Last year’s Anti-Extravaganza event at Lucy’s Record Shop was better attended than many of the shows at the NEA Extravaganza—and the event remains free of the behind-the-scenes politicking that already has people griping about next week’s NEA schmoozefest. As this year’s lineup shows, the Anti-Extravaganza is the city’s true indie-rock showcase, a scroungy three-day music fest where promotion is negligible and laminates are useless. (That hasn’t kept out industry riffraff, though, who in years past have flocked to the club for glimpses of future indie stars.)

The big name this year is Portastatic, a side project of Superchunk bandleader Mac McCaughan that features his brother Matthew McCaughan on drums and Lambchop reed man (and Scene associate editor) Jonathan Marx on horns and organ. On its excellent new LP The Nature of Sap, due next month on Merge Records, Portastatic performs moody studio-crafted pop that eschews DIY self-indulgence in favor of McCaughan’s subtly entrancing melodies. The album’s lush, expansive sound—which emphasizes simple, jazzy piano figures and multitracked vocals over atmospheric layers of synthesizers—allows McCaughan to indulge his fascination with keyboards and electronic noises. But the result is curiously romantic, rather than sterile or gimmicky.

Portastatic is performing only a handful of dates to support its new album; that Nashville should appear on the limited itinerary is something of a coup. But that’s not the Anti-Extravaganza’s only item of note. The anti-event kicks off Thursday, Feb. 20, with “House O’ Pain Night,” which features Fun Girls From Mt. Pilot, the Teen Idols, the Beauties, and High Strung. Rounded out onstage by bassist Jennifer Walker and guitarist Ben Barwick, Portastatic headlines Feb. 21 with Lambchop and Laurel Parton’s new band, Trauma Team. Also on the bill are Chicago singer-songwriters Chris Mills and Bird Dog, who play “quirky, moody country,” according to Lucy’s proprietor Mary Mancini. The Anti-Extravaganza concludes Feb. 22 with “Ska Night,” headlined by Java Christ with the manic Nashville band Ick, Florida’s Megadog, and Memphis’ the Skam.

Ticket prices haven’t been announced yet. But don’t try flashing one of those cool NEA laminates at the door. In years past, such VIP-ism has only made Lucy’s tack an extra dollar onto the cover. For more information, call 321-0882.

The duet partners of the week were George Jones and Elvis Costello, who displayed their casual vocal mastery on several old standards last week at the Ryman Auditorium during a taping of TNN’s upcoming Monday Night With Ricky Skaggs. Jones, Skaggs, and Costello traded verses of “I’m a One Woman Man” and “White Lightning,” then settled at the foot of the stage for a room-hushing acoustic set. Highlights included “The Grand Tour,” “A Good Year for the Roses,” and Costello’s achingly regretful reading of “Big Fool of the Year.”

Though admittedly hoarse, Jones was in good humor and fine voice. He may have fluffed two takes of his mighty “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” but on the third he nailed it soundly enough to send chills down listeners’ spines. And Costello seemed plainly tickled to be sharing the Ryman stage with Jones and Skaggs: He deferred throughout to Jones—even laughing off a shouted request for “Pump It Up”—but he rewarded fans with a gorgeous solo rendition of “Indoor Fireworks.” Costello also joined Marty Stuart and Brian Setzer during the following taping for a blistering reading of Charlie Rich’s “Sittin’ and Thinkin’.”

The audience seemed plainly divided between Jones/Stuart and Costello/Setzer fans, who jostled uneasily at times. But the pairings were inspired, and the music sounded great. If the evening convinced one “Wine Colored Roses” fan to pick up King of America—or vice versa—can global harmony be far behind? The shows begin airing in April. (JR)

Trumpeter Gary Gazaway splits his career between money-making jobs as a sideman and self-fulfilling gigs as a bandleader. Currently on the road with arena-rockers Phish, he’s been sneaking away whenever possible to play shows with his own jazz band. Billed as El Buho and the Ultimate Acid Jazz Jam, the all-star group returns Saturday to Caffé Milano, where they dazzled a full house just last month.

Judging from the musicians he has recruited, Gazaway enjoys a high standing among his colleagues. El Buho boasts two bassists: the acrobatic Victor Wooten of the Flecktones and Oteil Burbridge of the Aquarium Rescue Unit. On keyboards and flute is Oteil’s brother, Kofi Burbridge, who’s also a member of the ARU. On drums is Forest Robinson, a highly regarded, Atlanta-based jazz and R&B session player.

The band members hadn’t even played a note together when they assembled for a soundcheck prior to their first show at Caffé Milano in January. Nonetheless, the freeform evening proved to be enchanting for both performers and listeners alike. Gazaway’s bandmates particularly enjoyed the energy of the impromptu set.

“When you don’t plan things, it tends to turn out to be very musical,” the trumpeter observes. “When you have that kind of competency with you onstage, all you need to do is provide road maps. My charts pointed the direction, and we all took off together. We knew where we were headed, but sometimes we took the scenic route, and sometimes we got on the interstate.”

Indeed, the initial Caffé Milano show proved so satisfying that the band set up a short tour for February. They began last week in Atlanta and will have played Birmingham and Jacksonville before arriving in Nashville this weekend. After Saturday’s show, they’ll head to Louisville, Lexington, Cincinnati, New York City, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia.

Blending exotic rhythms with a Miles Davis-influenced trumpet style, Gazaway has always straddled genres while keeping his jazz progressive and honest. A native of Northeast Arkansas, he began his career in 1973, playing for R&B and jazz bands in Memphis. After moving to New York in the mid-’70s, he worked with the Machito Salsa Orchestra. Later, while dividing his time between Brazil, Los Angeles, and New York, Gazaway toured and recorded with Flora Purim and Airto Moreira, Milton Nascimento, Pat Metheny, Stanley Clarke and Jaco Pastorius. In 1985, he moved to Nashville, where he began performing his own jazz dates while working on the road with rock and country musicians. In the last decade, he has played with Joe Cocker, the Memphis Horns, Stevie Ray Vaughan, the Commitments, Cedell Davis, and George Jones, among others. (MM)

Elliptical dispatches: Nashville rhythm & blues great Roscoe Shelton is recuperating after undergoing heart bypass surgery at Centennial Medical Center last Thursday. Shelton was expected to remain in the hospital for four to five days....

Phil Lee is currently recording with producer Richard Bennett, Webb Wilder guitarist George Bradfute, and bassist Lorne Rall at Bradfute’s home studio. Lee and fellow roots-rocker John Sieger will play every Monday in February at the Sutler, with a lineup of guests that includes Stacey Earle, Greg Trooper, Bob Bradley, and Kevin Gordon....

It’s probably sold out by now, but Jim Lauderdale—who recently startled his audience by proposing onstage at the Bluebird Cafe—offers music for young lovers this Valentine’s Day upstairs at Bongo Java at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. The upstairs space at Bongo Java, a refurbished attic that seats about 60 people, is one of the smallest venues in town, and the intimacy makes a difference: Last month’s jam-packed acoustic shows by Steve Earle were among his best in years. Call 385-5282 for ticket info....