Ah, the hometown gig (or, in many of these cases, the [adopted] hometown gig): Putting your music out there for the people who know you best; looking out at a sea of familiar faces who actually recognize you, too; getting bombarded with guest list requests from every Dick and Jane who was ever your neighbor or your friend's friend or the radio guy that played your album; and sleeping in your own bed for a change when it's all said and done. Hometown shows are the order of the night in the Rose City, and I imagine at least some of these scenarios are at least somewhat true for at least some of tonight's performers-- particularly those just returning from the road.

Decemberist frontman Colin Meloy, along with Laura Gibson, left town about a month ago, tour EPs and charm in tow, for a series of dates all over the country. Uncoincidentally, Meloy has a new live album out on the kill rock stars label to promote as well as a new tour EP of Sam Cooke covers, while Gibson, if you'll recall, has a new tour EP of blues and traditional numbers and was the subject of a recent opbmusic in-studio session. The duo returns home to the Wonder Ballroom tonight, where there's no telling what kind of local musical friends might be joining them.

Actually, check that last part. We know it won't be any of the members of Weinland, who are holding their own tour homecoming brouhaha at the White Eagle tonight, along with openers A Weather. They've been out on a three-week jaunt of western states in support of this year's La Lamentor. We also know it won't be their occasional musical cohorts in Dolorean (7p.) and Norfolk & Western (10p.), who form a doubleheader of sorts tonight at Mississippi Studios with bills also featuring Jackstraw (early) and Chris Robley & the Fear of Heights (late).

As if all of that were not enough, we also know that Ms. Gibson won't be joined tonight by the other musical Laura in town, Laura Veirs, who begins a tour of her own tonight at the Doug Fir Lounge on a bill that also features Liam Finn and Let's Go Sailing. It's a solo trip this time out for Veirs, who released the excellent Saltbreakers full-length last year and has a new traditionals-filled EP entitled Two Beers Veirs, which must mean that it only takes a couple before Ms. Veirs starts breaking out the Mississippi John Hurt numbers. In case you don't remember (or never knew in the first place), she was our first in-studio guest just about a year ago. Not a bad beginning, eh?

Elsewhere tonight on the local front, Ohmega Watts is at Holocene, while Little Beirut plays Imbibe. Meanwhile, the "Queen of Rockabilly" herself, Wanda Jackson, brings her famous growl to Dante's.

Did you happen to catch any of these shows? We'd love to hear your takes on and takeaways from them-- do tell. The thread is open for that, or anything else that's on your minds, musically speaking...

Posted by jpetersen on Saturday, May 3 at 9:10pm