Leave it to The Palomino to book the perfect Valentine’s Day show. Everyone knows that the most romantic of all holidays is actually a bastion of awkwardness and ill will, so everyone’s favourite basement showroom will host both local garage rockers par-excellence The Ex-Boyfriends and Winnipeg’s sublimely trashy The Ex-Girlfriends. Now, if everyone in the crowd would only bring their own exes, that’d make for a truly memorable Valentine’s. Also along for the ride — local trio The Dirty Girl Social Club (presumably to help you move past those lost loves) and punk rockers The Sharp Ends (if you’d rather just end it all instead).

The Palomino’s not the only venue vying for your hard-earned cash on the holiday weekend. The HiFi club has recruited hip hopper Shadrach Kabango (a.k.a. Shad) to get the crowd bumping and grinding. Unfortunately, rumours that the man variously known as Kool Keith, Dr. Octagon and Black Elvis would be in attendance seem to be unfounded.

If you’re looking for swoon-worthy pop to boost your romance quotient, you’ll have to get it out of your system a few days early when The Marquee Room hosts Regina pop collective Library Voices on Thursday, February 12. The venue is aiming for a more rocking vibe on Valentine’s, enlisting The Smokin’ 45s and The Blacktop 5 to rock their patron’s socks off (and everyone knows, less socks means more room for boot-knockin’).

Even the Plaza Theatre is getting in on the action, launching their All You Need is Love film series with a documentary on The Beatles. The film features long-lost interview and performance clips from Donovan, The Beach Boys, The Byrds and, of course, the Fab Four themselves. The Fabulous Quickies (featuring Brad Simms) will perform beforehand, but how they’ll live up to that roster, it’s hard to say. The series will continue in monthly instalments on everything from glam rock to folk and R&B, culminating at Stampede time with country, naturally enough.