These are the things I'd do

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 12

PLAN A: Built to Spill, Camper Van Beethoven @ House of Blues. Idaho's Built to Spill were indie-rock gods before indie-rock went Wal-Mart. Frontman Doug Martsch was a guitar hero before "Guitar Hero." After some time off, last year's You in Reverse was one of the better comeback albums in recent memory. Camper Van--David Lowery's pre-Cracker band--might be called "heritage indie-rock." Whatever that means, they're good. MS/builttospill, MS/campervanbeethoven. PLAN B: Everton Blender @ Winston's. Big show for the small O.B. venue--the Jamaican dancehall guru could be headlining the Belly Up. MS/evertonblender. PLAN C: Acid Guru Temple, The Phantom Family Halo @ The Casbah. Great show for fans of long, extended psychedelic rock music, headlined by Japan's prog-rock cult, Acid Guru Temple. MS/acidmotherstem ple, MS/thephantomfamilyhalo. BACKUP PLAN: The Greenbelt Collective, Old Man Hands @ Che Café. (MS/greenbeltcollecdtive, MS/oldmanhands).

THURSDAY, SEPT. 13

PLAN A: Brandi Carlile @ House of Blues. Hopefully, Columbia Records has a long-term plan for Seattle's Carlile, because she's a slow-growth roots artist who has the chops to become a great one. Like an amped version of Lucinda Williams or Shawn Colvin, her new album was produced by T-Bone Burnett (Elvis Costello, Roy Orbison). MS/brandicarlile band. PLAN B: Helmet, Kinski, The Long and Short of It @ The Casbah. The openers could steal the spotlight from metal-jazz pioneers Helmet. Seattle's Kinski has become one of the country's better noisy, instrumental rock bands, and San Diego's hardcore heroes The Long and Short of It open. MS/helmetrocks, MS/kinskispace, MS/thelongand shortofit. PLAN C: Particle @ Canes. Jam bands' fan bases grow slow--real slow. So there's a reason L.A.'s electro-jam-heads Particle are playing a 600-capacity joint. Namely, by impressing time after time at 200-capacity joints. MS/particle. BACKUP PLAN: Dick Dale, Action Andy & His Haunted Honky Tonkers @ Belly Up (MS/dickdalecom, MS/san diegoactionandy).

FRIDAY, SEPT. 14

PLAN A: Wolf Parade @ 'Canes. Featuring former members of Frog Eyes and Hot Hot Heat, Montreal's Wolf Parade was the next "it" band in 2005, when Modest Mouse Isaac Brock helped make their awesome debut, Apologies to the Queen Mary. Two years have passed, and fans' anticipation is in danger of becoming forgetfulness. But this tour is the preview of the new songs set for an early 2008 follow-up (maybe). MS/wolfparade. PLAN B: Daikaiju, The All Nighters, Secret Samurai @ The Zombie Lounge. Two good surf-rock bands and one that's exceptional--Alabama's kabuki-mask-wearing Daikaiju might just be the second coming of Man... or Astroman? MS/daikaiju, MS/theallnighters, MS/secretsamurai. PLAN C: The Brunettes, Ferraby Lionheart, Ryan Ferguson @ The Casbah. New Zealand's The Brunettes are the new fix for your twee-pop jones. L.A.'s Lionheart is a crooner in the Elliott Smith vein, and San Diego's Ryan Ferguson is some inspired pop. MS/thebrunettes, MS/ferrabylionheart, MS/ryanferguson. BACKUP PLAN: Lebanon, The King Hen, The Voodoo Organist @ Scolari's Office (MS/lebanonband, MS/the kinghen, MS/voodooorganist).

SATURDAY, SEPT. 15

PLAN A: "Sessions Fest" @ Golden Hill Park. The only possible downside to this show is a mass allergy attack when hipsters come face to face with outdoor plant life. Many of San Diego's top bands--Red Pony Clock, Kite Flying Society, MC Flow, Atoms, Fifty On Their Heels, The Prayers--play a free show in the park (near corners of 25th Street and Russ Boulevard) starting at noon. MS/sessionsfest. PLAN B: "Earthdance" @ Balboa Park. Yet another outdoor event, this is the local version of the globally synchronized "Earthdance" concert, with a host of DJs and top local hip-hop troupe Deep Rooted among the live bands. www.earthdance.org. PLAN C: The Viewmasters, The Vultures, Desert Diamonds @ The Tower Bar. Two of San Diego's best--the beehive soul-rock of The Viewmasters and attitude-rock of The Vultures--play with promising upstarts Desert Diamonds. MS/theviewmasters, MS/official vultures, MS/desertdiamonds. BACKUP PLAN: "Tribute to the Clash" w/ Rookie Card, The Heartaches, Crash Encore @ The Casbah (MS/covermebadd).

SUNDAY, SEPT. 16

PLAN A: Francisco Aguabella @ Anthology. Aguabella is a master. The Cuban-born, New York-made percussionist worked with Dizzy Gillespie, Tito Puente and Nancy Wilson. Now he's a professor of ethnomusicology, teaching Cuban drumming to undergrads at UCLA. His music has the African polyrhythm, the Cuban pep and the smooth appeal of American soul. MS/franciscoaguabella. PLAN B: Dirty Projectors, Sleeping People, White Rainbow @ The Casbah. Brooklyn's Dave Longstreth (Dirty Projectors) is your typical Yale grad, sculpting out-there music based, most recently, on vague notions of Don Henley and Black Flag. Openers include San Diego's best instrumental rock band (Sleeping People) and Kranky Records' atmospheric instrumental thing, White Rainbow. MS/dirtyprojectors, MS/sleeping people, MS/whiterain bowwhite rainbow. PLAN C: David Grisman Bluegrass Experience @ Belly Up. Jerry Garcia's old cohort is truly one of the most gifted bluegrass mandolin players around. MS/acousticdiscd. BACKUP PLAN: Holy Boys, Desert Diamonds @ The Tower Bar (MS/holyboys, MS/desertdia monds).

MONDAY, SEPT. 17

PLAN A: San Diego Music Awards @ Viejas. The annual outdoor awards ceremony for San Diego's top acts with two-song performances by Jason Mraz, Buck-O-Nine, Reeve Oliver, The Real Seanjon and others. But mostly it's a night where everyone in the music industry hangs out, slaps backs and gets cross-eyed at a post-party--all for charity. Disclaimer: CityBeat sponsors the shit out of the thing. www.sandiegomusic awards.com. PLAN B: Walter Meego @ The Casbah. With a mix of trashy Euro-disco, indie-rock vocals and odd classical passages, Chicago's Walter Meego (a duo) should steal this show from headliners VHS or Beta. MS/wal termeego. PLAN C: Brian Jonestown Massacre @ Belly Up. The documentary Dig! is still Antoine Newcombe's greatest feat, but fans of '60s psychedelia should be pleased. MS/brianjonestown massacre. BACKUP PLAN: Sinead O'Connor @ Spreckels (MS/sineadoconnormusic).

TUESDAY, SEPT. 18

PLAN A: The New Pornographers @ House of Blues. The White Stripes' cancellation of their tour isn't such bad news with a show like this. When Canada's indie-pop band started, they were billed as a supergroup. A stretch then, absolutely true now--based on the large talents of Neko Case, A.C. Newman and Dan Bejar. MS/thenewporno graphers. PLAN B: Oakley Hall @ The Casbah. This would be Plan A on most other nights--a pretty great alt-country project fronted by ex-Oneida frontman Pat Sullivan. MS/oakleyhall. PLAN C: Akimbo, The Vultures @ Scolari's Office. Chicago's Akimbo is a brutal hardcore band signed to Jello Biafra's Alternative Tentacles label. MS/akimbo, MS/official vultures.