself out, grab a shot of Tequila and cozy up to the stage to hear Big Sandy croon. The past was never this good: With the Fly Rite Boys as your pilots, it’s a smooth cruise backward. $10-$12/ 8:30 p.m. GB