Heavy Dates

WORCESTER

Traditionally, summertime is slow in clubland: the past three weeks should be all the proof you need. So, we're happy to report this week the Action Quotient (the only measurement by which we try to live our lives) is off the chart both in town as well as statewide for all you road warriors. Like Dick-Dale-on-acid-meets-James-Williamson-on-Iggy's-stash, local guitar king Preston Wayne and his band of instro-stompers, the Preston Wayne Four, torch the Above Club this Friday night. If you haven't picked up their debut disc, Themes from Wayne Manor (Dino), it's your loss. It's amazing when you consider Themes was done in one studio session. It took the Gentlemen a few extra sessions (four to be exact) to get their debut, Ladies and Gentlemen (Hearbox), in the can, but here's vote number two on why less is more. They headline the Lucky Dog with help from Vibrotica. Elsewhere, one-time "Future of Folk" John Gorka plays Grafton Crossing, New York's way-cool Lars Vegas return to Ralph's, and MAFIO alum (a/k/a Lloyd's traveling carnival) Mission 57, Delta 9, and Tave-Hu break in Muza to the "now sound" of today's kids. Celebrating their 15th anniversary as one of America's premiere alt-country outfits, the Silos pull into Boston for a show at T.T the Bear's. Their major-label deal and founding guitarist Bob Rupe are long gone, but these guys still kick. Whiskeytown's Caitlin Cary opens. Back in the Worm, it's more pop for your dollar at the Lucky Dog with sets from Huck, Raymond, and Carry the Zero, while Dr. Bewkenheimer do a little head-crushing at Ralph's. Harp master Rod Piazza and the Mighty Flyers return for their semi-annual swing through Gilrein's this upcoming Monday. Make sure to get there good and early (maybe even take the date for a burger), 'cuz the joint is gonna be teeming with the swingin' masses by 10 p.m. Wednesday presents too many opportunities for one pea-brained music scribe to fathom, so we narrowed it down to three can't-miss shows. Somerville's newest hotspot, Lilli's, features the world's greatest garage soul punks, the Lyres, fresh from bludgeoning West Coast scenesters with a magnificent set at the Las Vegas Grind festival. Opening are the Downbeat Five, which means four-fifths of the mighty DMZ will be in the house. Can a couple songs together (or a fistfight) be out of the question? Over at the Middle East, in Cambridge, the still way-potent Muffs headline a pretty solid bill. Another major-label casualty when Warner Bros. finally gave up after one great and two very decent albums, the band, headed by singer/songwriter Kim Shattuck, have the coolest woman in all of rock and roll. For you old-schoolers, the Spitkickers Tour finds not only De la Soul, but also the immortal Biz Markie at the Palladium.

-- John O'Neill

BOSTON/PROVIDENCE

Say what you will about Limp Bizkit, they don't seem to mind playing for free. This summer, with a new single from the Mission: Impossible 2 soundtrack and a new album, Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water, on the way, they've taken to the road for a free tour sponsored by the embattled MP3-sharing software company Napster (the band claim the $2 million they got from Napster is solely to offset production costs). Bizkit's latest guerrilla tour stops at the Palladium, (508) 797-9696, in Worcester, on July 14 and 15. At press time, the dates were still officially unconfirmed, though both opening bands -- hip-hoppers Cypress Hill and modern-rock dudes Capitol One -- are listing those dates on their Web sites. Details -- including how the free tickets or wristbands will be distributed -- will most likely be leaked to local radio stations today (Thursday), if not earlier.

If Sonic Youth can open for Pearl Jam, then we guess it's not too much of a stretch for Blonde Redhead -- a slightly less adventurous, second-generation SY-influenced outfit, minus the melodic peaks -- to be opening for the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Foo Fighters at the Meadows Music Theatre, (860) 548-7370, in Hartford, Connecticut, on July 13 and the Tweeter Center, (617) 931-2000, in Mansfield, on July 16. Still, we're reminded that indie cred looks much less pretty on the mainstage in broad daylight than it does on the drawing board.

Roger Waters no longer owns the rights to the name Pink Floyd, but he does own the voice, and his set at the Providence Civic Center, (401) 331-6700, on July 16 should be Floydian in everything but the name. On the other hand, Diana Ross owns the rights to the Supremes and the voice, but the absence of any other founding Supreme has put a serious dent in what is being billed as a Supremes reunion. That tour, which has gotten lukewarm reviews and suffered at the box office, comes to the FleetCenter, (617) 931-2000, in Boston, on July 13; tickets are still plentiful. Or if Michael Bolton's your man, you'll want to catch him in his six-performance run of The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber at Boston's Wang Theatre, (800) 477-7400, July 13 through 16.

Elsewhere, Randy Travis is joined by Sub Pop's token hillbilly, Mike Ireland, at the South Shore Music Circus, (781) 383-1400, in Cohasset, on July 15. Eighties pop-metal stars Def Leppard kick off their summer tour at the Tweeter Center on July 20; they'll also end that tour in Massachusetts, at the Big E Exposition in West Springfield, (617) 931-2000, on September 30. The surviving members of Lynyrd Skynyrd, who recently offered a reward for information leading to the arrest of whoever defaced the graves of founding members Ronnie Van Zant and Steve Gaines, play the SNET Oakdale Theatre, (203) 265-1501, in Wallingford, Connecticut, on July 13; the same venue also hosts the Beach Boys the next night, though if you're in the mood for good vibrations, we recommend instead the date by Brian Wilson, performing all of Pet Sounds with a 55-piece orchestra, at the FleetBoston Pavilion, (617) 931-2000, on July 18.

-- Carly Carioli