Concert picks
Bob Dylan and His Band with Elvis Costello and Amos Lee, 7 p.m. Saturday through Monday at the Chicago Theatre, 175 N. State St., Chicago. $49.50/$89.50. (312) 462-6300.
Bob Dylan returns to the area to play this three-night stand. As evidenced by a show I saw in Ypsilanti, Mich., earlier on this tour, Dylan is back to playing guitar, a habit he gave up nearly ten years ago in favor of keyboards. Now he splits his time between both for a show to include renditions of familiar catalog favorites and selections from "Modern Times" (Columbia), his latest album. Opening this show is newcomer Amos Lee and Elvis Costello performing a short solo set.
Chuck Prophet with Luke Temple, 10 p.m. Saturday at Schubas, 3159 N. Southport Ave., Chicago. $15. (773) 525-2508.
Diehards will know Chuck Prophet as the guitarist in Green On Red, a Southwest psychedelic pop favorite from the mid-1980s. In the years since, Prophet has churned out a steady stream of premier roots-soul albums that have earned him considerable kudos from critics and peers alike. He recently was hired to produce the new album by Kelly Willis and opened a tour for Lucinda Williams. Prophet's own albums have tackled the troubling peaks and valleys of romance through songs based on classic R&B, hobo blues and power pop. His latest album is "Soap and Water" (Yep Roc).
The Hold Steady with Art Brut and Federale, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday and 9 p.m. Wednesday at Metro, 3730 N. Clark St., Chicago. $20. (312) 559-1212.
The Hold Steady won the prize (in my estimation, at least) as the best band of this summer's Lollapalooza festival. The Minneapolis band is tough to appreciate at first glance as they look like every other band of art-nerds, but their still-current album "Boys and Girls in America" (Vagrant) sounds spectacular live.
The Fiery Furnaces with Pit er Pat, 8:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Logan Square Auditorium, 2539 N. Kedzie Ave., Chicago. $15. (773) 252-6179.
From Oak Park to Brooklyn, brother-sister duo Matthew and Eleanor Friedberger are The Fiery Furnaces, one of the most interesting and also aggravating bands on the indie rock landscape. The band's newest is Widow City (Thrill Jockey), a sixth album that showcases a hefty dose of classic rock references, Wings and Led Zeppelin in particular, as well as its usual crazy quilt of opposing styles and spastic, overlapping lyrics.