T-MODEL FORD
9 p.m., White Water Tavern. $8.
T-Model Ford is the spryest 90-year-old you’ll ever see. He sits onstage now, but he stays in motion — constantly swaying, smiling big between lyrics and winking at all the pretty girls dancing close to the stage. His voice is ragged but vital — his hollers still have punch — and he’s still leading the way with his oddly tuned Peavey Razer (metal!) guitar. Most impressively, his short sets are nearly two hours. When he’s feeling it, which may or may not have to do with the cup of whiskey he keeps within reaching distance, he can go three hours. Backed these days by Seattle blues-rockers Gravelroad, Ford returns to White Water after last playing the tavern in March. A little more than a month after that gig, he suffered a mild stroke, but by mid-summer, he was back on the road for a 14-date swing through the West Coast tour and a performance at All Tomorrow’s Parties in New York. Normally, we’d implore you to drop what you’re doing to see one of the last true, raw bluesmen before it’s too late, but I’m pretty sure T-Model Ford is going to live forever. Go because it’s going to be a damn good party.