Wherever You Go, Cinco De Mayo

It's Cinco de Mayo, a Mexican holiday, a kind of greeting-card invention as saloon celebrations go, but then, who needs a legitimate excuse to party?

It's a cinch Cinco will be celebrated in most Mexican restaurants today, although plenty of Anglo spots with cervezas to sell will likely be joining in, too.

-- The Weathered Wall is coming down.

Not literally. The three-story building on Fifth Avenue, home since 1992 of one of Seattle's most diverse and interesting nightclubs, will remain, reportedly, but will change hands. After this weekend, however, the Wall as we've come to know it will be no more. Co-owners Garry McNeill and Nicholas Tran are just waiting for Liquor Board approval of the transaction.

If you've never been in the club, this is the weekend to do it.

It will be missed.

-- The flip side of the Wall closure is the Ballard Firehouse, celebrating its 10th anniversary this weekend. Longtime scenester Jean Baptiste, with the Firehouse from the beginning, says: "It's been a long, long stretch. The funny thing is we're still doing pretty much the same thing now as we did 10 years ago, we really haven't had to change directions." The Firehouse weekly rotates a lazy susan of rock, reggae, salsa, old road warriors and newcomers. Tonight, reggae diva Dawn Penn and Ambassa plays. Tomorrow night it's Jumbalassy and Curtis Salgado & The Stilettos. Ironically, it's Salgado's last gig with the Stilettos for a while. He's taking a leave to become lead singer this summer for Santana.

-- Flaming Lips, best known for the feel-good hit "She Don't Use Jelly," play Moe's tomorrow and Sunday night. Along for the slide are Archers of Loaf and Beatnik Filmstars.

-- Slash's Snakepit, the back-to-basics rock appendage of Guns N' Roses lead guitarist Slash, plays RKCNDY on Wednesday. The band, which has released an album called "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere," also features former Gun-er Gilby Clarke and singer Eric Dover, late of Jellyfish. Slash said last week from Chicago that another former Rose, Izzy Stradlin, would play with the band that night.

"The new album was originally demos I cut in my home studio. I brought the tapes to Axl (Rose) but he said he didn't like the direction, it wasn't Guns N' Roses. So now all of us are out here having a good time and he's home alone.

"I was sick of arenas. I just wanted to do small clubs again, you know, get my fingers dirty."

-- The winners of American Music's Guitar Starz V contest last Sunday were Rattlesnake Dick (acoustic guitar), Glen Lynskey (electric guitar) and Jason Martin (bass), who also will be the new bassist for the art of noise outfit Tchkung! AM Guitar Starz coordinator Mary Truscott said the members of the Presidents of The United States of America - part of the panel of judges - "added a distinctly bipartisan flavor to the proceedings."

Speaking of the Presidents, who should show up in the mosh pit at the band's Crocodile show last Saturday but Neil Patrick Harris! Who? DOOGIE HOWSER! Honest.

-- And speaking of inaugurations, the Rocksport in West Seattle officially brings live music to its hallowed halls tomorrow night with Splinterparty and the Intruders. Music starts at 10 p.m., $3 at the door.

-- Also: A.J. Croce at the Backstage tomorrow, Cathy Sorbo at Giggle's tonight and tomorrow, "Single, Married & Divorced" from women's point of view at the Show Box through Sunday and Savoy Brown at Renton's Detour Tavern Sunday.

You can reach Tom Phalen by e-mail at: aceofclubz@aol.com