Heavy Dates

Some of the folks here at headquarters have been gushing at length over the Miracle Orchestra since their last appearance in town. Check out what all the fuss is about when they play the Above Club this Friday, October 16. Also on Friday, the Espresso Bar hosts current Boston up-and-comers Reveille, who've just signed a big-label deal, even though none of 'em are eligible for a drivers license. Metal's answer to Hanson headline the Espresso Bar with Anthrophobia, NE Hostility, Crone, and Last Man Standing also joining in on the fun. The Palladium offers another pretty-okay show featuring ska-punk Big Deals, Less Than Jake. All and Snuff round out the bill. Seven Hill Psychos continue their never-ending tour of Worcester club land, this time appearing at Ralph's with fellow East Coast Audio labelmates Junk Sculpture, while underrated blues reclamation project Luther "Guitar Jr." Johnson hits the Sit 'N Bull Pub in support of his newest release Got To Find a Way (Telarc). Saturday marks the return of one of the chief practitioners of Psychfolk, Dr. Chris Van Kleek. The mental troubadour, who will be debuting two new gems, "V-i-a-g-r-a," and "A Touch of Alzheimer's," yuks it up the Bean Counter. Also returning to Worcester by way of the Palladium are In(s)ane Clown Posse. If the idea of paying $17.50 to watch a couple guys in pancake makeup run around on stage and recite profanity, like Bozo and Ronald McDonald with Tourette's, then this may be the show for you. The Espresso Bar hosts the loud and the proud with a tough-as-nails bill featuring Barrit. It's also a CD-release party for Grimlock, so get down early to cheer the boys on. Gasket and Fallen also play. Meanwhile, Sir Morgan's Cove rocks out to the sound to the sludge-funk of Downchild, Wormtown's most fashionable lads. The swing revival continues to heat up (which is good), as third-rate acts like the Cherry Poppin' Daddies and the Brian Setzer Orchestra chew up the charts and MTV (which is bad). Bellevue Cadillac, who though not quite young or pretty enough to command big-label marketing attention, are at the top of the swing heap as far as talent and honesty are concerned. They let it rip at the Sit 'N Bull Pub. Speaking of swing, Gillrein's will be jumping on Wednesday, October 21, with the one-two punch of Little Charlie and the Nightcats and Worcester's own J.B. and the Activators.

-- John O'Neill

BOSTON/PROVIDENCE: As if the nation's finest blues label, Fat Possum, hadn't pissed off enough blues purists already, it recently issued a disc wherein the moonshine-soaked drone-and-moan hill-country blues of R.L. Burnside get the full-on techno remix treatment by the likes of Atari Teenage Riot's Alex Empire. This, folks, is what they call punk rock. 'Course, a few of us have been known, under the influence of a few shots of moonshine, to argue that Burnside himself is more punk than Iggy Pop, and don't expect to see any junglists on stage when Burnside and labelmate Robert Cage hustle into the House of Blues, (617) 491-2583, in Cambridge, for a two-night stand, October 20 and 21, and into the Iron Horse, (413) 584-0610, in Northampton, on the 23rd.

After years of honing their shtick of just sounding like a really lame jam band, junk-rock anti-heroes Royal Trux appeared to have become one the last time they came through town. To judge by the soiled-toilet album cover of what turned out to be their final Virgin disc, even leaders Neil Hagerty and Jennifer Herrema were sick of the band. Well, the Trux are back on the indie Drag City, recording the sort of lo-fi art-damaged blooze rock that made them (semi-) worthwhile to begin with. In other words, they're bad, but no longer terrible. See for yourself when they hit the Century Lounge, (401) 751-2255, in Providence, on October 16, and the Middle East, (617) 864-3278, in Cambridge, on October 17 with openers Guv'ner. Our indie-rock sources have also been begging us to plug Ladybug Transistor, who're touring with one of the Elephant 6 collective's lesser bands, Of Montreal. They're at the Middle East on October 18, on a bill headlined by transplanted psych-popsters the Lilys, and then at the Call, (401) 751-2255, in Providence, the following night.

Incubus (soon to be touring with Cypress Hill) play Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel, (401) 272-5876, in Providence, on October 20. Also, the talented half of Fu Manchu -- as opposed to the half that still goes by that name -- now traffic as Nebula, and their debut EP is about to be reissued by the metal-indie Relapse. You can watch these stoner-boogie-metal firebrands smoke grunge vets Mudhoney and crotchety art-garage guy Kent 3 at Pearl Street, (413) 584-0610, in Northampton, on October 20, the Middle East on the 21st, and the Met Café, (401) 861-2142, in Providence, on the 22nd.

-- Carly Carioli