John Doe (nee Duchac) playing a club gig in Seattle isn’t all that uncommon. It’s just that when he’s touring alone—or with Kathleen Edwards or The Knitters or whoever—he tends to play the Tractor, the sort of “official” music venue you’d associate with an artist of his magnitude. Now, the High Dive has featured an often-stellar schedule of live music for some time now—but it’s usually local (usually – Grant Hart of Husker Du recently played there). So the fact that Doe’s stopping in Fremont caught my eye like it wouldn’t were he to descend upon Ballard Avenue again. It’s intimate enough seeing this living rock legend—best-known for being a founding member of the punk band X—at a place like the Tractor. But catching him at a venue like the High Dive is on par with having Ichiro show up to play pickup softball with you and your beer buddies at Woodland Park. Doe’s no Dylan, but he’s a star of widespread notoriety nonetheless, with a sterling, durable body of work and the onstage demeanor of your coolest uncle. The fact that Maldives’ frontman Jason Dodson is opening for Doe makes this nothing short of a must-see/hear for roots music fans. Photo courtesy Peter Ellenby. MIKE SEELY

Fri., Dec. 4, 9 p.m., 2009