It List: Wednesday

Opeth/High On Fire/Baroness (House Of Blues): I was reminded of Opeth when writing up the Kayo Dot show yesterday. They're a pretty polarizing group, you can either deal with the softer, baroque/goth-folk passages, or not, and I prefer their harshest moments, which like most bands, usually appear earlier in their career. Anyone who saw High On Fire at Rubber Gloves will probably be disappointed to have to see them at House Of Blues, but that's the way it goes. Metal seems to be recession-proof.

Boston Spaceships Featuring Robert Pollard/High Strung (The Loft):  Bob Pollard and Dressy Bessy in the same night, huh? It's looking totally 1996 up in here. Bob Pollard is one of the most frustrating songwriters in rock history, which he most deservingly found a place in, after clamoring and fighting for over a decade. Bob's work with Doug Gillard was really the end of GBV for me, they became much less unique after his arrival, add to that the departure of Tobin Sprout, who was kind of Pollard's McCartney if not his Grant Hart, and it was strictly his solo work for me at that point onward.  Minus the one with Gillard, of course.  Pollard managed to redeem himself through said solo work here and there, along with some unreleased brilliance with the "Suitcase" box-set release. Even with some subpar material, Pollard is always a joy live, and definitely worth seeing. If you can get your hands on the ultra-rare "Relaxation Of The Asshole," a live album that features nothing but drunken bragging, anecdotes and all other manner of Pollard's slurred show-banter collected in one place, I highly recommend it. It takes a special kind of guy to get up on stage and brag about how you made better records than your peers, (including Nirvana, as he once did in Dallas), and that recording perfectly captures that essence. I'm pretty tempted to see this show, despite the natural concern that it might not match some of the guy's better moments. Still, it's hard not to root for Bob Pollard. The High Strung scored some cred by touring our nation's libraries and landing themselves on This American Life. Not a bad idea, but not really the band I'd like to see in a library. I actually caught them at RGRS years ago, and didn't really enjoy it there either.  SHOW IS CANCELED TONIGHT... DONT GO THERE

UPDATE: There's a SEQUEL to that live album. Can't wait.

Dressy Bessy/Farah/Bad Flirt (Hailey's): I just listened to Dressy Bessy for the first time in years. Man, Elephant Six did not age well, that's about all I can say. At least Farah is playing.

Yeah Def (Rubber Gloves): This set is free for 21 and up, and I wanted to mention Yeah Def's pretty interesting new website featuring a roster of contributors from around the globe, and covering various topics, from dance music, to a fairly nerdy obsession with Diablo 3.

Mount Righteous/Paper Bird/Laura Goldhamer (Swiss House)

Taxi Fare (Zubar)

Mako/Komarov/Hoop Dreamz/Dark Forces (1919 Hemphill):

Last minute show, heavy on the screamo.