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Friday night at Chelsea’s I witnessed one band almost get it right and another surpass all expectations. Opening the set was Rhode Island’s Elvis Perkins, or possibly Elvis Perkins in Dearland, depending on which myspace.com page you land on. You should never judge a book by its cover, or a band by its name, but Elvis Perkins conjured images of a rockabilly three-piece in my head. Instead, they are an affably literate orchestral folk rock band with a penchant for eclectic instrumentation. There was a harmonium (an accordion-like organ with bellows you pump with one hand while you play it with the other), a marching band bass drum, an upright bass and a trombone. The front man, operating under the ambitious moniker made good use of his crack band but to these ears, the songs did not quite measure up to the effort put forth. It’s a trap a lot of bands fall into. They think if they can do it – throw a glockenspiel into the mix – they should. I’m no rock purist, but Wilco and Arcade Fire have the songs to back up their wacky instrumentations and giant arrangements. Maybe it was an off night, since they have plenty of support on the Web and are opening for My Morning Jacket this summer.

One note of bar etiquette needs mentioning: some idiot in a suit thought it was his alcohol-given right to play along with Elvis Perkins on the cymbals set off to the side for the headlining band, and continued after a couple people asked him to stop. This kind of gall is unconscionable. One, there is a band playing here making their living and you are sabotaging that for your own amusement, and two, that equipment is not there for you to play with, it’s what some struggling musician uses to make a living, to entertain people like you every night, and he doesn’t need you breaking something. Don’t mess with the band’s equipment, okay? Is that really too much to ask?

Anyway. The Pernice Brothers took to the stage with a barely perceptible sound check, fiddling with equipment and delivering more than an hour’s worth of brilliantly crafted guitar pop. Joe Pernice has been a favored songwriter of mine and every other alt-country leaning music nerd ever since we all first heard Massachusetts, the landmark album by his previous band The Scud Mountain Boys in 1996. Massachusetts was one of those perfect documents, capturing the air of country rock without falling victim to its excesses. And like all good things, it disbanded, and the Pernice Brothers became the umbrella under which Joe Pernice authored a variety of masterful albums. The latest, Live a Little, catches him in the vein of great ‘80s New Zealand bands like The Verlaines and The Chills and the finer points of Squeeze’s later catalog. There were not exactly a lot of rock-out moments in the show (save the killer guitar solo by keyboardist James Wallborne during one of their last songs. Really, I have not witnessed a keyboard player steal the show like this since I saw the legendary Steve Nieve open up and play with Squeeze, with one arm in a sling, over a decade ago at the Varsity) but the band’s focus matched with Joe Pernice’s lyrics made for a tremendous show, demonstrating that more can often be done with less when you concentrate on the doing. Brilliant show.

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Wednesday, December 6: Bound Stems, Rahim and We Landed on the Moon! are at North Gate Tavern (see Show Previews). Secret Annexe, Amazing Nuns and Wilderness Pangs are at the Spanish Moon. Mike Dillon and James Singleton funk things up at Chelsea’s Café and The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus is at the Varsity Theatre.

Thursday, December 7: Trio de Janerio featuring Ray Moore is at the Manship Theatre (see Show Previews). Lisa Sweetman, Anna Byars, Laura Mullen and the Jason Hanks Band are at Chelsea’s Café. The Track Record, Upper Class Trash, Southcott, My Last Remark and Luke Starkiller are at the Darkroom. 30 Seconds to Mars, Kill Hannah and the Plain White T’s are at the Texas Club (see Show Previews).

Friday, December 8: Zenbilly, The Mighty Orq and Phillip Hawke are at North Gate Tavern (see Show Previews). justinbailey, Rosaline and Thou are at Spanish Moon. Adam Hood is at Red Star. Country Fried is at Chelsea’s. Head Drone, Theory of Yesterday and Category Five are at The Darkroom. The Captain Legendary Band is at the Varsity Theatre. Break or Burn and Common Curtis are at The Caterie.

Saturday, December 9: Santeria, Code Duello and Shark Attack! are at North Gate Tavern. Brenton and the Brentones are at the Spanish Moon. Monty Are I, Dropping Daylight, The Summer Obsession and Break or Burn are at The Caterie. A Soup Named Stew is at Chelsea’s Café. The Upstairs Divine, Cities Killed Starlight, Julie Odell, In Memory Of and Infinite Hours are at The Darkroom. Mem Shannon is at Teddy’s Juke Joint.

Monday, December 11: Centro-matic is at Chelsea’s Café (see Show Previews).