Free live music galore

Once upon a Thursday December 6, two friendly Berkeley record stores let a couple of indie rock bands play within one hour and one block of each other to make all the music lovers smile. Parker Street Cinema, an all-instrumental bass-piano-drums trio, performed first at Rasputin Music to a crowd of about 10, a surprising number because a) the band's roots trace to UC Berkeley and b) the drummer actually worked at Rasputin's. Nevertheless, they put forth remarkable energy despite the sparse audience. Their math rock gone classical sound dazzled in its uniqueness, the songs sparkled with complexity and the band rocked on the whole, but ultimately the lack of vocals couldn't help but create the feeling that something was missing. Soundtrack music to rescue princesses to. Would have been cool if the guys, all tight musicians who played wonderfully aggressive, had let out the odd spontaneous shout. Ow! Fuck a duck, I had to battle a smoke-breathing friend and thus arrived late and heard only two songs by Six Organs of Admittance at Amoeba Music. About 50 people witnessed this impressive one-man show play his totally compelling, first class gritty white man's bluesy folk music. Wielding a fierce acoustic guitar and wicked skills, this guy slayed me in a mere 10 minutes. And the piece de resistance? Catching (most of) Worker Bee's set at Cafe Pergolesi on Friday in Santa Cruz. I'm amazed every time I see these guys. Mesmerizingly powerful, blow-the-roof-off song dyanamics that startle the unaccustomed listener - like the 11-year-old boy at the cafe who jumped during the last blast of "Small Talker." The new stuff's the shit. And I lived happily ever after.