There are lots of Mike Johnsons in the phone book, but we'll wager that few possess this particular Mike Johnson's world-weary baritone, and that none of them have anything close to his sterling musical pedigree. You might know the Oregon native as the guy who replaced Lou Barlow on bass in Dinosaur Jr. in 1991. Going back even further, you might remember him as the guitarist in Snakepit, the mid-'80s punk band that also featured eventual members of Bikini Kill and the Melvins. Then there's Caustic Resin, the fuzzy psych-rock combo he still shares with former Built to Spill guitarist Brett Netson. And, perhaps most notably, there was Johnson's integral role as guitarist and co-writer on Mark Lanegan's solo albums of the '90s, which in turn seemed to inspire the exquisitely moody nature of his own similarly gaunt alt-blues -- haunting, nocturnal glimpses into the dim corners of humanity, stained with nicotine, whiskey and regret. You won't regret getting to this show a little early to catch Johnson's sure-to-be-enthralling set.
