Ryan Adams
London, Manchester
A man of a thousand faces, Ryan Adams. Though he made his reputation by helping to re-invigorate country rock - via his first band, Whiskeytown, and with his solo albums Gold and Heartbreaker - he's since been pulled in a number of contradictory directions. He's made hip-hop, punk rock, even albums in thrall to Britpop, but seems happiest isolating these elements in separate projects or comedy guises rather than making the inclusive album he's clearly capable of. That seems to be the case with new one, Easy Tiger. Having debuted its material live, augmented with spectacular Grateful Dead-style noodling, the recorded version seems less interesting by comparison. That, though, is likely to be the beauty of these shows. A mercurial performer, there's no sure way of predicting quite what's going to happen here.
· Koko, NW1, Thu 7; Manchester University, Fri 8
Simian Mobile Disco
On tour
Able to turn their hands to nearly anything, Simian Mobile Disco are your flexible friends. Skilled producers - SMD man James Ford has worked on the Arctic Monkeys and Klaxons albums - and performers, they're a cheerful manifestation of the hybridisation of rock and dance. The most significant recent boost to the band's profile came when Kanye West drunkenly objected to them winning a MTV award for the promo video to We Are Your Friends, when his video had been "more expensive". All of which drama should fade here. Masters as DJs, these dates test their mastery of live performance.
· Barfly, Liverpool, Sat 2; Rescue Rooms, Nottingham, Tue 5; Empire, Middlesbrough, Thu 7; Arches, Glasgow, Fri 8
Hadouken!
On tour
People have been saying it for years, but Hadouken! are proof that pop may finally have eaten itself. Mixing grime, electro pop and thrashy rock, their music is not just a smorgasbord of influences, but of their lives. The band's songs - like recent single That Boy That Girl - boldly announce the fact. Fast-paced, almost cartoonish, their observations on their own scene takes the social reportage pioneered by the Streets to a comically over the top level. If Mike Skinner is the broadsheet, Hadouken! are tabloid, and what they may lack in subtlety, they make up for boldness and jokes. These all-ages shows see them playing to the converted, but they may be set to follow Klaxons into mainstream.
· Carling Academy 2 Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne, Sat 2; Underground, Stoke-on-Trent, Sun 3; The Waterfront, Norwich, Tue 5; Junction, Cambridge, Wed 6; Fez, Reading, Thu 7; ULU, WC1, Fri 8; Koko, NW1, Fri 8
Antibalas
On tour
No music seems to have been so tied to a time and place as Afrobeat, the music of politically enraged young Africans in the 1970s and 1980s. New York's Antibalas are seemingly on a mission to disprove that idea. In love with the grooves of classic Fela Kuti, but also more recent genres such as hip-hop, the band seem to have expanded the music to suit their purpose rather than just preserving something of value. The band's recent Security album featured a collaboration with Tortoise man John McEntire, while their indignation with the state of things might be a case of right place, and right time.
· The Jazz Cafe, NW1, Sat 2; Hare And Hounds, Birmingham, Sun 3; Sage, Gateshead, Tue 5; Sin City, Swansea, Wed 6; Regal, Glasgow, Fri 8
