POP CAPSULES : REAL McCOY ROCK

Predictability is one of rock’s dirty words, but Dave Edmunds made it a virtue Friday at the Palace. Anyone who’s followed the Welshman for a few years could have predicted the key aspects of the set--but that didn’t prevent it from being a wonderful, dizzying celebration of Real McCoy Rock.

This time around it was even easier to guess the gems--songs from Elvis Presley to Elvis Costello--because many are found on Edmunds’ new live LP. This material received a typically spirited reading from his stellar backup quartet. Edmunds’ reedy, plaintive vocals and deft guitar licks were likewise on the money. And he remains that rare bandleader who not only allows his sidemen to upstage him, but encourages it. Edmunds proved similarly generous when Stray Cat Brian Setzer took center stage for the encore.

Scottish dance band APB opened the show with a busy blast of supple melodies darting in and out of percolating polyrhythms. Funky, funky but chic.