Heavy Dates

We're new to the stylings of Dan Hart, but we sure do like what we hear. He appears Friday, December 11, at the Java Hut. Bring money and buy his new CD, it's worth it. Also on Friday, Boston's biggest and baddest, Tree, return to the Espresso Bar to headline a bill that also features Honkeyball, Side Show, Stich, and Nok. Saturday, the Above Club hosts the "Jambalaya Jam," with sets from the Outcats, Jason James and the Bay State Houserockers, and John Short Blues Band. While over at Gilrein's, it's the return of Troy Gonyea and his new outfit the Premiers. Nineteen-plus years and thousands of gigs in the making, Chuck and Mud release their CD at the Green Rooster Coffeehouse. They'll be joined by pretty-much everyone who played on their album It's About Time. Ric Harding use to be Eric Balkey. What should that mean to you? Nothing. Anyhow, Ric/Eric will be at the Java Hut, while over at Sir Morgan's Cove, Gangsta Bitch Barbie rock the house with their big-ass sound and witty rhymes. Also slated to play are Controlled Aggression, Special 79, and Yardsale Jesus.

-- John O'Neill

BOSTON/PROVIDENCE: Just about everyone's heading home for the holidays, which makes for slim pickins on the road. Well, no, not the Slim Pickins -- if you've got a hankering for that sorta thing, the closest you'll likely get is the Reverend Horton Heat, who hits Pearl Street, (413) 584-0610, in Northampton, on the 10th and Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel, (401) 272-5876, in Providence, on the 11th with Chapel Hill's hillbilly rockers Flat Duo Jets and Providence's Amazing Crowns. Unless, that is, you want to count Billy Bragg, the Brit who co-owns Cambridge's Fort Apache studio but is now substantially better known as the guy who collaborated with Wilco on an enormously acclaimed album of songs written to accompany recently uncovered lyrics by Woody Guthrie. On December 13, it's just Billy Bragg and the Blokes who'll be coming to Pearl Street, and that probably means he'll be doing mostly his own art-folk stuff, which ain't bad either.

Just in time for Chanukkah, radical Jewish-culture avatars Psycho Semitic bring the Chassidic new wave north to the Iron Horse, (413) 584-0610, in Northampton, on December 14. That same night, in a wholly different downtown-based jazz vein, funky improv cats Medeski Martin and Wood are joined by their recent on-disc collaborator, DJ Logic, at Lupo's.

The punk bill-of-the-week goes to the one on December 12 at the Met Café, (401) 861-2142, in Providence, headlined by the Queers, New England's perennially unsung heroes, no longer on Lookout but still churning out delightfully skewed songs that still all sound like the Ramones. Joining 'em are the Gotohells, who do a garagy thing not too far removed from the New Bomb Turks or old Nine Pound Hammer; Buck, a gal-fronted countryish punk band who sound a bit like the Muffs on their Sympathy for the Record Industry debut, which also includes a tune co-written by Joe Queer; and John Cougar Concentration Camp, who win for the best celebrity knockoff name now that REO Speedwagon's lawyers have amputated the REO from Speedealer. Across town, the Living Room, (401) 521-5200, in Providence, has the Agnostic Front spinoff Madball that same night.

-- Carly Carioli