"All three of us are peeing our panties about our show with Listener and Poor Folks Live Well at the Urban Onion," says Jared Bugg, drummer for Simon the Leper. "We've known Poor Folks since the first incarnation of Simon the Leper, but this is the first time we've had an opportunity to play together. Both bands have been huge Listener fans for years, they have a way of cutting right to the heart of you in an overwhelmingly positive, reassuring way, and the raw honesty of the lyrics and performances have been very influential to us."

It's true, Listener does have a raw honesty that's as sweet and salty as the South Sound, spewed in the form of grisly rhymes and resonating, dreamy instrumentals, spiked by outbursts of blissful confusion and clarity.

Simon the Leper compliments Listener, bringing its own honest outbursts, but much louder and much fuzzier, with a nod to northwest garage, edged by an unusual energy that can be distracting at points, but welcoming in a side show attraction kind of way. Catch them Friday and see what I mean.

THE URBAN ONION, SIMON THE LEPER, LISTENER AND POOR FOLKS LIVE WELL, FRIDAY, FEB. 1, 8 P.M., ALL AGES, $10, 116 LEGION WAY, OLYMPIA, 360.943.9242