Drop by Biddy McGraw’s nearly any Tuesday and you’ll get an earful of mournful, forceful blues from these Portland pros. If the teasers from the live CD the pair recorded at the Northeast Portland pub (due out mid-February) are any indication, their extended residency has served them well. Vance’s sandpaper vocals have gained an ever-rougher grain. The pace is faster. His guitar steams while Bear’s frenzied fiddle practically gooses listeners. If this duo’s sound gets any bigger or wilder, it’s liable to overtake the whole damn bar itself. (KC) [BLUES]