G. LOVE SPECIAL SAUCE The Philadelphia man formerly known as Garrett Dutton is returning to Nashville, sporting the same sound that he did the last time he came through town.

..and the time before that, and the time before that.

But since when is consistency such an awful thing? G. Love and Special Sauce’s “ragmop” style (a term Dutton gave to the band’s rap-blues concoction) is as infectious as mono but not nearly as tiring.

The beats are always groove-oriented and head-boppable. The lyrics—often about the Big Issues (life, love, sex, etc.)—are sweetened by Dutton’s impeccable harmonica skills.

The vibe is as easygoing as a campfire bong party. But as G. Love’s sound has remained largely the same over the past decade-plus, his live shows have metamorphosed from impromptu street performances into larger-than-life carnivals.

This is due to the band’s alignment with the jam-band circuit, a scene that includes some of the same musicians who appear on G. Love’s latest effort, Lemonade (among them: Jack Johnson, Ben Harper and Blackalicious). Accordingly, you can expect much of the same laid-back, blues-informed jams at a G.

Love concert. This may be the one show of the year where you’ll see frat kids, hippies and music snobs all together in one grand, united movement of the pelvises. City Hall —MARK SANDERS
CATFISH HAVEN W/TURNCOATS Garage bands, country bands, soul bands, punk bands, rawk bands—revivalists are down in the water, and they want you to come with them.

While most are fake, plastic and manufactured, the Chicago trio Catfish Haven get it right. They sound like they’re not even trying, entirely believable and lived-in. Frontman George Hunter grew up in a Missouri trailer park called Catfish Haven, and it sounds as though he’s had his heart bruised enough (and done some bruising of his own) to believe in anything better only by the grace of a collection of cold cans gone empty and warm, a set of scratched guitars, a tube amp and the bros he plays music with.

(catfishhaven.com) The Basement —GRAYSON CURRIN
TOM FREUND W/ BRETT DENNEN Freund is frequently lumped into the vat of acts dubbed Americana, and a cursory listen to his catalog might cause one to think he fits. He’s folky, with a taste of The Eagles’ So-Cal country blended into the mix.

Yet Freund often explodes genre conventions with songs like “Comfortable in Your Arms,” in which he warbles along with his stand-up bass and Beat Generation percussion and whooshy synth riffs, or “Dindi,” a wistful bossa nova love song that could have easily come from Seu Jorge—or for that matter Burt Bacharach. One might compare Freund to Costello—he’s got the solid pop songwriting and evocative lyrics down—were it not for the overbearing sense of melancholy in even the most upbeat of his songs. Where the younger Costello might rage at the skies, Freund’s emotions rarely rise above a whisper.

Brett Dennen, another up-and-coming Americana artist, shares the bill. Dennen’s music is more old-school folk, turning a mirror on our society with his lyrics (see the story on p. 35).

(tomfreund.com) 3^rd Lindsley —MARK MAYS
3RD ANNUAL MLK DAY SOUL SOIREE The Lovenoise group will celebrate the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday with their third annual MLK soiree.

The usual Sunday night combination of spoken word and urban dance music will be augmented with a performance by Biscuits and Gravy, a talented group of young musicians—including a phenomenal 12-year-old drummer—who mix rap with soul, funk, R B and jazz fusion. The kids are up on their bebop, and the duo on horns have obviously put in their work studying Miles and Coltrane, whose jazz influences they appropriate for head-nodding funk. While their rap/jazz combos are nothing new, their youthful enthusiasm for their music is charming.

DJ Sound Bwoi spins; a portion of the event’s proceeds go to the Our Music City youth-mentoring program. (myspace.com/biscuitsandgravyband) Bar Car —MARK MAYS
JERRY SALLEY CD RELEASE PARTY Jerry Salley’s about as good a country, gospel and bluegrass songwriter as Nashville’s got.

Though he’s made occasional appearances as a performer over the years, it’s only recently that he’s put an actual band together, including a couple of underrated area performers in Clay Hess (guitar, mandolin, vocals) and Beth Lawrence (bass, vocals). Filled with, as the title has it, New Songs, Old Friends—though it also contains the not-so-new “I’m Gonna Take That Mountain,” a spectacular hit for Reba McEntire a few years ago—the new disc frames Salley’s soulful tenor with an all-star collection of players and a nifty assortment of guest vocalists. Some of the latter, including Carl Jackson, Larry Cordle and Alecia Nugent, are slated to make appearances, but Salley and Breakin’ New Ground are more than capable of getting the new year off to a glittering start all by themselves.

7:30 p.m. at The Station Inn —JON WEISBERGER
JEFF TWEEDY There are two broad categories of rock charisma: the swaggering, confident egomaniac—so what if it’s masking deep-seated insecurities and fears of failure?

—and the awkward, introverted genius. Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy falls firmly into the latter camp. His stage banter is forced and his expressive voice—filled with delicate flaws and rippling with vulnerability—always contains a slight tremble.

In I am Trying to Break Your Heart, Sam Jones’ 2002 documentary on the making of Wilco’s masterpiece Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and its difficult journey to release, scenes from Tweedy’s short solo tour are show-stoppers. Complex, production-heavy, conceptual tracks like “Sunken Treasure” became fractured, idiosyncratic folk songs, and the power of Tweedy’s anxious charisma was never more evident. As Wilco prep for the release of their sixth studio album and Tweedy promotes his live DVD, this solo tour should offer the enigmatic frontman a chance to workshop new songs and offer refreshing interpretations of old favorites.

(wilcoworld.net) TPAC —LEE STABERT
ANY WEDNESDAY To mark its 40^th anniversary, Chaffin’s Barn Dinner Theatre will stage this Muriel Resnik comedy, which was the first show the company produced in 1967. Not surprisingly, the story reflects the pre-feminism mores of the time: a man arranges to set up a down-and-out young woman in a corporate apartment, but to his chagrin both his wife and one of his business rivals begin to connect the dots of the suspicious setup.

The original Broadway mounting in 1964 helped launch the careers of Sandy Dennis and Gene Hackman, and the play was later made into a feature film starring Jane Fonda. Nashville playwright/actor Nate Eppler makes his Chaffin’s directorial debut with a solid cast including Jennifer Richmond, Derrick Phillips and Barn regulars Adam Burnett and Martha Wilkinson. It runs through Feb.

10. Phone 646-9977. —MARTIN BRADY
THE DINING ROOM Playwright A.

R. Gurney has been a steady presence on the American theater scene for about 30 years. His most familiar and popular work is Love Letters (1989), but before that, in 1982, he produced this cleverly crafted series of overlapping seriocomic vignettes, which explore the dynamics of family life and the state of the contemporary human condition.

It also probes one of the author’s favorites themes: the decline of WASP influence in a changing culture. The new ACT I production is under the direction of Melissa Williams and features some strong local players, including John Devine, Thom Zelenka and Douglas Goodman. Performances are Jan.

12-20 at the Darkhorse Theater. For reservations, phone 726-2281. —MARTIN BRADY
GOD’S TROMBONES To mark Martin Luther King Jr.

Day, Amun Ra Theatre and TPAC have partnered for the first time ever to present this encore performance of James Weldon Johnson’s collection of Bible-based poetic pieces, which had a major impact on the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s. First seen locally at the Belcourt Theatre in June 2006, the production features many talented African American actors, singers and dancers, including jeff obafemi carr, Lisa Arrindell Anderson, Bobby Daniels, Shonka Dukureh, Marlon Styles and ex-football star Eddie George. Robert Poole is the director.

One performance only, 7 p.m. Jan.

15 at TPAC’s Polk Theater. For tickets, call 255-ARTS (2787). —MARTIN BRADY
NICKEL AND DIMED This new production by the Tennessee Women’s Theater Project offers the regional premiere of a play that has received serious mountings at important theaters nationwide, including Seattle’s Intiman Theatre (where it debuted in August 2002), the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles, Trinity Rep in Providence, the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis and Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago.

Adapted for the stage by San Francisco playwright Joan Holden, the play is based on Barbara Ehrenreich’s 2001 bestseller Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America, in which the author—drawing upon the journalistic styles of Studs Terkel (Working) and John Howard Griffin (Black Like Me)—descended into the world of the working poor, cycling through stints as a waitress, a housecleaner, a nursing-home worker and a retail clerk at a discount chain mart. Ehrenreich’s experiences raised her consciousness about the stressed-out plight of many forgotten Americans, especially those who perform difficult, unpleasant minimum-wage jobs the rest of us are lucky to avoid. The story is depicted with humor, and with theatrical sensibilities that render broader commentary on class struggle and other social issues.

Director Maryanna Clark has assembled a promising cast, which includes Terry Occhiogrosso in the lead, and Sara Sharpe and four others in ensemble roles. Performances are Jan. 12-27 at the Looby Theatre, 2301 Metro Center Blvd.

For tickets or further information, visit twtp.org or phone 681-7220. —MARTIN BRADY

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