Saturday night at Stubb's will likely be awfully warm (the forecast shows around 90 degrees), but it's worth braving the August heat for this strong of a bill. For reasons unknown to us, Rufus Wainwright and Neko Case are both playing at Stubb's, a venue that either performer could likely play on their own.

Rufus Wainwright is the moody, theatrical brother in the musical Wainwright clan, which includes father Loudon Wainwright III, sister Martha, and mother Kate McGarrigle. Wainwright's music leans toward orchestral pop, with some operatic and caberet notes thrown in for good measure. He's certainly not afraid of laying on the strings and lush production when it suits the material. In our opinion, his finest work to date is 2002's Poses, which (not coincidentally) is his most straightforward pop-rock album. The man's back story is also fascinating: Rufus was briefly Leonard Cohen's housemate, played an all-Judy Garland concert at Carnegie Hall, and spent time as a resident of Manhattan's infamous Chelsea Hotel. He's also always been nothing but candid about both his status as a gay man as well as his sometime problems with drug dependency. This honesty and candor seems to funnel itself directly into Wainwright's music, so we'll be curious to see him again in a live setting.

Adding to Saturday night's intrigue, Neko Case is simply a musical force of nature. In addition to her unquestioned Top 3 status (along with Jenny Lewis and Feist) in the "every indie-rocker's pretend girlfriend" contest, Neko fronts her awe-inspiring alt.country band while moonlighting as a vocalist for The New Pornographers. While Ms. Case's lyrics are often oblique, the words aren't nearly as important as the purity and power of her vocals. We're simply unable to name anyone else today with such an amazing, haunting, and versatile voice. Her popularity has risen considerably in recent years, as rave reviews for her live shows and 2006's Fox Confessor Brings The Flood have boosted her into heavy rotation on stations like KGSR and Seattle's internet radio kings KEXP. She also recently headlined a show at Central Park's SummerStage and shared billing on a spring tour with country legend Merle Haggard.

Rounding out the triple bill is Los Angeles' A Fine Frenzy, fronted by young singer/songwriter Alison Sudol. The band has a very VH1-friendly sound that's rather more conventional, safe, and pop sounding than either Wainwright or Case.

The show is sold out, but you've got a chance to go, on us!

This contest is closed, but thanks for reading!

[Neko Case MySpace]
[Neko Case Official Site]
[Rufus Wainwright MySpace]
[Rufus Wainwright Official Site]

Rufus Wainwright and Neko Case w/ A Fine Frenzy
Saturday, August 11th
Stubb's Outdoor [map]
Doors at 7pm, Show at 7:30pm
$26 + s/c UPDATE: The show sold out this morning. [tickets]

Image via Maggiejumps on Flickr.