Heavy Dates

You can't do much better for your buck than this weekend's Bank Boston Music Mix Fest, which spans three days, includes 18 bands, and will set you back a total of nine beans. It's being held at the Fitchburg Municipal Airport, which means that Fitchburg, unlike Worcester, has actually found a use for its airstrip. Friday features Peter Malick and Amyl Justin Band, Vykki Vox, and Transit. Trailer Park, the Mark Marquis Group, Tomo Fujita and Blue Funk, and Charley Dee are Saturday's selected highlights, and Sunday is country day led by Sugar Creek, Gold Rush, Eunice and Dreamland Express, and Gale Force. Times vary, so you're better off calling (978) 345-9695 for the skinny.

Back to Friday, those lads of Downchild are back and ready to shake after spending the summer goofing off. They let the funk flow at Jack's Saloon. Upstairs at the Palladium, it's a night of big ol' pummeling-type noise with the bill of Fortydaysrain, Fragment, Fallen, and Graven, while Ralph's offers it's own version of loud and proud with One Way Down, Rawhead Rex, and Hank Scorpio. For those with more refined taste, you can't do much better than the space-jazz of the Sonic Explorers, who return to the Above Club for their monthly visit. You gotta hand it to the folks at Cafe Abba. Besides giving new, young bands a chance to work out their chops, they also love to mix up the bill. Saturday runs from the pop-punk of Critical Condition to the metal of Exile. Over at the Palladium it's a chance to relive those fast days of youth when you got down with O.P.P. (or if you're younger, a chance to learn a pretty good lesson about the glories of rolling around with another-person's special someone) with Naughty By Nature. Akrobatic and Kreators also play, and local artist Mingo opens up the evening. Up at Slattery's, it's the low-frills rock and roll of Jason James and the Bay State Houserockers, the always-suave Shirley Lewis Experience return to Gilrein's, and Jah Spirit hit the Tammany Club. Wednesday night is a pretty good evening for a little jazz. Juliette Willoughby belts out the standards at the Firehouse Cafe, while over at the Java Hut, Trio Kakalla will undoubtedly plow some new turf. Check 'em out, they're sure to please.

-- John O'Neill

BOSTON/PROVIDENCE

Sure, he had Floyd to blame, but yet another Wu-Tang Clan member, GZA (a/k/a Genius), failed to show up for a Boston-area gig last week. There's a potential silver lining in store this Saturday (Spetember 25), however: Method Man, the Wu's charismatic anchor, and certainly the one Wu (besides Ol' Dirty) you wouldn't want to miss live, headlines a massive bill at Lowell's Tsongas Arena (931-2000). Meth's about to drop a collaborative disc with long-time blunt brother Redman. At Saturday's "Northeastern Superflow Fest" he's flying solo along with a bunch of Boston's finest underground MCs -- recently resurrected legend Ed O.G., Krumb Snatcha, Seven L & Esoteric, the Skitzofreniks (an all-star collaboration between Esoteric and Virtuoso), Porn Theatre Ushers (who have a 12-inch out on the label imprint of the local record shop Biscuithead), Alias with DJ Fakts-1, and about eight more. Not 'cause they hate ya, Naughty By Nature are at the Palladium (800-477-6849) in Worcester that same night, touring behind yet another chart-topping anthem, "Jamboree." That's exactly what to expect at the Palladium, where the Naughty ones are joined by local lid flippers Akrobatic and Kreators, whose "Foreign Lands" has been percolating through the underground. And direct from the Roots, modern-day human beatbox virtuoso Rahzel is on a jaunt with turntablist virtuosos the X-Ecutioners that brings both to the Middle East (864-EAST) in Cambridge on September 29 and to Pearl Street (413-584-0610) in Northampton on September 30.

Last year's singer-songwriterly benefit album for Respond, Inc. -- an organization helping battered women -- continues to pay dividends with a pair of related concerts, celebrating the organization's 25th anniversary, that feature performers from the disc. On September 23, Mary Lou Lord, Jennifer Kimball, and Jess Klein offer up an evening at the Iron Horse (413584-0610) in Northampton. The following night, Lord, Kimball, and Patty Larkin take the stage at the Somerville Theatre (931-2000). A cappella vets the Bobs join folkie vet Bruce Cockburn for the live taping of the nationally syndicated radio show E-Town at the Somerville Theatre on September 23; the Bobs go it alone at the Iron Horse on September 27. Seventy-nine-year-old former Beatles guru and Indian classical-music icon Ravi Shankar is at the Calvin Theatre (413-586-8686) in Northampton on September 29. From the godparents-of-alterna-country file, Lucinda Williams and the Bottle Rockets are at the Calvin on September 30. Williams is also at the State Theatre in Portland, Maine (931-2000), on October 1; she won't make it to Boston until November 16, when she appears with Richard Thompson at the Orpheum Theatre (931-2000).

-- Carly Carioli