All right now, let’s get on with this week’s news because my fingers are too cold to sit here and explain why news is important. So, just try to keep up. Start sprinting below…

Mean Poetry: Montu Miller will host the “Poetic Tuesdays” portion of Mean Mic Entertainment’s “Mean Mic Tuesdays” which moved its weekly event to Flanagan’s (301 E. Clayton St.) last week. After the poetry, the nights consist of a rap battle, an open mic section, featured performers and then dancing. DJ Killacut and Elite tha Showstoppa host these latter portions. Mean Mic Tuesdays are also always free of charge and 21 and over. For more info, please see www.myspace.com/djkillacutmusic or www.myspace.com/elitethashowstoppa. Miller is also organizing "Southern Gumbo" at New Earth Music Hall this week. Check out the Calendar pick.

That’s Bill in the Front Room: Athens treasure Bill Mallonee is seeking out more house shows this year. Mallonee followed the lead of former Smithereens frontman Pat Dinizio several years ago and started playing shows in fans' living rooms. Now, house shows have been a staple of the indie-pop and punk community for over two decades, but they're still relatively novel in other genres. If you’re out there somewhere in America and want to have Mallonee play a show in your living room (or church, café, whatever) get in touch via HighHorseBooking@hotmail.com and (828) 817-6318. Bill has been up to quite a bit release-wise over the past couple of years, so go check him out and get caught up at www.billmallonee.net.

Get It In: The deadline for bands to submit their work to be considered for inclusion on the 2010 AthFest CD is Jan. 29. Only bands that are actually from Athens will be considered, and submissions must be on CD. Full details and forms are available at www.athfest.com and from the AthFest office at 220 College Avenue (the Fred Building), third floor. Hey bands, how about you designate a single person in your band to get this done for you? It’s probably best to go ahead and let the member that already does all the work go get this done, too. Sure, he/she will gripe, but at least it’ll get handled.

Good for a Three-Night Stand: Starting this week, which means you’ve already missed the first one, Futurebirds will play every other Tuesday at Tasty World Uptown. The shows are $3 each and someone different will open each time. On Feb. 2 it’ll be Gift Horse playing all My Bloody Valentine covers—even the thought of it seems blasphemous, but there ya go. Feb. 16 is the date Futurebirds will celebrate Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras) with Holy Liars. During all of this the band is also recording its debut album and figured playing a few live shows would break the monotony. There are a few tunes worth listening to over at www.myspace.com/thefuturebirds, so why not go do that?

Dustin Hoffman Says Avoid the Crush: Of Montreal will play the 40 Watt on Wednesday and Thursday, Feb. 3 and 4, and tickets are on sale now. They’re $17 each in advance (including the $2 online surcharge) via www.40watt.com. James Husband (James Huggins) will open the shows before taking his place onstage with the band. Let me just say this: his album A Parallax I was recorded over the span of five years and is, hands down, one of the best released from any Athens band last year. He’s the best reason to show up early. Also, you realize both these shows will sell out, right? Don’t do that Athens townie space cadet act of showing up and being all like, “Wha? I need a ticket?”

Geldof to Bono to Klein: Local troubadour Adam Klein (Cowboy Angel Music) will travel back to Mali, West Africa this month to record his long-planned Mande album with Mali musician Baru Diallo, who has played with Ali Farka Toure. A documentary film of the recording is also in the works and the hope is that it will give a “picture of West Africa told through an intimate understanding of Mande life and culture.” Obviously, the costs of this are significant and Klein, along with filmmaker Jason Miller (Eikon Productions), is seeking donations for funding. All donations are tax deductible and can be made though www.fracturedatlas.org/site/contribute/donate/3044.

You might also choose to donate through the African Sky organization that works to build sustainable development in rural Mali. Please visit them at www.africansky.org.

In-kind donations such as Skymiles and airline buddy passes are welcome, too. All donors will receive a credit at the end of the film, and Klein may be able to work some other bonuses in there as well. Klein is sensitive to how many artists are now using this method of fundraising and to this end he says, “I do not intend… to initiate further public fundraising campaigns in the near future for my musical and artistic endeavors.” That he is doing so for this project is heavily reflective of how important the project is, not only to him, but, and I would agree, to the aid of the people and nation of Mali. For all other information, please see www.adam-klein.com.

Gordon Lamb

threatsandpromises@flagpole.com