Big Gigs: Alanis and more live music, Oct. 12-18

POP/ROCK

On "Havoc and Bright Lights," her first album since getting married and becoming a mother, Alanis Morissette sounds more relaxed, as introspective as always and, frankly, a little boring. Angst was the attraction of 1995's classic "Jagged Little Pill," and now she seems a little too happy for her own musical good. With a set list that reportedly balances "Pill" and "Havoc," her concert should challenge both the 38-year-old rocker and her fans. Opening is MC Souleye, her husband. (7:30 p.m. Fri., State Theatre, $53.50-$83.50.) Jon Bream

Ever wry-witted, British alt-rock folkie Robyn Hitchcock calls his website a museum, by which reasoning his show this week would qualify as a special exhibit. The former Soft Boys frontman, who went on to be a late-'80s college-rock staple with poppy psychedelic gems like "Balloon Man" and "Madonna of the Wasps," makes his Dakota debut on a solo acoustic tour that will find him playing his Twin/Tone-issued 1990 album "Eye" a night later in Chicago. (8 p.m. Fri., Dakota Jazz Club. $40.) Chris Riemenschneider

A split 7-inch single is a nice little excuse for another big show in the First Ave main room for stomp-rock kings the 4onthefloor, who sold out the club in April and have crisscrossed the country on tour this year. They teamed with the Heartbeats on the split release, the first thing on record by former Alarmists frontman Eric Lovold's new band, a hard-plunking but melodic blast of moody piano pop. For the release show, they also rounded up Alan Sparhawk's stormiest trio, Retribution Gospel Choir, which has been hard at work on its next album. Chicago quartet Filligar opens. (8 p.m. Fri., First Avenue. $12-$15.) Riemenschneider

If you tuned in to webcasts of Mark Mallman's madcap Marathon 4 road trek last month only to hear electro-bloop "music" and scenes of Mark eating Cheetos, get ready for another rubber-band-style snap in one of the Twin Cities' most bipolar music personalities. The operatic-minded piano rocker sounds as serious as an eight-car pileup on his eighth album, "Double Silhouette," which references everything from car crashes to dirty dishes to Morrissey on its way to becoming what sounds like a rather tough breakup album. It's his most melancholy effort, but also might be his most cohesive and consistent musically, with ace support from the likes of guitarists Jeremy Ylvisaker, Jake Hanson and Ryan Smith and drummer Peter Anderson. Van Stee opens the release party. (8 p.m. Sat., Ritz Theater, 345 13th Av. NE., Mpls. $10-$12.) Riemenschneider

Two bands from different corners of the Gen X bedroom, England's Psychedelic Furs and Boston's Lemonheads are on tour together for no other reason, it seems, than to sell tickets. The pairing was also supposed to feature another early-'90s alt-pop star, Juliana Hatfield, as a part of her ex-beau Evan Dando's latest Lemonheads lineup, but she dropped out for reasons not quite clear. Here's hoping the band will finish its new album with Ryan Adams as producer (another surprise pairing!). In contrast to Dando's freewheeling ways, Furs leaders Richard and Tim Butler have been consistent and workmanlike with their tours of late, and they always throw in ample old favorites. Yep, including "Pretty in Pink." (8 p.m. Sun., First Avenue. $25.) Riemenschneider

As reliable onstage as sunny weather in its native land, Arizona's great desert-dusted borderland rock ensemble Calexico is back on the road promoting its first album in four years, "Algiers," a title lifted from the New Orleans streets that inspired the sessions. The sweeping single "Splitter" has been in steady rotation at the Current, and another highlight, "Fortune Teller," was penned with Iowa tunesmith Pieta Brown. The Dodos open. (8:30 p.m. Tue., Fine Line. $20.) Riemenschneider

Grunge-y South African trio Seether had fans turn out early when it opened for Nickelback and Bush at Target Center in May, and it repaid them with a straight-ahead hard-rock throwdown that had none of the headliner's pyro but way more musical fire. Back out on its own Triple Threat Tour, the band should be a blast in a smaller venue. Australia's Sick Puppies of "All the Same" fame open with KYNG and Eye Empire. (8:30 p.m. Tue., Mill City Nights. $32.50.) Riemenschneider

Dinosaur Jr. never really mellowed out, but there is a discernibly classic, shred-all vibe on the Boston trio's new album, "I Bet on Sky," the third effort since frontman J Mascis reunited with bassist Lou Barlow and drummer Murph. Shades of their scrappy debut "You're Living All Over Me" are all over the record, whose 25th anniversary the alt-rock vets will celebrate at New York's Terminal 5 at the end of this tour. Shearwater opens. (8:30 p.m. Thu., Cabooze. $25.) Riemenschneider

Up there with "Anodyne," "Strangers Almanac" and "Hollywood Town Hall" as one of the best albums of the '90s alt-country boom, "Too Far to Care" by Dallas yahoos the Old 97's just got a deluxe 15th-anniversary reissue. The band will play the barnstorming collection in its entirety plus another set of tunes, and frontman Rhett Miller will turn in a solo set based on his latest album, "The Dreamer." North Texas music fixture Salim Nourallah also performs. (7 p.m. Thu., First Avenue. $22.) Riemenschneider

Moscow-born, New York-based piano woman Regina Spektor is an eclectic musicmaker who embraces everything from classical to indie pop, with some Russian music and art-pop sprinkled in. With a mix of intensity, deep chops and self-conscious quirkiness, she falls somewhere between Tori Amos and Nellie McKay. Spektor's sixth and latest CD, "What We Saw From the Cheap Seats," features the timely (the satirical "Ballad of a Politician"), the artful ("Firewood"), the playful ("Don't Leave Me") and the dark ("All the Rowboats"). Opening is Only Son -- Spektor's husband Jack Dishel. (7:30 p.m. Thu. State, $38.50-$48.50) Bream

HIP-HOP You might have seen A$AP Rocky at the MTV Video Music Awards performing with Rihanna or on YouTube in Lana Del Rey's video for "National Anthem," or you might be hip to him via his 2011 mixtape, "LONGLIVEA$AP." This is local fans' first chance to see if the grill-toothed Harlem rapper's career really will be long lived. With his "Goldie" leading the way, he's about to drop his first album for the Sony imprint Polo Grounds, also home to Pitbull. Two other whack-tongued MCs, L.A. indie star Schoolboy Q and Detroit's flop-topped Danny Brown, open. (8 p.m. Sat., First Avenue. $18.) Riemenschneider

COUNTRY Don't just think of Vince Gill as the wittiest host ever of the Country Music Association Awards. Think of him as Nashville's most well-rounded talent: angelic voice, splendid songwriter, top-notch bandleader and first-rate guitarist. He hasn't had a major radio hit since "Feels Like Love" in 2000, but he reasserted his considerable talents on last year's "Guitar Slinger," an irresistibly versatile collection of country-hyphenates, including pop-country, country-blues, Bakersfield country, etc. (8 p.m. Sat., State Theatre, $53.50-$83.50.) Bream

After playing opening slots for Lady Antebellum and Ronnie Dunn, highly touted David Nail will get his first Twin Cities headline opportunity. The native of Kennett, Mo. (same hometown as Sheryl Crow) has a distinctively soulful voice, as best heard on his hit "Let It Rain." (9 p.m. Thu., Mill City Nights, $20.) Bream

JAZZ The Artists' Quarter is spotlighting drummer-bandleaders this month, and Ari Hoenig is one of the nation's best. Known for a striking ability to play melodies on his kit and dazzling solos that never resort to flash, Hoenig, 38, is also great at making a trio groove hard. He'll team with old pal Bill Carrothers, the probing, often brilliant pianist and composer who used to call the Twin Cities home. They made a great CD together in 2007, "Keep Your Sunny Side Up." Bassist Chris Bates ably rounds out what should be a compelling, quirky and eloquent trio. (9 p.m. Fri.-Sat., Artists' Quarter, $15.) Tom Surowicz

Although she has won two Grammys in jazz, vocalist Cassandra Wilson is an amalgam of many styles, as she demonstrates on her 19th and latest album, "Another Country." Blues, bossa nova, Latin, folk, classical, jazz and even pop season this set, which features eight Wilson originals and two compositions by her guitarist/producer, Fabrizio Sotti. Captivating stuff. (7 & 9 p.m. Sun.-Mon., Dakota Jazz Club, $40-$60.) Bream

Pairing a jazz trio with the world's most adventurous banjo player is a recipe for excitement. Even though pianist Marcus Roberts and banjo man Bela Fleck each composed material for their fascinating new album "Across the Imaginary Divide," expect them to take off on imaginative improvised journeys in concert. See next Tuesday's Variety section for an interview with the two. (7 & 9 p.m. Wed.-Thu., Dakota, $40-$65.) Bream

One of the most polished blues and soul singers today, Shemekia Copeland has a new album, "33 1/3." The title refers to the speed of the LPs she was weaned on, but also reflects her present age. Produced by Oliver Wood (of the Wood Brothers), who also played guitar and contributed several songs, the album features songs by two Minnesotans, Bob Dylan's "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" and Randy Weeks' "Can't Let Go." Toss in guest appearances by Buddy Guy and J.J. Grey and a timely new political number ("Lemon Pie") and Copeland has another gritty gem. (7 p.m. Tue., Dakota Jazz Club, $25.) Surowicz

WORLD Hindustani slide guitarist Debashish Bhattacharya started out as a child prodigy, playing a recital on Indian national radio at 4. He's gone on to be a musical inventor and proselytizer, crafting his own instruments and trading licks with jazz fusion hero John McLaughlin, dobro king Jerry Douglas and Southern blues-rock star Derek Trucks. He also earned a Grammy nomination for his 2008 release, "Calcutta Chronicles." (8 p.m. Fri., Cedar Cultural Center, $18-$20.) Surowicz

The new hero of Spanish music doesn't play flamenco, rock or pop -- he's a master of the gaita, the ancient bagpipes from Galicia. Carlos Núñez also plays various flutes, whistles and recorders, and offers a heavily produced, often cinematic-sounding take on music with centuries-old Celtic roots. Adopted by the Chieftains, Núñez has gone on to sell over a million albums in Europe, and now is setting out to conquer America with a two-CD compilation, "Discover." It features a staggering number of guests, including Ry Cooder, Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, Sinead O'Connor, Los Lobos and the Chieftains, of course. (7:30 p.m. Tue., Cedar Cultural Center, $20-$25.) Surowicz