Beans Barton & the Bi-Peds has been a Houston institution for more than 20 years. The band will be playing tonight at Dan Electro’s Guitar Bar in the Heights, and the show is something that I think everyone should see at least once. It’s almost impossible to describe, but essentially you’ve got a rock opera involving aliens, open mic night, Elvis, poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Lawrence Welk and others rolled into a 2.5 to 3 hour first set that will blow your mind. During the songs the lead singer will be working on a painting, starting from scratch on a blank canvas at every show, and at the end of the night auctioning it off to benefit the Houston Food Bank. And get this: The last few performances of this show have ended in a cliff-hanger. When’s the last time you went to a rock concert and were left hanging at the end wanting to know what happened when the Dark Guitar was stolen?

Belly dancers start the show at 9:15, and the band goes on at around 10. Cover is $10. I don’t know if it’s an all ages show or not, but parents regularly bring their kids, so it’s at least family friendly. (With a band that’s been playing for 20 years, a lot of fans have started families of their own and tend to introduce them to the experience at an early age…) Dan Electro’s Guitar Bar, 1031 E. 24th St., (713) 862-8707 for more info.