Heavy Dates

The Swingin' Neckbreakers have been making a case for themselves as the heirs-apparent to the garage-rock throne since the release of their debut album in 1993 (solidifying their knowledge of all-things-cool with a super cover of the Squires' obscure gem "Same All Over the World"). Their newest, Kick Your Ass (Telstar), mines much of the same delicious territory, with a slightly heavier slap to the head. They return to the Middle East, (617) 497-0576, in Cambridge, this Friday, October 23, where they'll be joined by Runaways clones the Prissteens, and then head to the Met Cafe, (401) 861-2142, in Providence, for a Saturday date. Also on Friday, San Diego's favorite daughter, Barbara Manning, who was indie-pop's Mary Lou Lord long before Mary Lou was fine-tuning her folk-rock brilliance, returns to the Hub for a show with New Zealand's Renderers at TT the Bear's (617) 492-2327, in Cambridge. Evelyn Forever, a New Jersey trio of youngsters who could be considered the perfect cross of early Cheap Trick and vintage Raspberries, kite into Providence for a gig at AS220, (401) 831-9327, with Over Flower and Vivian Darkbloom. Jawbox's J Robbin and Bill Barbot play TT's on Saturday with their new post-hardcore offering Burning Airlines, a group who pick up the musical pieces pretty much from where Jawbox exploded. They open for the Dismemberment Plan. A lot of folks would like to tag the Squirrel Nut Zippers as one of the reasons the swing movement broke big last year. But that would be selling this fine bunch short, cause while the Cherry Poppin' Daddies and Royal Crown Revue continue to get by on marginal talent, and even less when it comes to ideas, the Zippers have been exploring a broad palette of pre-WWII sounds. Not that the majority of the crowd will notice because a mere 10 months ago, before the dance classes, they and their tribal-tattooed pals were hangin' out at techno/goth night. The Zips (both types) hit the Roxy Ballroom, (617) 338-7699, in Boston, this Saturday with the just-as-fab Ray Condo & the Ricochets. Cat Power's Chan "Shawn" Marshall, who actually is Cat Power for all intents, has made music that is both poignant and devastatingly good, in a lonesome-heartbreak kinda way, as well some that is outright unlistenable. But when you play the game without a full deck, these problems tend to crop up. See which one shows up at the Iron Horse, (413) 584-0610, in Northampton, Wednesday, October 28.

-- John O'Neill

BOSTON/PROVIDENCE: Jason James and the Baystate Houserockers took a while to work their way into the city, but now it appears folks are waking up to their rockin' beat. They'll headline a gig this Friday, October 23, at the Above Club, and then split the bill the following evening with the Racketeers and Puddle at the Espresso Bar. Elsewhere on Friday, the "Human Jukebox," Sleepy LaBeef makes a return appearance to the area when he plays the Bull Run Restaurant. Ol' Sleepy is always worth catching, especially now that he no longer resides in the area. Gregg Turner used to be an Angry Samoan. Now he's a singer/songwriter. We aren't sure which is potentially worse. He'll appear at the Java Hut. Slipknot lead the Festival of Light at the Palladium. Fellow jam-meister's Heir and the Arthur Dent Foundation are also on the bill -- wanna bet someone will play over their set time? On Saturday, Ralph's kicks off the Halloween party season with the Hound Dogs and Heroines Helloween '98. Besides featuring a CD release for Make Lisa Rich, the night features Boston garage-ghouls 8 Ball Shifter and pop-demons the Ape Hangers. You couldn't do much better for a night of classic swing jazz and blues than rediscovered Worcester legend Reggie Walley, who'll appear at Gilrein's with his Bluesicians, featuring Bunny Price. Boston's Wonderdrug Records hosts a night at Sir Morgan's Cove with Honkeyball and Non Compos Mentis. Gangsta Bitch Barbie headline the evening. And get to the Cove early Sunday afternoon for the big East Coast Audio Enterprise's CD-release party. Paco, the Pathetics, Sticker, 7 Hill Psychos, Split, and All Else Fails are just a handful of performers to rock the stage. Admission is six bucks and you'll get a free CD to go with it! Start time is 3 p.m. Finally, alterna-heroes Garbage, whose singer Shirley Manson still makes us react like a character from a Tex Avery cartoon (complete with clanging bells, sirens, and steam shooting from the ears), hit the Palladium Wednesday, October 28, with Girls Against Boys.

-- Carly Carioli