THE SHOWDOWN: Loving saxophone like French fries love ketchup

POSTED: Monday, December 12, 2011, 1:00 PM

Filed Under: Music The Showdown

CP music critic Brian Wilensky on the week's sure-bet live acts.

Monday: Decoder’s screaming then cutesy and back to screaming vocals make for the perfect soundtrack to a hardcore metal guy’s sissy brother’s dreams. 6 p.m., with Us, From Outside, In Other Words, At Daybreak, Every Minute Can Kill, Without Words, Beyond Black Skies & The Sea Above Us, UACA Hall, 847 N. Franklin St., 856-430-3120.

Tuesday: Sharif Sehnaoui’s minimalist guitar playing is more of an aural painting that eerily,yet softly fills the ears. He’s all improvisational and every bit experimental. Coming from Beirut, he’s Middle Eastern/classically influenced and doesn’t just strum his acoustic strings. He plays them percussively with some sort of skinny metal prod. 7:30 p.m., $6, with Jack Wright, Andrew Drury Trio & Feeler Gauge, Highwire Gallery, 2040 Frankford Ave., 215-426-2685.

Wednesday: Droning out of Fishtown, Harsh Vibes hammers ultra fuzzed-out, psych rock with tooth grinding energy. If The Perfect Prescription were to be played in the background while the members of Black Sabbath were being conceived, the resulting offspring may have come out equally coarse. 9 p.m., $7, with Fort Wilson Riot, Cheap Dinosaurs & Gypsy Death and You, The Fire, 412 W. Girard Ave., 267-671-9298.

Thursday: Most often acoustic folk, sometimes pop-y jam-band rock and other times heartfelt balladry, the Heat Run’s March debut varies musically. But it’s the vocal arrangements they put together that’ll really catch your ear. But since there’s a man and wife and his brother in the band, that may be what connects them so well, naturally. 10 p.m., $8-$10, with The End of America, Milkboy, 1100 Chestnut St., 215-925-6455.

Friday: Hamburger Hunt loves saxophone like French fries love ketchup. Their mostly instrumental jams wake a crowd like construction outside one’s window. According to their website, this will be the last performance with guitarist, Rich Matteo and the entire evening will be more like a party than a funky rock/fusion show. 10 p.m., $7, with Will McCranie Trio, M Room, 15 W. Girard Ave., 215-739-5577.

Saturday: Before the Straw Dogs came to be, there was a group of furious punks from Boston, the F.U’s. After reforming in 2010, they abandoned the heavy metal tendencies for a return to their blistering aggressive punk rock. 5 p.m., $10, with Limecell, Jukebox Zeros, The Missile Toads, The Slotcars & Brace Face, Kung Fu Necktie, 148 N. Front St., 215-291-4919.

Sunday: Shannon Pelcher’s acoustic pop blues is simple, but very intentional. It’s simplicity that feels like the night before a weekend with a warm drink in your hand. This show is the release party for her debut with her band, the Iron Threads. 7 p.m., $10, with Lara Ewen, Tin Angel, 20 S. 2nd St., 215-928-0770.

(brian.wilensky@citypaper.net)

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