Heavy Dates

WORCESTER

Heavy dates

Clutch Grabwell frontman John Boyle had recovered from surgery to repair his out-of-kilter body -- no surprise considering the way he sometimes mangles himself on stage -- just in time for some pre-Halloween hijinks at the Plantation Club Drafthouse this Friday. Saturday's holiday bashes include the return of Buzzy's legendary costume party at Ralph's with Huck, the Ballbusters, and Detox Darlings, a reunited Bill McCarthy and Nauset at Greendale's Pub, Ghouls' Night Out at the Lucky Dog (see "State of the Art" for details), the Arthur Dent Foundation at the Tammany Club, and Shades of Gray at Point Breeze. Find out if U2 clone the Unforgettable Fire have already learned the new tunes from All That You Can't Leave Behind when they visit the Firehouse Café, on Saturday. And this year's Worcester Phoenix Fall Music Series opens on Saturday with Decades by Dezyne, arguably the area's hottest rock and roll/R&B human jukebox, at Jillian's..

-- Brian Goslow

BOSTON/PROVIDENCE

Not a rocket from the crypt, not a rocket from the tombs, but a rocket from the Circus Maximus is what's in store for attendees of DJ Vinny's latest garage-punk theme extravaganza -- this one dubbed "Bash of the Titans," or "a Roman orgy of '60s garage bands and wyld performances." So you know right off which era of rock and roll is favored by Florida's manic Hate Bombs and California's the Invisible Men -- the latter of whom, including members of the Bomboras, do indeed dress like Claude Rains in The Invisible Man. Togas are encouraged and, as usual, go-go babes are promised -- as are shopping-cart chariot races and a Gladiator-style battle or two. That's next Thursday, October 2, at Lilli's, (617) 591-1661, in Somerville. Both bands, without quite so many trappings, are at the Green Room, (401) 351-7665, in Providence, the following night.

While we're on the subject of costumes: no Halloween would be complete without a rundown of Misfits cover bands. On Saturday, the Misfists are the appetizer for a motörpunk bill featuring R.C. Crimewave (whose singer has been carried on stage in a coffin in previous years), Crack Torch, and the Swamp Witch Revival at the Linwood Grill, (617) 267-8644, in Boston. And we're reasonably certain that the band billed as the 13 Crimson Ghosts -- an addendum to a great horror/psychobilly bill at the Middle East, (617) 864-3278, in Cambridge on Halloween night with 13 Ghosts, the Photon Torpedos, and a British outfit called Thee Hangmen -- are something Misfits-ish. Meanwhile, the Boston band Asciento are promising the Cure's Pornography in its entirety at the Sky Bar, (617) 623-5223, in Somerville, on Saturday.

We're still not sure how Euro-deathmetal faves Vader get away with their name without being sued back to the stone age by Lucasfilm, but the Polish group continue to hell-hammer away in the name of the dark lord. Their imperial majesties headline the "Death Across America" tour, with Dying Fetus, Cephalic Carnage, and Deeds of the Flesh, at the Palladium, (508) 797-9696, in Worcester on Friday. With the Invisibl Skratch Piklz out of the way, amazing turntable exhibitionists the X-ecutioners are in the pole position; Thursday, October 26 they're at the Middle East with Souls of Mischief. And with Phish out of the way (at least for the time being), who's gonna take up the hippie-jam slack? Some say the String Cheese Incident; follow 'em around for a test drive on Saturday at the Orpheum Theatre, (617) 931-2000, in Boston, on Sunday at the Calvin Theatre, (413) 586-8686, in Northampton, and on Halloween at the State Theatre, (207) 775-3331, in Portland, Maine. The swing revival is out of the picture, but the Squirrel Nut Zippers are back with gigs at the Roxy, (617) 931-2000, in Boston, on Friday and at Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel, (401) 272-5876, in Providence, on Saturday.

Superdrag had a minor hit, "Sucked Out," during their association with Elektra, but they were one of the legions of straightforward loud-rocking pop bands who were just a little too good for teenage-driven rock radio. They're back with what might be one the year's best sleeper hits, In the Valley of the Stars (Arena Rock Recordings), a punkishly catchy disc that could almost be a cross between Foo Fighters and the Smoking Popes. On Friday they're at the Skybox, (413) 577-4759, in Amherst, with American Hi-Fi; on Saturday they're at the re-opened Paradise, (617) 423-6398, in Boston, with the Gravel Pit, and on Sunday they're at the Skinny, (207) 871-8983, in Portland.

-- Carly Carioli