[Friday, October 17] To all you mothafuckas that juss can’t tellaE¦I’m a pisces but I’d rather be a killa whale. Or so the San Francisco underground rapper told us while still under the moniker of Dre Dog in the mid-nineties. Known as Andre Nickatina ever since, he’s steadily delivered an album-per-year pace of catchy ghetto gems like AyoaE that reverberate across frat house parties and inside headphones. Nickatina spins urban tales of Frisco Bay, looking for the next smoke session, the next girl, the next beat for his laid back vocals to blend with. Studio Seven, 110 S. Horton St., 286-1312. 8:30 p.m., $25 adv, $28 dos. All ages. Listen to Ayo.

[Friday, October 17] While the vocals of singer Nicholas Delffs of the Shaky Hands sound immediately like a Bright Eyes/Neutral Milk Hotel mashup, he owes a bigger debt to the Talking Heads. The Portland bandaE™s new album, Lunglight, offers both instrumental and vocal comparisons to the 1980s pop group. With lyrics like Well everything must not be making sense and We are living in war time (aEœLife During WartimeaE), both lines from Lunglight’s second track, Loosen Up, Delff makes some direct nods to the Heads. On top of this, Loosen Up lopes along with syncopated guitar work, congo drums, and cow bell, making it a convincing outtake from Remain in Light or Speaking in Tongues. His songs are shot through with optimism and positivity, encouraging the listener not to fall prey to the sheer alienation felt by so many of his peers. With the Acorn, Ohbilou. Tractor Tavern, 5213 Ballard Ave. N.W., 789-3599. 9:30 p.m., $10. Listen to We Are Young.

[Saturday, October 18] Newgrass this is not. Ralph Stanley’s primitive mountain soul predates even bluegrass pickers. Those relative upstarts have been around since the 1930s and 40s, but Stanley’s plaintive soundaE”and the 81-year-old Stanley himselfaE”hearken back to the Appalachian hills even earlier. His claw-hammer banjo style forgoes the lightning-quick picking of bluegrass virtuosos for sharp, dry chord blasts that punctuate his lyrics. And it’s the singing that you come for anyway. With John Reischman and the Jaybirds. Moore Theatre, 1932 Second Ave., 443-1744, 7:30 p.m. $23-33. All ages. Listen to Motherless Children.

[Saturday, October 18] An older musician surrounding himself with young lions might seem like a sad stab at relevance (or just a ploy for cheap sidemen). But the jazz tradition is full of giants like Miles who were so visionary they had to continually restock their bands with youngsters just to keep up. In this lineage is the great Jerry Granelli. A onetime studio cat, former Cornish instructor, and all-around creative force, Granelli has a uniquely musical way with the kit that defies any jazz categories. His latest two-guitar quartetaE”featuring the amazing Dave Tronzo, one of New YorkaE™s most revered aEœdowntownaE playersaE”covers wide sonic territory, without the usual obvious stitching-together of genres and influences. Now pushing 70, GranelliaE™s still hearing things that only the most unjaded ears can pick out. TulaaE™s, 2214 Second Ave., 547-9787. 8:30 p.m. $16. Listen to Ballad of El Leo Nora.

[Sunday, October 19] Opening for Fleet Foxes in Philadelphia a couple of weeks ago, California folk-bluesman Frank Fairfield took the stage looking like something out of a Dorothea Lange Dust Bowl photograph with his buttoned-up short-sleeve shirt and high-waisted trousers. When he sat down in an antique chair, grabbed his fiddle, and began to sing, he sounded like an ancient Lomax field recording. And then something remarkable happenedaE”as he continued to sing, his face scrunched up into an expression of agony as if heaE™d suddenly learned all at once that his life savings had vanished, his house had burned down, and his beloved dog had died. Switching between fiddle, banjo, and acoustic guitar for the next several numbers, that visage never retreated from his sweat-drenched, possibly tear-stained face. It was absolutely riveting. With Fleet Foxes. Moore Theatre, 1932 Second Ave., 443-1744. 8 p.m., $15 adv, $17 dos. All ages. Listen to Mole in the Ground.

[Sunday, October 12] Every Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, Britpop royalty graces a tiny stage near Pike Place Market. The kingaE™s name is Liam Gallagher, otherwise known as the rowdy brother of Noel in the mega-band Oasis. Not too long ago, Liam moved to Seattle in an effort to sober up. It hasnaE™t really worked out. When he plays KellaE™s, he gets piss drunk and tends to throw stuff at the audience. He recently learned to play xylophone, too, and by setaE™s end, his xylophone sticks inevitably end up in the back row. On more than one occasion, heaE™s been kicked out of the baraE”mid-song. One time, during a break, he wandered up the hill to DAcjA  Vu, where he snorted a line of coke off a stripperaE™s taut tummy. Oh wait, we just received word that the Liam Gallagher in Oasis isnaE™t the same Liam Gallagher who plays KellaE™s. Our bad. KellaE™s Irish Restaurant & Pub, 1916 Post Alley, 728-1916. 9 p.m., no cover.

[Monday, October 20] Jazz and spoken-word have a checkered history. Beatnik clichAcs are always the danger. Luckily, SeattleaE™s Paul Harding plays his poems like a horn, with great breathy dynamics and loping, punctuated rhythms. His seldom-heard band features some of the most versatile players on the local jazz scene, tromping out Jay McShann-style grooves and other fields for Harding to plow. Opening will be bassist Evan Flory-Barnes and his trio, whoaE™ve been holding down the Hang at Lo-Fi and are doing some of the best space-swing in town. Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center, 104 17th Ave. So., 547-9787. 8 p.m. $14. All ages. Listen to When Your Hands Move.

[Monday, October 20] When the Kings of Leon released Because Of The Times in 2007, the receptive narrative went two directions: they’d either jumped the shark, or they’d grown up. I received the album with a mix of the two and an understanding that the band membersaE”whoaE™d been consuming rock ‘n’ roll for barely a decadeaE”were evolving. After a few listens, they’d caught me good. Meandering red herrings like Knocked Up distracted from the voluptuous guitars and raw emotion that spilled out of the bottom half of the record, which contains some of the most well-written songs of their career (aEœFans,aE aEœThe Runner,aE aEœArizonaaE). But on Only By The Night, released last month, the Followill family manifests everything that went awry on their last fan-splitting effort, washing out provocative vulnerabilities in favor of flat-falling appeals for arena-sized stardom. With We Are Scientists, the Stills. Paramount Theatre, 911 Pine St., 683-1414. 7 p.m., $32. All ages. Listen to Sex on Fire.

[Monday, October 20] Mountain Goats frontman John Darnielle is a lyrical master, able to offer a comparison like, aEœOur love is like the border between Greece and AlbaniaaE and follow it up with a few lines that make the affair feel sad, dangerous, exhilarating, likely doomed, and intensely real. And for a guy who frequently tours without a drummer, he can really fire up a crowd. HeaE™s a rare talent; catch him when you can. With Kaki King. Showbox at the Market, 1426 First Ave., 628-3151. 8 p.m., $18 adv, $20 dos. All ages. Listen to Satanic Messiah.