Billy Joe Shaver/Wednesday, October 17

If you approach Texas honky-tonk legend Billy Joe Shaver at any point during this show, please be on your best behavior. In 2007, he shot a random dude named Billy Coker in the face outside a bar near Waco when the latter showed Shaver some ‘tude. Shaver was ultimately acquitted, even though he testified that to have walked away from the altercation with Coker would have been “chicken shit.” But, really, don’t let an isolated incident scare you away: Shaver, now 73, is still one of country music’s most brilliant lyricists and energetic performers, and the Treehouse’s backwoods location will make you feel like you’re seeing country’s ultimate outlaw in the sort of place where freedom reigns. Treehouse Café, 4569 Lynwood Center Rd. N.E., Bainbridge Island, 842-2814. 8 p.m. Sold out. MIKE SEELY

***EDITOR’S PICKDavid Byrne & St. Vincent/Wednesday, October 17

The musical marriage of 60-year-old David Byrne and St. Vincent, exactly half his age, came as a surprise, but the result turned out to be a lot more palatable and less creepy than the last time an old dude named David collaborated with an indie-rock chick (that would be “Pinky’s Dream,” Karen O’s contribution to David Lynch’s Crazy Clown Time). Byrne and St. Vincent’s Love This Giant is a boldly joyous affair, all quirky pop songs written around bright horn arrangements, and St. Vincent’s sprite-like voice is a sweet counterpart to Byrne’s bellowing, boisterous one. Live, the pair has also been playing selected songs from their solo catalogs, giving fans the bonus of seeing St. Vincent riffing along to “Burning Down the House” and Byrne bopping around in the background to a brassy version of “Cruel.” 5th Avenue Theatre, 1308 Fifth Ave., 625-1418. 8:30 p.m. Sold out. All ages. ERIN K. THOMPSON

Paul de Barros/Friday, October 19

In the late ’00s, Seattle Times jazz critic Paul de Barros took two years off from his gig, decamped for Long Island, and spent five months interviewing and thumbing through the archives of Marian McPartland, jazz pianist and host of NPR’s Piano Jazz. The result of his sabbatical is the biography Shall We Play That One Together?, which St. Martin’s Press released this week. “She is white, British, and female. And she became the most important spokesperson for jazz,” de Barros told me. “How did that happen? That’s the story.” De Barros extrapolates in a reading tonight as part of the Earshot Jazz Festival. Elliott Bay Book Co., 7:30 p.m. Free. Chris Kornelis

Omar Rodríguez-López/Friday, October 19

Possibly the most prolific musician of our generation (with well over 20 solo albums and nearly as many group recordings and full-length collaborations), Rodríguez-López—guitarist, producer, and the driving creative force behind The Mars Volta—is also, I’m convinced, one of history’s most imaginative, forward-thinking composers. His range—from punk to dub to mind- blowing metallic prog to glitchy studio-geek electro-sorcery—has amazed many and baffled many more, and he’s only getting weirder. Earlier this year, when his influential ’90s punk outfit At the Drive-In reunited, Rodríguez-López told LA Weekly that “something has to change drastically” for The Mars Volta to continue to create. And all the while, his solo output has gushed forth at its usual impressive pace. With Crypts. Triple Door, 216 Union St., 838-4333. 8 p.m. $15 adv./$20 DOS/$25 VIP. All ages. TODD HAMM

“The Rolling Stones”/Saturday, October 20

This power booking showcases the diverse and interesting spectrum of rock ‘n’ roll our city has to offer. Dark and dreamy upstarts Stephanie are just what the doctor New Ordered. Hobosexual provides bliss of the ear-bleeding variety. The only problem with Hounds of the Wild Hunt is that their evolution is so constant, you rarely get to revisit their great back catalog live. Then we have “The Rolling Stones,” who audaciously take on the ballsiest band of all time with the swagger of Mick and Keith and the spirit of Brian Jones combined. Barboza, 925 E. Pike St., 709-9467. 7 p.m. $10. MA’CHELL DUMA LAVASSAR

ZZ Ward/Monday, October 22

Oregon singer/guitarist Zsuzsanna Ward creates songs best described as blues-pop: snappy melodies that she strums and sings in a creaky, smoky, soulful voice. Ward’s debut album, this month’s Til the Casket Drops, features such worldly tracks as “Put the Gun Down”—a modern-day “Jolene”—and a paean to sexy nerds, “Move Like U Stole It.” It also features collaborations with Freddie Gibbs and Kendrick Lamar. Ward’s hip-hop influences were first made clear on her mixtape Eleven Roses, for which she commandeered a few very masculine rap songs, singing her own words over the original beats. Wiz Khalifa’s “Rooftops” became Ward’s “Morphine”; Tyler, the Creator’s “Yonkers” became “Better Off Dead”; and Childish Gambino’s “You Know Me” was morphed into the steely “OVERdue,” on which Ward accuses, “I can smell the bullshit on your breath/Got it written from your toes to your neck.” With Yellow Red Sparks. The Crocodile, 2200 Second Ave., 441-4618. 8 p.m. $10. All ages. ERIN K. THOMPSON

Flying Lotus/Tuesday, October 23

FlyLo’s 2010 masterpiece Cosmogramma marked his transition from lo-fi sample chopper to rhythmic-experience creator, and helped Los Angeles’ masses of head-nodding beat junkies become seekers of sonic journeys. In his new jewel, Until the Quiet Comes, Lotus—aka Steven Ellison—ventures even further into the unknown, where the once-dominant “beat” aesthetic isn’t so much done away with as contorted and draped across the dreamy fixtures that populate his subconscious. It’s extremely easy listening in most places, and in many ways more accessible than his earlier records, which is part of its genius: The pieces are pulled together so seamlessly that you often won’t even register the complexity of what you’re listening to. He’s also been known to mix in a large percentage of amped-up club tracks in concert, making his live show a crowd-pleaser across the board. With Teebs, Jeremiah Jae. The Neptune, 1303 N.E. 45th St., 877-784-4849. 8 p.m. $24. All ages. TODD HAMM