Tim Locke's full-band show two weeks ago to a packed Aardvark was a revelation. Most singer-songwriter material sounds strongest when coming from just the songwriter and his acoustic, chiefly because most singer-songwriters write their material by themselves, with their acoustics. Songs with such humble DNA typically resist elaboration or elongation. There's nothing worse than hearing a tune whose heart barely beats beneath layers of instrumentation, megawatts of amplification, and mountains of bone-crushing beats.

Not so with Locke: His material, which HearSay's heard in acoustic form a zillion times now, sounds -- not wholly better -- but good in a different way, in the language of amped-up rawk. The material is that strong; it can assume potentially any shape -- symphonic, jazzy, hip-hoppy, you name it. (Such is Locke's duly deserved rarefied seat in Cowtown rock strata that most of us music lovers in the Aardvark, it seemed, committed the sin of marveling at the songcraft instead of listening to the damn music. The tell: A lot of us were just staring, slackjawed, at the band, our bodies silently still. Anyhoo ...) The new record under the name of Locke's rock band/alter-ego Calhoun is The Year That Never Was, and it's available at all Calhoun gigs.

Those greedy sell-out bastards Polyphonic Spree! ... just kidding. No, seriously, while vegging out to Fox's The OC (or something) earlier this week, HearSay neared consciousness long enough to notice the sound of Polyphonic emanating from the tube. Seems that the band's Godspell-ish show-opener, "Celebrate," had made its way into a trailer for a new Fox program, coming in March, called Wonderfalls. Ain't that a thing? In the course of a few months, two Polyphonic songs have "appeared" on national tv (the first was for a Volkswagen commercial). Now if we could only get Soundscan to award points for "relatively anonymous jingle replacements." ... Auf wiedersehen! Abientout!: HearSay wishes all the best to Ghostcar's Karl Poetschke, who'll continue plying his foggy-spooky-groovy meta-jazz in the sunny (and noire-less) environs of Arizona. Come wish him bon voyage this Friday, Feb. 13, at The Wreck Room, when his band shares a kick-ass bill with Mark Growden and P.W. Long (whose rough and beautiful Remembered is one of the best records of 2003). ... Hey, ladies! Ladyfest Texas -- a "non-profit, women-centered arts and music festival," according to event planners -- is accepting submissions for its 2004 edition (May 27-30 at various locales in Austin, including The Alamo Drafthouse, Jo's Coffee, and the UT campus). Spoken-word performers, filmmakers, visual artists, and, of course, musicians are encouraged to apply. Last year's event, according to planners, raised more than $5,000 for two non-profits. Download the submission form at www.ladyfesttx.org. Deadline is March 31. ... WRR Classical 101-FM is taking votes on the best Metroplex arts events of the year. Go to www.wrrfm.com and vote for HearSay for best vocal music concert.

Or does HearSay have to reprise this summer's Bronx Zoo performance of show tunes for y'all? "Howwww you loooook, in the glowwwww of mooooonlight! ..."