Well, hey there, 2014. So good to meet you! I look forward to us getting to know each other well as you fill up my brand-new day planner with CD release shows, big concerts, tiny, intimate shows, out-of-state road trips for bands that I simply must see and other glorious music stuff.

There will be the surprise opening acts, the quickened pulse as I frantically try to remove the shrink wrap from a new CD, groovy flea market record finds, supremely perfect radio moments and dazzling headliners who will leave it all on the stage as the crowd calls out for more.

On the show front, I for one am seriously considering Paula Cole at Stone Mountain Arts Center on Jan. 24, Beth Orton at Asylum on Feb. 9, Cowboy Junkies at Stone Mountain Arts Center on March 7, Lake Street Dive at Port City Music Hall on April 5 and Arcade Fire at Darling’s Waterfront Pavilion on Aug. 20. And that’s just the national stuff. I’ll need a whole other book and at least 19 new pens to fill in all the local stuff.

Also, I can’t wait to go hoarse yelling “Booo!!!” the first time I see Jacoby in pinstripes. It’s the little things … Oh, and you had better believe I’m dying to hear the new U2 album, which should drop, we hope, in April.

This week, things are a bit dirty and very rootsy. Have at it.

IT’S EARLY JANUARY and we’ve by now forgotten all about Ralphie getting his mouth washed out with soap after a profanity tirade inspired by his dear old dad. Yep, “A Christmas Story” is packed away just like ornaments and stockings until next year. That said, I give you the Northampton, Mass.-based indie-rock quartet Potty Mouth. Their debut record is called “Hell Bent” and the lineup is Abby Weems (guitar and vocals), Ally Einbinder (bass), Phoebe Harris (lead guitar) and Victoria Mandanas (drums).

If you’re looking for something heavier and fuzzier than your old wool sweater, this just might be the band for you. They’re also a good band to soundtrack your gym visits or winter runs with. Songs like “Rusted Shut,” “Damage,” and “Wishlist” will help you get it done, or at the very least you’ll burn calories bobbing your head and maybe dashing about your house cleaning stuff.

We all know that I tend to march to the beat of a more mellow drummer when it comes to music, but – and I can provide signed affidavits that will attest to this – I do on occasion rock out with the best of them. That said, I’ve taken quite a liking to Potty Mouth. My current favorite track is the closing one on “Hell Bent.” It’s called “The Better End.” “If I see you in a dream, I’ll stop to greet you with a scream,” declares Weems in a song with fangs that exacts revenge on the unlucky but likely deserving soul it was written for.

Potty Mouth. 8:30 p.m. Saturday. The Space Gallery. 538 Congress St., Portland. $8; 18-plus; space538.org

HOW COOL IS roots and bluesman Samuel James? Let me count the ways. … Seriously, the guy’s a guitar genius, an insanely astute songwriter, and he sings quite well. His latest album is called “Aphorisms, Bumper Stickers, Truths and Rhymes” and he’s releasing it one track at a time every month through August via an online subscription. Head to therealsamueljames.com to sign yourself up. It’s only 10 bucks and it’s a gift that will keep on giving till we reach the dog days of summer.

I just listened to December’s song, “There’s No Hiding Place Here,” and it’s only the second cover song James has ever released. It’s a traditional African-American spiritual that originally was published in the collection “Folks Songs of the American Negro” in 1907 and found later acclaim in 1935 when the Original Carter Family recorded it. James recorded it live in his living room. It’s brilliant.

I also listened to “George the One-Man Carnival.” James wrote the song about a gent he met in Mississippi a few years ago. “He played cymbals with his knees, piano with his feet. He sang a little tune called ‘Ain’t She Sweet,’ ” sings James as his guitar does things that you have to hear to believe. Or maybe believe to hear.

Aimsel Ponti can be contacted at 791-6455or at:

aponti@pressherald.com