"Thousands of miles of bad road, hundreds of shows raging, questionable or both, countless broken hearts and battered eardrums, and infinite beers later," as the hard-rocking Chicago band says, Bible of the Devil will celebrate its first decade on the local rock scene on Saturday, Nov. 7, at the Cobra Lounge, 235 N. Ashland. Ironhead and High Spirits open starting at 9 p.m., and admission is free. Oh, and the band is taking requests from longtime fans at botdmusic@gmail.com, noting, "If we can remember it, we'll try to play it!"

Whether it's been as a member of Ultramagnetic MCs, as Black Elvis or as Dr. Octagon, rapper Kool Keith has long been one of the most creative, innovative and wonderfully weird forces in hip-hop. He'll perform at Reggie's Rock Club, 2109 S. State, after opening sets by Shala and Robust starting at 10 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 7. Tickets are $20 via www.ticketweb.com; for more information, call (312) 949-0121 or visit www.reggieslive.com.

Paul Caporino, best known on the local music scene as the tireless leader of the long-running and super-cool garage-punk band M.O.T.O. is leaving the Windy City and moving to Providence, and our loss is Rhode Island's gain. Thankfully, he's playing two farewell shows before loading the U-Haul. At the first, starting at 10 p.m. Friday, Aug. 28, at the Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western, he shares the bill with Bang! Bang! and Bird Talk; the cover is $8; call 773-276-3600 or visit www.emptybottle.com. The second goodbye gig takes place at the Mutiny, 2428 N. Western, on Saturday, Aug. 29; call (773) 486-7774 or visit www.themutinychicago.com for more information.

Always a Mecca for ex-pat British punk legends (see also: the Mekons), Chicago is now home for Jake Burns, former leader of U.K. legends Stiff Little Fingers, and he has a new band, Nefarious Fat Cats, that includes some equally legendary local names: John and Joe Haggerty of Pegboy, along with special guests such as Scott Lucas of Local H, Joe Principe of Rise Against, Herb Rosen of Beer Nuts and Mark DeRosa of Dummy. The group takes the stage at the Beat Kitchen, 2100 W Belmont, after openers Destroy Everything at 8 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 30. The cover is $8; call (773) 281-4444 or visit www.beatkitchen.com for more info.

Wanna party this holiday weekend like it's 1984? Toyota Park in Bridgeview, 7300 W. 71st St., is sponsoring the two-day MusicFest Friday, July 3, and Saturday, July 4. Friday's performers are Billy Squier, Starship starring Mickey Thomas, Over the Rainbow and Off Broadway. Saturday's are Lita Ford, Warrant, Lynch Mob, L.A. Guns, Adler's Appetite, Enuff Z'nuff and the Leftovers. Tickets are $10 per day or $15 for a two-day pass via www.ticketmaster.com, (312) 559-1212.

Keeping the freaky spirit of Frank Zappa's original Mothers of Invention alive and well in the new millennium, Philadelphia's experimental rockers Man Man come to the Bottom Lounge, 1375 W. Lake St., at 8 p.m. Sunday, July 5. Expect horns; expect fractured rhythms; expect the unexpected. Chandeliers open, and tickets are $15 via www.ticketweb.com.

Though it may not be nearly as familiar a name as peers like Genesis or Yes, fans such as Chicagoan Jim Christopulos, author of Van der Graaf Generator--The Book, hold up Peter Hammill's band as the finest of the first English progressive-rock era. Hammill has made a few appearances in the States in recent years, but Van der Graaf itself is coming here for the first time ever at 8 p.m. Friday, performing at the Abbey Pub, 3420 W. Grace, after an opening set by another relic of that time, the Strawbs. Tickets are $30 in advance, $35 at the door; call (773) 478-4408 or visit www.abbeypub.com.

Its recent recorded output could never be called prolific, and it may not perform live often, but any appearance by Steve Albini, Bob Weston and Todd Trainer--collectively known as Chicago noise-rock gods Shellac--is certain to leave your mind rattled and your ears ringing for some time to come. The band performs at 8 p.m. Saturday and at noon on Sunday after opening sets by Bear Claw and Three Second Kiss at the Bottom Lounge, 1375 W Lake St. Tickets are $12; call (312) 929-2022 or visit www.bottomlounge.com.

"Actor," the second album by Texas singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Annie Clark, better known as St. Vincent, is one of the most impressive, ambitious and cinematic indie-rock/orchestral pop discs in years. Will she be able to replicate it live? Aside from a few bursts of histrionic over-indulgence, she did at South by Southwest last March. She performs here at 7:30 p.m. Sunday [June 7] at Metro, 3730 N. Clark, following openers Pattern is Movement. Tickets are $13 in advance, $15 day of show via www.metrochicago.com. (Tickets purchased for the original venue, Epiphany, will be honored.)

Clark also performs a free show on Monday, June 8, at the Jay Pritzker Pavillion in Millennium Park, 201 E. Randolph. Allá opens at 6:30 p.m.

With last year's "Acid Tongue," country-pop singer and songwriter Jenny Lewis proved that her brilliant 2006 solo bow "Rabbit Fur Coat" was no fluke, and her live shows just get better and better every time she comes through town. She performs tonight [Friday, June 5] at the Park West, 322 W. Armitage, on an inspired double bill with the Sadies. Tickets are $22; call (773) 929-5959.

Best known in the States for the fact that Kurt Cobain reinterpreted their song "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam" (itself a reworking of the traditional "I'll Be a Sunbeam") on "MTV Unplugged in New York," Eugene Kelly, Frances McKee and their Scottish indie-rock band the Vaselines were one of the great under-appreciated gems of the '90s music scene. With Sub Pop Records celebrating their catalog via the new collection "Enter the Vaselines," the group has reformed for a tour that is certain to be an event. Chicago ork-popsters the 1900s open at Metro, 3730 N. Clark, at 9 p.m. Saturday, May 16. The cover is $20; call (773) 549-4140 or visit www.metrochicago.com.

The long-running but consistently rewarding ambient/psychedelic shoegaze duo Windy & Carl released their most recent album "Songs for the Broken Hearted" on Chicago's Kranky Records last fall. They don't tour often, but the Michigan musicians never fail to create aglorious evening of tranced-out bliss whenever they do. They perform with Green Pasture Happiness and Al Niente at the Mopery, 2734 N. Milwaukee, starting at 10 p.m. Tuesday, May 19. Visit www.themoperychicago.blogspot.com for more info.

Chicago pop-punks the Plain White T's may be best known for the single "Hey There Delilah," but the group will show the range of its talents during a gig dubbed "Three-Part Harmony: A Show in Three Acts" featuring rock and acoustic sets and a medley of fan favorites at Metro, 3730 N. Clark, at 7 p.m. Friday, May 8. Danger Radio and Single File open, and tickets are $20 via www.metrochicago.com.

The Hideout, 1354 W. Wabansia, hosts a "3-Way Big Benefit" for the Logan Square Neighborhood Association, Tamms Year Ten Coalition and Young Authors Chicago starting at 4 p.m. Saturday, May 9, and featuring. Pillars & Tongues, Allá, Afri Caribe, Roommate, Judson Claiborne, Spires That in the Sunset Rise, Baby Alright a Hideout Dance Party with DJ Itch13. The cover charge is $12; for more information, visit http://hideoutchicago.com.

Originally known for sponsoring two challenging music festivals in Union Park, Intonation has shifted its focus in recent years toward the Intonation Music Workshop, an after-school program serving at-risk children ages 6 to 18 who have limited access to musical instruments and few opportunities for musical education. The organization is holding a benefit starting at 10 p.m. Friday at the Hideout, 1354 W. Wabansia, featuring Horse in the Sea and David Singer & the Sweet Science, two groups that count IMW teachers among their members. Tickets are $10 in advance or $12 at the door; for more information, visit www.hideoutchicago.com.

Though the band employs a startling array of instruments including hurdy gurdy, tabla, sitar, vacuum pipes, banjo and tympani, the otherworldly Japanese combo Ghost probably is best known for the extraordinary guitar of Michio Kurihara, who's also loaned his talents to bands ranging from Damon and Naomi to Boris. The nomadic group is making a rare U.S. appearance on Tuesday, May 5, at the Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western, after openers and Drag City labelmates Baby Dee at 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $12; call (773) 276-3600 or visit www.emptybottle.com.

A six-year-long labor of love, Brian Peterson's Burning Fight: The Nineties Hardcore Revolution in Ethics, Politics, Spirit, and Sound finally has arrived in bookstores, providing the definitive look at the resurgent hardcore-punk underground of the '90s. The author is celebrating its publication this weekend with two shows at Metro, 3730 N. Clark St., providing the perfect soundtrack for the scene he's chronicled. Starting at 1 p.m. Saturday, May 2, the lineup includes Disembodied, Trial, Killing Time, 108, Underdog, Guilt, Ringworm, Betrayed, Damnation Ad, Soul Control, Convicted and Thought Crusade. Starting at 1 p.m. Sunday, May 3, the performers include Unbroken, Converge, Bane, Reach the Sky, Split Lip, Threadbare, Have Heart, Blacklisted, the Killer and Harms Way. Both shows are sold-out, but visit www.burningfightbook.com/blog/ for more info about the book.

Power-pop fans whose sweet tooth can't be sated by the International Pop Overthrow Festival should experience one of the jangly giants of the genre, Tommy Keene, as he supports his recent album "In the Late Bright" with a stop at the Hideout, 1354 W. Wabansia, on Thursday, April 23. Sally Crewe opens at 9 p.m., and the cover is $8. Call (773) 227-4433 or visit www.hideoutchicago.com for more information.

The Numero Group isn't the only Chicago indie trumpeting its accomplishments this weekend; the venerated punk label Johann's Face is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a show at the Abbey Pub, 3420 W. Grace, starting at 9 p.m. Saturday, April 4, and featuring No Empathy, Not Rebecca, the Sass Dragons and Bread and Bottle. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door; call (773) 478-4408 or visit www.abbeypub.com.

Over the course of four albums, from "604" (2001) through "Velocifero" (2008), the Liverpool electronic-pop quartet Ladytron has shown considerable stylistic range and a consistently unerring ear for great hooks. They remain cult favorites, but favorites popular enough to headline two shows at Metro, 3730 N. Clark, with the Faint, Telepath and Figo starting at 8:30 p.m. Friday, April 3, and with the same bill again at 6 p.m. Saturday, April 4. Tickets are $25; call (773) 549-4140 or visit www.metrochicago.com.