Prolific, ornery, talented, unpredictable, easy on the eyes, genius, bastard - there are many ways to try and describe Ryan Adams, but at this point if you've heard of him, you've probably formed some sort of opinion. In his new single "Two" he sings: "I got a really good heart, I just can't catch a break." Whether or not you buy that, we're still loving his new CD. Easy Tiger is built on the careworn love songs with memorable melodies that he does best, with no gimmicks or interludes. Bring your broken heart to hear him perform live on Monday night at the Herbst Theatre or on Tuesday at the Berkeley Community Theatre. We're giving away a copy of Easy Tiger to get one lucky winner fired up for the shows. (Contest ends 7/24; winner will be notified via email.)

If we made those stupid charts that indicate what's "in" and what's "out", we'd fill in one of the lines thusly: OUT - filling the set list with your greatest hits and obscure favorites; IN - playing one of your best albums in its entirety. Tonight Sonic Youth relive Daydream Nation at Berkeley Community Theatre (say hello to our contest winner Andrew if you see him there.) On Friday, the Melvins perform Houdini in its entirety at Slim's, and they stick around on Saturday to play Lysol/Eggnog from front to back. Then on Sunday night, Slint perform the influential 1991 release Spiderland at Bimbo's. If this is a growing trend, what album would you like to see peformed live?

Now for this week's show recommendations: Tonight at Great American Rasputina headline with opener and Sufjan bandmate/tour partner My Brightest Diamond. The guy and the girl in The Bird and The Bee throw the occasional expletive into their catchy pleasantries at The Independent. Girl Fest Bay Area kicks off at Cafe Du Nord with a special performance by actress Amber Tamblyn who you may remember from "Joan of Arcadia". It looks like she'll be reading some of her poetry, but if she ends up that she's fronting a punk band someone should let us know how it goes.

On Friday, see some local music at Hotel Utah with Or, The Whale, Dame Satan and Snowblink. On Saturday, Femi Kuti (son of Fela) performs with DJ Jeremiah (Mr. Afrobeat) at the Fillmore. Red Meat celebrate the release of their first album in five years, We Never Close, at Great American with William Elliott Whitmore. Bid adieu to Michelle Panache at her Farewell Soiree featuring Aa and Black Fiction at 12 Galaxies.

Catch a big bill at Bottom of the Hill on Saturday with Veil Veil Vanish's CD release show including sets by Immigrant, The Holy Kiss and Pony Come Lately. The Lovemakers, Honeycut and Everest are at Bimbo's. If you're in the market for some fun, female fronted indie rock, give Nico Vega a spin at Mezzanine when they open for Midnight Movies. Nico Vega frontwoman Aja's voice has a lot of character, with glimmers of Karen O and Linda Perry, and her bandmates Adam and Rich crank out enough guitar and drums dynamics for her to put on quite a stage spectacle.

Watch Nico Vega:

On Sunday, Smashing Pumpkins resume their residency at the Fillmore. Our buds at BAGeL Radio present an all ages show at Bottom of the Hill with Division Day, Ariel Mile and Truxton.

On Monday, we'll be at Herbst Theatre to see Ryan Adams. A new band we really dig, Tokyo Police Club, plays at the Independent with Dappled Cities. If you're looking for a new singer-songwriter to get excited about, head to Make-Out Room to see Luke Temple. If you want to take your mind off of everything, witness the absurdity of Chromeo at Mezzanine. We like that his song "Needy Girl" kind of reminds us of Timex Social Club's old school hit "Rumors" (watch the video), and the robotic tones of vocoders can still somehow elicit a laugh.

Watch Chromeo's video for "Rage".

On Tuesday you have a second chance to see Ryan Adams, this time at the Berkeley Community Theatre. Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter play Cafe Du Nord with The Moaners.