Heavy Dates

by Joe Longone and Carly Carioli

WORCESTER: This Friday, September 26, Full Contact, A.D.I., and Point 04 rock the Espresso Bar, the Space brings in Just for Sunday, Steel and Tech, Thermometer, and Superfolk, Ken Baxter performs at Brew City, and She's Busy sing at Greendale's Pub. This Saturday, September 27, Dinny's holds another rock-and-roll fest with the Fearless Leaders and Boston's Cranktones, Sir Morgan's Cove welcomes Murphy's Law, Seven Hill Psychos, Gangsta Bitch Barbie, and SBGB, Clutch Grabwell provide plenty of fun at Gilrein's, Twist 160, Sticker, Bully Rag, and Syphalloids get together at the Espresso Bar, the Deal entertain at the Wong Dynasty, and Dave McKay brings his amazing guitar to Cafe Abba. This Sunday, September 28, the Espresso Bar presents the Pinhead Festival featuring Eastcide, Epileptic Disco, Pace, Dr. Frog, and Porn Star. This Monday, September 29, Sir Morgan's Cove features Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson and geezer and Puller. Next Thursday, October 2, Krackow come to Sir Morgan's Cove. Next Friday, October 3, the Westies, Lotion, and Eye Wish Eye are at the Espresso Bar, and Fault, Jesuit, Ground Zero, Strike Three, and Die My Will are at the Space.

-- Joe Longone

BOSTON/PROVIDENCE: Never let it be said that Touch & Go's Storm & Stress don't want to explain themselves. Highlights from our favorite press release of the year: "[Storm & Stress] is about an impossible situation . . . the improperness of pop artifice mixed with legitimate attempts at being serious . . . teenage aspirations tripped up by music that teenagers probably don't want to listen to . . . it's about being paralyzed by what's in front of you, in this case, the song we're trying to play. It just seems like that's the only honest way to play music right now, without being hokey." Even better: "We're an innocent band, sort of the way robots are innocent. Or the way Claudia Schiffer is innocent in magazine pictures, or the way balloons are at a child's birthday party. Most frighteningly, innocent the way a lot of things exist without giving one shit about me or you. You know, like power lines in Midwestern farm fields heading towards cities . . . " Think post-indie rock's dangling loose threads projected to their fastidious dead ends -- repetition circling into abstraction, blank stares and poker faces. They'll play O'Brien's Pub (617-782-6245), in Allston, on September 27 with experimental-folk Brits the Shadow Ring (think the Godz, early VU, Neutral Milk Hotel's weirder moments) and Juneau, before moving on to the Living Room (401-521-5200), in Providence, on the 28th.

All right, enough highbrow crap -- for easily understood punk rock, there's G-rated psychotronica misfits the Groovie Ghoulies, on an Eastern-seaboard tear with the helplessly romantic Mr. T Experience at the Middle East (617-864-3278) on October 1 and the Met Café (401-861-2142), in Providence, the next night. The Offspring bypass Boston again in favor of the Strand (401-272-0444), in Providence, on October 2, with the ska-flavored Voodoo Glow Skulls and Joykiller, who've just released the most orchestrated retropop-punk album (Three; Epitaph) since Rocket from the Crypt's Scream, Dracula, Scream.

On the metal front, Henry Rollins's favorite African-American lesbian skinhead hits town when Skunk Anansie raid the Call (401-421-4271), in Providence, on September 28, and the Middle East downstairs on September 29.

-- Carly Carioli