Music listings

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Live music and more, tonight through Thursday, compiled by Al Hunter Jr., Sara Sherr, Jonathan Takiff and Damon C. Williams.

POP

Dashboard Confessional: Emo folk/rock singer-guitarist Chris Carrabba performs for the tender hearts, as will opening acts Say Anything and Ben Lee. Tweeter Center, Camden. 7:30 p.m. tonight. $27.50-$30. 215-336-2000 www.livenation.com.

Shadows Fall: Thrash metal rules at this show, moved from the Electric Factory to the more intimate TLA. Sharing the crowded bill with SF are Poison The Well, It Dies Today, Suffocation and Zao. TLA, 334 South St., 9 tonight, $18, 215-922-1011, www.livenation.com.

Don Peris/Denison Witner. A principal in the Innocence Mission, Peris shares a stage with his former student, singer/songwriter Witner. Tin Angel, 20 S. 2nd St., 7:30 tonight, $12, 215-928-0778, www.tinangel.com.

Bela Fleck Acoustic Planet: Some promoters are reluctant to publicize cancelled shows. But for the record, and in case you're holding tickets, this is one EFC Festival Pier show that won't happen tomorrow. Truth is, Fleck and friends would have been a better fit at the Mann.

Pietasters: Ska-punksters mix well with servings of Wareika Hill, Ghost Town Locals and the Skatopsies. Trocadero, 10th and Arch, 7 p.m. tomorrow, $13 (all ages), 215-922-LIVE, www.thetroc.com.

Pete Yorn: While his North Star show (tonight) sold out in a minute (no duh), you can haul butt down the shore to catch this noted talent's acoustic turn in a much larger venue. House of Blues, Club Harlem Ballroom, 801 Boardwalk, Atlantic City, 8 p.m. Sunday, $22, 609-236-2583, www.hob.com.

Richard Shindell/Maura O'Connell: A sometime resident of Argentina, Shindell shows the influence in his newer musical broodings. O'Connell is an Irish born talent (and former lead singer of De Dannan) with the voice of a dark angel and a surprising flair for songs by maverick Nashville composers. Upper Merion Township Park, 175 W. Valley Road, King of Prussia, 7 p.m. Sunday, $10, 610-265-1071.

Adrian Belew: Legendary "twang bark" guitarist (for King Crimson, Frank Zappa, Talking Heads, Laurie Anderson) has a deep catalog of material to plunder, and a creative spirit that refuses to quit. World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St., 7:30 p.m. Monday, $29, 215-222-1400, www.worldcafelive.com.

Chris Knight: Kentucky-born singer-songwriter crafts fine alt-country originals, sure to please fans of John Prine and Steve Earle. Why Knight's not yet a star is quite the mystery. Tin Angel, 20 S. 2nd St., 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, $12, 215-928-0978, www.tinangel.com.

Thin Lizzy/Blue Oyster Cult: We've been hearing "The Boys Are Back in Town" a lot on TV commercials, and loving it. Too bad lead singer Phil Lynott's no longer around to bask in the belated glory that his old band will enjoy, performing it anew. On the same bill are BOC, of "Don't Fear the Reaper" fame, a tune giddily recalled in a "SNL" skit with Will Farrell as the cowbell player who put the recording over the top. Keswick Theatre, Easton Road and Keswick Avenue, Glenside, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, $39.50 & $29.50, 215-572-7650, www.keswicktheatre.com.

HIP-HOP

Cedric the Entertainer: One of the original Kings of Comedy returns to the area, bringing his unique brand of comedy. House of Blues, 801 Boardwalk, Atlantic City, 8 p.m. tomorrow, $37-$62, 609-236-Blue, www.hob.com.

Unity Tour '06: The artificial barriers between musical genres come down at this super show. Punk-, rap-, ska-fusing vets 311 are top billed, though of equal import are the tune-smart, crossover-worthy hip-hop group Jurassic 5 (out celebrating their great new "Feedback" platter), the remnants of Jamaican reggae supergroup the Wailers, plus Hawaiian exports Pepper, shaking up their batch of alt pop/rock, punk and reggae. Festival Pier, Columbus Boulevard and Spring Garden Street, 6 p.m. Tuesday, $39.50, 215-336-2000, www.livenation.com.

Busta Rhymes: Perhaps one of the most consistent emcees in rap turned heads when he cut his locks, signed with Dr. Dre's Aftermath and linked up with the same camp that produced Eminem, 50 Cent, the Game, Ice Cube and Snoop. A risky alliance, sure, but it has paid dividends with the well-received "The Big Bang," Busta's seventh LP. House of Blues, 801 Boardwalk, Atlantic City, 8 p.m. Thursday, $47-$57, 609-236-Blue, www.hob.com.

JAZZ

Pete McCann: Guitarist from the Big Apple has a warm attack that is very much at home in harmonic-heavy settings. (He is a fan of Kenny Wheeler, after all.) But when called on, McCann can lay down some nasty licks, notably in the fusion mode. Chris' Jazz Cafe, 1421 Sansom St., 8 and 10 tomorrow, $12, 215-568-3131, www.chrisjazzcafe.com.

Shirley Lites & Co: Lead by the singer Lites and featuring drummer Lee-sa Dawn Robinson, this is essentially Billy Paul's band without Billy Paul. The performance, part of the after-work Jazz Meet, will be followed by an adult disco. Club Damani, 636 N. 66th St., 6-9 tonight, and Aug. 25, free, 215-476-1600, www.clubdamani.com.

Fierce Friday Happy Hour: Food, drink and live music, all for whatever you can donate at the door. (Parking is $5.) Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz and Performing Arts, Broad and Fitzwater streets, 5-8 tonight, 215-893-9912, www.clefclubofjazz.com.

Dave Posmontier: The versatile keyboardist returns tonight. Singer Joanna Pascale performs tomorrow. LaRose Jazz Club 5531 Germantown Ave., 8 and 10 p.m., $10 (one drink minimum), 215-248-4415, 215-844-5818.

Diane Schuur: "Deedles" has a full-throttle, three-and-a-half-octave range, but she doesn't go crazy with it. The restraint has paid off, with two Grammys, respect from her peers and a solid touring schedule. Wiggins Park, Mickle Boulevard, Camden, next to Adventure Aquarium, free, 856-216-2170, www.ccparks.com.

ALTERNATIVE

Pointless Fest: The weekend long punk-a-palooza continues with World Inferno/Friendship Society, P!ssed Jeans, Rambo, Paint It Black and more. First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut St., 7 tonight, 2:30 p.m. tomorrow, 3 p.m. Sunday, $45 four-day pass or $13 a day, all ages, 267-765-5210, www.r5productions.com.

Click: Promoter, DJ and king of the party-train soldiers Dave Pianka celebrates his birthday with Julian S Process. Fluid, 613 S. 4th St., 10 tonight, $5, 215-629-0565, www.igetrvng.com.

Pool Party Jammy Jam: This day-long indie rock summer camp is part of the Yarisworks Roadshow, which includes performances from the A-Sides, the Teeth, Yah Mos Def and the Dr. and Philip, a barbecue and instructors teaching the fine arts of making record-cover boxes, buttons and time capsule messages to the future. Public Pool, 13th and Carpenter streets (Ridgeway Park section of Hawthorne Park), noon tomorrow, free, 212-777-8056, ext. 34, www.yarisworks.com/events.php?id=79.

Summer Slugfest: New York punk band the Bullys, who count fans in Deborah Harry and producer Marky Ramone, play their first Philly show with quite a welcome wagon from Live Not On Evil, the Union Dead, YDI, Whiskey Livin, Shotgun Addiction, When Coastlines Collide, the Cutbacks and the Blessed Muthas. Boiler Room, 2224 N. 4th Street, noon tomorrow, $10, all ages, 215-218-0167.

Jeremy Enigk: After playing Lollapalooza in Chicago, the former frontman for proto emo band Sunny Day Real Estate and Fire Theft previews new music from a solo album due out in October. With Stars of Track and Field. North Star Bar, 27th and Poplar streets, 8 p.m. tomorrow, $13-15, all ages, 215-684-0808, www.northstarbar.com.

Harry & the Potters: Harry Potter and punk rock are the last two things you'd imagine together, until you see the very young DeGeorge brothers. The Boston duo brings along its evil side, Draco & the Malfoys, and the Hungarian Horn Tails, aka Darius, a 7-year-old from Allentown who writes and produces his own Harry Potter songs. Adorable. First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut St., 7 p.m. Thursday, $8, all ages, 267-765-5210, www.r5productions.com.