The Stranger

Five or six Christmases ago, John Osebold—the bandleader of "Awesome"—realized he was cash-poor but rich in songs, and recorded an album in his bedroom as his present to people. He's maintained the tradition, festooning his "December" albums with audio samples from the previous year (Osebold gets weirder phone messages than most folks) and cameo appearances by friends playing banjo, drums, trumpet, etc. The December songs are mostly happy and bouncy and show off Osebold's complicated, geometric guitar phrasing. Tonight, Osebold and Kirk Anderson—the drummer of "Awesome"—will show some old stock footage and play from past December albums because "the new album," Osebold says, "has become unplayable. Oopsie." (Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave, www.nwfilmforum.org. 11 pm, $9.) by Brendan Kiley

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