THIS WEEK AT THE CLUBS:   Erin McKeown "I'm a little drinker, nervous and a stinker, what kind of lover am I?" asks the Providence-based songwriter in her song "Queen of Quiet." Her bold voice and quirky lyrics promise a show that should be "one of the best Cafe P's ever seen," says KRVM's Mike Meyer. Thursday, Cafe Paradiso.   Freedom Funk Ensemble Describing themselves as "lounge-core," the FFE provide their audience with smooth jazz ballads as well as funky, up-beat tunes that transcend typical jazz fare by borrowing from funk and hip-hop. Friday, Jo Fed's.   Barrio Latino Salsa and Latino jazz are what this barrio's all about. If your salsa dancing is a little rusty, dance instructor Mario Mora will be giving a pre-show lesson at 8:30pm. ¿Quieres bailar, mi vida? (That's Spanish for "would you like to dance, my darling?" -- you might need to know.) Saturday, John Henry's. CLICK HERE FOR CLUBS LISTINGS Coco, Neko & Pankl Bluesy Montoya heads memorable music lineup. By Vanessa Salvia   Coco Montoya plays the blues Thursday, Jan. 18 at the Duck. .   The talented and beautiful Neko Case is appearing Thursday, Jan. 18 along with her boyfriends (well, some of them anyway), at Sam Bond's. Miss Case currently calls Chicago home, but of course there's a Northwest connection here: Tacoma's favorite go-go dancing rockers, Girl Trouble, wrote a song about her called "Neko Loves Rock n' Roll." Case is a little bit rock and roll, but she's a lot country. With a voice like Brenda Lee crossed with Loretta Lynn, Case has sinned and isn't looking for redemption. With just one sideways red lip-lacquered glance, Case can inspire a down and dirty bar fight or tease you to tears and then laugh while she sops you up with a rhinestone studded hankie. She attracts the right kind of men, though, as evidenced from the resumés of her band, Her Boyfriends. Brian Connelly can brag about his time in Shadowy Men from a Shadowy Planet. Bob Egan can list Freakwater as one of his past accomplishments. Dallas and Travis Good made The Sadies famous. If you ever needed something to listen to while cutting your ex's picture out of all of your old photographs, look no further. Case will piss you off, reduce you to tears, deceive you and heal you, if you let her. If the blues is more your thing, check out Coco Montoya at the Wild Duck, also on Thursday. This legendary bluesman filled the mighty big shoes once worn by Eric Clapton after he joined up with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers in the early '80s. His hot guitar playing helped invigorate the Bluesbreakers and the blues scene in general, and then he struck out on his own. Ironically, after years of experience, he received an award for Best New Blues Artist in 1996. You may recall last October's Whiteaker Hate Ball show by Chocolate Pankl, featuring members of The Danged and Hot For Chocolate. Well, now the duo is calling itself Blue Suede Salvation, and the sanctified church of grease is open to one and all. All you have to do to receive this gracious bounty is show up at Sam Bond's on Friday and pay your dues with sweat, hair pomade and a penchant for '80s synthesizer rock. The Danged's John "Hank" Pankl on guitar and vocals will get you riled up, while HFC's Chris "Kid Chocolate" Ross will mesmerize on the synthesizers, keyboards and drum machine. Also appearing will be Continental, who may call San Francisco home, but they've educated themselves in the Chicago school of musical thought. Along the lines of exploratory but melodic rock such as Tortoise or the Sea and Cake, Continental combines lush complexity with distortion. Portland's Tracker warms up the stage, with a spacious collection of tunes that bridges the gap between indie and country rock. Here's early notice for a great all-ages show you won't want to miss next Thursday. It's a locals-only rock-out featuring The Naysayers, Fast Eddie and the Screamers, and Los Mex Pistols del Norte. Eugene's guitar god Bruce Hartnell leads his band of compadres on a south of the border journey. The Pistols' merry band of outlaws spike the punch with a big dose of cactus juice for a fiery blend of punk, polka and traditional torero music, which accompanies a toreador in the bull ring. It's true enough to please any Latin music traditionalist, goofy enough to get just about anybody onto the dance floor, and ballsy enough to please any rocker. The Pistols might present an imposing image on stage, what with the ammo belts, and black clad bandido duds, but the only thing on the agenda is fun. It doesn't matter to these guys whether they're playing a Mexican wedding (which they've done), or opening for a rockabilly band or surf act. The Pistols have managed to straddle that cultural divide that makes them just as popular with Latinos looking for traditional tunes by favorites such as Eddie Dimas as with Herb Alpert-loving lounge lizards. All done with a spaghetti-Western twist in the style of what composer Ennio Morricone would do in an early Clint Eastwood movie, the band features traditional instrumentation to add to the excitement, such as a guitarrone, farfisa organ, and more. Adam's Place 30 E. Broadway * 344-6948 Thurs: Gus Russell--5:15, Jazz Fri: Mike Denny Duo--7:30, Jazz Sat: Tim McLaughlin--7:30, Jazz Mo: Debra Mathis--5:15, Jazz We: Barbara Dzuro--5:15, Jazz Barnes & Noble 1163 Valley River Dr. * 687-0356 Bacari Restaurant 1210 Willamette * 343-8404 Beanery 152 W. 5th * 342-3378 Fri: Sweet River--8, Folk Sat: Eagle Park Slim--10am, Blues Beanery 2465 Hilyard * 344-0221 Su: Edson Oliveira--10am, Brazilian Guitar & Voice Black Forest Thurs: Steve McCallum--9:30, Keyboard Favorites Fri: Liquid Genie--9:30, Improv Rock Sat: Roy G. Biv--9:30, Psychedelic Experience Su: Open Mic--9 sign-up Mo: Emerald City Open Jam--9:30 Bliss Steak Ranch 2891 W. 11th * 484-6657 Borders 5 Oakway Center * 345-6072 Fri: Roy G. Biv--8, Psychedelic Experience Sat: Rob Tobias--8, Folk The Brickhouse 4136 4th St. Spfd. * 988-1612 Buzz Coffeehouse EMU, UO * 346-3725 Fri: Open Mic hosted by Patrick Dodd--9 Mo: Open Poetry--9 Cafe Paradiso AA NS 115 W. Broadway * 484-9933 Thu: Mare Wakefield, Dan Jones and Erin McKeown--8:30, Songwriters-in-the-round Fri: Middle Eastern Dance Guild--8:30, Dance Performance Sat: WAIT--8:30, Rock Tu: Open MIc--8:30, Acoustic We: Robert Bander--8:30, Jazz Guitarist Chantrelle's 5th & Pearl * 484-4065 Fri: Gill Herrera--10, Jazz Tu: Blues Jam w/ Byron Case & friends--10 Chez Ray 44 W. 10th * 344-1530 Thu: Grateful Dead Karaoke--9:30 Fri: Stone Cold Jazz--9:30, Jazz Sat: MJZ Band CD Release 21st Century Music Vol. I--9:30 Mo: Open MIc featuring Senayit--8:45 Tu: Taper Tuesday hosted by Jeff Harrison--8:30 We: Walker T. Ryan--9:30, Blues Diablo's 959 Pearl * 683-3855 Doc's Pad 165 W. 11th * 683-8101 Fri: 2 Bucks Short, Courtesy Clerks, Easy Target--10 Sat: DJ Dancing--9:30 Mo: Rooster's Blues Jam---9 sign-up Tu: Karaoke Wheel of Doom--9:30 We: DJ Dancing w/ Ty B.--9:30 Duck Inn 1795 W. 6th * 342-5729 Thursday: Karaoke--8 Saturday: Karaoke--8 Fool's Paradise 460 Willamette * 338-9733 Foxfire 4740 Main, Spfd * 747-7900 Thu: Patty McCulla & Dave Clark Band--9:30, Rock Fri: Electric Flies-9:30, Rock Sat: Ozone Baby-9:30, Rock Su: Karaoke--7:30 Groucho's 100 E. Broadway * 484-1747 Fri: DJ Mario Mora--10, Salsa & Merengue Hagen's 50 E. 11th * 343-8108 Hilton Lobby 66 E. 6th * 342-2000 Saturday: Forrest Moulton Duo-9, Jazz Hollywood Taxi 535 Main, Spfd * 747-0307 Tuesday: PELT--9:30, Rock Jakes Restaurant 605 W. 19th * 431-0513 Jim's Landing 303 Main St. Spfd * 726-7570 JoFederigo's 259 E 11th * 343-8488 Thu: Jo Fed's Jazz Jam--9:30 Fri: Freedom Funk Ensemble-9:30, Jazz Sat: Tim Clarke Soul-tet--9:30, Jazz Su: Mark Alan--9, Acoustic Mo: Open mic--6:30 sign-up Tu: Barbara Dzuro--8:30, Jazz We: Paul Paydos Jam--9:30, Var. John Henry's 136 E. 11th * 342-3358 Thu: 80's Dance Night--10, DJ Dance Fri: One Up Two Down, Gabriel Blue, LD-50--10, Rock Sat: Basic Assumption, Nemo/Rain--10, Groove Rock Su: Standing Blue--10, Rock Mo: IAM--9:30 Tu: Fast Eddie & the Screamers, Jet Harris-10, Country Rock We: Iron Fist Crew--10, Dance Hall Reggae Lavelle Wine Bar 5th St. Mkt * 338-9875 Fri: Gus Russell--5:30, Jazz Sat: John Crider--5:30 The Love Cafe 145 Pioneer Pkwy Spfd * 763-5710 Meridian Building 18th & Willamette * no phone Moretti's 730 E. Broadway * 344-6673 Thu: Off Broadway Open Jam--8, Hosted by Tony Rae Group Fri: Three Finger Jack--10, Rock Sat: DJ Tekneck--10, DJ Dancing Tu: Karaoke w/ Lydia--10 We: DJ Smuve--10, DJ Dancing Mystique Restaurant 959 Pearl St. * 343-4361 Nite Owl (Ramada Inn) 225 Coburg * 342-5181 Friday: Valley Boys--9:15 Saturday: Valley Boys--9:15 The Old Pad 3355 E. Amazon * 686-5022 Oregon Electric Station 27 E. 5th * 485-4444 Fri: Mo Schneider & Barbra Dzuro-8, Jazz Sat: Mo Schneider & Barbra Dzuro-8, Jazz Out of the Fog 839 Lincoln * 302-8194 Tuesday: Sunshine Daydream--6:30, Folkadelic Overtime Tavern 770 S. Bertelsen * 342-5028 Piccolo 999 Willamette * 484-4011 Quacker's 2105 W. 7th * 345-2617 Rascals 211 Washington * 345-2617 Sat: Groove Merchants--9:30, Original Groove Tu: The Patty McCulla Dave Clark Band--9:30, Variety We: Westside Blues Jam--9:30 Rick's Pub 20 Hwy 99 N. * 344-3074 Rock 'n' Rodeo 44 E. 7th * 683-5160 Sam Bond's Garage 407 Blair Blvd * 343-2635 Thu: Neko Case & Her Boyfriends--9, Acoustic Fri: Chip Cohen--5:30; Blue Suede Salvation, Continental, Tracker--9:30, Alternative Sat: Old Time Jam--5; Rotosquirrel featuring TR Kelley--9:30, Rock Su: Irish Jam--4; Laura Kemp, Debbie Diedrich, TR Kelley--8, Folk Mo: Dan Jones Acoustic Grudge Match w/ Mare Wakefield--9 Tu: Bluegrass Jam--9 We: Benefit Show for Phill (Squash)--9, Special Performance Sam's Place 825 Wilson * 484-4455 Senor Frog's 444 E. 3rd * 484-2927 Thursday: DJ Dancing--10 Friday: DJ Señor Mix--10, Salsa & Merengue Saturday: DJ Señor Mix--10, Salsa & Merengue Stepina's 1475 Mohawk, Spfd * 744-0811 Taylor's 894 E. 13th * 344-6174 Thu: Ashbury Park--9 Sat: Papa's Soul Kitchen--10, Pure Funk Mo: DJ TekNeek--10, DJ Dance Theo's Jazz Club 126 W. Broadway * 344-6491 Fri: Justin Depue & the Solein Quartet--8:30, Jazz Sat: The Craig Bender Quartet--8:30, Jazz Tu: Jazz Jam hosted by John Crider-8:30 Tiny Tavern 894 E. 13th * 344-6174 Friday: The Danged, Joshua James and the Runaway Trains--9:30, Rock Tsunami Books 2585 Willamette * 345-8986 Sat: The Klezmonauts CD Release w/ Muraja-8, Klezmer, Belly Dancing Valley River Inn 1000 Valley R. Way * 687-0123 Thursday: Vanness Express-8, Variety Friday: Vanness Express--8:30, Variety Saturday: Vanness Express--8:30, Variety Sunday: Yacov Golian--8, International Folk Tu & We: Tropic Starr--8, Variety Waterfront Bar & Grill 2210 Centennial * 465-4506 Wild Duck Hall NS 169 W. 6th * 485-3825 Thu: Coco Montoya--9, Blues Fri: Glam Fridays--9:30, DJ Dance Sat: Barrio Latino--9:30, Salsa Tu: Jive--9, Jazzy Groove & Funk WOW Hall AA NS 291 W. 8th * 687-2646 Thu: Magical Thursday--8, DJ Dance Fri: Young Women's Theatre Collective: Lumina--7:30, Theater Sat: Young Women's Theatre Collective: Lumina--7:30, Theater We: Superdrag, The Put Outs, Spread Eagle--8:30, Pop & Punk Back to Top Table of Contents | News & Views | Arts & Entertainment Classifieds | Personals | EW Archive