[Wednesday, October 22] Randy Newman only records about one non-soundtrack album per decade, probably because his trenchant political pieces remain relevant for years after theyaE™re released. Economic crisis? 1974aE™s aEœMr. President (Have Pity on the Working Man)aE has proven to be a popular request on this tour. Problems overseas? Newman performed the brutally nationalistic satire aEœPolitical ScienceaE on The Colbert Report, some 24 years after it appeared on his album Sail Away. His stage banter alternates between spontaneous wisecracks about crowd behavior and honest revelations (he admits he wrote aEœI Miss You,aE a poignant lament, aEœfor my first wife while I was married to my secondaE) that suggest heaE™s occasionally as emotionally conflicted as his beleaguered characters. Moore Theatre, 1932 Second Ave., 443-1744. 8 p.m., $29.50 - $49.50. All ages. Listen to Mr. President (Have Pity On The Working Man).

[Thursday, October 24] Listening to the recent output by German quartet the NotwistaE”which marks its 20th anniversary next yearaE”youaE™d never for a second believe the band got its start two decades ago as something between hardcore punk and thrashy jazz-metal. Sometime in the mid-aE™90s, however, the founding Acher brothers (singer-guitarist Markus and bassist Michael) began to embrace both gentler, more elegantly arranged indie-pop and the kind of electronics favored by the more playful, melancholy side of IDM and techno. Neumos, 925 E. Pike St., 709-9467. 8 p.m., $15 adv. Listen to Good Lies.

[Thursday, October 23] You may not know who cellist Lori Goldston is, but chances are you've already heard her play. A staple Seattle musician, Goldston has performed with K Records artist Mirah, local experimental quintet Ribbons, in her own Balkan influenced group the Black Cat Orchestra, and most notably on Nirvana's 1993 Unplugged album. Usually in pop music, the cello is used to add a dash of color or texture to a song, to accentuate what's already there. But with Goldston, every now and then you get to hear the instrument's full range and depth. Chapel Performance Space at the Good Shepherd Center, 4649 Sunnyside Ave. N., 789-1939. 8 p.m. $5-$15. All ages.

[Thursday, October 23 Kamelot has always embraced a baroque European aesthetic, and since 1998, the Florida-based band has had a real Norwegian, singer Roy Khan, at the helm. Khan sounds a lot like Geoff Tate, which, in addition to the groupaE™s keyboard-generated symphonics, means that this concert might bear some sonic resemblance to QueensrA¿cheaE™s orchestra gig back in August. However, KamelotaE™s broadsword slices significantly deeper into the progressive realm, both in terms of virtuosity and fantastical content. If only Lancelot and Guinevere couldaE™ve heard these tunes: Headbanging to power metal would surely help star-crossed lovers release their frustrations. With Edguy, Waking Hour. El Corazon, 109 Eastlake Ave. E., 381-3094. 7 p.m., $28 adv, $30 dos.

[Friday, October 24] Friends of quiet music should already know about the Q Cafe, an all-ages venue that, for its size, hosts some of the most polite, reverent audiences in Seattle. In fact, it might just be the best place to hear all of those gorgeous folk bands who've been cropping up like dandelions in the Northwest as of lateaE”bands whose sets can be ruined by too much chatter. But what makes this Friday's line-up extra-special is the addition of Portland outfit Mimicking Birds, once the pseudonym under which Nate Lacy performed his whispery songs. Lacy's vivid, poetic imagery works well in it singer/songwriter incarnation, but recently he added backing musicians, guitarist Tim Skellenger and drummer Aaron Hanson; their accompaniment should correspond nicely with Lacy's literary flourishes. Q CafAc, 3223 15th Ave. W. 9 p.m., $7. All ages.

[Friday, October 24] As if there weren't enough reasons to love Ted Leo, his explosion on Sarah Palin during a Liz Glover interview was pretty impressive: [The election]'s taken an insanely scary turn, and it shows just how frightened we actually need to be... I can't believe that we've descended into such a state... where we actually consider voting for these people to be running our country. All politics aside, the music TL/Rx puts out sure is great; the hybrid rock and roll sound is all LeoaE™s own, and his observant lyrics reveal the caring, politically-aware person behind the riffs and dance beats. With Against Me!, Future of the Left. Showbox at the Market, 1426 First Ave., 628-3151. 8 p.m., $21 adv, $24 dos. All ages. Listen to Where Have All The Rude Boys Gone.

[Saturday, October 25] Semitic music of the Jewish persuasion has gotten more than its share of attention from the avant-jazz scene. Projects like Hasidic New Wave, John ZornaE™s Masada, and countless others have made Eastern European shtetl harmonies and Americanized klezmer into practically a marker of the aEœdowntownaE style. More recently, Arabic sounds have begun to exert equal fascination, and while I donaE™t know a damn thing about this tradition, I suspect it would be hard to find someone engaging it in a more profound and inventive fashion than Amir ElSaffaraE™s Two Rivers Ensemble. The Triple Door, 216 Union St., 838-4333. 7:30 p.m. $20. Listen to Khosh Reng.

[Saturday, October 25] IaE™m kinda kickinaE™ myself for missing the Felice Brothers show here in Philadelphia a couple of weeks ago, especially after hearing from a few folks that the groupaE™s soulful blend of early Dylan and the Band was better and more magical than nearly all the other approximately 19 bazillion artists aping Dylan and the Band nowadays. Formed just a couple of years ago in the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York, the three Felice brothers (Simone, Ian, and James) recorded songs in a chicken coop, then lugged their acoustic guitars, accordions, drums, and rough-but-immensely-appealing voices to Manhattan, where they busked in subways until Conor Oberst came a-callinaE™ and signed them to his Team Love label. With Deer Tick. Chop Suey, 1325 E. Madison St., 324-8000. 9 p.m., $12 adv.

[Sunday, October 26] I donaE™t know about you, but I was a bit disappointed by last yearaE™s Under the Blacklight, the fourth album from Rilo KileyaE”the long-running Los Angeles band co-fronted by singer/multi-instrumentalist Jenny Lewis. In pushing aside their flair for warm, rootsy indie-pop, exchanging it with slick New Wave-y sounds and sleaze-pop grooves, it felt like the band was moving too far away from their well-honed strengths. No such disappointment for LewisaE™ brand-new second solo album, Acid Tongue, which arrives two years after the gospel-y, Watson Twin-ned Rabbit Fur Coat and finds our heroine getting her aE™70s Laurel Canyon country-pop singer-songwriter on. The new material is so good, in fact, that any notion of Rilo Kiley dissolving and Lewis pursuing this solo thing full-time doesnaE™t seem like that much of a bummer. With Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band. Showbox at the Market, 1426 First Ave., 628-3151. 7 p.m., $25. All ages. Listen to Acid Tongue.

[Monday, October 27] Clarence Greenwood is everywhere and nowhere. Turn on the television or go to the movie theater, and youaE™re certain to hear his driving choruses or melodic refrains leit motifing all kinds of popular culture (see Entourage, Teton Gravity Research, Acura commercials, and others). Greenwood, who records under the name Citizen Cope, also represents a chameleonic musical everymanaE”he plays guitar, the keys, sings, and DJs (his initial foot in the door). Which is why, even with a burgeoning fan base, he still flies under the category-craving radars of many. His current stripped-down acoustic tour (staged with a complete mock living room) has received twitterpating reviews acknowledging how well his live sound holds up to his records, striking a careful balance between romantic and political, soulful and sparse, emotive and detached. Benaroya Hall, 200 University St. 8 p.m., $32.50-$35. All ages. Listen to Let The Drummer Kick.

[Tuesday, October 28] Spinto Bands's latest effort, Moonwink, combines a manically melodic energy with restrained pop smarts that wave out slightly on the British tip (which may be why the Brit press has gone completely gaga over these lads.) Much of the credit for reigning and honing the Spinto's POW, BOOM, ZAP has to be given to producer/engineer Dave Trumfio (Wilco, Mates of State), and mix master Tchad Blake (Tom Waits, Cibo Matto) who applied the right amount of twinkly mellowness to the already wisely-crafted, textured tunes. Live however, I hear the Spinto Band can go off like a middle school kid whoaE™s missed two days of ADD meds, so be prepared (or self-medicated) for a beautifully blissful spazz-o-rama! With Frightened Rabbit, Colonies. Chop Suey, 1325 E. Madison St., 324-8000. 8 p.m., $10 adv., $12 dos. All ages.