Heavy Dates

by Joe Longone and Carly Carioli

WORCESTER: This Friday, August 29, Slipknot bring their jamming ways to the Plantation Club, the Blue Hornets take their sounds to Gilrein's, the Hascalls, the Westies, Kaos from Order, and Second Class Citizen get together at the Espresso Bar, the Space hosts a benefit for the Mountain Reservation of Arizona, featuring Anguish, Anti-Product, Self Extinction, Foundation, and Boiling Man, and Marley's weekly showcase spotlights Conduit, MindFIELD, and Gasket. This Saturday, August 30, Dinny's invites the SBGB, the Mercury Quartet and the Free Radicals into its comfortable confines, Sir Morgan's Cove brings in blasts of funk and metal to its stage when the Seven Hills Psychos (formerly East Coast Psychos), State of Corruption, 7th Rail Crew, and All Else Fails appear, pop trio the Deal rack up a crowd at Jillian's, Bob Jordan brings his strange and wonderful music to the Java Hut, the Espresso Bar features Blackbelt, Catharsis, Gehenna, and Life Line, and long-lost favorites Ed Vadas and the Fabulous Heavyweights push their weight around Tim's Toolhouse Pub and Grub. This Sunday, August 31, the Plantation Club holds a benefit for Connor's Place that features the Duke Levine Group, the Mitch Chakour Band, Marc Barnicle, Valerie and Walter Crockett, and Big Dawg, the Espresso Bar has its Summer Punk Fest with Unseen, Ducky Boys, Dislexis, Trouble, 30 Seconds Over Tokyo, and Oi George, and local country critters Cactus open for Diamond Rio at Indian Ranch. This Monday, September 1, the Fun Festival happens at East Side Park with Chuck and Mud, Valerie and Walter Crockett and the traveling stage show from PBS's Magic School Bus. Next Thursday, September 4, one of the area's best songwriters Mike Ladd is the featured headliner at the Espresso Bar's open mic, and the latest raves of Mindset, Moloko Plus, Syphlloids, and Dark Motive can be caught at the Cove. Next Friday, September 5, Dub War and Torn Between can be seen at the Espresso Bar, and Mineral, Get Up Kids, Jejune, and Lane and Feck are at the Space.

-- Joe Longone

BOSTON/PROVIDENCE: If former Spaceman 3 guy Jason Pierce's Spiritualized didn't satisfy your need for swashbuckling, incandescent neo-psychedelia with a VU twist, you've got two more chances to get your fill. Another Spaceman alum, the alarmingly weird Sonic Boom, does his Spectrum thing on September 3 with the Silver Apples (that's this hippie dude named Simian who's got a homemade noise-making apparatus with steering wheels on it and stuff) at Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel (401-272-5876), in Providence; they'll both be at the Middle East (617-864-3278), in Cambridge, on September 4 with Salaryman. On the poppier, not strictly experimental-nerd end of things, notorious pop-art wags the Dandy Warhols come down off a Harborlights gig with Radiohead to headline a couple shows of their own. Take a break from requesting the junkie song and ask for "Cool As Kim Deal" when they show up at T.T. the Bear's Place (617-492-2327), in Cambridge, on August 29 and the Iron Horse (413-584-0610), in Northampton, the next night. Polara open both shows.

Former X gal Exene Cervenka (or Cervenkova, as she's having it this time) is off the spoken-word circuit, back on the punk trail, and playing guitar with Auntie Christ, a trio with fellow former Xer D.J. Bonebrake and Rancid's Matt Freeman with a disc, Life Could Be a Dream, on Lookout. The touring version has Janis Tanaka of Stone Fox (the opening band) replacing Freeman on bass while he's off, uh, being in Rancid. They're at the Middle East on August 31 with the American Measles, and at the Met Café (401-861-2142), in Providence, on September 2 with the Bill Keough Experience.

-- Carly Carioli