Elvis Perkins in Dearland

A singer-songwriter long before his jazz-infused combo of late, Elvis Perkins has experienced immeasurable tragedy in his young life. His father, actor Anthony Perkins, died of AIDS complications when Elvis was 16 and his mother, photographer Berry Berenson, was a passenger on the American Airlines flight that crashed into the Twin Towers on September 11th. As Perkins’s acclaimed 2007 debut Ash Wednesday coped with themes of loss and love, his upcoming Elvis Perkins in Dearland paints moody folk-infused ballads in a cerulean hue. The surefire showstopper? A subdued “Shampoo” that melds Nina Simone with Dixieland stomp—black is the color of his true love’s crossbow. With Himilayas.

Wed., March 25, 8 p.m., 2009