Here's where I'd be

These are bands we especially dig,
not full listings. For those, please see
“Concerts and Clubs”.

Wednesday, Jan. 16

PLAN A: Sole & the Skyrider Band, Telephone Jim Jesus @ The Casbah. Sole has come a long way since his “Cops Ain’t Shit” days. Now—with the Skyrider Band—he’s cooking up the quirkiest hip-hop Anticon Records can offer. And if Telephone Jim Jesus isn’t the best electronic hip-hop artist to ever come from New Hampshire, at least he has dibs on the best name. PLAN B: The Electric Prunes @ Belly Up. The Electric Prunes have wrinkled a bit since they first blew people’s minds with “I Had Too Much to Dream Last Night,” but the fact that they’ve revived their psychedelic rock after lapsing into a 30-year coma is mind-blowing enough. PLAN C: Twista @ ’Canes. Twista has given tongue-twisting cameos on every third rap album to ever be released before Kanye West returned the favor on “Slow Jamz” and “Overnight Celebrity.”

Thursday, Jan. 17

PLAN C: Fire Benefit @ Anthology. Call me a heartless bastard, but the fire-benefit thing is getting a little old. Then again, this event celebrates a new benefit album (including tracks from Steve Poltz, Switchfoot and Angels & Airwaves) at a show (featuring album contributors like Get Back Loretta, Tim Flannery and Bushwalla) good enough to actually, ya know, benefit somebody. PLAN B: Aspects of Physics @ Bar Pink Elephant. Aspects may be the best experimental/electronic instrumental band ever to come out of San Diego. Not that there’s stiff competition, but the music (and guitarist Rob Crow’s Pinback name recognition) doesn’t hurt, either. PLAN C: Army Navy @ Beauty Bar. When you name your band something bland (like, say, Army Navy), it takes some seriously catchy indie rock to earn kudos from some of the snobbiest critics (NME, Pitchfork, etc.) in all of hipsterdom. Mission accomplished. BACKUP PLANS: Ben Kenney & DJ Chris Kilmore of Incubus @ House of Blues and Cross Canadian Ragweed @ Belly Up.

Friday, Jan. 18

PLAN A: Dilated Peoples @ Belly Up. It doesn’t bother me that underground hip-hop legends Dilated Peoples haven’t experienced much mainstream success (aside from “This Way” with Kanye West). Then again, I’m selfish. PLAN B: The Motels @ Brick by Brick. It’s been a long time since Martha Davis’ voice shacked up in your brain with new-wave anthems like “Only the Lonely” and “Total Control,” but it hasn’t been long enough to resist Davis and her remodeled Motels getting “Suddenly, Last Summer” stuck in your head again. BACKUP PLANS: Fu Manchu @ The Casbah, Pat Green & 4th & B and Tiger Army @ SOMA.

Saturday, Jan. 19

PLAN A: Ryan Adams & The Cardinals @ Spreckels. Yeah, Ryan Adams can be a prick. Sure, this concert is sold out. But these things shouldn’t stop you from hiding out in a broom closet the night before in order to get into the show. PLAN B: Social Distortion, The Tone Junkies @ House of Blues. You totally skipped last night’s Social Distortion show, slacker. And you’ll probably miss tonight’s, too (mumbling something about “this thing” you gotta go to). Lucky for you, Social D plays a third (and final) show on Sunday. PLAN C: Bane, Silent Drive, Outbreak @ Che Café. Bane wrote its swan song three years ago (the aptly titled “Swan Song”), but that was apparently just a slice of straight-edge sarcasm from the Boston hardcore kingpins.  BACKUP PLANS: Stranger @ ’Canes and The Long and Short of It, Demasiado, Vitro @ The Casbah.

Sunday, Jan. 20

PLAN A: The Start @ Beauty Bar. The Start distinguishes itself from the million other L.A. electronic synth-rock bands by adding industrial black eyeliner to its dance revolution. Although the fact that lead singer Aimee Echo sounds like Gwen Stefani and looks (at times) like Marilyn Manson (and is still pretty hot) is kind of disturbing. PLAN B: The Legendary Shack Shakers @ The Casbah. It would seem like forming a band inspired by punk, polka, Delta blues and hillbilly music would be a bad idea. But the Shakers aren’t just any band and J.D. Wilkes—the “psycho” in “psychobilly”—isn’t your average frontman. PLAN C: Cancer Bats, This is Hell @ Che Café. Cancer Bats are angry and loud. Then again, you probably would be, too, if you were a bunch of aggro metalheads from Toronto named after an ugly winged mammal undergoing chemotherapy. PLAN BACKUP PLANS: Paul Green School of Rock All-Stars @ Epicentre and Tower of Power @ Viejas.  

Monday, Jan. 21

PLAN A: Lil Wayne @ House of Blues. Congratulations, Dr. King. Your dream cleared the way for a New Orleans rapper named Lil Wayne to sign with Cash Money Records at age 11, have a child at 16, release five albums by age 23 and now drop raps with teen heartthrob Zac Efron for High School Musical 2: Non-Stop Dance Party at age 25. PLAN B: MLK Celebration @ WorldBeat Cultural Center. If you’re actually interested in paying homage to Martin Luther King Jr., this event—featuring a slew of world music, including Elijah Emanuel & The Revelations—is for you. Plus, it’s a daytime show, so you’ll have plenty of time to drop the “socially conscious” schtick and catch Lil Wayne at HOB.

Tuesday, Jan. 22

PLAN A: The Shaky Hands, The Lonely H @ The Casbah. Shake, rattle and roll over to our feature about The Shaky Hands on this page. PLAN B: Todd Snider @ Belly Up. Steve Poltz and Todd Snider were born on opposite sides of the continent (Poltz in Nova Scotia, Snider in Portland), but they’re brothers from another mother when it comes to writing songs that tug heartstrings and tickle funny bones. PLAN C: Exodus, Goatwhore @ House of Blues. “Exodus” is an apt name for a band that boasts at least 18 alumni. The remaining members are still alive (at press time) and kicking (you, in the face) as one of the fastest, most frightening thrash-metal bands to ever scorch the earth  BACKUP PLANS: Flatfoot 56, Rat City Riot @ Zombie Lounge.