SLICK RICK

(Neumos) Promotional materials hype this show as a celebration of the 25th anniversary of The Great Adventures of Slick Rick, the groundbreaking debut packed with more color and personality than any rap record before it, alongside some of the most revolting misogyny ever set to beat. Helping Great Adventures retain its classic status is its creator's young age and general innocence at the time of its making—but hearing a 49-year-old ex-con try to make something of lyrical crap like "Treat Her Like a Prostitute," "Mona Lisa," and "Indian Girl" is a sad prospect. Lucky for all, Slick Rick is way more than a nostalgia act, acing guest spots on recent albums by Mos Def and Raekwon and venturing way beyond his boyish limits on 1999's The Art of Storytelling. Also lucky: Beyond the stinkers, Great Adventures is packed with brilliance, giving our man plenty of non-toxic fuel for a trip down memory lane. DAVID SCHMADER


DIG GOLDEN RETRIEVER'S SERENE VELOCITY

Elevator is a newish recurring event now up to its second edition, and getting Golden Retriever to headline is a real coup. The Portland duo of modular-synth master Matt Carlson and bass-clarinetist Jonathan Sielaff so far have issued two essential albums on Thrill Jockey, Occupied with the Unspoken and the new Seer. Golden Retriever’s atmospherically eerie and texturally intrepid explorations represent some of this country’s finest specimens of ambient, astral jazz, and avant-garde composition. With Ilyas Ahmed and Widesky. Machine House Brewery, 8 pm, $10, all ages. DAVE SEGAL