Heavy Dates

If it's the horn-driven sound you're after this weekend, you've got a choice to make this Friday night. The Lucky Dog has the return of the mighty Rippopotamus, while Liquid features the gonzo noise of soon-to-be-big-deals Clutch Grabwell. You can split the difference and catch them both if you plan right. Elsewhere, Fatwall Jack put the capital J back in Jump at John Stone's Inn, Skulltoboggan and Short Fuse bring the noise to Funny Bones, and Foxtrot Zulu play the Tammany Club. For fifty bucks you can see the Gambler himself, Kenny Rogers, do his thing at the Centrum. We don't remember his "thing" exactly, 'cuz it's been a long time; but we do vaguely recall older women wrestling over tambourines and sweaty towels while KR chuckles from the stage. It's been a while since our old pal Bob Jordan has been on the scene doing a solo gig, so Saturday night at Cool Beans is an extra-special event. Make sure to check him out. Meanwhile back on the horn-driven front, Liquid has Trailer Park, a band who blend a bunch of very cool influences into an extremely lethal mix. You'll dance, you'll drink, you'll wish you had a date. One Way Down headline the Lucky Dog, but we say get there early to check out Box Car Betty. Featuring ex-members of the Voodoo Dolls, of Swingin' Medallions, and of 3 1/2 Girls, they don't know too many songs yet, but the ones they do know rock like crazy! Joe Rockhead toss a benefit at the Above Club for the Seven Hills Youth Foundation, while the Jay Tyer Quintet play the Green Rooster Coffeehouse. Monday is the day for Old Tyme Rock Action with the fab Man's Ruin Records' Alabama Thunder Pussy. As if that isn't enough to potentially wreck the rest of the work week, Solarized and Warhorse also chuck the devil horns to the sky and do a little noggin'-thumping themselves. Put this one down as a must-see event for loners, strippers, air guitarists, music columnists with no life, headbangers, aging punks, and other general social miscreants.

-- John O'Neill

BOSTON/PROVIDENCE

Junior rap-metal kids Reveille -- who made their major-label debut earlier this year with Laced (Elektra) but have yet to make much of an impact -- are at the Living Room, (401) 521-5200, in Providence, on December 9, in what counts as a warm-up for their slot on the big Godsmack New Year's Eve gig at the Bayside Expo Center, (617) 228-6000, in Boston. Gettin' old-school, Quiet Riot make a return visit, this time to Jarrod's Place, (508) 222-8878, in Attleborough, on December 10. Dokken guitarist George Lynch brings his Lynch Mob to the Station, (401) 823-4660, in West Warwick, Rhode Island, on December 10; chainsaw-wielding one-hit wonders Jackyl are at the same club on December 14.

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones -- who invented the Satanic ska-metal thing a decade ago on their Taang! debut, Devil's Night Out -- are in the midst of their annual five-night "Hometown Throwdown" stand at the Middle East, (617) 864-3278, in Cambridge. It runs through December 12 but has been sold out for weeks. If you missed former Galaxie 500 dude Dean Wareham and Luna last week at the Somerville Theatre, you can catch 'em December 9 at Pearl Street, (413) 584-0610, in Northampton. The Gregg Allman Band hit the Orpheum, (617) 931-2000, in Boston, on December 10, the State Theatre, (207) 775-3331, in Portland, on December 11, and Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel, (401) 272-5876, in Providence, on December 12. The art-metal supergroup Fantomas (featuring former Faith No More crooner Mike Patton, former Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo, and the Melvins' King Buzzo) are at Lupo's on December 11 and at the Middle East on December 13. And Sevendust bring Static-X and Dope on a swing through the State Theatre in Portland on December 12, Avalon, (617) 423-6398, in Boston, on December 13, and Lupo's on December 15.

-- Carly Carioli