This is one lawyer Tom Waits trusts

On his album “Blood Money,” Tom Waits sang of people he could never trust: “A woman when she weeps, a merchant when he swears, a thief who says he’ll pay, a lawyer when he cares.” Well, scratch the attorney off that list. Waits will be making a rare stage appearance on Jan. 22 at a benefit for Bet Tzedek Legal Services, which provides legal representation for poor and disabled clients in the L.A. area.

Waits said in a statement that he signed up for the event at the Century Plaza Hotel because attorney Kevin Marks will be receiving the prestigious Luis Lainer Founder’s Award.

“Kevin Marks is a longtime friend and ally,” the singer said. “A champion of artist and human rights. He has pulled my goyim tuchis out of many a fire.”

Tickets for the benefit are $400 and are available at www.bettzedek.org.

Waits, who has just been nominated for a Grammy, also hinted that he may soon tour, a rarity for the eccentric boneyard troubadour. “Somehow we return like the salmon to perform in important towns like Nimrod, Minn.; Square Butt, Mont.; Peculiar, Mo.; or Diagonal, Iowa. We just may be coming to a theater near you,” he said.

-- Geoff Boucher