The Afrobeat star and son of Nigerian genre pioneer Fela Kuti had to postpone his US tour due to illness. Femi's new album, Day by Day, is another step forward in a storied career, but we'll have to wait until he's better to catch him live again.

Femi dished out one of the best performances of Lollapalooza 2007; read our Day 1 recap, with photos by Tanya van Kampen, for a little nostalgia.

Also, you can find a fabulous cover story on Seun Kuti, Fela's youngest son, written by New York Public Radio staff writer Siddhartha Mitter in our newest issue, ALARM 33.

Doppler Shift, Family Order @ Beat Kitchen (Chicago)

Drawing tangential comparisons to Squarepusher and John Zorn's Naked City, heavy jazz-rock quartet Doppler Shift headlines this late show at Chicago's Beat Kitchen. Influenced by IDM, funk, and dropped-D riffs a lá mid-'90s Helmet, Doppler Shift creates a powerful, beat-driven jazz intersection that shows no mercy.

The quartet leans on electric trumpet and distorted bass for its dirty sound, but the style is equally sophisticated, employing its share of acrobatic duels between trumpet and saxophone. With a quality opener in the form of jam/groove four-piece Family Order, this show is a bargain for $6.

Bustle in Your Hedgerow @ Abbey Pub (Chicago)

Led Zeppelin cover bands are a dime a dozen, but not when one includes keyboardist Marco Benevento and drummer Joe Russo (who, together, make up the Benevento/Russo Duo). Watch the group lay down jam-rock renditions of Zep classics as Benevento tones up for the release of his great, new, covers-laden album Me Not Me, out February 3.

Aaron Funk (Venetian Snares)

Friday, December 5

Family Order @ Kinetic Playground

Jam/groove two-piece Family Order makes it hard to believe that such musical depth can be achieved with only a pair of people. Keyboardist/bassist Eitan Bernstein and drummer Charlie Dresser achieve this through engaging melodies, driving organs, wild synth freak-outs, and rock-solid beats.

This local performance marks the release of the duo's debut disc, which can be downloaded for free at edigitalstudios.com/dl/familyorder.zip.

Venetian Snares @ Reggie's

Bountiful laptop/electronics artist Aaron Funk has never lacked material. With multiple releases every year, usually under his Venetian Snares moniker, Funk tastefully destroys the glitch/breakcore/IDM idiom with frenetic beats, ominous synthesizers, tweaked samples, and most recently, beautiful stringed samples.

His most recent Snares album, Detrimentalist, is a more "classic" effort, leaning on the deconstructed dance tunes that built his name. For some of his compelling classical/breakbeat fusion, check out My Downfall (Original Soundtrack) or Rossz Csillag Alatt Született, the latter of which sampled Béla Bartók and Edward Elgar.

Funk releases another disc, 1961, in the US under his Last Step alias on Tuesday.

Saturday, December 6

Mucca Pazza, Icy Demons, Volcano! @ Bottom Lounge

As a Gypsy-rock marching band whose size can swell to 30 contributors, Mucca Pazza make for a booty-shaking good time. The quirky, carefree tunes of Icy Demons and the progressive indie rock of Volcano! open this show.

Q-Tip, The Cool Kids @ House of Blues

Editor/publisher Chris Force stops by the 2K Sports Bounce Tour to catch former A Tribe Called Quest frontman Q-Tip performing with a live band.  DJ Scratch from EPMD and hip-hop duo The Cool Kids also play. Maybe Q can pull out some special guest stars to perform "Get It Together" from the Beastie Boys' Ill Communication.

Sunday, December 7

Jimmy Two Hands' Rock and Roll Banjo Spectacular @ US Beer Company

Music editor Jamie Ludwig heads out to see her friend Jimmy's one-man band lay down some twangy ballads and instrumentals. Online editor Scott Morrow likely won't be in attendance, but not because of the music; he is repulsed by anything fermented.

Calexico

Jimmy Carl Black, the original drummer of Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention, has passed away at the age of 70 after a fight with lung cancer.

All Tomorrow's Parties has announced a new festival, scheduled for May 15-17, 2009 in Minehead. The fest will be curated by The Breeders and tickets are already on sale.

In other ATP news, '90s doom-metal group Sleep will reunite to play the series' next festival in Minehead, taking place earlier in May of 2009.

Interested parties can watch a free streaming video of Calexico's Southwestern folk from a 23-song performance in Amsterdam.

Genre-leaping identical twins and instrumentalists Nels Cline (guitar: Nels Cline Singers, Wilco) and Alex Cline (drums/percussion: The Alex Cline Ensemble, Tim Berne) are each releasing a solo album on Cryptogramophone on February 10, 2009. Follow the link for a sample track from each.

Technically assailing math-metal Relapse artists Dysrythmia have booked shows for February with labelmates Tombs.

Hard-hitting Brooklyn trio Goes Cube will have a limited-edition EP for sale on its upcoming Midwest and East Coast tour dates, some of which are paired with ALARM cover favorites Dub Trio.

Unsigned jam/groove duo Family Order has made all of its excellent upcoming album available for free download.

Funky jazz guitarist Will Bernard has begun a handful of West Coast tour dates with his trio.

Deftones bassist Chi Cheng is hospitalized and in serious condition after being involved in a car accident.