I’m glad we’re finally closing in on the Music Conference--I’m just about previewed out and ready to see some shows already. But the idea for today’s entry came about as I scanned the SXSW schedule for the eleventy-billionth time and noticed that Th’ Faith Healers will be in Austin. That band of noisy Brits, you may (or may not) recall, recorded two exceptional discs of Krautrock-informed tunes ‘n’ drones ‘n’ forcebeats in the early ‘90s. They were gone by ’94, but it turns out they’re on a short U.S. tour to promote the late 2005 release of their Peel Sessions. Good for them.

Now, SXSW never has a shortage of aging veterans—Neil Young delivers the keynote, after all, and he’s rumored to be quite old. But I was more interested in scouting out performers you don’t get to see every day. Or every night, I guess. And these are those.

James Talley was a particularly bright, politically astute folk singer in the 70s—he even performed at the Carter inauguration. The re-release of his classic Got No Bread, No Milk, No Money, But We Sure Got A Lot of Love makes this Wednesday show an excellent time to check him out. Come early and catch indefatigable local troubadour (and far from ancient) Dan Israel; stay later and catch onetime Meat Puppet Curt Kirkwood.

On Friday, “The Ponderosa Stomp” is an event featuring a gaggle of old-time R&B stalwarts calling themselves the Mystic Knights of the Mau Mau. Archie Bell (as in “& the Drells”) will be there, as will Eddie Bo and Barbara Lynn, and longtime Elvis drummer DJ Fontana will anchor the set.

And then Saturday night, you've got the Bats. I don’t suppose it would help much to ID that band by saying they were an offshoot of the Clean. Either you’re down with 80s New Zealand post-Velvets jangle-pop or you’re not. (In either case, you should be.)

And finally, also on Saturday, a collection of musicians who tour plenty, but who you’re unlikely to see all in one place like this. There'll be an all star New Orleans tribute with Alan Toussaint, Sam Moore, Ivan Neville, Buckwheat Zydeco, BeauSoleil, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, and the New Orleans Social Club.

Is it Wednesday yet?