On being there

Guitarist/multi-instrumentalist/all-around pop guy Jay Bennett used to be in Wilco. He left that band last year during the sessions for Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and recorded The Palace at 4 am with Chicago songwriter Edward Birch. The result was an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink hard pop-meets-Americana album that owed a lot to George Harrison and Elvis Costello, not to mention Wilco’s debut, A.M. While it ain’t wall-to-wall genius, there are enough killer tunes on Palace to warrant seeing Bennett and Birch live, with members of Centro-matic; you have an opportunity to do so this Friday, August 16, at Old Ironsides, 1901 10th St. Also on the bill is local favorite Red Star Memorial. Show starts at 9 p.m.; 21 and over; cover’s $8.