Reis’ Pieces Ask anyone to sum up Valsalva in a word and you’ll probably hear "rawk." Given a five-word limit, one local scenester came up with "Nirvana fronted by Jim Morrison." The now-defunct Philly band tore up local bars with their loud, powerful rock and sweaty, shirtless stage presence. "I love those guys and what we did, but after four years and some personality conflicts, it just died out," says ex-Valsalva frontman Mike Reis. For him the next phase is a solo career that doesn’t sound like a solo career. But it doesn’t quite sound like Valsalva, either. Slow Down Quick, Reis’ self-released debut, is a full-band rock CD that has more piano, patience and pop sensibilities than his old group. The album opens with the sounds of a car struggling to start, then launches into the raucous, catchy "Free to Get Hi." It’s followed by a string of wild, classic-sounding rock songs, and some occasional quieter, sweeter stuff a bit more in line with the solo acoustic shows Reis has been putting on in recent years

"We started calling different friends to play on it and spent weekends all last summer recording," explains Reis. Slow Down Quick was recorded at Shawn Kilroy's South Philly studio. "It was a really beautiful experience just to record on the fly with a lot of different people." The result is a band playing under the name Mike Reis, as you'll see at his CD release party this Saturday at The Khyber. Sat., June 14, 9 p.m., $8, with Silvertide, Grand Drive and Steve Phoenix, The Khyber, 56 S. Second St., 215-238-5888.

Now back to the present. Bitter, Bitter Weeks, as you may know, is the solo acoustic alter ego of local super-producer Brian McTear. Not long ago he started working songs by his favorite Philly bands into his sets. A little Trouble with Sweeney here, some Lucys there, plus The Bigger Lovers, She-Haw and Mazarin, among others. He's been recording these live performances in hopes of one day compiling them into a covers record. Stay tuned as he works on his Photon Band and Matt Pond remakes and ponders his options for the final product. (Is it a tour-only CD? Should he shop it around to labels?) Too bad Carly Simon ain't from around here -- the Bitter, Bitter version of "You're So Vain" is awesome.

What else is McTear up to? Well, he claims to be about 90-percent done recording the new Mazarin CD. "It has been tremendously fun and productive," he says. "Sean Byrne is back on drums, 6-foot-7 Mike Walker on bass and then Quentin [Stoltzfus] and I filling in the rest. Amy Morrissey played guitar in one song, too. It has been great. Lots of bells, no whistles. We should be done in August." Thu., June 12, 7-9 p.m. (live music), 9-11 p.m. (DJ), free, Marathon Commerce Square, 20th and Market sts., 215-568-7766, www.citypaper.net/twilight.

Discord Power pop rocker Eli (the frontman of the band ELI) is only joking when he says he's having his vocal cords "ripped out, spit-shined and put back in again," but his show at Doc Watson's is his last one for a while. "A long-lingering sinus infection which never got treated has rendered my vocal cords fairly weak," he explains. "Playing a lot has not helped. After this gig, my throat doctor has prescribed complete vocal rest for several weeks -- including no talking." Pick up his trio's six-song self-titled EP at the show to hold you over until his throat makes the comeback. It's fun, peppy, Brit-poppy rock 'n' roll. Thu., June 12, 9:30 p.m., $7, with Thanksgiving, Buddy and Grand Fabric, Doc Watson's, 216 S. 11th St., 215-922-3427, www.elisongs.com.

Miracle Growth This .ain’t my thing, but maybe it’s yours: Local new-agey rockers Medea have a new album out. The Miracle Line has a clean, folky, XPN vibe, full of ethereal lyrical ruminations and layered harmonies. Like The Nields on Zoloft.

"We recorded The Miracle Line over the course of a year in Pat [Robinson, keyboard]'s studio in Bucks County, mostly on Tuesday nights," says vocalist Irene Lambrou when asked to take us through the wondrous, magical, mystical recording journey.

"Pat spent many wee hours tweaking the sounds and playing all kinds of instruments himself. Glenn [Marrazzo, bass] played bass in his own basement and brought the bits he captured to Pat who blended it all in. Shane [Fogleman, drums] moved pictures around on his laptop while Glenn and Irene [she's using third person here] stood over his shoulder with glasses of gin and tonic, shouting and gesturing wildly. Irene scribbled in a black composition book with a crazed look in her eyes. Then it was done!"

OK, I guess it's The Nields on gin. Thu., June 12, 8:30 p.m., $8, with Karen Gross, Tin Angel, 20 S. Second St., 215-928-0770, www.medeamusic.com.

Changing History for the Better Much like Sam from Quantum Leap, Lefty's Deceiver wants to take the wrongs of the past and make them right. That's why they offered free entry to their upcoming North Star gig (opening for Ted Leo) to fans who were disappointed by the abruptly ended Cheats CD release show at the UACA in April. See, the power went off in the middle of the fourth song -- you know, right when "H to Hg" was about to get all crazy and fun. By the time the electricity was restored, the mood was gone and so was some of the crowd. The evening sort of fell apart from there.

The redemptive offer was only open to members of the Lefty's e-mail list. "It was the only way we could work it to keep people from all over the city getting in touch saying they were at the show and could they get on the list to see Ted Leo," explains singer/guitarist Andy Williams, with whom I've bowled several times. "Hell, I would give it a shot if it meant seeing Ted Leo & the Rx for free." Sun., June 15, 7:30 p.m., all ages, $10, with Ted Leo, Jai Alai Savant and Hail Social, The North Star, 27th and Poplar sts., 215-684-0808. More on Ted Leo on p. 57.