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I grew up listening to country music in an ambient sense. It ran in the background in the farm kitchens and basement workshops of my youth. Like all good things, I rebelled against it in my teenage years, keeping a wide birth from it until Wilco and Richard Buckner came into my life in the late '90s. Their prismatic takes on country music rekindled my interest and led me to dig into The Stanley Brothers, Bob Wills, Buck Owens and Hank Williams, all music that was timeless when I first heard it and even more so the second time around.

While Gram Parsons wannabes are readily abundant, it’s hard to find anyone who embodies the glow of AM classic country. Paul Burch is that guy. I’ve been a big fan of his music for years but Saturday night at Chelsea’s was my first opportunity to see him live, backed by opening group Last Train Home, which included some incendiary guitar work from Steve Wedemeyer. I love those impeccable Nashville players, guys whose talent is so precise they sound like they grew there like kudzu on the songs. Burch’s mix of Texas swing and sensitive songwriting was a hit, working on multiple levels. At one moment he’s throwing out touching ballads from his 2001 album Last of My Kind, based on Tony Earley’s “Jim the Boy,” the next he’s filling the dance floor with tongue-in-cheek swing numbers. I don’t have much hope for pop country, but as long as guys like Burch are still around, the AM farmhouse radio of my soul will keep playing.

On to headier matters – this week you have the distinct pleasure of having your mind blown by the elegant metal of ISIS, the leader of the pack of metal bands that understand that the stairway to heaven is one built of elegiac strains of heavy emotion. Grizzly Bear brings a calmer, less turbulent version of electronic rock and Maria Taylor returns with her torchy, intimate guitar rock.

And now for more

Wednesday, February 28: Hi-Five is at the Spanish Moon and The Michael Foster Project is at Chelsea’s Cafe.

Thursday, March 1: Grizzly Bear with The Papercuts and Harlan play Chelsea’s Café. Save The Last Bullet and Manchac are at North Gate Tavern.

Friday, March 2: ISIS, Intronaut and Torche are at the Spanish Moon, Country Fried is at Chelsea’s Café and Clint Calendar is at Phil Brady’s. Peckernut is at North Gate Tavern.

Saturday, March 3: Mem Shannon is at Teddy’s Juke Joint. Guff, justinbailey and No Fuego are at the Spanish Moon. Blueground Undergrass is at Chelsea’s Café and War Babies are at Phil Brady’s. By The End Of Tonight, Tuesday's Debut, and The Melters are at North Gate Tavern.

Monday, March 5: Maria Taylor and Baak Gwai are at the Spanish Moon.