CASS MCCOMBS

Friday, February 3, hi-dive, 720-570-4500.
In 2007, singer-songwriter Cass McCombs told the San Francisco Chronicle that he wants his tombstone to read “Home at Last.” McCombs’s subtle and sardonic humor, enmeshed with a poetic truth, also informs his songwriting. Although he doesn’t really sound like Roy Orbison, his lushly evocative tunes resonate with the same kind of dusky, yesteryear charm as the late singer’s. Like a wave of nostalgia that makes you remember the most poignant moments of your life one by one, they’re both heartbreaking and heartwarming. But there’s also a haziness that makes such memories seem more present yet soft around the edges at the same time.Touring in support of his most recent 2011 release, Humor Risk, McCombs is sure to bring his understated wit and penetrating observations to vibrant life on stage.

— TOM MURPHY

RYAN A DAMS

Friday, February 3, Buell Theatre, 303-893-9582.

If you ignore the fact that any of his sadder, sappier new material could be about his wife, a post-Walk to Remember Mandy Moore, Ryan Adams remains one of the most listenable and versatile singer-songwriters just this side of Americana. Three years ago, he married Moore, sobered up, disbanded his alt-country band the Cardinals, took a break from touring and began stockpiling all of his previously unreleased material. Through his October solo album, Ashes & Fire, we’re led to believe that Adams escaped this period unscathed and unfazed, a little raw for the wear but with a deeper, clearer and more intimate shade of voice and self-awareness than we’ve seen from him in years. In making himself more vulnerable, Adams has made his second act unmissable.

— KELSEY WHIPPLE

L O T U S

Saturday, February 4, Fillmore Auditorium, 303-830-8497.

The jazzy electronic quintet Lotus, known for its precisely timed improvisations during live shows, is celebrating its thirteenth year together. This weekend, fresh off the release of its most recent effort, Lotus, the band, which is signed to Boulder’s SCI Fidelity records, is kicking off a tour that will culminate with a group of shows in Japan. From incorporating video-game music to performing David Bowie tribute shows and playing Black Sabbath covers, Lotus has figured out how to evolve its music and have a lot of fun doing it. Backed by the locals in Octopus Nebula, Lotus is sure to please the Fillmore crowd with extensive, complex jam sessions and, if we’re lucky, a few covers. (Stop by backbeatblog.com for a full Q&A with the band.)

— BRITT CHESTER

CHILDREN OF BODOM

Tuesday, February 7, Gothic Theatre, 303-788-0984.

Having changed its name from Inearthed to a reference to the infamous Lake Bodom murders of 1960, this Finnish band continues to defy easy categorization in any specific subgenre of metal. The band’s precision and furiously fast and melodic riffing are clearly influenced by the new wave of British heavy metal, while the players use enough underlying atmospheric tones and thrashy leads to garner a black-metal comparison, as well. But these Children perform their music with a clear zest for life, even if most of their lyrics focus on the kind of subject matter that inspired their current moniker. Like the thrash legends of the ’80s, Children of Bodom has toured like its life depended on it over the course of its career — a work ethic that has yielded a consistently energetic and masterful live show.

— MURPHY