February 26-March 3, 2004

music

Sound Advice

Get Out

rock/pop

Walls of Jericho

Let's say you lock Jack Nicholson in your living room. For a year, he lives off table scraps and bourbon, bouncing off the walls and planning your demise. One day he finds a guitar buried under the floorboard, uses the ax to break down the door and proceeds to chase you around the house screaming "Heeerre's Johnny." The return of Walls of Jericho after two years of incubation is doubly frightening, pissing-razors hardcore sure to scare children and incite small riots. Run.--Andrew Parks

Sun., Feb. 29, 7 p.m., $11-$13, with God Forbid, Blood Has Been Shed and A Life Once Lost, Trocadero, 1003 Arch St., 215-922-LIVE.

world

Spoken Hand

Whether you know him as trap drummer Daryl (live with the Dixie Hummingbirds and countless recordings with the likes of Patti LaBelle and Grover Washington) or djembe player Kwasi (facilitator of African dance workshops and Spoken Hand member) you surely want to wish him well. Mr. Burgee had a brain tumor removed in January. The great news is that he is healing rapidly. Other members of Spoken Hand plus mystery guests plan a jam/dance/dinner to help Kwasi pay down the medical bills. Bring your best dish to share.--Mary Armstrong

Sun., Feb. 28, 8 p.m., $10, Lonnie Young Recreation Center, 1100 E. Chelten Ave., 215-685-2236.

folk/country

Nanci Griffith

Nanci Griffith's recording of Julie Gold's peace anthem "From a Distance" made the Texas-born "folkabilly" singer-songwriter an Irish superstar. But Griffith's more-golden-than-Gold rep rests on smaller, subtler character studies she has written in the tradition of fellow Southern storytellers Foote, Welty and McMurtry. Fortunately her current tour supports a live album (Winter Marquee) that includes Griffith classics "There's a Light Beyond These Woods (Mary Margaret)" and "Gulf Coast Highway" as well as Gold's latest political weeper ("Good Night, New York," about 9/11).--Carolyn Wyman

Sat., Feb. 28, 8 p.m., $32-$38, Scottish Rite Auditorium, 315 White Horse Pike, Collingswood, N.J., 215-336-2000.

rock/pop

The Donuts

It's hard to tell whether The Donuts are an actual, ambitious, honest-to-the-Christ rock band or just friends making dick jokes. The catchy melodies and pop hooks on their new full length, Sgt. Jack's Pepper Mill, suggest the former, but the silly pseudonyms (the lead singer is J. Bearclaw, with Johnny Taint on guitar) and general goofy demeanor make you think they're doing it all for giggles. Either way, you have to admit there's a certain skill to that kind of mysteriousness.--Patrick Rapa

Fri., Feb. 27, 9 p.m., $7, with Boyd of London and The Trolleyvox, North Star, 27th and Poplar sts., 215-684-0808.

hip-hop

Spearhead

Everyone deserves music. One tight track can unite thugs and diplomats. Taking that sentiment to heart is Spearhead honcho Michael Franti, whose faith in the power of song pushes him to be something for everyone. Everyone Deserves Music is all over the place: Bring the funk and cue the strings, hire Sly and Robbie for a pair of tracks, pinch a punk riff and spritz on that acoustic soul that woos Ben Harper fans like patchouli. Top with lyrics that the term "socially conscious rap" was coined to describe. Done right, Spearhead's egalitarian vibes are the antidote to Schoolly D's misogyny.--M.J. Fine

Fri., Feb. 27, 8:30 p.m., $24-$26, with Ziggy Marley and Schoolly D, Electric Factory, Seventh and Willow sts., 215-336-2000.