Crushed Graves

Photo by Todd Cooper
Photo by Todd Cooper

If you made it to Austin-based no-fi folk act Shakey Graves’ last Eugene show, congratulations — the line stretched around the block, and Sam Bond’s quickly reached capacity.

Since then Shakey Graves has continued to build his name as one of the hottest indie-folk/insurgent blues live acts, with matinee-idol good looks and an innovative one-man show (percussion supplied by suitcase).

Graves’ studio recordings are always lean and mean, full of tape hiss and attitude. His latest, Story of My Life, alternates from the traditional “Chinatown” and murder-ballad “Willow Garden” — tracks that would fit nicely on a Garcia-Grisman folk record — to the more contemporary “Story of My Life,” sounding like an early Iron and Wine folk-punk experiment.

In it Graves sings, “Yeah, I’m going to college/ Yeah, I’m gonna get rich” with a brokenhearted bemusement, like a modern-day Great Recession hobo who’s been let down by the American dream too many times.

Joining Graves this time through town is another popular fixture on Eugene stages: Crushed Out. You might’ve seen the Brooklyn-based duo under its former moniker Boom Chick. Crushed Out features a White Stripes-style male/female lineup — he’s on guitar and vocals, and she’s on drums. The band plays up-tempo, danceable garage rock with infectious enthusiasm.

So the Shakey Graves/Crushed Out double-bill promises to be a wild one — perhaps Sam Bond’s hottest ticket of the spring. Judging from last time, if you want to get in, you best not tarry too long over dinner and drinks.

Shakey Graves and Crushed Out play 8:30 pm Sunday, April 20, at Sam Bond’s; $10.