Heavy Dates

You may have seen singer Durand Wilkerson doing a bunch of low-profile weeknight acoustic gigs over at Vincent's Bar. A guy who enjoys laying down the blues, he has a soulful delivery that would sound just as at home on a Sue Records or Muscle Shoals compilation. He'll perform fully amped with his band the Soul Drivers on Friday, September 11, at Gilrein's. Also on Friday, Sir Morgan's Cove cranks up the juice for the revitalized Forced Fed Shovelhead and local hardcore heroes Eastcide. Tremble, Within, and Fragile also lend a hand. The Space counters with their own ultra-heavy bill starring Overcast, Disembodied, Diecast, Ground Zero and introducing Nora as the new band who nobody's ever heard of. Saturday night and the grammar school kids are all right. That's cuz Chuck and Mud will be rocking the pre-pubescent world with the "Unicorn Song," among other such ditties, at Cafe Fantastique. They'll play a few numbers for the older folk, too. Valerie and Walter Crockett are on hand to play selections from their fab-folk CD Moonbone. At the moment, Moonbone is getting some national attention via the Internet. For the polar opposite of Chuck and Mud, run down the street to Sir Morgan's Cove to check out Scissorfight, a band of social miscreants who've been turning heads of late with their mutant strain of sludge-rock. They're playing in support of their alarming new CD, Balls Deep, and perhaps the greatest T-shirts ever silk-screened. Wormtown's new sensation, Aurora get wedged between Scissorfight and God Stand Still. Should be fun time for all. Elsewhere, Downchild rock Uxbridge at Jack's Saloon and the Espresso Bar skanks to the Argyle Socks. Epileptic Disco, the Terribles and old pals Special 79 also appear. On Sunday, catch the flava of Worcester's finest rappers with the Back 2 School Hip-Hop Jam. Klep, Bandit, L da Head Touchah, Kaz, Tru Phynatikz, Sho-nuf, Romero, and DJ Shame all make the scene. It begins at 5 p.m. sharp and the first 1500 get a copy of the fine Reality -- Live In Peace CD.

-- John O'Neill

BOSTON/PROVIDENCE: Formerly mainstays on Matador, indie heroes Silkworm have resurfaced with a new album, Blueblood, on Touch & Go, where their rockist tendencies will perhaps be better appreciated. Tracks like "Redeye" (which, strangely enough, sounds vaguely like the Cult and Cheap Trick filtered through Steve Albini) and "Empty Elevator Shaft" wouldn't be bad segues into the twisted meat-and-potatoes rock of former Mule leader P.W. Long. And the rhythm section's Zeppelin-via-Pavement jones gets a workout on the opener, "EFF," a great unrequited-love tale that begins with the 30-year-old-learning-to-rock-shamelessly mission statement: "Soul, soul, who stole the soul? A blushing kid, but you're never too old." Then again, a little later on "Said It Too Late," a girl tells the singer she likes him 'cause he's got some soul, and he tells her, "That's just some blues I learned from the English dudes." Catch Silkworm at the Middle East, (617) 864-3287, in Cambridge, on September 10 with Dianogah, Victory at Sea, and Rose of Sharon, and at the Century Lounge, (401) 751-2255, in Providence, on September 12 with Dianogah, Pines of Rome, and Seagrave.

Grammy-nominated country gal Gillian Welch -- whose songs have been covered by the likes of Emmy Lou Harris and Tricia Yearwood -- opens up the Multistage concert calendar at the Somerville Theatre, (617) 931-2787, on September 12; on September 10 she's at the Iron Horse, (413) 584-0610, in Northampton. If you stick around, the late show at the Iron Horse that same night is a bill featuring Steve Westfield -- the Neil Young of western Massachusetts, who was idolized by the high-school-aged J Mascis and Lou Barlow -- along with Barlow's sister's band, Hospital.

Mai Cramer's hosted the acclaimed Blues After Hours on WGBH for 20 years, and to celebrate she's hosting a live broadcast from the House of Blues, (617) 491-2583, in Cambridge, on September 11 with Luther "Guitar Jr." Johnson and Byther Smith.

-- Carly Carioli