Jimi Hendrix' Birthday Bash feat. Leon Hendrix, Goldy McJohn from Steppenwolf, Roger Fisher from Heart, and Randy Hansen at Club Broadway in Everett, 7 p.m., $10-$15

With drummer Mitch Mitchell's recent death, the physical legacy of the Jimi Hendrix Experience finally came to an end, 38 years after its leader's tragic, premature passing. But just because a rock icon is dead doesn't mean his baby brother can't throw him a rockin' birthday bash, which is essentially what this gig amounts to. Jimi's younger sibling is Leon, a 60-year-old former street hustler who didn't pick up a guitar until six years ago, at roughly the same time when it became apparent that his exhaustive legal efforts to regain a cut of his brother's lucrative estate would prove futile. But while critics will be apt to dismiss Leon and his backing band as a cheap imitation of the real thing, his prowess proves that playing electric guitar is hard-coded in the Hendrix DNA. While Leon's singing voice leaves something to be desired (the same was said of Jimi), he is a respectable axe wielder, even if an emergence from his brother's long shadow is virtually impossible at this point, if it was ever possible to begin with. MIKE SEELY

Over the Rhine, Jim Bianco at Triple Door, Saturday and Sunday, 7:30 p.m., $30 adv, $33 dos, all ages

Hawking original Christmas songs has never been the easiest commercial venture, but Ohio duo Over the Rhine renounced the pursuit of mainstream success long ago. Snow Angels, its 2006 collection of wistful holiday music, didn't reach far beyond the band's devoted following, but it might be the best soundtrack since A Charlie Brown Christmas for feeling melancholy and lovesick in December. Over the Rhine's annual holiday shows promise to draw from Snow Angels and the best of their earthy, dark-roasted catalogue. The band sells its own coffee online and the piano-driven music practically begs to be mused upon over one hot drink or another. Pianist/husband Linford Detweiler crafts songs with gorgeous open spaces, and vocalist/guitarist/wife Karin Bergquist fills them with an emotional range that makes sure the meditative music still flirts and surprises. JON HISKES

Little Penguins, Exploding High Fives, Red Sea Sharks at Comet Tavern, 9 p.m., $6

There's no doubt the Little Penguins should have received more local attention for Welcome To The Celebration, the band's first album of somber pop songs. But sophomore release Offer You This Cape, which features a new, fifth bandmate (Penguins frontman Will Hallauer's Turn Ons bandmate Erik Blood), might just get the Penguins the attention they deserved the last time around. Keys, harmonicas and twangy, distorted surf guitar riffs bleed together with the expert touch of a concert pianist pressing the damper pedal. In conjunction with Will Hallauer's melancholic vocals about cheating death and the nuclear age, Cape is an album of eerie sonic mutations, a sumptuous combination of shoegaze-y pedal work, Americana and modern cynicism. SARA BRICKNER

Portugal. The Man, Earl Greyhound, Wintersleep at El Corazon, 7 p.m., $14, all ages

Forget "Sarah. The Mayor"; The real thriller from Wasilla is Portugal. The Man. In the course of three years, this Alaska-based synth-noise four piece went from concocting chaotic keyboard tracks to sounding like a slightly mellower TV on the Radio. But that switch is no surprise, since Portugal. The Man (yes, that's the correct punctuation) is all about variety. Two members were part of now-defunct Portland hardcore heroes Anatomy of a Ghost; a third hailed from Konami Defense System, a band that sampled Nintendo video game theme songs. And every year since forming in 2005, Portugal. The Man has faithfully released an album, an annual step that brought the band closer and closer to the sound on this year's Censored Colors: Melodic vocals balanced with half-sparse, half-symphonic guitars and keyboards. It's about time for Portugal. The Man's 15 minutes of fame -- and hopefully, these guys will reach higher levels of success than Governor Palin and "Joe. The Plumber." PAIGE RICHMOND

LP bowl seen here with Max.

From the office of Another Reason Vinyl is Better Than MP3s ... my in-laws included this copy of Bob Seger's Nine Tonight, warped into the shape of a bowl in their Thanksgiving care package. Try doing THAT with your digital copy of Writer's Block in 2030!

Yes, I tried playing it on my turntable. There's just a sliver of "Old Time Rock and Roll" that appears playable, but wasn't, sadly. Guess I'll have to turn on KZOK.

The bowl is made by Vinylux, which also peddles coasters, cups, ornaments, and snack trays.

What Are You Listening To?

For this week's blog, I interviewed a friend who was listening to music in a different way. Instead of whipping out an iPod or other personal music player, she had her computer and was listening to the internet radio station Pandora. Curious about her station choices and what she thought of the service, I interviewed her. Here's the result.

Name: Shiree
Occupation: Student
Where and When: University of Washington campus, Communication Building, Tuesday night

What Are You Listening To?

Right now I have it set to Sarah McLachlan. (ed. note: The listener can set different stations to play songs similar to a particular musician or song style.) Some of my favorites have happened to be Natalie Merchant and Cyndi Lauper. Jewel is on there, and Alanis Morissette. My other favorite station to listen to is Led Zeppelin.

Ever been to Lilith Fair?

I don't even know what that is.

Why Pandora?

I discover a lot of different music this way....Right now I'm listening to 'Take Everything' by Mazzy Star. I've actually never heard this song...I like it.

Any favorite songs from these artists?

'World on Fire' by Sarah McLachlan.

Why Are You Listening To This?

Both these artists fall into genres where there's a lot of instrumentals, and I find the vocals are very soothing and I can get lost in them.

Here's a list of some of Shiree's musical choices, and the artists' most recent albums:

Alanis Morissette: The Collection (2005)
Cyndi Lauper: The Body Acoustic (2005)
Jewel: Goodbye Alice in Wonderland (2006)
Led Zeppelin: How the West Was Won (2003)
Mazzy Star: Among My Swan (1996)
Natalie Merchant: Retrospective (2005)
Sarah McLachlan: Wintersong (2006)

 

Once again, our very own audio archaeologists, Light in the Attic Records, have released one of the finest records of 2008: Rodriguez's Cold Fact.

We haven't written about this release in the print edition yet, but we will next year when one of our local clubs gets the balls to book Rodriguez...as other clubs have done in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Hannah Levin did a fantastic job writing about Rodriguez and Light in the Attic co-owner Matt Sullivan's quest to reissue this lost masterpiece in this week's SF Weekly. Check it out...

 

Jesse Sykes, opening for Sparklehorse on Feb. 14, 2007. Photo by Michael Alan Goldberb.

Mac Lethal. Andrew talks about him below, but this is pretty much what you'd expect from the Rhymesayers.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. For the five of you who are actually going out to drink away the horrors of spending time with your families, you can:

1. Go to the War Room
2. Go to the Blue Moon Tavern for a jamboroo
3. Go to Moe Mod

Anything else happening tomorrow night that's worthy? Pretty much everything seems to be closed...but that's tomorrow! Here's tonight (Partman Parthorse is at the Funhouse tonight, too, by the by):

Mac Lethal, Grieves, Soulcrate Music at 8 p.m., $10

Mac Lethal earned his rep with rapid-fire punch lines, belittling opponents with malicious freestyles ("you look like Roseanne Barr covered in tar") en route to winning the 2002 title at Scribble Jam, hip-hop's cage match. Like fellow Scribble champs Sage Francis (2000) and Rhymefest (2003), the Kansas-based MC has expanded his repertoire beyond observational insults, though he still eviscerates the likes of Soulja Boy and Fergie -- over their own beats - during his concerts. Mac's stellar 2007 album 11:11 ranges from detailed autobiographical sketches to broad parody ("Pound That Beer"), from emotional vulnerability to playful flirtation ("Make Out Bandit"). Earlier this month, Mac unveiled "Black Clover Posse Cut," a bouncy track that explodes live when tourmates Grieves and Soulcrate Music join him to reprise their verses on stage. Mac retired from the battle-rap circuit, but he maintains that format's best qualities: outrageous humor and spontaneity. ANDREW MILLER

Henry Rollins, Moore Theatre, 8 p.m., $25, all ages (as usual)

 If Leonardo da Vinci were to go on a speaking tour, what would an evening in his presence entail? Would he pontificate endlessly on the human form, engaging his audience with a PowerPoint of the Vitruvian Man? Or lecture on his musings of tectonic plates, maybe even topographic anatomy? The point is, you would go, because rarely in life does one have the opportunity to sit in the presence of a true polymath, (someone whose breadth of knowledge spans multiple subjects). While Rollins' talking points differ wildly from da Vinci's -- from political diatribe to punk philosophy to spoken word poetry -- these Renaissance men express intellectual insight luminous as the art they create. RAECHEL SIMS

Duff McKagan's column runs every Thursday on Reverb.

It's that time of the year that we all either love or hate. For me, Thanksgiving has always been a special time of year.

Growing up in a family of eight kids--with humor as its main ingredient--has most certainly been exciting and interesting. In my adult years, however, touring and living in Los Angeles has mostly kept me from coming back home to Seattle for this first part of the holidays. The spirit of my family has thankfully always remained with me (even in my 'dark' period!) and this spirit has kept me sane. This spirit gently nudges me to think of how fortunate I am, and how some others may not be. With that being said, here is a quick list of things of some of the things I am thankful for.

Last Saturday I did my weekly grocery shopping at my usual store. This store happens to have a recycling center that will give cash for your cans and bottles. Every Saturday I would see the usual 8 to 12 homeless guys in line there. These fellas go through the neighborhood recycle bins basically to make their living. No big deal. Last weekend though, I saw a rather big commotion at the end of the parking lot where the recycle center sits. When I started to walk past it I saw why; instead of the usual 8 to 10 homeless guys, there was a long line of residents of the area. This is the first time I have witnessed this in the 15 years that I have lived here. I am thankful that I can still provide for my wife and kids this year.
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As many of you have already heard, John Spalding, the man behind Loveland, recently passed on after a long, hard-fought fight against cancer.  I just received this message from producer Matt Bayles secondhand, via Chris Estey, asking for community help to release the Loveland album, The Beautiful Truth, which you can read about here. 

Hey everyone,

As many of you know, John's record, "The Beautiful Truth," has been finished for a few weeks now. John spent so much time over the last couple of years finishing it, and we want to make sure it gets it into stores. 

Our goal is to raise money to get a first pressing made. Because John meant so much to so many, I am hoping that no single person will have to donate more than $50 to make this happen. If $20 is all you can afford, that still is a tremendous help. 

I am in the process of opening a separate trust account dedicated to the release of "The Beautiful Truth."  Of course 100% of any money made from sales of the record, as well as any excess money left in the CD release fund, will be sent to the medical trust fund.  As soon as I have opened the account I will let everyone know what the exact name of the fund is so they can donate.

Plans are also in the works for a digital release as soon as possible. Our goal is to get the CD in local stores by Christmas.

Please forward this information to anyone else who may want to contribute.

Thank you,

Matt

 

Photo: Jenny Jimenez (L-R: Scott Kannberg, JJ Wandler, Hannah Levin)

So, last week, you opened a bar in Greenwood called Gainsbourg. Obviously, since you're SW's music columnist, you're a music fan. Why did you pick Serge as your inspiration and theme?

Honestly, the Gainsbourg name was my partner JJ's stroke of brilliance. We always admired the approach that the owners of Hazlewood in Ballard took when they named their bar after Lee Hazlewood. Just anchoring the concept on an admirable artist seemed like a good way to go. And Serge is such a perfect source of inspiration for a bar, in both aesthetic and spirit. Just hanging up pictures of [his famous former wife] Jane Birkin is a nice place to start. She's ridiculously gorgeous. I never get tired of staring at her.

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