Friday, Jan. 25

Velvet Revolver @ The Rave, 8 p.m.
A group that pairs the bulk of the classic Guns N’ Roses lineup with former Stone Temple Pilots addict Scott Weiland, Velvet Revolver has thus far largely lived up to the tricky challenge of selling themselves as a new commodity without alienating old fans.

The group avoids nostalgia-act pandering, but amicably tosses concertgoers a bone in the form of the occasional old GNR or STP hit. Velvet Revolver reportedly will be working on a new album this spring, but that album risks being overshadowed by the members’ legacy bands: Weiland has hinted there may be a Stone Temple Pilots reunion brewing, while Axl Rose has indicated that GNR’s long-awaited Chinese Democracy is finally in the can- of course, fans know better than to believe any Chinese Democracy rumors at this point.

Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood @ The Pabst Theater, 8 p.m.
While affable libertarian Drew Carey has moved on to bigger, more prestigious game shows, filling Bob Barker’s sizable shoes on “The Price is Right,” his “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” co-stars have found a lucrative gig touring behind a stripped-down version of their late improv-comedy show. (Also Jan. 26.)

Saturday, Jan. 26

Loretta Lynn w/ Lee Rocker @ The Potawatomi Bingo Casino, 8 p.m.
In the early ’60s, Loretta Lynn’s misleadingly sweet voice seemed to herald the arrival of another country star in the acquiescent spirit of the handful of other female country singers who’d already achieved bona fide stardom, like Patsy Cline and Skeeter Davis, but Lynn’s jaded, feminist songs introduced her as an altogether new genre archetype: the strong independent woman. Lynn raked up two decades’ worth of hits—songs like “Don’t Come Home A’ Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ on Your Mind)” and “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” as well as more contentious fare like “The Pill” and “Rated X”—before she faded from the spotlight. She made a glorious, logical return in 2004 with Van Lear Rose, a fierce comeback album recorded with Jack White.

moe. w/ Cornmeal @ The Rave, 8 p.m.
After nearly two decades together, moe. still treads closely to the heavily improvised, traditional American rock that’s since served as the starting point for the rest of the sprawling jam-music scene, but in recent years the New York group has placed a renewed emphasis on studio albums. Last January, they released The Conch, a CD that prioritized songs over jams, and this week they followed it up with another studio album, Sticks and Stones. Interestingly, the cover art for this new album takes unusual artistic license by capitalizing the “M” in moe.’s adamantly ungrammatical moniker.