It's a sentiment that should come standard-issue with any virtuosity.

"I do have to check myself, because sometimes I can find myself doing overly complicated things, and I think, 'Wait, am I doing this because it makes the song good or because I'm trying to show off?'" said Kristian Dunn in a recent phone interview. "It usually ends up being the latter, and it gets cut. You've got to be tough with yourself in this kind of situation."

"This kind of situation" is pretty funny, because it's unlikely that El Ten Eleven has much company in what it does. An instrumental duo featuring Dunn on guitars (often a double-neck) and drummer Tim Fogarty, the band makes extensive use of looping and effects pedals to build tunes that would seem to need three or more players. "Fat Gym Riot," from 2008's These Promises Are Being Videotaped, climaxes with thick bass and twin (or perhaps triplet) lead guitars.

But when El Ten Eleven returns to RIBCO on September 27, there will be just Fogarty and Dunn and the latter's 13 pedals, trying to make the extraordinarily complicated seem like merely good music.

It's been more than two years since Dick Prall released his last studio album, Weightless, and while that's a typical gap in the music business, the Iowa-raised, Chicago-based singer/songwriter doesn't believe it works for independent artists generally, and him particularly.

"For me, it's kind of daunting to say, 'Okay, this is what I've done the last two years, here you go, and let's see if that carries for the next two years,'" he said in a recent interview to promote his September 9 solo-acoustic show at the Redstone Room. (He'll also be recording a Daytrotter.com session that day.)

The problem, he said, is that schedule forces a musician to re-build momentum with each album. So he's determined to stop fizzling between releases. He's prepping an EP for this fall, with another to follow in late winter.

In this new age of singles (and single-track purchasing), the EP looks to Prall like an ideal format.

Images by photographer Chris Jones from Friday's Scorpions concert at the i wireless Center. Click on any photo for a larger version.

Nick Curran's Reform School Girl starts with Etta James' "Tough Lover," in which the Austin, Texas-based singer, songwriter, and guitarist breaks out his best Little Richard impression while staying true to James' performance, from the opening growl forward. The album ends with AC/DC's "Rocker." In between are 12 Curran originals that make the compelling case that the essence of rock and roll didn't change much from 1956 (when "Tough Lover" was released) to 1975 ("Rocker") to 2010 (Reform School Girl).

Curran, who will perform with his band the Lowlifes at RIBCO on August 30, brings punk ferocity and grit to decidedly old-school rock, rockabilly, and blues. His music is undoubtedly retro, but his treatment of classic styles is so earnest, dirty, and fiery that it's impossible to fault him.