On the Scene

April

6 THE PAT SAVAGE BAND, 9 p.m. at the Central Tavern, 207 1st Ave., Seattle. 206-622-0209. $5. 21 & older. The Vancouver, B.C. rockers might not perform the kind of stuff that gets broadcast on the radio nowadays, but their work is bound to appeal to anyone with a love for tasty, 1970s-era blues jams. ``Chasin the Clouds Away'' is a reconstruction of Pink Floyd's ``Comfortably Numb,'' sincere if obvious. The Latin-flavored ``Breezy'' and stomping ``Goin' Down,'' however, let bandleader Savage -- a fine vocalist and electric guitarist -- shine brightly. Worth hearing.

7, 14 THE PAT SAVAGE BAND with NO QUARTER, 9 p.m. at the Royal Bear, 35731 W. Valley Hwy, Algona. 253-939-3513. $6. 21 & older. On the other hand, anyone in the South End who doesn't want to haul all the way to Pioneer Square and then worry about their car getting broken into can catch the group at these consecutive Friday night performances. Opening the shows is the local Led Zep tribute band No Quarter.

20 LOS STRAITJACKETS with THE REVEREND HORTON HEAT, 9 p.m. at the Showbox, 1426 First Ave., Seattle. 206-628-3151. $15 in advance, $17 at the door. 21 & older. If you're going to play rock and roll music while wearing wrestlers' masks, you'd better play really well, or you're going to be driven out of town for looking stupid. California's Los Straitjackets wear wrestlers' masks, black outfits, and their own special ``Los Straitjackets'' medallions (which probably give the musicians super powers or somethin'), but they crank out 1960s-style surf rock with intuitive grace. ``Kwanga!'' is a mutant version of the Surfaris' ``Wipe Out.'' The wistful ``Close to Champaign'' is exactly the sort of thing you want to have on your car stereo while driving home after a fantastic summer vacation. A remake of the ``Titanic'' love ballad ``My Heart Will Go On'' begins quietly. The familiar melody steals over you for a few seconds before you recognize what it actually is. The natural reaction, at this point, is to expect these four grown men in weird outfits to just rip the song apart, playing it at high volume and at high speed. Instead, Los Straitjackets perform the song straight, inserting a soulful guitar solo but never actually defacing the original arrangement. Bonus points to the band for having the nerve to pose for its official publicity photo -- in full stage costume --at a Sears Portrait Studio. Quentin Tarantino is probably already asking the band to score his next movie. If he's not, he should.