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KENT BURNSIDE Kent Burnside, grandson of the late R.L. Burnside, who helped popularize the single-chord “trance blues” of northern Mississippi, plays a rock-based version of that style on his recent debut, Cotton Field Disco. His voice is coarse and on guitar his tone is astringent and uncertain, which adds an edge-of-collapse tension to his playing. But he drives his rough, rattling music at full speed, threatening to plow through everything in his path, from chord changes to sidemen–despite his fondness for modern sounds, he’d fit right in at the sweaty backwoods jukes where R.L. and his friends used to hold forth. Burnside is touring with his regular band, the New Generation. a 9:30 PM, Rosa’s Lounge, 3420 W. Armitage, 773-342-0452, $10. (If you’re reading this on Thursday, May 3, you may also be able to catch them on the House of Blues Back Porch Stage, where they play at 9:30 PM.) –David Whiteis
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Steven isserlis & kirill gerstein British cellist Steven Isserlis is known for championing neglected works and composers, but he also brings a sense of spontaneity and discovery to the familiar repertoire. His use of gut strings and reduced vibrato give him a small but intensely expressive sound best suited to a chamber format. Here he’s joined by rising 27-year-old Russian pianist Kirill Gerstein for a program of Russian music that includes Shostakovich’s Cello Sonata, a youthful work that foreshadows the agitation and melancholy to come, and Anton Rubinstein’s irresistibly romantic First Sonata. Also on the program are shorter works by Glazunov, Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, and Julius Isserlis, the cellist’s grandfather. a 8 PM, Mandel Hall, University of Chicago, 1131 E. 57th, 773-702-8068, $30, $11 for students. –Steve Langendorf
cBA CISSOKO No, this Guinean kora player and vocalist can’t clear the bar for sonic innovation set by Jimi Hendrix. That understood, the title Electric Griot Land (Totolo) gives you a pretty good idea about the contents of his bold second album. Cissoko’s sound is grounded in the hypnotic, circular structures of ancient Mande songs, but the interlocking lines played on traditional instruments like kora, balafon, ngoni, calabash, and djembe are often run through guitar effects like wah-wah. Cissoko strays from tradition in other ways too: “Africa” takes on a reggae feel, and Toronto-based Somalian MC K’naan drops some rhymes on “Silani.” Really, though, this music wouldn’t sound terribly different minus those flourishes: it gets its ebullient snap from the heavy insinuation of the grooves and the tight ensemble work of the four-piece band, and Cissoko’s strong, soulful singing and natural charisma give it its broad appeal. This is the group’s Chicago debut. a 10 PM, HotHouse, 31 E. Balbo, 312-362-9707, $15. –Peter Margasak
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RTX Just as I was about to write off Western Xterminator (Drag City), the second album from Jennifer Herrema’s post-Royal Trux band, as cliched, tongue-in-cheek, half-assed hair metal, it took a turn. Suddenly it started to seem actually scary, like half-human, half-animal growls coming from the woods at night–or like meeting a sexy, dissolute stranger on a train platform who looks like she’d just as soon toss you onto the rails as jump your bones. Totimoshi and Velcro Lewis & His 100 Proof Band open. a 9:30 PM, Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western, 773-276-3600 or 866-468-3401, $10. –Monica Kendrick
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