soundadvice

HIP-HOP
DJ Premier
He's one of the most recognizable and respected names in hip-hop, but it's not just because of Gang Starr hits like "Just to Get a Rep" and "DWYCK." Premo can still be heard on a good chunk of current hip-hop and R&B tracks from ODB, Jay-Z and Marxmen. That's a rep.
--Deesha Dyer
Fri., Feb. 25, 9 p.m., $20 open bar 9-11 p.m., $10 after 11 p.m., with the Record Player and T.O.Double.D, Fluid, 613 S. Fourth St., 215-629-3686.

ROCK/POP
The Frames
For much of their 15-year career, the Dubliners from The Frames have managed to be huge in Ireland and pretty much ignored in the U.S. Their proper introduction to us Yanks came in last year's live outing Set List, wherein they rocked out like Radiohead one moment and covered Willie Wonka's "Pure Imagination" the next. Their new Burn The Maps (Anti) steps the mood down a few notches to reveal The Frames as fans knew them from the previous five albums — brooding, intimate and tightly focused on Glen Hansard's introspective songwriting.
--John Vettese
Sat., Feb. 26, 9 p.m., $12, with Mark Geary, North Star Bar, 27th and Poplar sts., 215-684-0808, www.northstarbar.com.

JAZZ
McPhee/Duval Duo
Joe McPhee could be called the poet-philosopher of the improvised music scene. There is an intensely cerebral thrust to his playing, even during his most emotive flights. McPhee's collaboration with bassist Dominic Duval on Rules of Engagement, Vol. 2 (Drimala) is like eavesdropping on an intellectual debate between two impassioned thinkers.
--Shaun Brady
Wed., March 2, 8 p.m., $12-$15, Slought Foundation, 4017 Walnut St., 215-222-9050, www.arsnovaworkshop.com.

FOLK/POP

Over the Rhine
Drunkard's Prayer is as lovely as Over the Rhine gets and more lighthearted than they've been in a while. Karin Bergquist and Linford Detweiler make songs like "Born" and "Bluer" sound familiar even on first listen (which will be helpful at the Tin Angel on Wednesday, since the CD isn't out until March 29). The couple just bought a farm, so they don't plan to be on the road much this year. Catch them while you can.
--M.J. Fine
Wed., March 2, 7:30 and 10 p.m., $16, with Kim Taylor, Tin Angel, 20 S. Second St., 215-928-0770.

ROCK/POP
Betsy Spivak
It's tough to be a rock 'n' roll animal who works nights. So consider this nooner a small compensation for all the shows you've missed. Plus, the great sound in World Café Live's bathrooms means that, should you be inspired by a certain sultry song from local acoustic singer-songwriter Betsy Spivak's set, you can have fun in the can with a hot former altar boy and not miss a beat.
--M.J. Fine
Wed., March 2, noon, free, World Café Live, 3025 Walnut St., 215-222-1400.

CLASSICAL
Piffaro
Get ready to rock, Renaissance-style. OK, not quite. But Piffaro plays very old music with such verve and joy that you get a visceral sense for why this stuff was the pop music of the 15th and 16th centuries. This program, "Musical Centers of Northern Italy," features soprano Ellen Hargis and King's Noyse, a Boston-based early music ensemble.
--Peter Burwasser
Fri., Feb. 25, 8 p.m., $15-$25, St. Mark's Church, 1625 Locust St.; Sat., Feb. 26, Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill; and Sun., Feb. 27, Sts. Andrew and Matthew Church, Wilmington, Del., 215-235-8469, www.piffaro.com.

ROCK/POP
Kings of Leon
Southern rockers Kings of Leon — three brothers and their lead-guitarist first cousin — are back with Aha Shake Heartbreak, a growling/wailing concoction that melds their testosterone-and-guitar-fueled musicality with songs of sin and redemption (fits right in their their sons-of-preacher-men background). The fast and furious Kings are even better onstage, where their hell-bent tales of hard-and-fast living are equal parts celebratory and cautionary.
--Nicole Pensiero
Fri., Feb. 25, 9 p.m., $17, with Vagenius, Theater of Living Arts, 334 South St., 215-922-1011.