April 21-27, 2005

musicpicks

Joe Jackson/Todd Rundgren

Rock/pop

It would be easy to write the pairing off as one more oldies go-round, but with their most recent albums, Joe Jackson and Todd Rundgren (pictured) have proved they're not shooting blanks just yet. Jackson's pointedly titled Volume 4 reunited him with the trio that backed his first three albums, shedding his chamber-pop pretensions for the lean, sour kiss-offs that are his birthright. Rundgren's re-emergence is even more surprising: Long since having lost himself in gadgetry, the man no longer known as TR-i released Liars, his first all-new album in a decade, to little notice last year. But those who take a chance will find that Rundgren has once again mastered his tools rather than letting them master him: Liars is as bombastic and overloaded as Rundgren's best. Both will play solo, keeping in mind that means very different things for a piano-based balladeer and an electronic studio wizard; expect a repeat appearance by openers Ethel, the string quartet from Jackson's Night and Day II, before show's end.

Sun., April 24, 7:30 p.m., $33-$55, Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce sts., 215-893-1999.

—Sam Adams