Now that rap has become a huge commercial juggernaut, hip-hop records increasingly emphasize elaborate soundscapes, high-profile cameos and self-aggrandizing rhymes. But great rap is ultimately the product of old school skills, not dollar bills, and that’s the message of the “Scratch”/Dilated Peoples tour, which comes to town Wednesday at the House of Blues. The tour will showcase clips from “Scratch” — a feature length documentary about the evolution of the hip-hop deejay — and live performances from back-to-basics rappers like Dilated Peoples, the great L.A. trio whose superb new CD, “Expansion Team,” is a sharp, stirring, infectious dose of classic scratching and rhyming, killer beats and imaginative sampling. Turntable masters Z-Trip, DJ Jazzy Jay, DJ Theodore and DJ Craze are also on the bill.
“SCRATCH”/DILATED PEOPLES, 9 p.m. Wednesday at House of Blues, 329 N. Dearborn St.; 312-923-2000.
LAMBCHOP and DAVID KILGOUR, Saturday at the Abbey Pub, 3420 W. Grace St.; 773-478-4408: Either the kids aren’t all right or the post-punk generation is settling into middle age, because the popularity of ultra-mellow chamber-pop bands like Lambchop is hard explain any other way. Lambchop’s new CD “Is a Woman” is its most gentle, fetching, lushly lyrical effort so far. Legendary New Zealand pop-smith David Kilgour will open this set with the languidly catchy, semi-acoustic songcraft found on his fine new record “A Feather in the Engine.”
LATIF BOLAT, Monday at the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St.; 312-744-6630: The “qawwali” music of the Pakistani Sufi tradition has become one of the most prominent sounds on the world music circuit, often overshadowing other styles. Latif Bolat is a masterly exponent of the Turkish, Anatolian Sufi tradition, which — in contrast to qawwali exuberance — favors delicate, lute-like string tones, introspective singing and haunting skeins of melody.
BRUCE COCKBURN, Friday at the Vic Theater, 3145 N. Sheffield Ave.; 312-559-1212: While the recent Olympic figure skating flap proved that Americans will gladly lend support to whining Canadian athletes, musicians from the Great White North still struggle for attention here. Bruce Cockburn, for example, can’t get arrested in the U.S. despite three decades of appealing, thoughtful folk-pop songwriting that’s only partially captured on his brand new singles collection “Anything Anytime Anywhere.”
KARELIAN FOLK MUSIC ENSEMBLE, Saturday at the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St.; 312-744-6630: Few Americans know anything about the tiny Republic of Karelia — nestled between Finland and Russia — except that composer Jean Sibelius evoked the region in his “Karelia Suite.” The three-person Karelian Folk Music Ensemble is out to broaden that knowledge by lovingly preserving and performing the nation’s folk music, which fuses the airy, shimmering string sounds of the Finnish tradition with loping Russian song-styles.
OTHER CONCERTS
SNO-CORE ROCK, Friday at the Riviera Theater and SNO-CORE ICICLE BALL, March 15 at the Riviera Theater, 4746 N. Racine Ave.; 312-559-1212: Where most summer shed festivals adopt a particular theme or musical style, the wintertime Sno-Core tour is increasingly a post-holiday grab-bag of ill-matched, publicity-starved up-and-comers. This year’s tour is no exception. The Sno-Core Rock lineup is: Alien Ant Farm, Adema, Glassjaw, Apex Theory, Earshot. Icicle Ball lineup: Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Nikka Costa, Blackalicious, Saul Williams.
KENNY CHESNEY, Saturday at the Allstate Arena, 6920 Mannheim Rd., Rosemont; 312-559-1212: C&W star Kenny Chesney reportedly studied marketing in college, and that certainly comes through in his music. The Tennessee native sports an old-time, homegrown accent and a fondness for pedal steel accompaniment, but his “traditionalist” songs are stitched with the kind of rock/pop hooks and cliche-riddled, sentimental lyrics that fit snugly into the hokey brand of contemporary C&W that Nashville favors.
SAW DOCTORS, Saturday at the Vic Theater, 3145 N. Sheffield Ave.; 312-559-1212: Although the initial appeal of Ireland’s Saw Doctors lay in their rousing “rise above” lyrics and rambunctious, Celt-accented pub-rock, their new CD, “Villians?,” offers a more cosmopolitan sound. Decked out in mainstream rock trappings — with a touch of Van Morrison-styled soul — the Doctors’ new songs are pleasant and well-crafted though a bit short on hooks and memorable wordsmithing.
Also: Pat Metheny, Friday at the Cadillac Palace Theater; Junior Brown and Jim Lauderdale, Friday at the Old Town School; Cathie Ryan, Saturday at the Irish Heritage Center; Ryan Adams, Wednesday at the Riviera Theater.
