Heavy Dates

by John O'Neill and Carly Carioli

WORCESTER: Most bands can be summarized as not-for-everyone when it comes to a live show. Not so Babaloo, the United Nations clearinghouse of music. If you can't find something to dig about these cats, you're probably one of those who booed Dylan at Newport. It should be a conga-riffic evening when they play this Friday, November 14, at Jillian's Billiard Cafe. The Space offers another solid all-ages line-up when Overcast, Get High, Doom Nation, and Flooring Daphne get together, while Gilrein's welcomes home Duke Levine, who contributed music to John Sayles' Lone Star soundtrack. Personally, we think it should have been called "One Star" but that's a whole other story. See Duke, but rent the movie at your own risk. Saturday, November 15, brings a much hyped show to Sir Morgan's Cove as Boston's The Elevator Drops (who've had more press than Pete Carroll in the past month -- well, okay, good press) drop in to join Worcester big shots Super Creb Star Dynomax, Halobox, and Stricken for Catherine. The Deal offer a solid evening of good, old-fashioned, 100 percent profanity-free pop and rock at the Tammany Club, while at the Java Hut they'll hopefully keep Bob Jordan to a three-cup maximum. On Monday, November 17, Testament steamroll into Sir Morgan's Cove for a night of extra-heavy metal. Local loudmen Forced Fed Shovelhead open the night.

-- John O'Neill

BOSTON/PROVIDENCE: A heady mix of pristine breeding, prep-school exclusivity, creepy Children of the Damned-style boyish camaraderie, and garage rock in the grand tradition of Nuggets-like Stones ripoffs, Jonathan Fire*Eater are at once poster boys for the abdication of privilege and an annoying reminder that the rich tend to get richer. It was with the latter idea in mind, as well as their mediocre (if stylistically convincing), million-dollar DreamWorks debut, Wolf Songs for Lambs, that we chuckled upon hearing how fragile frontfop Stewart Lupton fell victim to a relatively harmless pair of muggers in the East Village this past September. "Two assailants jumped the pale, sinewy singer, keeping him in a chokehold for some time," reports their management. No mention of how much cash the banditos made off with, though apparently the cretins absconded with young Stewart's voice, which caused his ensemble to cancel two subsequent New England appearances. The band, always better live than on record, will make up those two shows November 19 at the Iron Horse (413-584-0610), in Northampton, and the following day at the Middle East (617-864-3278), in Cambridge.

The Call (401-274-8584), in Providence, reaps a little benefit from the House of Blues' fifth-anniversary celebration this week -- Big Jack Johnson and the Oilers, filling in for R.L. Burnside (who canceled to be with his wife while she has surgery), are at the Call on November 14 and at the House of Blues on the 17th. And en route to the Cambridge club on November 16, the Fabulous Thunderbirds hit the Call on the 15th, then continue on to the Iron Horse on the 17th.

Former P-Funk/Talking Heads keys-pounder Bernie Worrell and his Woo Warriors (who played the Middle East last Tuesday) are at the Iron Horse tonight (November 13). Meanwhile former Guns N' Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke takes the Slash route to solo semi-obscurity at the Strand (401-272-0444), in Providence, also tonight the 13th, and at Aerosmith's Mama Kin (617-536-2100), in Boston, on the 20th.

The mostly instrumental double-bass trio Dianogah, who recorded their new As Seen from Above (Ohio Gold) at Stevie Albini's house and were last enjoyed in these parts opening for June of '44, are at the Middle East on November 16 with the Apples in Stereo and the newest addition to the Elephant 6 roster, Beulah. On the 17th they headline the Met Café (401-861-2142), in Providence, with Bermuda and Rebuilt Hangar Theory.

-- Carly Carioli