Freaky Friday 

Contrary to the misguided opinions of some, I do not run the local music scene. But if I did, my first order of business would be to call a meeting of the heads of state — in this case club owners and booking types — and lay down a few ground rules. The idea would be to increase communication between venues so that we can avoid potentially scene-fracturing scenarios, such as the one that may play out this Friday when local concertgoers will be forced to make an impossible decision between the New Pornographers with Maryse Smith at the Higher Ground Ballroom, and the killer local-rock showcase at Nectar’s featuring the welcome return of both Swale and the Brett Hughes-led swampy-tonk trio, Monoprix.

In addition to Swale and Monoprix, the lineup at Nectar’s will include perennial column favorites Cave Bees and — are you sitting down? — the Jazz Guys. That’s right. They’re baaack. I’m pretty sure the JGs are violating the statute of limitations regarding how long after a breakup one can throw a reunion show — their “farewell” was last December — but we’ll all let it slide just this once, right? Raise your hand if you’re not excited to dance to “Hakeem Olajuwon” one more time.

Some interesting tidbits from Swale: One of the reasons the band has been quiet of late is that drummer Jeremy Frederick was — I swear this is true — in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean for a month on a treasure-hunting expedition. He even scoped out the Titanic. No, not the shitty movie. The actual Titanic. With remote-controlled submarines. And Kate Winslet. (Just kidding about that last one.) No word on whether he scored any treasure.

The other big news from Swale: According to guitarist Eric Olsen, the band is finally, really, truly sending its long-awaited full-length album — and by “long-awaited,” I’m talking, like, almost 10 years — to be packaged and released by the end of this year. They call it A Small Arrival. I’ll call it a Christmas miracle.

BiteTorrent

Listening In

And finally, this week’s totally self-indulgent column segment, in which I share a random sampling of what was on my iPod, turntable, CD player, 8-track player, etc., this week.

• Kurt Vile, Childish Prodigy
• Hepcat, Push ’n’ Shove
• Sufjan Stevens, All Delighted People EP
• Joe Pug, Nation of Heat EP
• School of Seven Bells, Disconnect From Desire m