Heavy Dates

by John O'Neill and Carly Carioli

WORCESTER: Slattery's Front Room (Route 2A, Fitchburg) has been aggressively booking blues of late, and December gets off to a great start with Michelle Willson, who's debut record is out on Rounder. Taking her cue from blues/jazz greats Dinah Washington and Laverne Baker, Willson plays with her Evil Gal Orchestra on Friday, December 5. On Saturday the 6th, the Above Club hosts trumpet-maven Jerry Sabatini and his excellent jazz ensemble Sonic Explorers in an 18+ show, while Boston's Chelsea on Fire bring their hard-rocking show to the Espresso Bar when they play with Rawhead Rex, Swing Arm, and Stained. Another Society return to Sir Morgan's Cove in support of their new CD, Blood Wrong. They share the bill with Bionic Manson (formerly Controlled Aggression), Ohm, and N.E. Hostility. Over at Gilrein's Patrick Murphy does his thang, and then those lovable mutts from Clutch Grabwell tear the house down, and Halobox open the night up at the Space. The Get Up Kids, Jimmy Eat World, and Antarctica round out the bill. On Sunday the 7th, blues legend Eddie Kirkland hits the Plantation Club. On Wednesday, December 10, ol' pals J.B. & the Activators swing, baby, swing ('cause that's what they were born to do) at Gilrein's. Finally, the only bad thing we can say about Martin Simpson's new CD Cool & Unusual is that it's only an hour long. Catch what promises to be a truly outstanding evening of music when he plays the Plantation Club. It's an early show, so there'll be no excuses, please.

-- John O'Neill

BOSTON/PROVIDENCE: We didn't even know there was a Ukulele Hall of Fame Museum, let alone that it was housed over in Duxbury, of all places. But sure enough, the museum is sponsoring Uke Expo '97 down at AS220 (401-831-9237), in Providence, a full day that includes screenings of film shorts featuring 1920s uke troubadour Roy Smeck, a book signing by Jim Beloff, author of The Ukulele: A Visual History, and a concert featuring Maine's the Pinetones, Providence's Henry Hampel, California's Cool Hand Uke and Jumpin' Jim Beloff, and others. There'll be an extensive display of ephemera, plus uke dealers, performance workshops, and a video presentation celebrating that patron saint of ukuleles, the late Tiny Tim.

Out hawking his latest, the film-music compilation I Like To Score, Moby returns to techno and the clubs (after a brief rock jaunt that at least earned Mission of Burma some well-deserved alterna-rock royalties) with Juno Reactor at Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel (401-272-5876), in Providence, on December 9 and Axis (617-262-2437), in Boston, on December 10.

His dad's in town playing a sold-out club gig this week (at Avalon on the 9th). Meanwhile, Jakob Dylan and the Wallflowers are visiting some of the places they haven't played yet, which included a high-school fieldhouse in Beverly last Wednesday. On Thursday the 4th they're at the Providence Performing Arts Center (401-421-2787). A couple of Boston rock gals, Paula Cole and Jen Trynin, are out in South Hadley at Mount Holyoke College (800-477-6849) on the 9th. And the Iron Horse in Northampton and the Somerville Theatre trade folkies this week. Revered Canadian folk sisters Kate & Anna McGarrigle are at the Somerville on December 6 (617-931-2000) and the Iron Horse (413-584-0610) the next night. Meanwhile, Jane Siberry is at the Somerville on the 5th and the Iron Horse on the 6th.

-- Carly Carioli