Christmas albums are often weighed down with rehashed holiday standards full of generally unrelatable lyrics about riding in a horse-drawn sleigh or roasting chestnuts. Roots-rock humorist JD McPherson bucked that trend last year with his Yuletide album Socks, 11 phenomenal songs about how weird and hilarious the Christmas season really is. The title track is about the universal disappointment every kid feels when he or she opens a gift-wrapped box only to discover a pair of socks. It’s as if Buddy Holly and Fats Domino wrote a concept album about A Christmas Story. It’s rock ’n’ roll informed by early New Orleans R&B and hillbilly music. Now McPherson is taking the show on the live circuit, showcasing his holiday extravaganza for fans at The Basement East. Joel Patterson opens the night of holiday fun. 8 p.m. at The Basement East, 917 Woodland Ave. P.J. KINZER
JD McPherson’s Socks: A Rock ’n’ Roll Christmas Show
