Heavy Dates

It's a swingin' weekend here in the Land of the Worm, starting with San Diego's rockabilly swing kings Hot Rod Lincoln. They're touring in support of their new album Blue Cafe (Hep Cat). Brian Setzer liked 'em so much he wrote the title track, and Willie Nelson heartily endorses them. What more do you need? They play Dinny's along with the Fearless Leaders and Crybabies on Friday. We've said all we can about roots-rocker-deluxe Dennis Brennan, the rest is up to you. He checks in at Gilrein's the same night. Meanwhile at Ralph's, it's those bad boys of Worcester rock, Downchild, who also appear on a killer bill the next night, Saturday, at Sir Morgan's Cove. The Magnificent Ambersons open the night, and Clay People set the stage for art shock-rockers the Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black. Besides playing pretty-okay punk metal, their singer, Kembra, has a long-standing tradition of painting herself blue and getting naked, which is always a plus in our book. Get there early, it's a sure sell-out. Meanwhile over at the Palladium, Sam Black Church (no relation to Karen) celebrate the release of their long-anticipated CD The Black Comedy (Wonderdrug). Boston's legendary drunk punks, Gang Green are also on the bill, and they have a new release as well --Another Case of Brewtality (Taang!). With titles like "This Job Sucks," "Break the Bottle," and "Tricked Into Bed . . . Again," the boys, it appears, are still in fine form. Tree, Nothingface, Crisis, Eastcide, and Diecast are also slated to shake the rafters. The Espresso Bar counters with a five-star skankfest with New York Ska-Jazz Ensemble, Shoeless Joe, Green Island, and Take Five. Over at Ralph's, it's the big-deals of Trona, who, for whatever reason, have the Boston media frothing at the mouth these days. On the mellow side of the street, Boston's Miracle Orchestra have been turning heads and dropping jaws here in town. They return to jam the Tammany Club with their patented mix of groove jazz.

-- John O'Neill

BOSTON/PROVIDENCE: Billy Joe Shaver is a knuckle-scarred veteran of bar fights and domestic troubles -- not to mention decades of battles in the songwriting trenches of Nashville. After a spell of success in the '70s, when Waylon Jennings and Tom T. Hall championed his material, Shaver is now enjoying a renaissance fronting his own band called Shaver, who feature his hot-pickin' son Eddy on guitar. He also appeared in Robert Duvall's masterful film The Apostle and has a new acoustic album, Victory. See him burn up the frets and the raw, two-fisted country material of his past at Johnny D's, (617) 776-2004, in Somerville, on November 18 and the Iron Horse, (413) 584-0610, in Northampton, on November 19. The hardest working woman in the indie-rock business, Tara Jane O'Neil, sounds, well, rather laid back on her new outing with Retsin, her folky collaboration with Ruby Falls frontwoman Cynthia Nelson. It's been more than two years since the last Retsin disc -- maybe because O'Neil's been busy releasing discs with her band the Sonora Pine and guesting on albums and tours by friends like Come, Sebadoh, and Danielle Howle. But she and Nelson are now focused on supporting their new Sweet Luck of Amaryllis (Carrot Top) with a tour that comes to the Middle East, (617) 864-3278, in Cambridge, on November 13 with Victory at Sea, the Vehicle Birth, and Cathode; and on the 14th at the Century Lounge, (401) 751-2255, in Providence, again with Victory at Sea and V for Vendetta.

Finally, the Saw Doctors are one of Ireland's most popular rock bands, and when you see their infectious live show, it's not hard to figure. They'll be at the Paradise, (617) 562-8800, in Boston, on the 13th and Pearl Street, (413) 584-0610, in Northampton, on the 18th.

-- Carly Carioli