Tyler Ballgame with special guest Evan Blix

Tyler Ballgame plays 7th St Entry on Thursday, November 12, with special guest Evan Blix. It's a double bill in the smaller room attached to First Avenue.

Ballgame describes the project around the idea of "radical presence in expression"—the notion that each live performance is a chance to transcend the ordinary digital world and surrender to the moment. It's a way of framing the live show as something distinct from a recording, something that only happens in the room while it's happening.

Opening for him is singer-songwriter Evan Blix, a Santa Barbara native known for a '70s piano-driven rock sound that draws on Emmit Rhodes, Paul McCartney and Harry Nilsson. If those names ring a bell, you've got a good sense of the melodic, piano-led territory he works in. Between the two, it's a night built around songwriters.

As for the venue, 7th St Entry is the smaller room attached to the historic First Avenue. Since 1980 it's occupied what was once the venue's restaurant area, the Greyhound Cafe, in the building's former Greyhound terminal. It's a good spot for a show like this—close enough to the main stage to feel part of the First Avenue complex, but small enough to keep things tight. Doors open at 7 PM, the show starts at 8 PM, and it's an 18+ event.