Heavy Dates

Heavy Dates

Ah yes, Dennis Brennan. What haven't we said about this guy that would entice you to check out his stuff? We've contended for some time that he's one of the Bay State's best songsmiths who's grossly under-rated, so that wins indie-cred points and fellow musician-approval. Plus his songs rock (for the younger crowd) with an innate sophistication (older crowd) and a subtle sexuality (thirtysomething divorcees). We told you he played in a very crummy/popular '80s hair band, so that should satisfy those '80s-were-cool-in-a-bad-way meatballs who comb the flea market for Iron Maiden albums. So there's nothing left to tell you, other than we heard the entire band -- even the bassist -- are endowed with more than talent. See what you can see this Friday when the Dennis Brennan Band play Gilrein's. Over at the Lucky Dog, it's a CD-release party for Thinner (whether the CDs are there is another story. You'd be amazed how often this happens. One weekend there were five local CD releases. Guess how many had discs available? Yep, goose egg!). Also on the bill are the Pathetics, who help up the shenanigans-factor, and the more straight-laced, but always foolish-ready Huck. There's a little something for the ladies over at the Above Club with the boys of Downchild, and the Outcats hold court at the Blue Plate in Holden. We heard local celeb Dick Hertz may make a rare appearance. We got a chance to listen to the new Chillum advance tape and had to ask, what happened? The thing's really good! It's like a whole new outfit, and while we don't want to give it all away, think P-Funk all over this one. They headline the Commercial Street Cafe this Saturday night. Meanwhile, the Green Rooster celebrates Robert Zimmerman's birthday with music from Bob Jordan, Chuck and Mud, Walter Crockett, Jon Svetky, the Nelson Brothers, and Jon Henry. Hey, remember Saturday Night Live music bumper G.E. Smith? (ready camera three . . . go! Okay G., smile . . . good . . . grimace . . . uh-huh. Bend . . . look . . . mug it up with the bass player . . . oh yeah, pull that E string . . . Okay, people, we've gone to commercial! Someone hand me my iced tea). Anyhow, he's managed to parlay his 15 minutes of fame into a friggin' decade-plus! His G.E. Smith Band warm over the blues at the Palladium, with an opening set from James Montgomery. Michael Hill's Blues Mob, hot, young, New York ax slinger bent on twisting the blues every which way, return to Gilrein's. And Slipknot (groove-kind, not the metal band) jam the Lucky Dog.

-- John O'Neill

BOSTON/PROVIDENCE

One man's junkyard, as they say, is another man's symphony, and this week a few of the trash-pickers have their say. From the rough side of New Orleans, the Gas Tank Orchestra make their primary instruments out of -- yep -- scavenged automobile gas tanks. They've got a slew of discs out, none of which are as painful as the premise suggests. On Wednesday, May 26 they're at AS220, (401) 831-9327, in Providence, with the Eyesores and Princeton Reverb Colonial. And on Thursday the 27th they'll be at the new rock-n-bowl palace in Jamaica Plain, the Milky Way Lounge and Lanes, (617) 524-3740. The rest of the Milky Way bill is filled out with like-minded Futher Experiments from the Neptune Labs, featuring Neptune's Jason Sanford, who's built a "robot thing" in which guitar stings are plucked by motors hooked to a trash-picked computer that he's programmed in BASIC. The classically minded experimental chamber/rock trio Darts Adler add a little more, er, traditional instrumentation. And Jessica Rylan, a/k/a Can't, plays a self-built "magic box" (has Mary Timony heard about this?) with oscillator panels hooked into an old telephone patch board.

The majority of Bob Marley's legendary backing band are still intact and bringing the roots-rock reggae of Jamaica to the world. The Wailers' current line-up includes Aston "Family Man" Barrett, Earl "Wya" Lindo, and Alvin "Seeco" Patterson, whose backbeat got the world "Jamming" to Babylon by Bus. On Saturday, May 22, they're at Pearl Street, (413) (413) 584-0610, in Northampton.

-- Carly Carioli