Quick Hits

by LUKE BAUMGARTEN & r & & r & & lt;span class= & quot;dropcap & quot; & "W & lt;/span & hat goes up must come down," BLOOD, SWEAT & amp; TEARS sang on "Spinning Wheel," a Top Five single from their eponymous second album. How prophetic. Few things could have killed a career quicker in 1970 than touring on behalf of the U.S. State Department. The counterculture hated Nixon's White House. They hated his draft, his invasion of Cambodia and his attempts to deport John Lennon. The Kent State massacre didn't help.





Canadian singer David Clayton-Thomas had questionable visa status, though, and State apparently suggested America would let him work if the band would just, you know, trumpet American values on a tour of Eastern Bloc countries. Crappy deal. Forced to choose between being branded chart-topping Nixon sympathizers or not being a band at all, they chose the former. It didn't wreck their careers outright, but the ensuing alt and rock press backlash (mouth-frothing communists all) ensured cred-death by a thousand paper cuts.


-- LUKE BAUMGARTEN





Blood, Sweat & amp; Tears with PJ Destiny at Cd'A Casino on Thursday, April 19 at 8 pm. $30-$35. Visit ticketswest.com or call 325-SEAT.





& lt;span class= & quot;dropcap & quot; & Q & lt;/span & uite Nyce and Seek are two emcees from Boston involved in the thankless task of bringing hip-hop to the people. Born from the breeding ground of so many mildly talented underground rap acts -- the college dorm room -- the duo gigs as RADIx. They've gone about dues-paying the old-fashioned way, parlaying an initial mix tape into a solid LP (The Staple), utilizing guest shots by hometown hero Akrobatik -- as well as established producers and DJs -- to secure multiple write-ups in rap mags.





Small-splashing, competent debuts like The Staple come with one ready-made commandment: Thou shalt tour. And tour they are, rocking whoever shows up too early for slightly larger headliners, selling merch like they're trying to eat because, well, they are. Continuing the march, RADIx headlines the Spokane date, promoting its solid 2007 EP, Hope.


-- ANDREW MATSON





RADIx with Freetime Synthetic, Jaeda, Cosmic Dust, Temper T, Sake 1, Stitch Jones, Tranch One and Small Cuts at Prago on Saturday, April 21, at 8 pm. $6. Call 443-0404.





& lt;span class= & quot;dropcap & quot; & H & lt;/span & e used to join in long jam sessions in Charles Mingus' apartment. He played with phenomenal drummer Buddy Rich for several years. He picked out notes on his guitar as a sideman alongside the Brecker brothers and drummer Jack DeJohnette. Now, as a sign of respect for an underappreciated artist, the Jazz Guitar Society of Spokane has invited JACK WILKINS to ella's for both a workshop and a performance.





Wilkins will play as part of a trio in a late-night set, and judging from Trio Art, his release of a decade ago, his playing could be described as sophisticated improvisations in a quiet, introspective style. (The classic Wilkins releases from the '70s, Windows and Merge, feature more in the way of upbeat romps.) The workshop isn't just an afterthought: Wilkins, 62, is a committed jazz educator who has published extensively on the theory and practice of jazz guitar.


-- MICHAEL BOWEN





Jack Wilkins at ella's on Saturday, April 21, with workshop ($25; $30, at the door) from 2-4 pm and performance in a trio from 9 pm-midnight ($5 cover). Call 74-STAGE.