Not only are the quartet of live performances herein uniformly strong, they arc nicely: Slowtrain’s ebullient roots pop, My Jerusalem’s terrific rock noir, Scorpion Child’s metallic libido, and a soft, smart, indie comedown from Melogrand. Each local act gets its own week of close-ups in the coming month, but here’s first bite.

Slowtrain, “About Me”

My Jerusalem, “Death Valley”

Scorpion Child, “She Sings I Kill”

Melogrand, “All The Young”

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San Francisco native Raoul Hernandez crossed the border into Texas on July 2, 1992, and began writing about music for the Chronicle that fall, debuting with an album review of Keith Richards’ Main Offender. By virtue of local show previews – first “Recommendeds,” now calendar picks – his writing’s appeared in almost every issue since 1993.