Jam up and jelly tight

We’d planned to run something on Tru Valu, the saw-playing wunderkind from Seattle who’s opening for comic Neil Hamburger at Old I this Sunday at 7 p.m., but then this cool shot of Chico-Sacramento band the Mother Hips came through. (Bassist Isaac Parsons is a longtime Sacramentan.) Now, the Hips may get dissed as some hippie noodle-rock leftover buncha Phish-sticks by a few malcontents. But anyone who’s really paying attention knows that this foursome has quietly evolved into one of America’s most promising bands—an outfit more comfortable with Brian Wilson than Blues Traveler, with crisp songs to match. You can hear them on The Green Hills of Earth, the Hips’ new album on indie label Future Farmer, or you can see them live at their CD release party for said album this Wednesday, April 4, at Harlow’s, 2708 J St., at 9 p.m. Tickets are $12, and some local band with an affinity for boxcars and bindlestiffs will open.