Concert Previews

Whether in the various forms of Palace Brothers or under his Bonnie "Prince" Billy sobriquet, Will Oldham's cracked voice could be a challenge, even when it perfectly suited the unsettled and discomforting lyricism of albums such as 1999's great

I See A Darkness.

But starting with 2006's beautiful

The Letting Go,

Oldham's creak has grown closer to a croon: He sounds less as if he's singing to himself, although he sounds no less unguarded. On the recent

Beware,

Oldham plays with country tropes: fiddle and pedal steel; toe-tapping hoedowns and twangy, wisecracking shuffles; weepy ballads and bitter break-up songs. But it's not purely a genre exercise: Beginning with the opener, "Beware Your Only Friend," which bears traces of old Palace songs, longtime fans will hear elements of all of Oldham's work. But better-sung.

- Steve Klinge

Like a bombastic Sufjan Stevens, Philadelphia's mewithoutYou is compelling, to say the least. With a menagerie of instruments and a marriage of disparate yet complementary melodies and harmonies, the band takes cues from freak folk, punk, classical orchestration, and bluegrass. While the band's new album, the loquaciously titled

it's all crazy! it's all false! it's all a dream! it's alright,

tones down the visceral post-hardcore elements it had been known for, the band still writhes with emotion. Singer Aaron Weiss' nasally and quavering voice sounds always on the verge of breaking, while lyrics tend toward the philosophical and theological. This added intellectual dimension, coupled with rollicking and rhapsodic tunes, results in a live show that's cathartic yet not banal.

- Katherine Silkaitis

Nine years is a long time for any party to survive, let alone one as massive, taste-making, and potentially unwieldy as Making Time. And yet Philly's world-renowned blowout is now just a year shy of a decade old, and as usual, a celebration is in order. This weekend sees the team-up of electro-popper the Juan Maclean and Swedish neo-Krautrock outfit the Field performing live, with proper backing bands. And, of course, all the Making Time earmarks are in place: an early open bar of Pabst and Sparks, an endurance-testing finish time of 3:30 a.m., and a familiar clutch of DJs spread over the basement, mezzanine, and main floor. Why mess with a winning formula?

- Doug Wallen