HearSay bets that the folks who say Flickerstick is washed up haven't seen the band perform over the past few months or so. A more super-tight, energetic, powerful rock 'n' roll outfit in this neck of the woods is hard to imagine. Yeah, there are heavier and more melodic bands (mostly rip-offs of Creed, Nickelback, and other "alt"-rock outfits whose lead singers equate feeling sorry for themselves with being "deep"). And there are more energetic bands. But there's no band as heavy-melodic and energetic as Flick. Realize that understanding this doesn't require that you've read the book on Flickerstick: Just watch 'em perform. It's in the music.

The band's New Year's Eve bash at the Ridglea was unlike any other Flick show HearSay's seen, in that it wasn't only about overpowering the audience. Flick seemed overly willing to create a mood. The result was a strong live rock 'n' roll show in which moods and colors changed as often as tempos and timbres. This is something that only mature, seasoned bands can pull off without sounding pretentious or ostentatious. This is something that, more than likely, only Flickerstick can do. The band's long-awaited full-length will be hitting shelves soon. Check www.flickerstick.com for more info.

The closest thing North Texas has to a singer-songwriter with all the sultriness of Sarah McLachlan and the multi-instrumental abilities of Alison Krauss is Lauren Fine, a Gen-X'er whose contemplative, moonstruck music betrays an old soul with lots of unfinished business to keep her awake at night. An anecdote that says nearly everything there is to say about the artist begins at the Moon, not too long ago on a rowdy weekend night. Not only did the once-chatty throng become awestruck and tight-lipped at the sight and sound of the charismatic Fine once she began to play, but passersby outside began filling the bar just to see what all the fuss was about. They, too, stood with their jaws to the floor. In the long, long time HearSay has been covering live local music -- from here to New York City -- your columnist has never seen drunk people become completely silent, still, and mesmerized at the sound of music. Fine performs three times this week, at Poor David's Pub on Wednesday, Club Clearview Thursday, and at the Moon Saturday. See her now, and say you saw her when. ... Stargazing rockers Engine of the Ocean are getting ready to release their full-length, Long Way Home. Check www.engineoftheocean.com for more info. ... Auf wiedersehen, a bientout: In response to the shuttering of Wherehouse Musics across the land, HearSay bids farewell to ours on Camp Bowie and best of luck to manager Charles Buxton, who's been running a record store at that space, under various incarnations, for the past 25 years. Some Wherehouse employees have been working for Buxton for nearly a decade -- that's unheard of in retail, and it's a testament to Buxton's good-guy quotient. Wherehouse Music: We'll miss ya.