23

TUESDAY

Nashville has turned its back on the little guy. Instead of shotgun shacks, pickups, and hush puppies, now it’s all tract mansions, minivans, and edamame. Though he hails from the liberal hotbed of Eugene, Ore., Tom Heinl stands tall for the life and lore of the trailer trash. His new disc, With or Without Me, speaks to the woes of the workin’ man with “Half Day Vacation” (“And I’m watchin’ my soaps/And I’m drinkin’ some Scope”) and the lot of the layabout with “Christmas Tree on Fire” (’nuf said). You can practically smell the Bondo when Heinl rolls out his Man-in-Black basso for “Pinto Squire,” and the weepy “Mama” would’ve fit nicely onto a Porter Wagoner drinkin’ album. But the real keeper is the plaintive “Three-Way.” Enough pussyfootin’: Real relationships fall apart for real reasons, and it don’t get much realer than the old lady bringin’ home another dude for a mustache ride. Heinl plays with the Decemberists and Clearlake at 8:30 p.m. on the Black Cat’s Mainstage, 1811 14th St. NW. $10. (202) 667-7960. (Glenn Dixon)