Heavy Dates

You have to keep an eye on Ralph's because, while booking is more consistant, their letting folks know isn't. Case in point -- the Ugly Americans upcoming slot this Friday night. They mix Steve Earle Americana and Supersuckers quitar wangle for a balls-out mix. Also playing are garage heroes the Time Beings. Say what you will about Clutch Grabwell (and there's plenty, but we promised we wouldn't spill the beans on their impending ajormay-ecordray ealday), they just don't let the hype go to their heads. They're intent on nothing more than working their considerable dance-floor magic and drinking some free beer. Perhaps that's why we feel a special kinship to these guys. Check them out Friday at Liquid. Elsewhere, local jazz/blues legend Reggie Walley leads his Bluesicians through a classy workout at O'Flaherty's Piano Pub, and High Water Moon play cover-free at the Chicken Bone Saloon. Saturday brings a little VH-1-style "where are they now" fun to the Lucky Dog with Union. They feature ex-Kiss ax man Bruce Kulick (the guy who replaced Vinnie Vincent -- who replace Ace Frehley -- only to get bounced for Frehley and Kiss's pancake-make-up comeback), and Mötley Crüe footnote John Corabi. The new Union disc is better than both the latest releases by the Crüe or by Kiss, so maybe things worked out for the best. Go early to catch the Flames' set, cuz they're our nuts-on lock to steal the show. Pop hooks, cock-rock swagger, and exploding smoke pots -- the Flames use the holy trilogy of showmanship to great effect. For all you Goth-nuts, get ye to the Above Club for a triple bill of Twelfth of Never, Rust 88, and Colorblind, while Gilrein's offers a little swamp cha cha from the Zydeco Hogs. Tuesday night is the show of shows, assuming your idea of a good time is those Tourret's-addled rejects from Ringling Bros., the Insane Clown Posse. Frankly, the only "insane" component to this evening is anyone willing to shell out twenty bucks on these talentless shitheads, but difference of opinion (which also includes rotten taste in music) is what makes the world turn. Wednesday is the return of the always-touring Little Charlie and the Nightcats to Gilrein's, or head on over to the Java Hut for a set from Trio Kalkalla.

-- John O'Neill

BOSTON/PROVIDENCE

After completing an album interpreting the likes of Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan, "crown prince of the saxophone" Joshua Redman gets back to his own complex originals on his latest disc, Beyond (Warner Bros.; see "Off the Record," Section One). He's supporting the album with a two-night stand at the Somerville Theatre, (617) 931-2000, on April 20 and 21, plus a date at the Iron Horse Music Hall, (413) 584-0610, in Northampton, on April 23. Hot off their collaboration Blackout!, the bluntin'-est duo in hip-hop, Redman (no relation to Joshua, of course), and Wu-Tang's charismatic Method Man are scheduled to hit the Palladium, (508) 797-9696, in Worcester, on April 22, as well as a mega-fest at the University of Maine at Orono, (800) 477-6849, on April 26 that also features Mix Master Mike, Rahzel, Choclair, and Ghostface Killah. Meth's actually had better chart success lately with another collaborator -- Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst. But "N 2Gether Now" aside, we're partial to Blackout! -- especially that crazy "Cereal Killer" track (already the name of a Green Jello album!) where they go on a murder spree. It hadda be the best hip-hop goof-horror track of last year, with the possible exception of Eminem & Thirstin Howl III's "Watch Dees." In any case, we're hoping Meth is a little more generous with his time tonight than he was with the 20-minute set he played last year at the Tsongas Arena in Lowell. We're also getting Wu Man -- no, she's not another Wu affiliate but a pipa player (not a piper, a pipa, a Chinese stringed instrument) whose home base is significantly closer to the real Shaolin than to Staten Island. She's playing MIT's Kresge Auditorium, (617) 253-2826, on April 22.

The king of the surf guitar -- Dick Dale, who affectionately refers to his loyal fans as "Dick Heads" -- makes his annual appearance to usher in warm weather at the Middle East, (617) 864-3278, in Cambridge, on April 22 with garage punks Caged Heat, at Higher Ground, (802) 654-7079, in Winooski, Vermont, on April 23, at the Iron Horse on April 25, and at Asylum, (207) 772-8274, in Portland, Maine, on April 26. Another sign it's spring: the WBOS Earthfest, (617) 822-9600, on Boston Common on April 22, featuring Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Sonia Dada, teen blues phenom Shannon Curfman, Edwin McCain, modern-rock has-beens Marcy Playground, and mattress salesmen Entrain. You can also catch Kenny Wayne at the State Theatre, (207) 775-3331, in Portland, Maine, on April 20; and McCain at Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel, (401) 272-5876, in Providence, on April 27.

-- Carly Carioli