Going to see live music can be such a predictable experience. Oh, sure, occasionally somebody fires up a few flash pots or blinds patrons with a strobe light. But you never see enough wild animals. How much better would most gigs be if there were fewer people, and more beasts, in the crowd?

For instance, Border Radio is hard pressed to think of any event that wouldn't be brightened up by the addition of a tapir. These noble beasts, which look a bit like a Holstein cow crossed with a pygmy elephant, reside in Malaysia and Central and South America. Oh, and Green Lake. That's right. There are two Malaysian tapirs at the Woodland Park Zoo—which, coincidentally, hosts a great show this Sunday evening, August 28, featuring Neko Case (who last year considered ditching music to go into animal conservation) and opening act Laura Veirs.

Seattle-based singer-songwriter Veirs will be performing selections from her latest full-length, Year of Meteors, out now on Nonesuch Records. The disc finds Veirs and producer Tucker Martine continuing in the polished direction of last year's breakthrough Carbon Glacier; electric guitars provide frisson with the acoustic strumming, muffled drums, and Veirs's crisp, dry voice on new originals like "Rialto" and the jazzy "Secret Someones." Alas, no tapirs appear on the disc, but Veirs does mention ocean life; eels pop up on the sweeping "Galaxies," which is sprinkled with ear-catching synthesizer doodles, wiggling through its aqueous textures. She goes on at 6:00 p.m. Sunday, which means you will have plenty of time to visit the tapir exhibit and still get a good seat. (If you're really serious, plan a whole day around the trip; zookeepers host a talk on tapirs at 11:30 a.m. on Sundays, which seems an obscene time to expect anyone —especially a nocturnal animal—to be on the ball.)

Folks have been making lots of fuss about Portland's arts scene of late, but Seattle still has them beat on one count: The Oregon Zoo has no tapirs. No wonder, then, that Rose City country-rock quartet Celilo, who recall classic California acts like the Byrds and Flying Burrito Bros., are driving up the I-5 to visit us this week. Catch them at the Conor Byrne on Friday, August 26. The band is promoting its recent release Ricochet, but Border Radio was even more impressed by some new, unreleased tracks they submitted, like the jaunty "Just for Awhile" and the syncopated shuffle of "Fly Low," cuts streaked with lap steel, and carried along by the earthy, laidback vocals of front man Sloan Martin.

Despite their squat, low-to-the-ground build, tapirs can run very fast. Which is exactly what roots music lovers should do—in the direction of the nearest newsstand. Because the 7th Annual Southern Music issue of the Oxford American ("The Southern Magazine of Good Writing") is finally out. This year's edition features articles on Loretta Lynn, Erma Franklin, Lightnin' Hopkins, and others. Plus, there's a 29-track bonus CD, featuring rarities by heavy-hitters including Elvis Presley, Al Green, and Nat King Cole.

kurt@thestranger.com