[Sidebar] The Worcester Phoenix
February 25 - March 3, 2000

[Heavy Dates]

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Heavy Dates

The most interesting line-up of the week goes to the Friday bill at the Lucky Dog. New Hampshire rockabilly big-shots the Raging Teens headline the night, with blues thrown in by the Jason James Band, and there will be some conspiracy instrumentals to boot, compliments of New York's secret society Proton Accelerator. Use the back alley to avoid government agents. The Racky Thomas Band return to swing Gilrein's, Hitler's Wheelchair headline the night at Ralph's, and go old-school when Hank Scorpio (he actually rhymed alongside Big Daddy Kane. It don't get much older than that!) appears at Cafe Abba with the Ballistics, Bad Taste, and TOPD. Saturday, Funny Bones Cafe holds a benefit for the always-beleaguered WCUW. Vinegar Tom, Skulltoboggan, and Leicester's finest, Dog Leg, are featured. Longtime local sideman Jeff Crane (Commandos, Surreal McCoys, Crybabies) finally celebrates the release of his excellent disc Piece of the Action at Dinny's. The show also marks the last appearance of the Ape Hangers. The Nines, Boston's '60s-style garage poppers, and the DeNiros lend a hand. Elsewhere, the Heywood Gallery gets busy with Industrial Sonic Echo and Invented Thing Quartet, and Young Neal and the Vipers return to Jillian's. On Tuesday, Gilrein's hosts the Folkin' A Cafe, a singer/songwriter workshop, and the Lucky Dog goes acoustic with Caged Heat's front gal, Jill Kurtz.

-- John O'Neill

BOSTON/PROVIDENCE

Sometimes our New Orleans jones gets so bad that we've just got to point our vehicle south and drive till we hear something Cajun. Luckily, this week we've only got to go as far as Rhode Island for a fix. This Saturday, February 26, there's a triple-bill worth traveling for: the Eighth Annual Mardi Gras Ball, at Rhodes on the Pawtuxet Ballroom, (401) 783-3926, in Cranston, Rhode Island. On board is the finest zydeco band we know of, Nathan and the Zydeco Cha Chas (with one of the best zydeco songwriters, Nathan Williams, on accordion and lead vocals); and the Savoy-Doucet Cajun Band, led by hard-line Cajun traditionalist Marc Savoy (on accordion), with his wife, Ann, on guitar and vocals, plus fiddle virtuoso Michael Doucet. Doucet also headlines with his trailblazing contemporary Cajun band Beausoleil.

From Southern patois to the northern, former Eric's Trip collaborator Julie Doiron's new disc -- sung in French and English -- is up for the Juno Award, which is sort of the Canadian Grammy. Doiron is on tour with the Brothers Creeggan, an outfit featuring bassist Jim Creeggan of Canadian alt-rock superstars Barenaked Ladies and his brother (and former Ladies keyboardist) Andy. They all stop in at T.T. the Bear's Place, (617) 492-2327, in Cambridge, this Sunday, February 27, and at the Iron Horse, (413) 584-0610, in Northampton, on February 28.

It was an odder-than-usual Grammy year, no? We're still somewhat perplexed by this year's metal and hard-rock categories, in which Motörhead were nominated for their version of a Metallica song, and Metallica were nominated for their version of a Thin Lizzy song. In any case, we go to press before Grammy night, and we can't yet see in our crystal ball whether Smash Mouth's "All-Star" -- the song of theirs that sounds least like "96 Tears," and their most successful by far, especially if you count all the times it's been played during baseball, football, hockey, and basketball telecasts -- prevailed in the "Best Pop Performance by Duo or Group" category. But it'll be a done deal by the time the boys join Beastie buddies Luscious Jackson for a search-engine-sponsored tour that brings both bands to the Mullins Center, (413) 733-2500, at UMass Amherst this Monday, February 28, and to the Orpheum Theatre, (617) 931-2000, in Boston, on leap day, February 29. Pop punkers 22 Jacks, who just came off the opening slot on the Smash Mouth tour, hit Axis in Boston on February 28 with Lit (of "My Own Worst Enemy" fame), who despite having the number-one modern-rock single of '99 are only now embarking on their first headlining tour -- once again proving that just 'cause they play bullshit on the radio doesn't mean people are always stupid enough to eat it.

-- Carly Carioli
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