Rogue Wave, scheduled to play Rhythm Room in Phoenix on Jan. 22 (another fine Stateside Presents offering), has backed out of that date in favor of an 18-and-over show at Tempe Marketplace, our newest beacon of big-box consumerism.

The good news is the show is free. The bad news is that likely means Rogue Wave reversed field on Stateside, a staunch supporter of indie music for more than 10 years in the Valley, and took a last-minute hefty paycheck from Tempe Marketplace (or one of its sponsors; witness cheesy promotional video). For the record, the Rhythm Room cancellation was announced Monday.

In light of drummer Pat Spurgeon’s health issues, I can’t blame Rogue Wave for getting paid. Although it seems like bad business to pull out of a confirmed show just a week before the date.

Without all the information, it’s hard to pass any judgments. But my guess is – and I’m really going out on a limb here – playing outside in a sterile commercialized environment won’t have nearly the same effect as playing in an intimate, nice-sounding venue such as the Rhythm Room.

• Rogue Wave | Lake Michigan

The concert lineup is starting to pick up again, so here’s a quick roundup of some noteworthy shows:

Jan. 14: Dan Deacon, Modified Arts.
Jan. 18: Ryan Adams, Rialto Theatre (Tucson).
Jan. 22: Rogue Wave, Rhythm Room.
Jan. 24: Yeasayer with MGMT, Rhythm Room.
Jan. 31: The Blakes, Modified Arts.
Feb. 1: Mr. Lif with the Perceptionists, The Brickhouse.
Feb. 12: Editors, Marquee Theatre.
Feb. 13: George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic, Marquee Theatre.
March 2: Blitzen Trapper with the Shaky Hands, Modified Arts.
March 11: Beach House and Papercuts, Modified Arts.
March 17: Nada Surf, Clubhouse Music Venue.
March 17: Born Ruffians with Cadence Weapon, Rhythm Room.
March 28: The Black Keys, Marquee Theatre (with Jay Reatard?).
March 29: Tokyo Police Club, Clubhouse Music Venue.
April 8: Xiu Xiu, Rhythm Room.
April 20: Tech N9ne and E-40 (!), Marquee Theatre.

WTF. Two great shows on March 17.

And it’s looking all but official: I’m organizing a show for March 8 with Source Victoria and Birdmonster at Angelo’s. If you’re in Phoenix, come on out.

If career trajectories/trends are your thing, consider Devastations. The three-piece Australian band (now stationed in Berlin) released its second album on Brassland, the label operated by writer Alec Hanley Bemis and Bryce and Aaron Dessner of the National. Like the National, Devastations have taken up residence with Beggars Banquet for their 2008 release Yes, U, a follow-up to the outstanding 2006 record Coal.

Nick Cave comparisons follow the band wherever it goes, but I can’t help but make a comparison more familiar to my music collection, and that’s Morphine.

With a mysterious/inviting baritone, Devastations singer Conrad Standish (an avid Ultramagnetic MC’s fan) sounds both brooding and vulnerable, much in the same way Mark Sandman (R.I.P.) used to.

On Mistakes, the lead single from Yes, U (due out Feb. 5), a moody bassline is the company to Standish’s misery: “I can see my reflection / in the tracks of your tears / now why must I destroy all that / I claim to love / tell me why.”

• Devastations | Mistakes

From Coal (2006, Brassland):

• Devastations | Sex & Mayhem

(Such a great opening line: “The wine may have loosened my tongue / but you’re gonna thank me later on.”)

(Note: After his fast start – posts on Hangar 18 and Too Short – my man J.J. checks back in with a post. I’ve threatened to remove his right hand if he doesn’t post more.)

I’m not usually a huge fan of re-releases.

The last time I got into big a set was when MCA re-issued Fela Kuti’s catalog, which tapped into an unbeknownst Afrobeat gene for a couple years and ruined a couple of relationships.

These Vee-Jay recordings digitally re-released by the Orchard late last year are about to do the same with my inner soul junkie.

The Vee-Jay Records story itself has the makings of a blues classic: love, family infighting and corporate tyranny were scattered throughout the label’s history before it finally closed its doors in 1966.

In the four decades since, fans have made several efforts to resurrect the label’s catalog – most notably on the 1990s Vee-Jay Box Set: The Definitive Collection.

But technology, and music, has come a long way since then.

That box set attempted to sum up Vee-Jay’s 13-year history with three easy-to-absorb discs; the recent reissues open an entire 17-disc catalog to a new generation of fans … specifically, those born in the last 40 years.

Whether this generation has the patience to look past some of the hits available here to see the light in an Original Blind Boys gospel track; feel the pathos in Lightin’ Hopkins guttural blues guitar; enjoy the innocent funk of a nearly pre-pubescent Curtis Mayfield doo-wopping with The Impressions; or marvel at Little Richard’s earnest soul before he got all weird … well, people seek it out in record stores, and this stuff sounds better and is easier to find.

The re-releases – 17 albums deep – are available on eMusic.

• The Original Blind Boys of Mississippi | Waiting at the River (from The Great Lost Blind Boys Album)
• Lightnin’ Hopkins | Walking Around in Circles (from Lightnin’ Strikes)

Not sure if this has made its way around the Internets, but it looks like we have some cover art for the new Nada Surf album Lucky, due out on Barsuk on Feb. 5.

Here’s the tracklisting, via Barsuk.

1. See These Bones.
2. Whose Authority.
3. Beautiful Beat.
4. Here Goes Something.
5. Weightless.
6. Are You Lightning?
7. I Like What You Say.
8. From Now On.
9. Ice on the Wing.
10. The Fox.
11. The Film Did Not Go ‘Round.

• Nada Surf | See These Bones

If you were man enough to leave an e-mail address, I wouldn’t have to show, in a public forum, how you embarrassed yourself in comments on the post about Z-Trip offering a remix of Lounge Act for download.

For starters, your comments were never deleted, as you claimed. Actually, I have to approve comments before they are published to prevent comment spam – you know, messages about penis and anxiety pills that are only slightly less unreadable than your trash. For the record, though, I did not approve two comments: the one in which you repeated “FUCK YOU DJZTRIP” ad infinitum and the other in which you so eloquently said, “You suck more dick than your mom.” Classy.

Look, if you don’t like a song, I don’t really care. And I’m always happy for someone to say so. But attacking me (“eater of shit” … oh, BURN) or the artist is just a pathetic cry for attention. I mean, for a song and a site you claim to hate so much, you sure spent a lot of time whining about it.

You said you’d never come back to this site (God willing), so I doubt you’ll even read this. But if you do, please do forward your remix of Lounge Act – with beats made on a pen, right?? – or direct us all to a Web site with your music. We’re all very eager to hear how much more talented you are.