The Vintage & Handmade Market 
Laura Veirs and the Hall of Flames perform at The Casbah on Monday, March 8. Photo by David Belisle.
Wednesday, March 3
PLAN A: Gaux Nu Vaux, Smile Now Cry Later, Inspired Flight, Illuminauts, DJ Saul Q @ U-31. To paraphrase my predecessor, Nathan Dinsdale, you call it nepotistic, I call it nepotastic! But since this column is called what it is, I can say with 99-percent certainty that this is where I’ll be tonight (unless I get hit by a bus), because it’s my birthday party and it’s for Haiti earthquake relief. In addition to the bands, there will also be free food from 6 to 9 p.m., as well as a raffle and cool art. Holla at a brotha. BACKUP PLAN: The Appleseed Cast, Dreamend @ The Casbah.
Thursday, March 4
PLAN A: The Clientele, The Wooden Birds @ The Casbah. Papa John Phillips would have really loved The Clientele’s lush psych-pop with a side of mope. If you think The Moody Blues and Lee Hazlewood are vastly underrated, then you’re not alone. And do catch The Wooden Birds, an Austin folk outfit that includes alumni from American Analog Set, Broken Social Scene and Ola Podrida. PLAN B: Kevin Martin, Gayle Skidmore, Jackson Price @ Tin Can Ale House. Martin is probably better known for whooping it up with power-poppers Get Back Loretta, but, luckily, he’s been hoarding some folk and alt-country gems for himself. And I recently found out that local chanteuse Gayle Skidmore plays a mean banjo, so consider me smitten. BACKUP PLAN: Nervous Wreckords @ Bar Pink.
Friday, March 5
PLAN A: True Widow, The Drowning Men @ Hensley’s Flying Elephant. A huge fan of Low, I’ve never sat around wondering what they’d be like if they listened to more metal as kids. Had they, they might have ended up sounding like Texas’ True Widow. The brainchild of former Slowride frontman Dan Phillips, it’s droning post-rock with a big, black heart. PLAN B: Neon Dick, Nude Boy, Little Deadman @ Whistle Stop. Next Big Thing Alert: If you don’t dig bands like Crocodiles, Wavves and Beaters, then chances are you won’t like Neon Dick or Nude Boy. But, luckily for those bands, music geeks in the blogosphere just loooove that lo-fi, post-punk sound, and once they catch wind of these poppy outfits, it’ll be party time at Christmas Island’s house all over again. BACKUP PLAN: The Bloody Hollies, Fkenal, The Dead Ghost, Knives! @ Ruby Room.
Saturday, March 6
PLAN A: Artemis Quartet @ Conrad Prebys Music Hall. If you see one classical concert all year, this might be the one. The Berlin-based foursome is known the world over for not only impressing classical enthusiasts, but winning over novices, as well. Beethoven nut that I am, I’d say there’s probably no better place to see them than at the Cyril Harris-consulted Conrad Prebys Hall (the master of acoustics behind a little-known marvel called The Met in New York). PLAN B: Birds & Batteries, Beaters @ Bar Pink. Combining folky Americana with funky electro-pop sounds like a risky venture, but San Francisco’s Birds & Batteries somehow pull it off. BACKUP PLAN: Mike Watt & The Missingmen, Lite, The Hot Moon, Nothingful, Rats Eyes @ The Casbah.
Sunday, March 7
PLAN A: Rocky Votolato, Adam H Stephens @ The Casbah. It can sometimes be difficult for singer-songwriters to bring the emotional weight of their recordings to a live performance, but Rocky pulls it off. And after a rather mixed foray into alt-country on his last record, he’s back with the killer, folk-based heartbreaker True Devotion. PLAN B: Cat Party, DJs Barnesy @ Radio Room. Cat Party are definitely one of my favorite new bands. If you think no good band could ever come out of the O.C., you’re about to get your mind blown. BACKUP PLAN: The Zeros @ Bar Pink.
Monday, March 8
PLAN A: Grand Tarantula, Finn Riggins, Boy Eats Drum Machine @ Soda Bar. Judging by their video on MySpace, alt-rockers Grand Tarantula look to be a hot, new local band to watch. And with a clever mix of electro-pop and heavy guitars, it’s easy to see why fellow Idahoans Built to Spill took Finn Riggins out on the road last year. PLAN B: Laura Veirs and the Hall of Flames, Old Believers, Cataldo @ The Casbah. Probably best known as the librarian-looking chick who wrote that “Galaxies” song everyone was salivating over in 2005, Veirs recently returned with the decidedly more grounded, July Flame. Orchestral without being bombastic, folky without being folksy, she’s a unique talent in the already-oversaturated singer-songwriter genre. BACKUP PLAN: Ox Eyes, Elephant @ Ruby Room.
Tuesday, March 9
PLAN A: Lights On, The So So Glos, Sunday Times @ The Casbah. Lights On are already on my shortlist for best new local band, but lively post-punks Sunday Times certainly got themselves back on my radar after a spirited performance a few weeks ago at Soda Bar. BACKUP PLAN: The Howls, Thee Vicars, Alpha Channel @ Tin Can Ale House.
