On his new album, Phil Lee sings songs that slay 

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Tis the season, and if you're looking for a last-minute gift for a local music lover (maybe for you!), my recommendation is the hilarious, brilliant, inky black Phil Lee album When I Close My Eyes I See Blood. I can't seem to pry it out of my CD player. It's filled with earworms living rent free in my head, and you can get a copy at philleeone.bandcamp.com.

It kicks off with "A Night in the Box," Lee's honky-tonk anthem to hooking up trailer-park style: "It ain't much but I call it home/ Gotta microwave and a telephone/ No room to fight nor disagree/ No room to do nothing but hug and kiss me/ Anyone can tell you this trailer rocks/ Don't you want to spend a night in the box?"

Then there's his anti-love ballad, "Bad For Me": "That's right, yes ma'am I said it/ If it means anything to you, yes I regret it/ Hey, woah, yeah, you heard me clearly, I still love you madly/ Just don't want you near me/ You're bad for me."

"For All the Times I Won't" is Lee's tormented song of unrequited love as he pines for a woman in the wrong relationship: "So let me kiss you once, for all the times I won't/ For all the times I didn't even try/ I know it won't be enough, honey don't say don't/ Let me kiss you once, for all the times I won't."

Things heat up on the album's title track, a fun little hook-laden song about violence: "I'm gonna go to your boyfriend smash his face/ I'd be pleased to break him up, you know/ My loving is strong, you went and done me wrong// When I close my eyes I see blood."

The next one—"I Wish This Song Had Teeth"—continues the violent theme, albeit more metaphorically: "I wish this song had teeth/ Wish this song could bite you/ Scratch and kick and fight you/ Put you in a rasslin' hold."

Lee's a prolific songwriter who makes his living crisscrossing the country and playing shows, and at 71, he's got a lot of miles on him, but over the years he's found a lot of talented musicians to back him up. He's recorded albums with members of Wilco, the Flying Burrito Brothers, and Neil Young's band Crazy Horse. On this new one, he's enlisted multi-instrumentalist and producer David West, who accompanied Kate Wolf before her death, played with modern bluegrass act the Cache Valley Drifters, and has produced more than 60 records for CMH Records in LA. He's a huge help on this recording, singing harmony vocals and playing lap steel, dobro, mandolin, banjo, guitars, piano, and bass.

West and Lee are truly simpatico, and the combined picking on tracks like "Last Year" is amazing. The song is also an amazing showcase for Lee's one-of-a-kind singing and outside-the-box lyrics: "Last year, we were dumb and in love, we were like kids/ Now you regard me through narrowed eyelids/ Now you hate me, you can't say that you did ... last year." Lee's extended vocal outro is hilarious.

On "I'm the Why She's Gone," Lee's protagonist listens to a friend talk about his cheating gal knowing he's the one who's been cheating with her: "Come on in buddy, you don't look so great/ I will hear your story, I'll commiserate."

The album's most toe-tapping song has to be "Nobody But You" about a guy hitting on the protagonist's gal, sort of the other side of the coin to the previous song: "You're mine, I told him many times/ He's riding for a fall, it's like talking to the wall."

"She Ran Out of Give" is sort of a Western swing number: "I was always on the winning end/ She'd go to work, she'd come back home again/ Seems everything she did, she done for my sake/ But she ran out of give before I ran out of take."

These are relentlessly clever songs with just the right level of orchestration—West adds just the right fills without cluttering up Lee's deeply satisfying compositions.

The album appropriately ends with a cover, "The Lonesome Road," that's been performed by everyone from Madeleine Peyroux to Leslie Uggams, but instead of jazzing it up, Lee's arrangement plays it gospel style and forlorn—a somber closer to Lee's tongue-in-cheek black comedy. When I Close My Eyes I See Blood is absolutely my favorite local record this year, and that's saying something because there have been a lot of really great local records. Go buy some and support local music.

Numbskull and Good Medicine Present

Sub Pop Records recording artists Margaritas Podridas plays a Numbskull and Good Medicine show on Thursday, Dec. 21, at Club Car Bar (7 p.m.; all ages; $13 at goodmedicinepresents.com). Formed in Hermosillo, Sonora, México, by Carolina Enriquez (bass guitar and vocals), Rafael Armenta (guitar, drums), and Esli Meuly (guitar), they have a kind of Spanish language Hole vibe with their female singer and scuzzy-sounding guitars.

They list alternative rock, shoegaze, and punk as influences, and their debut album, Porcelain Mannequin, dropped in 2018. Their eponymous 2021 follow-up led to performances at international festivals such as Ruido Fest (Chicago), Freakout Festival (Seattle), and This Ain't No Picnic (Pasadena). Alex Vile opens.

The Siren

Eagles fans, it's time to "Take It Easy," get that "Peaceful Easy Feeling," and "Take It To the Limit" when The Boys of Summer (a tribute to The Eagles) comes to The Siren on Friday, Dec. 22 (7 p.m.; 21-and-older; $25 at tixr.com). Hailing from SoCal, band members "all have Eagles blood running through their veins," according to their bio. "They re-create some of the greatest music ever written."

Also this week at The Siren, Legends classic rock band plays on Saturday, Dec. 23 (7:30 p.m.; 21-and-older; free). Hear your favorite '80s and classic rock hits from acts such as AC/DC, Guns N' Roses, Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, Alice In Chains, and many more.

The Clark Center

Nollaig Shona Duit translates to Happy Christmas in Gaelic, and that's what you can expect when Kerry Irish Productions presents An Irish Christmas in the Clark Center on Friday, Dec. 22 (7 p.m.; $40 to $59 at clarkcenter.org). As seen on PBS, the show features "an award-winning cast of Riverdance principals and World Champion Dancers in a celebration of the great traditions of Christmas in Ireland: butter-making, chasing the wren on St. Stephen's Day, drawing down the half door, and more!" organizers announced. "Come enjoy spectacular dance, the singing of traditional Christmas Carols from the Kerry Voice Squad, and superb music from the Kerry Traditional Orchestra in a celebration of the international spirit of the holiday season!

If you need more holiday cheer, head to The Sound of Christmas Sing-Along on Saturday, Dec. 23 (2 p.m.; $35 to $50 at clarkcenter.org). "Sing your way into the season with joyful holiday favorites," the venue announced. "A fun-filled sing-along with orchestra and choir, and a wonderful way to celebrate the holidays with those you love! 'Jingle Bells,' 'Deck the Halls,' 'I'll be Home for Christmas,' 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,' 'White Christmas,' 'Silent Night,' 'Ding Dong Merrily on High,' and many more will ring through the theater as orchestra, choir, and audience join forces in a delightful afternoon to celebrate the holidays."

The event features Emmy-nominated conductor Charles Fernandez, soprano Julie Hinton, the Sound of Christmas Chamber Players and Choir, and narrator Sheelagh Cullen.

New Year's Eve events ...

It's still about 10 days out, but if you want to attend one of the big New Year's Eve events, now's the time to get tickets. What follows is a partial list of possibilities for Sunday, Dec. 31.

Head to The Siren in Morro Bay for a New Year's Eve party with New Orleans party band Bon Bon Vivant (8 p.m.; 21-and-older; $54.75 at tixr.com) "that pull from singer-songwriter/pop/Americana/dark ballads, and up-tempo indie dance music ... rooted in storytelling [that] pays honor to a uniquely New Orleans sound while infusing an indie flavor that leaves a lasting mark on listeners."

SLO Brew Rock hosts its New Year's Eve 2024 Boogie Wonderland with funk, soul, and R&B acts Orgone and The Charities, plus music by DJ collective Soul Dust Productions on the main stage (8 p.m.; 21-and-older; $100 presale at ticketweb.com). "Celebrating New Year's Eve has become a tradition at The Rock, and we consider it our favorite event of the year!" the club announced. "Come join us for an evening packed with as much fun as you can sneak in before 2024! We will transform our entire 2 acres into a boogie wonderland for your pleasure and enjoyment." In the Barrelroom Club, hear DJ Jose Madre; in the Speakeasy Lounge, check out Americana band Moonshiner Collective. Your ticket includes three drinks, light bites all night, and a "massive balloon drop."

OperaSLO presents New Year's Eve Gala: From 42nd Street to the Met (7 p.m.; $52 at pacslo.org) in the Performing Arts Center, with special guests Ballet Theatre San Luis Obispo, Central Coast Gilbert and Sullivan, and the Cuesta College Concord Chorus, along with the Opera San Luis Obispo Grand Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Brian Asher Alhadeff.

Gala Pride and Diversity Center presents Neo Noir New Year's Eve at the Benedict in Morro Bay (1401 Quintana Road; 21-and-older; general admission is $50 and VIP $75 at my805tix.com). According to organizers, the event has "everything you could want from a NYE party: It has neon. It has noir. It has Miss Vivian Storm and Miss Ashley Brown singing live. It has dancing. It has drag performers. It includes a complimentary Champagne toast at midnight. It has live music, multiple no-hot bars, and even an exclusive VIP room with intimate performances and a private bar." Δ

Contact Senior Staff Writer Glen Starkey at [email protected].