The Weary Boys, and Roses Pawn Shop

The Weary Boys and Rose's Pawn Shop show is the best double bill in bluegrass for both purists and evolutionists. RPS has a malleable alt-country sound, wrapped up in skillfully crafted songs with vocal harmonies and elaborate instrumentation, like "Lone Rider," which opens with what sounds like a banjo sounding like a sitar and gallops into a wicked, fast-paced country duster. But they still sound civilized. The Weary Boys, on the other hand, are old school right down to the sepia-tinged photo of the big-bearded band on the inside CD sleeve of their latest album, the impressive Jumpin' Jolie. Some of the songs, like the title track, mix blazing bluegrass with back-porch country, causing an uncontrollable urge to roll up one's jeans and dance barefoot, while other songs, like the ballad "Drink On It," just hang out in the room with you like a bottle of good booze (moonshine, probably). But almost all of the songs feature a fiddle. With The Weary Boys' repertoire of smooth bluegrass and old-time country, and Rose's Pawn Shop's mix of mutated bluegrass and catchy country, this promises to be one hot honky-tonk.