EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED

But before any of that happens, Cale, his string quartet and his pedal-steel guitarist have more concertgoers to amaze and baffle. Which is nothing new to him. "The last time I was in Colorado," he recalls, "I played in kind of a country-and-western bar, and that was difficult, because what I do doesn't fall into that category." He pauses before adding, "Actually, it doesn't really fall into any category."

John Cale. 8 p.m. Friday, March 24, Bluebird Theater, 3317 East Colfax Avenue, $15/$17 day of show, 322-2308.