SATURDAY, JAN. 31

Citizen Cope Clarence Greenwood, the estimable "Citizen Cope," was a former DJ and keyboardist with the underrated folk/rap/rock/industrial complex Basehead. Sort of like G. Love with a little less Philly and a little more chili, Cope does a fair enough job at masking his record spinning and genre-blending on the new Acoustic Tapes Vol. 1, a record that manages, despite its sonambulant title, to do a fair enough job of engaging the head and hooves equally. Neighborhood Theatre (Timothy C. Davis)

Snagglepuss w/ Bruce Hazel and Some Volunteers Most regular readers (irregular readers, eat more fiber!) likely know the origin stories of these two titans of Q.C. rock 'n' roll. Snagglepuss (not to be confused with the shitty Florida metal band of the same name) is led by the husband/wife team of Hope Nicholls and Aaron Pitkin, two folks who've helped guide and nurture local music for decades now. Along with a crack band also featuring Scott Weaver, Amy Kennemore, Darrin Gray and Michael Anderson, the pair's brass-spiked punk punch tastes extra good in this buttoned-down era of bearded acousto-mumbling. Meanwhile, Hazel and his merry mob recently made the finals of a contest run by Little Steven of E-Street fame (the winner got a record deal) but ultimately fell a few votes short. Regardless, someone needs to get this man – sonically, a mix of The Boss, Mike Ness, and not a little Howlin' Wolf – signed soon: His mixing of moods, way with melody, and meat-and-potatoes writing chops deserves more ears. Snug Harbor (Davis)

Otis Gibbs According to lore, this gruff-voiced Indiana native spent part of his youth singing in a bar for his caretaker uncle's beer money, worked all manner of menial jobs until discovering Henry Miller and Lawrence Ferlinghetti, then slept in hobo jungles, walked with nomadic shepherds in the Carpathian Mountains, played labor rallies and anti-war protests, and (surprise!) earned an FBI file. His peripatetic life also includes a catalog of honest-to-goodness country-folk songs, like his brand-new Chris Stamey-produced Grandpa Walked a Picketline, highlighted by the legendary Al Perkins' gorgeous pedal steel. With Death on Two Wheels and Lollipop Factory. The Evening Muse (John Schacht)