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Sunday, January 30, 2011

Tonight! Tonight in Music: Sallie Ford & the Sound Outside at The Crystal Ballroom 97th Birthday and Nels Cline Singers with Yuka Honda

Posted by Colleen Smyth on Sun, Jan 30, 2011 at 5:12 PM

CRYSTAL BALLROOM 97TH BIRTHDAY: SALLIE FORD AND THE SOUND OUTSIDE, THE PARSON RED HEADS, ELIZABETH COOK, PANCAKE BREAKFAST, & MORE

(Crystal Ballroom, 1332 W Burnside) If there's one place that knows how to throw themselves a party, it's the Crystal! Which is exactly why you should attend the Crystal Ballroom's 97th Birthday Free-for-All, featuring four freaking floors of FREE fun, including musical guests Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside, the Parson Red Heads, Elizabeth Cook, as well as tours, Irish dancing, beer tastings, and... oh jeez, I'm exhausted already! WM. STEVEN HUMPHREY

NELS CLINE SINGERS, YUKA HONDA

(Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside) Nels Cline is a shredder. It may seem a little strange to use a descriptive noun typically reserved for the show-pony rock 'n' roll set on a free-jazz guitarist, but if you've ever seen Cline belt it out with the vocal-free improvisations of his Singers, or if you've caught Wilco since the accomplished axman joined their ranks, then you know the man is a force to be reckoned with—a frenetic master of the fretboard. Cline occasionally forays into less traditional jazz mores, but as an accomplice of Thurston Moore and Mike Watt, Cline can be expected to inject a healthy dose of noise and distortion to the set. Satriani? Malmsteem? Whatever. Nels Cline is a true guitar god.
BRIAN COOK

A complete listing of this week's shows can be viewed here.