LOUDON WAINWRIGHT III(Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie) It's odd that when he was young, Loudon Wainwright III was still old. The sire to Rufus, Martha, and Lucy Wainwright Roche, the singer/actor penned countless songs about the blunt reality of watching his relationships disintegrate, his children drift away, and the pains of watching your parents pass (the latter most notably from 2001's underrated Last Man on Earth). Don't be distracted by his reputation as the singing jester from M*A*S*H, or from his acting work in that one CGI hamster movie—Wainwright can hit a nerve with the best of them, crafting magnificent songs that teeter the line between the promise of youth and the acceptance of growing old. Recently Wainwright headed the loving tribute to the legendary Charlie Poole with the double-disc High Wide & Lonesome and self-released a new solo work, 10 Songs for the New Depression, which touches on both our current economic malaise and the struggles of the Great Depression. Even the man's new work is somehow still old. EAC
A complete listing of this week's shows can be viewed here.