Sole raps his own brand of hip-hop.

Byline: Lewis Taylor The Register-Guard

Fans of independent hip-hop won't want to miss Sole on Wednesday at the WOW Hall, 291 W. Eighth Ave.

POP NOTES

The Anticon artist is touring in support of his latest release, "Selling Live Water," a collection of raps delivered in his trademark non-rhyming style. Sole spits out words a mile a minute, accompanied by creaky beats, xylophones, synthesizers and other stormy backdrops.

What's surprising is that the chaotic combination of eerie noises and stream-of-consciousness rapping works, particularly when he allows his lyrics to come through the music, as they do on the lead track, "Da Baddest Poet." More staccato verbal attacks such as "Plutonium" are harder to untangle, but that's why the lyrics are included in the liner notes.

Grand Buffet also will perform. The show starts at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 in advance or $12 at the door.

Dark Star Orchestra

The Dark Star Orchestra will play at 8 p.m. Saturday at the McDonald Theatre.

The Chicago-based tribute band will faithfully re-create a classic Grateful Dead show, right down to the microphone placement.

The group also uses guitars and amps from the same era of the original show.

Up to the time of performance, it's anyone's guess which show the group will pick. A publicist for the group said Saturday's show was likely to be a re-enactment of a Grateful Dead show, as opposed to a Jerry Garcia Band show.

The DSO cast includes John Kadlecik, who plays the part of Jerry Garcia, Kevin Rosen, who does Phil Lesh, Rob Eaton, who stars as Bob Weir, and Rob Koritz who plays Bill Kreutzmann. Lisa Mackey is Donna Godchaux, Dino English does Mickey Hart and Scott Larned plays the part of five different Dead keyboardists.

Tickets are $18 in advance or $20 day of show.

Jambay Trio

Jambay Trio - the recently reunited jam band featuring Matt Butler, Chris Haugen and Mike Sugar - will be at Cafe Paradiso, 115 W. Broadway, at 9 p.m. today.

Shelley Doty, a former member of the group, also will perform. Tickets are $10, $6 for students.

The Family Van Tour

The Family Van Tour, a three-band program, will pull into Sam Bond's Garage, 407 Blair Blvd., on Wednesday for a 9 p.m. show.

Carla Kihlstedt, from the group Tin Hat Trio, will bring her latest project, a voice, violin, cello and drum trio called 2 Foot Yard.

Kihlstedt will be joined by El Fay, a one-woman band featuring Lisa Fay from the band Mudwimin, and the Carla Bozulich Revue, a group that includes Bozulich, from the Geraldine Fibbers, and Nels Cline, who's been called "the world's most dangerous guitarist."

Admission is $6 to $10 on a sliding scale.

Body Modification

The Briefs, a Seattle New Wave/punk band, will headline the second annual High Priestess Piercing Body Modification Celebration on Tuesday at John Henry's, 77 W. Broadway.

Along with prizes and giveaways, the event will feature a "full-body suspension," which most likely will not be for the faint of heart.

Cap Gun Suicide, the Whopner County Country Allstars, the Hellenbacks and Samabhi also will perform.

The show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $4.

Living Legends

Indie hip-hop is on tap Wednesday at the McDonald Theatre, 1010 Willamette St.

Hailing from Oakland and Los Angeles, the Living Legends crew came together in the 1990s when members of the Mystik Journeymen, CMA, G&E Music, Moonrocks and the 3 Melancholy Gypsys joined forces.

Along with the Living Legends, the 8 p.m. show will feature Eyedea & Abilities, 2Mex and Xololanxinxo.

Tickets are $14 in advance, $18 day of show.

Leftover Salmon

The bluegrass-seasoned jam band Leftover Salmon will kick off its West Coast tour in Eugene at 8 p.m. Thursday at the McDonald Theatre.

The group is touring with its new banjo player, 21-year-old Noam Pikelny. He replaces the late Mark Vann, who died from the effects of skin cancer in March 2002.

The Flying Other Brothers will open. Tickets are $15 in advance and $18 day of show.

Claudia Schmidt

Claudia Schmidt, a folk artist whose soaring vocals have been heard on "A Prairie Home Companion," will be at Cafe Paradiso on Thursday.

Schmidt's most recent recording, "Wings of Wonder," features backing from Peter Ostroushko (mandolin, fiddle) and Dean Magraw (guitar).

Recently, she has been exploring jazz - collaborating with the New Reformation Jazz Band, playing on a tribute to George Gershwin and Duke Ellington and performing with her own jazz sextet, the JumpBoys.

Sandy Holder will open the show at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10.50 in advance or $13 at the door.

CAPTION(S):

Claudia Schmidt, a folk artist who isn't afraid to explore her jazzy side, will sing a song or two Thursday night at Cafe Paradiso. Schmidt's latest recording is called "Wings of Wonder." She also performs with a jazz sextet called JumpBoys, and has played on a tribute to Duke Ellington and George Gershwin. The Dark Star Orchestra will put the hard-core in "hard-core Deadheads" when the band re-creates a Grateful Dead concert Saturday night at the McDonald Theatre. Pop: Leftover Salmon begins another run Continued from Page 15 Pop: Doty reunites with ex-bandmates Continued from Page 14 Carla Kihlstedt, a violinist with the Tin Hat Trio, will bring her new band, 2 Foot Yard, to Sam Bond's on Wednesday. Please turn to POP, Page 15 Please turn to POP, Page 16