Brasco: with Goodwin, Alan, and Carey Wolff. Sat, Aug 16 at the Wreck Room, 3208 W 7th St, FW. 817-348-8303.

Kevin Aldridge thinks he gets no respect. "I've never felt like I rated as a songwriter in this town," the Brasco frontman once told me. And in this, The Age of the Non-Singer, Aldridge's soaring high tenor is a definite anomaly. But those who know -- including pals Carey Wolff and Chris Hardee -- count him among the Fort's finest. For proof, hear "Slow" and "Anastasia" from last year's Sings Tunes the Young People Will Enjoy -- among the best songs anybody released in 2002.

Come September, Aldridge heads west to seek his fortune in the city by the bay. (That'd be San Francisco, for you non-Tony Bennett fans.) Which means you have one last chance to hear Brasco do its alt-country-cum-Radiohead thang. When they headlined the Wreck Room last month, the band sounded revitalized -- maybe because they knew the end was near. Guitarist Chris Edmiston returned to the fold for the first time since Y2K to form a three-axe wall of sound with Aldridge and co-founder Jared Blair. Aldridge even set down his instrument for a song, although he's "generally uncomfortable without a guitar."

For their farewell to the Fort, Brasco plans a "longer-than-normal" set, topping a bill that features the smart rock of Goodwin (with ex-Brasco drummer Damien Stewart), the emo-classicism of Hardee's band Alan, and the serious lightheartedness of Woodeye's Wolff.

Aldridge's post-Brasco plans include recording an acoustic demo with heavy friends Stewart, Alan's Doug Polhamus, Benroi Herring (Collin Herring's father and bandmate), and Soviet Space's Jim Keith. There's also Million Dollar Wound, a set of "weird war-themed songs with parallels to daily life" that he's cutting with Audiophile and fellow Stephen Ambrose fan Jordan Roberts. Finally, Aldridge plans one more area performance before leaving -- a solo set of new material and covers of songs by favorite Fort Worth compadres. An original, he'll definitely be missed.