He's angling to be the most prolific man in Little Rock music. Jason Weinheimer's just unveiled Love Ghost, his new solo project. He recorded it in the fall with Will Boyd engineering and Tulsa's Eric Amdt on bass, New Orleans' pedal steel whiz Dave Easley, Green Day's Jeff Matika on guitar and the Boondogs' Dylan Turner on drums. Earlier this week, Weinheimer mastered it in New York, and today you can stream it for free or download it (in just about any format) for $8. Hey technology!

It'll come out in physical form on Max Recordings soon. Love Ghost debuts in Little Rock at White Water next Saturday, November 28.

I just started listening, but on first brush, it sounds awesomely pop-y. Digging Weinheimer and Matika's harmonies. And Easley's pedal steeling.

Disappointed, though, that Weinheimer didn't take my suggestion and call the album "Succubus" or better yet "Succubus?"

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It's that time again.

We've finalized the schedule of the annual Arkansas Times Musicians Showcase. It'll kick off on January 28 at Sticky Fingerz and continue at the club through the next three or four Thursdays. Then the finals shift to Revolution on Friday, March 5.

As usual, the contest is open to any act in Arkansas who specializes in original material.

Each week, four acts square off before five judges (four regular judges and one weekly guest judge). The winner moves on to the finals.

The entry deadline is Friday, January 8. Uploading band info and mp3s of your material online here is the easiest method. We'll also be running an entry form in the paper, beginning next week, for several weeks. So you can fill out that form and mail it and a CD in, too.

Holler at me with questions at lindsey AT artkimes.com.

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INSANE CLOWN POSSE
7 p.m., The Village. $22.

Reason number 376 that the apocalypse is drawing nigh: Insane Clown Posse, the Detroit rap duo famous for painting their faces like evil clowns, carrying the torch for horrorcore (dark, largely horrifying subject matter) and spraying Faygo soda on its fans at concerts, pulls in up to $10 million annually. That spit-your-coffee-out-mid-sentence revelation comes courtesy of a recent Detroit Free Press article released not long after “Bang! Pow! Boom!,” the group's 11th album, peaked at number four on the Billboard 200. The report details the rap duo's empire — an artist-owned label, an annual festival that draws up to 20,000 fans, wrestling exhibitions, comic books, features films, a twice weekly Web radio show — without examining the most provocative part of it. Who's buying all this shit? Or rather who are the thousands of ICP fans who call themselves Juggalos and Juggalettes, rap/sing along to bad lyrics mostly about behaving badly, paint their faces and occupy a disturbing chunk of online real estate? Your guess is as good as mine, but I bet they fill up the Village.

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ARKANSAS VS. MISSISSIPPI STATE
11:21 a.m., War Memorial Stadium. $45.

Things are looking up in Hogland. Our quarterback is obliterating school passing records. Our defense isn't terrible. And most importantly, we're bowl-eligible for the first time under Petrino (see a fuller analysis in Sooie, page 34). But contentment is not something that comes easy to Razorback fans. Ryan Mallet needs a 500-yard five-touchdown game (why wait until next season to mount a Heisman campaign?). Our defense needs to go one game without giving up a big play. And lest we end up in the Papajohns.com or whatever-the-hell bowl, we need to win these next two games. You can do your part by tailgating when the sun comes up and hollering louder than a cowbell. The game's sold out, but that never stopped anyone who really wanted to go. After all, the Cotton Bowl's calling.

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PAT GREEN
9 p.m., Revolution. $25 adv., $30 d.o.s.

Texan Pat Green spent the late ‘90s touring relentlessly and self-releasing albums, building up a strong regional fan base and selling more than 200,000 albums without major-label support. With a sound somewhere in between that of home-state heroes Robert Earl Keen and Jerry Jeff Walker and the arena pop of bands like Hootie and the Blowfish, Green became a juggernaut in the college scene. When he signed to Universal in 2001, he appeared to be on the road to superstardom. Five albums and eight years later, he's still dancing between regional and national success, but in these parts, he's unquestionably a big deal. And on Razorback gameday, shew, better get your tickets early.

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DISCO TURNS 30
9 p.m., Discovery. $10.

G-force is in the lobby. Michael Shane mans the disco. They'll both do throwback sets that start in the 70s and end in our era in the wee hours. They'll be throwback drink prices until midnight, too.

Check out Robert Bell's story on the club from this week's issue:

Norman Jones has owned the nightclub Discovery since 1979. So far, the venue has weathered six presidential administrations, four recessions, several remodelings and countless trends in dance music. In that span, Discovery has morphed from a small space that served a mostly gay clientele into a 22,000-square-foot late-night behemoth, where remarkably diverse crowds dance and drink till dawn.

But at age 63-and-change, Jones isn't merely pondering retirement when he turns 65.

“I am counting down the days until I can retire,” he said. “I've worked my ass off for 30-something years and I think after that you deserve to retire and take a lower profile in your business — if it's still my business. Of course, anything I've got is for sale to the right person at the right price.”

Continue reading "Saturday To-Do: Discovery 30th Anniversary" »

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THE DIRTY DOZEN BRASS BAND
9 p.m., Sticky Fingerz. $15.

The Crescent City is known for harvesting its own flavor of swamp-boogie funk, voodoo blues and traditional Dixieland jazz roots. But combine those three and the result is truly original. Dirty Dozen Brass Band is gonna inject a shot of groove straight into a venue and turn it into a rump-shaking festival, especially combined with the post-Hog crowd certain to be in the area. Even though there are only nine members in its lineup, the band sounds like a full-bore marching platoon from the moment it launches into the opening number, which often is the title track to its 1984 debut album “My Feet Can't Fail Me Now.” Established in 1977, DDBB has been a guiding influence on New Orleans brass acts since. If you want three decades of culture, history and badass Big Easy sounds rolled up and twisted tight, make plans for this one. Longtime local favorites Freeverse set the mood in the opening slot. Be there.

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Unknown Hinson.

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Now just imagine that's another finger Billy Joel's holding up.

First, Elton John got sick and forced a string of cancellations, now Billy Joel's suffering from some unknown ailment that's led to another spate of skipped dates. That's tough luck for Central Arkansas and for Verizon Arena's planned ten-year anniversary bash scheduled for Nov. 28: While this week's planned concerts in Denver, Salt Lake City and Oklahoma City have all been postponed, the Verizon date has simply been cancelled. "Scheduling conflicts" are to blame, a Verizon press release says.

Refunds are available at the point of sale.

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ZAC BROWN BAND
7 p.m., Verizon Arena. $30.25.

This one should draw a festive crowd, given Brown's widespread popularity and songs that feel considerably more natural and genuine than the standard Nashville factory product. That a crew such as Brown's killed at this year's Bonnaroo gives testament to his wide appeal. His act is not simply one persona backed by hired ghosts, but rather a six-piece band closing in on nearly a decade together, which may be hardly surprising considering Brown's birth order is 11 out of 12.  But aside from wrecking the charts, he's also reportedly begun work as a philanthropist and humanitarian, using income from his current album, “The Foundation,” to assist a non-profit organization described as an “all-inclusive children's camp that will teach diversity, freedom, teamwork, social justice, nutritional awareness, liberty and life skills as well as music and art.” High fives for Zac!

—Paul Peterson

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STEVE KIMOCK CRAZY ENGINE
9 p.m., Revolution. $15.*

All right, folks. This cat can make it rain, shine, snow, hail and gust — all in the same song. Musicians may already have deeper awareness of Kimock's stellar 30-year-plus resume and credentials and should force the unfamiliar out to this show at knifepoint if necessary. Known for impressive work in groups such as Zero, Rhythm Devils and a previous band under his name, Kimock brings his latest project, Crazy Engine, to town. Just because he's among jam bands' original gangsters, don't let the ‘jam' handle sour your curiosity. He's joined by Melvin Seals on B-3 organ; his son, John Morgan Kimock, on drums; and bassist Janis Wallin and two female vocalists, Cheryl Rucker and Shirley Starks. These names may not signify too much now, but they will by this time on Saturday.

—Paul Peterson

*We mistakenly had this in the paper happening on Friday. Many apologies.

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Mickey and the Motorcars.

Austin's Mickey and the Motorcars play a rocked-up brand of country at Sticky Fingerz, 10 p.m.

Little Rock's finest jazz trio, the Ted Ludwig Trio, starts at its regular gig at the Capital Bar, 5 p.m., free, before playing the Afterthought's regular jazz night, 8:30 p.m., $5.

Oklahoma folk-rocker Travis Linville shares the bill at White Water Tavern with rockabilly revivalist Willie Heath Neal, 9:30 p.m., $5.

Blues woman Charlotte Taylor headlines at Cornerstone Pub, 9 p.m., $5.

After flood damage shut it down for several weeks, Murry's Dinner Playhouse is back with the comedy “Natalie Needs a Nightie,” 5 p.m., $22-$30.

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Brian Boitano.

HOLIDAY CELEBRATION ON ICE
7 p.m., Verizon Arena. $46.75-$61.75.

“First they told me that we were going to have to wear ice skates, but they relented,” REO Speedwagon's Kevin Cronin joked by phone last month. “It's going to be a different type of performance.” No doubt. And not one that demographically screams Arkansas. The gist: World-champion ice skaters — like Brian Boitano and Elvis Stojko — offer a holiday-themed program, while '80s radio champs REO Speedwagon and Rick Springfield provide a live soundtrack, all while NBC films for a special that'll air the Sunday after Thanksgiving. Which means that if Cronin flubs the lyrics to “Winter Wonderland” or Boitano misses on a triple lutz, the audience gets a repeat performance until they get it right enough for producers. But, hey, you might be on national TV on a sleepy Sunday, when everyone else is watching football (3 p.m.-5 p.m.). Look for Springfield and REO Speedwagon to do a mix of hits and seasonal favorites.

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A friendly reminder: No bitching allowed with Chili's wins best margarita in Toast of the Town, our first annual booze and bars poll, if you don't take time to vote.

You've only got a little more than 24 hours to vote online before the poll closes.

You could win $100.

Vote here.

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Monte Montgomery.

Guitar Player magazine called him one of the "Top 50 Greatest Guitarists of All Time." He's also been called, less illuminatingly, “The Evel Knievel of Guitar” and “The Answer to the Fermi Paradox.” Monte Montgomery returns to Juanita's tonight, 9 p.m., $15.

At Divas and Dudes at the Afterthought, local amateur singers tackle standards with the Carl Mouton Trio providing backing support, 8 p.m., $5. There's cash awards and gift certificates to the winners.

At Sticky Fingerz, the Lucious Spiller Band performs its regular gig, 9:30 p.m., $5.

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CELTIC THUNDER
7:30 p.m., Robinson Center Music Hall. $40-$120.

The Celtic onslaught on Central Arkansas continues. In the last year, we've seen the Boys of the Lough, Celtic Woman and about this time last year, Celtic Thunder. Our Scots-Irish roots must run deep. Famous for its PBS specials and within Ireland and Scotland and Celtic music circles as being the male answer to Celtic Woman, Celtic Thunder returns with a multi-generational take on traditional Celtic music. The five-man vocal group, which spans in age from 17 to somewhere in middle age, is famous for adding regional flair to contemporary songs like “Every Breathe You Take.” Look out for elaborate choreography, visual effects and bagpipes.

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Mickey Avalon.

Rapper Mickey Avalon, famous for songs like "My Dick" (yep), headlines at the Village, with Beardo, Ke$ha and more, 9 p.m., $20.

Big CCR fans Chooglin' bring punked-up R&B (with horns!) to White Water, 10 p.m., donations. This could be big times.

Piano man John Willis plays SpeakEasty, 9 p.m., free.

And Carl Mouton offers a jam session at the Afterthought, 8 p.m., free.

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Kris Allen
"Kris Allen," 19/Jive

It’s hard to imagine this panning out any other way. Think about it; this time last year, Kris Allen was a Conway kid with a glimmer of hope at getting more than a few seconds of airtime on “American Idol.” So far this year, he’s spent five months aboard the “Idol” rollercoaster, and the other five enduring a career’s worth of publicity, touring almost non-stop and, oh yeah, finding time to record his debut album.

As a TV show, the “Idol” formula is golden: In a marriage of two of our most cherished values — populism and celebrity — America gets to elect a new pop star (or at least it’s a convincing illusion). Post-show the grand ideals take a backseat. “Idol” parent company 19 Entertainment switches, transparently, into moneymaking mode, and it wants a return, quickly.

All of which is to say, take heart Allen fans. Just about no one comes out of “American Idol” with a pleasing first album. The real question is, is it bad enough to keep him from a second album on a major?

Continue reading "Review: Kris Allen's debut" »

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From two dimensions to three.

George Dombek, the Goshen (and New York) artist known for his crisp paintings of rocks, flowers and trees, will create a bronze sculpture based on his bicycle-tree paintings for Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Alice Walton’s project in Bentonville.

The museum announced commission this morning for Dombek and Pat Musick, formerly of Arkansas, who will create “A Place Where They Cried,” a sculpture to commemorate the forced migration of the Cherokee, Muscogee Creek, Chickasaw, Choctaw and Seminoles in 1837-39. Musick, formerly of Huntsville, who now lives in Vermont, created an earlier piece commemorating the Trail of Tears’ Benge route through North Arkansas, “Yokes on the Trail of Tears,” now on the grounds of the Tyson Foods headquarters.

Continue reading "Crystal Bridges commissions Dombek" »

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Dane Cook
Nov. 13, Verizon Arena

If you didn’t know that the core of Dane Cook fans reside within the teenage and college student sectors, 4,014 of made their presence felt last Friday, by arriving well past the designated start time, constipating the beer lines and talking louder and faster than all three of the evening’s performers combined.

Cook’s act is built on observational and narrative humor, a common and successful approach. But the intensity of his machine-gun delivery may be best left to the likes of Robin Williams, as Cook’s punchlines didn’t always arrive full circle or seem resolved before he delved into the next topic. A key component of comedy lies in the transitions between ideas and stories, how they connect. With few exceptions, Cook’s anecdotes were forced into a series of streamlined tales delivered via a one-hour run-on sentence.

Continue reading "Last Weekend: Dane Cook" »

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Billy Joe at Rev. Photo by Jeff Holder.

Billy Joe Shaver
Nov. 13, Revolution

In his latest, most ubiquitous publicity photo, Billy Joe Shaver gazes, knowingly, into the horizon. His brow’s furrowed; his wrinkles deep and shadowed. The wind lifts the back of his whisp-y white hair. He looks weathered. He looks like a defiant Indian chief. He looks like his voice is going to be broken by years of drink and tragedy and hard living.

Pictures lie. Because the Billy Joe Shaver who headlined at Revolution on Friday was the spryest 70-year-old in the world. He fist-pumped. He gave himself chest pounds. He flapped his arms like a bird. He two-stepped with himself as a partner, twice. He drank two Red Bulls (“an old man’s bumper jack”). He had words of wisdom on drinking (“It ain't what goes into your mouth that defiles you, it's what comes out”) and Jesus (“He’s the one that makes us all number two”). And he told awesomely rambling stories — about his grandmother, who he said gave birth to his mother in Texarkana with her legs straddling the Arkansas and Texas line, about his mother, who had a rear end “13-axe-handles wide,” about his wild, drinking days when he and his band “puked” so much onstage that it turned into a “slip-n-slide.”

That charisma kept everyone in smiles, but it wasn’t a crutch. Unlike most of his contemporaries — Willie and Dylan come to mind — Shaver’s voice isn’t wrecked, he’s not reduced to offering cues to the audience with speak-singing. He’s still got that gentle country tenor he’s hung his songs on since the early ’70s. And Saturday, he treated us to a broad career retrospective. Likely to keep the requests down, he kicked the show of with “Georgia on a Fast Train.” He reclaimed “Honky Tonk Heroes” from Waylon Jennings. He did “Black Rose” (“the devil made me do it the first time / the second time I done it on my own”), “I’m Just an Old Chunk of Coal (But I’m Going to Be a Diamond Someday)” and he tried to remember, for the Arkansas crowd, the lyrics to “Wild Cow Gravy,” a song about his Arkansas kinfolk’s skill in milking a cow gone wild.

It goes like this: “Eating wild cow gravy and drinking mountain dew / it’ll make you live forever even if you don’t want to.”

Another pic after the jump.

Continue reading "Last Weekend: Billy Joe Shaver" »

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AA Bondy.

AA BONDY / ELVIS PERKINS IN DEARLAND
9 p.m., Sticky Fingerz. $10.

Ocean-deep lyrics combined with steadily paced songs mark the work of Auguste Arthur Bondy. Shedding the alt-rock genre of the 1990s (as a former member of Verbena) in favor of country-tinged mellowness, Bondy brings to mind a two-stepping couple alone on the barroom floor, ignoring the bartender's pleadings for last call. Numbers like “Killed Myself When I Was Young” creep in with continuous hypnotic kick drum thump that eventually gives way to subtle electric layers and haunting narratives of rebirth. Bondy's 2009 Fat Possum album, “When The Devil's Loose,” brings to mind the unfiltered production of Bob Dylan's “Time Out of Mind,” with all the swooning of slow-tempo songs that rely more on moody atmospheric creations instead of heaps of instrumentation. A perfect co-headlining match for Bondy is folk recording artist Elvis Perkins in Dearland. Perkins (the son of actor Anthony Perkins) made a huge name for himself with “Ash Wednesday” in 2007, touring with the multi-instrumental crew that comprises Dearland, which released its self-titled debut as a full band this year. Aside from his vocals and guitar work, EPID contains saxophone, organ, harmonium, trombone, drums and clarinet.

—Paul Peterson

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BISHOP ALLEN
8 p.m., Sticky Fingerz. $10.

Maybe Christian Rudder can get an early Thanksgiving. The Little Rock native returns home for the second time in 2009 with his increasingly popular indie band this weekend. Since he left town years back to go to Harvard, he's amassed a pretty killer resume. During and after college, he served as the editorial director for TheSpark.com, where he designed and often participated in hilarious, web-famous science gags like the Stinky Feet Project. After TheSpark.com sold to Barnes and Noble, Rudder and the founders of TheSpark.com developed OKCupid.com, which has become one of the Internet's largest dating services. Meanwhile, Rudder starred in one of the first so-called “mumblecore” films, Andrew Bujalski's “Funny Ha Ha,” and formed Bishop Allen with his Harvard classmate Justin Rice. Since 2003, the band's made steady gains in the indie world and beyond, from self-releasing and self-promoting its first album (to a lot of buzz), to releasing an EP a month in 2006, to landing one of its songs featured prominently in “Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist.” Bishop Allen, which plays hook-heavy, stripped-down pop-rock, continues to tour in support of its fourth full-length, “Grrr…”

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REVIVAL TOUR
6 p.m., Juanita's. $13 adv., $15 d.o.s.

The Revival Tour has been revived. Almost exactly a year ago, it came to Juanita's with a bill that featured Ben Nichols and the lead singers of Against Me, Avail and Hot Water Music. Chuck Ragan, of Hot Water Music, returns, but he's the only one. This year, he's joined by Sparta's Jim Ward (famous for his part in At the Drive-In, too), British folk-punk Frank Turner, Oklahoma solo act Audra Mae and Jon Snodgrass and Chad Price of Drag the River. The idea's the same — in a nod to the folk era, everyone plays solo or duo acoustic sets with backing support from everyone else.

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CHRIS MICHAELS
7 p.m., Oyster Bar. $5.

Chris Michaels has been around. Back in the day in Shreveport, Kevin “Shinyribs” Russell tried to recruit him into the band that would eventually become the Gourds. In Oxford, Michaels spent time in Beanland, a legendary band in its own right, known in jam circles as the band that launched the careers of several members (past and present) of Widespread Panic. Really, Michaels has played with just about everyone — from Buddy Flett to Cab Calloway to Jim Dickinson to Kevin Gordon — not to mention the years he's spent in Little Rock playing bass in the Boondogs. So, after more than 20 years playing music professionally, it's about damn time that he's stepped up to the mic to record an album with his name on it. This party and concert at Oyster Bar (really one of the great unsung small venues in Little Rock) celebrates the release of “Morning & Night” on Max Recordings. Naturally, it features a who's who of the region's musicians, most if not all will be helping him out Saturday. Expect crack guitar playing, lyrics that stick and lots of familiar faces in the local scene. The concert starts at 9 p.m. sharp, Michaels promises.

AND: Listen to Michaels talk effects pedals on the debut of "Pedal Talk."

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Dro.

YOUNG DRO / HUEY
9 p.m., Mims Gymnasium, Philander Smith College. $40.

At Philander Smith, they don't just do homecoming weekend; the party stretches all week. After last weekend's step competition and riverboat cruise, the celebration winds down with men's and women's basketball followed by an after-party featuring the rappers above, each of which is big in the club, or was recently. Young Dro is out of Atlanta, a part of T.I.'s Grand Hustle team. He comes to town in advance of his sophomore album, “P.O.L.O (Players Only Live Once),” which is due out in January. Expect the crowd to be well-versed in the particulars of the “Shoulder Lean.” The dance track launched Dro to fame in 2006. The following year might've belonged to St. Louis' Huey, who had dance floors on lock from the opening line of “Pop Lock and Drop It”: “Toot that thing up mami, make it roll.” Lil Ru and Teairra Mari round out the bill.

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The See. Photo by Heather Canterbury.

FRIDAY 11/13

Shiprocked! is a benefit for Arkansas Hospice on the Arkansas Queen. Local garage-lounge act Stella Fancy plays the main deck while DJ Jeremy Brasher spins on the third, open-air level, 10 p.m., $20.

At the Village, local rock acts Spinning Jenny, Jessica 7, the Throbbing Testicles and Little Monsters share the bill, 7 p.m., $10.

Bluegrass aficionados Runaway Planet pick and grin at White Water, 9:30 p.m., $5.

Local rap collective Tho'd Studios showcases at Cornerstone, 9 p.m., $5.

Local party band Tragikly White is at Sticky Fingerz, 10 p.m.

The Weekend Theater's staging of Neil LaBute's “A Dark, Dark House” enters its penultimate weekend, 7:30 p.m., $14-$18.

In Benton, blue-eyed soul man Big John Miller belts the hits out with his band, 8 p.m., free.

Multi-instrumentalist Tonya Leeks performs with a back-up band at the Afterthought, 9 p.m., $7.

Gusano's hosts a DVD screening of Little Rock Fashion Week 2009, 6 p.m., free.

SATURDAY 11/14

At Sticky Fingerz, two of Little Rock's finest indie rock bands, the See and Magic Hassle, share a bill with Boston pop act Aloud, 9 p.m., $6.

Popular Memphis alt-rockers Ingram Hill come to Juanita's, with the Breakthrough opening, 9:30 p.m., $12 adv., $15 d.o.s.

The Gettys play a special Deer Widow concert at Revolution, 9:30 p.m., $5.

Three of Arkansas's finest experimental bands — Fayetteville's Color Club, Hot Springs' Church of the Snake and Little Rock's Ginsu Wives — share a bill at Vino's with Providence's Chinese Stars, who also make a lot of noise, 8 p.m.

At SpeakEasy, local blueswoman Charlotte Taylor sings songs you know, 9 p.m., free.

Local classic rockers the Groan Ups come to the Afterthought, 9 p.m., $7.

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BILLY JOE SHAVER
8 p.m., Revolution. $12 adv., $15 d.o.s.

He's a hero to your heroes — Willie Nelson called him maybe the best songwriter alive today and Bob Dylan name-checked him on his last album — and one of the last living connections to the outlaw country movement. More bona fides: He wrote nearly every one of the songs on Waylon Jennings' seminal “Honky Tonk Heroes,” and just about every song on his debut, “Old Five and Dimers Like Me” (“I've Been to Georgia on a Fast Train,” anyone?) is a classic. Which is not to say that Shaver's genius ended in the '70s. He's been remarkably prolific of late, releasing a new album at least every two years since 1993. He's had plenty of material to draw from. Even beyond his young life, where he severed two fingers in a sawmill accident, spent time homeless, served in the Navy and worked as a bronco buster, the man has a surfeit of experience to mine. He lost his wife and his mother within a month of each other in 1999; saw his only son die of an overdose in 2000 and suffered, himself, a heart attack onstage a year later. But today, at 70, he's alive and well, still on the road, still preaching sin and redemption. You'd be dumb to miss this one.

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