This Paul comes from south of Carolina, and when he first hit the scene, the storytelling hook was that he once boxed Roberto Duran. A fitting tidbit, since Thorn has gone on to traffic successfully in punchy roots rock and a kind of black-eyed soul. The former is best epitomized by "800 Pound Jesus" from his 1997 debut, the latter by "Tequila is Good for the Heart," a dream of a prescription and one of the highlights of his recent Pimps and Preachers. In Paul terms, Thorn's east of Barrere, west of Rodgers. Terry Anderson & the Olympic Ass-Kickin Team, whose Paulness is clearly Westerbergian, opens.—Rick Cornell