Friday, July 31, 2009

Club Notes, Thursday, July 30

Pictured: The Delta Generators, photo by Bree Bailey

On Thursday, The Dialogue plays the Cantina Bar; the Worcester Tornadoes present Beatles for Sale at Fitton Field; Organ Eyes crank at Nick's; Graveheart headlines metal night at Ralph's; Intermission is with the JC Young Band at Chaser's; Bret Talbert sings at Beatnik's; Jon Short and Jeff Burch join Duncan Arsenault at the Dive Bar; Pako opens for The Flock at the Lucky Dog Music Hall; and Build a Machine debuts at Tammany Hall.

Friday, The Cosby Sweaters sing '80s stuff at Greendale's; Windfall blows into the Kaz Bar; Tester's rocking the Raven with 7 Minute Stagger; Castine pops up the Lucky Dog Music Hall; Andy Dow is with Bruce Marshall at PJ's in West Boylston; Necktie Party ties one on with Vullgarrity at Ralph's; Chet Williamson's blowing the harp at Nick's; Jimmy's Down rocks Jillian's; Sunlea opens for Uncle Billy's Smokehouse at Tammany Hall; and Ken Tracy Jr. returns to Creegan's Pub.

Saturday, Zac Galen is at Milly's Tavern; Clamdigger is over at Breen's; Jumping Ship is with Challenges and Tales at QVCC; The Cosby Sweaters return to Junior's; The Walking Blues Band shuffles to the Old Post Office Pub; Leaving Eden joins the lineup at The Raven; the Delta Generators are out at Tommy Doyle's; The Roosters crow at Greendale's; Uncle Billy's Smokehouse joins Holmes at the Bull Run; The Rectangle Club joins the lineup at Ralph's, which also includes Mr. E. Floyd; Irish Times has Believer this week.

On Sunday, Chylde, You Need New Glasses and Shirts and Skins play Ralph's; and DJ Reckless is at a Club Universe under 21 party.

Other events:

On Thursday, the Blackstone Valley Community concert band packs onto the stage at Whitinsville Common.



MacBeth is in the park – Green Hill Park – through August 2.



Willy Wonka Jr. is performed at Calliope Productions in Boylston throughout the weekend.
Sunday, there's a bat program at the Elm Hill Center.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Club Notes, Thursday, July 23

Pictured: Coyote Run, playing at the Blackstone Celtic Fest.

Thursday, A War for All Seasons joins The Sharpest at QVCC; Vance sings at Tower Hill Botanic Garden; Only at Night helps open for The Flock at the Lucky Dog; Leslie Crozier sings at Beatnik's; For What It's Worth, The Pity Whores and Sadplant do metal night at Ralph's; and DJ Soup mixes it up at Irish Times.



Friday, She's Busy is on Brookfield Common from 7-9 p.m.; Candy Striper Death Orgry joins The Summoned and more for an all agest show at QVCC; Sonic Bridge debuts at Tom's Gourmet Marketplace; John Small is back at Borders Books in Shrewsbury; Rose Colored Glasses rocks the Kaz Bar; Badmajik pays tribute to Godsmack at The Raven; Highfire Skyline comes in to Tammany Hall with The Cold Beat; Little Red's back at the Sahara; The Roosters reunite at the Lucky Dog, opening for Italy's number one Stones tribute; Alan and the Alligators take a bite out of Oxhead Tavern; The Jennifer Lee Band joins Phase 2 at the Cannery; Treadwater rocks Creegan's; Runaway Roses is out at JJ's; and Jason James rips up the Irish Times.



Saturday, Worcesterfest hits the Palladium, bringing in Four Year Strong, Set Your Goals and many more; Bill McCarthy's singing down at Junior's Pizza; Ropetree headlines Tammany Hall; Go Gadget Go packs 'em into Greendale's; Castine pops up Spiritual Haze with Necktie Party; Critical Condition rocks the Raven; the Black Eye Bone Daddy's tear up the Lucky Dog, opening for the mighty Mullethead; Nytmare's hip hopping at Creegan's; The Cosby Sweaters return to the Galway Bay; the Fat City Band blasts the Bull Run; Animal Crackers hit Jillian's; Jim Weeks brings his Little Big Wheel to the Sahara; Superbug joins the Golden Spurs at Ralph's; The Pandas debut at Nick's; and Birch Hill Dam joins the lineup in the back room at London Billiards.



Other Events:
MacBeth is being performed in Green Hill Park through Aug. 2.
Paintings by Tom Mahoney are on display at the Worcester Public Library through July 31. Twelve Zodiac Animals opened at the Worcester Art Museum.



On Saturday, the Blackstone Valley Celtic Festival takes over Indian Ranch, featuring Coyote Run and Jug O' Punch and many more. The event also features plenty of ethnic food as well as the Men in Kilts contest. 12 Crane holds a Classic Car Show.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Musical Masonry - Ray's got a new disc out

You can trace Ray Mason's gritty, down in the dirt rock and roll sound to one thing: his 1965 Sears Silvertone guitar. OK, that might be a slight exaggeration, but as Mason says, "I try to base my sound on good songs and a guitar that sounds like a guitar."

His new disc, Like Bugs Chewing on Paper (now how Mason-like is that?), isn't a drastic departure from his past efforts, and if you're a fan, you wouldn't want it to be. With out of left field lyrics, pure rock 'n' roll riffs and an honest delivery, Mason keeps the spirit of bands such as the Kinks and the Stones alive. "These are songs that remind me of listening to the AM radio," says Mason. "Three minute blasts that bring back feelings of summer, heartbreak...all those good things."

Mason credits producer Jim Weeks (not the one from Little Big Wheel, though he's a talented bugger) as having a major effect on his new disc. "His relentless creativity is mind-boggling to me," says Mason. "Couldn't have done it without him. He knows the way I think and I know he knows this. "

He started his first band in Holyoke in 1966, calling it The Gladiators. Mason gobbled up records, and had been doing so for years, holding myself in his room listening to music for hours on end. From the late '60s through 1980, he played bass in a variety of bands in Western Massachusetts, including the Buck Rogers Movement, The Fourgone Conclusion, Seagull, The Sailcats and Signal. During that time, Mason has stockpiled quite a few songs of his own, and decided he needed an outlet for them. In the early '80s, he self-released at least five cassettes (yup, cassettes) and then later a single on his own Captivating Music label. His first full-length CD, Between Blue & Okay, came out in 1994 and 11 more followed. In 1985, he and Jim Armenti also started the Lonesome Brothers in 1985, producing seven CDs.

"Is that too many," says Mason. "Yikes."

Turning 60 next year, Mason has no plans to slow down on writing and recording. Already armed with 11 new tunes for his band to record, he's got the the framework and lyrics for 18 more. Mason appears solo at the Harvest Cafe in Hudson on Saturday, July 25 from 8-10 p.m. You can also find out more about Mason, and his band the Lonesome Brothers, at myspace.com/theraymasonband and myspace.com/lonesomebrothers.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Club Notes, Thursday, July 16


Thursday, Sean Ryan sings at Beatnik's; Lisa Marie's All Shook Up at Nick's; Darkwor and Cursed for Eternity are among the acts for metal night at Ralph's; Worcester's Got Talent takes place at Gilrein's; and Sunlea shines at the Blackstone Tap.

Friday, Stuart Ferguson performs and Sweetwilliam Farms in Upton; Skullfunked headlines Chasers; The Chicken Slacks funk up Ralph's; Henry Gale is with White Mountains, Deep Fried Eagle and more at Spiritual Haze; Monkeyfish is with Barefoot Bob at the Kaz Bar; the Have Nots play a benefit for the West Boylston Arts Foundation at Goodale Park; New Ditty joins Social Suicide and Panther Lee Johnson at London Billiards; Brokedown Serenade joins the Revival Preachers and Sawmill at the Lucky Dog; Ken Tracy Jr. returns to JJ's; Bow Thayer and Perfect Trainwreck heads back to The Dive; Niki Luparelli and Dan Burke present the Speakeasy Combo at Nick's; Bret Talbert sings at Tom's Gourmet Marketplace; and Jug O Punch mixes it up at Fiddler's Green.

Saturday, the Matt Schwachman Band returns to the Irish Times; the Summer Slaughter Tour hits the Palladium; The Young Leaves fall at the Hotel Vernon; Owl Watcher joins rock for your face at Hotel Vernon; Ape Debris opens for Vultures at Ralph's; Chyldz Play rocks Chasers; Auntie Trainwreck pulls into Squire White's; the Red Riders head back to the Sahara Restaurant; New Pilot and Nude Black Glass teams up for a night of pop at Mill Street Brews; Treadwater's swimming at Beatnik's; Collin Raye and Restless Heart countrify Indian Ranch; and Crumb joins Ill Conceived and 16 Stitches at the Lucky Dog Music Hall.
Touched rocks Sakura Tokyo both weekend nights.

Other events:

Calliope Productions puts on Bye Bye Birdie through the weekend at its theater in Boylston.
Thursday, the Worcester Chamber Music Society puts on the Thayer Chamber Music Festival at Atlantic Union College.

Saturday morning, learn about Dragonflies in a program with the Massachusetts Audubon Society at Broad Meadow Brook Wildlife Sanctuary. It's Fire and Ice Day at Old Sturbridge Village, which means such things as a fire muster as well as homemade ice cream. The movie A Good Year shows for free at the Worcester Public Library.

On Sunday, the Art and Music Fest takes over Riverbend Farm in Uxbridge from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It features live music, vendors, food, face painting, kids stuff, karate and much much more. Admission, too, is free. The Oak Ridge Boys headline Indian Ranch. And there's jazz on the patio every week at the Castle Restaurant in Leicester. This weekend, it's Dick Odgren and Bob Simonelli. The 85th Romanian Festival takes place at St. Michael's in Southbridge.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Club Notes, Thursday, July 9


Thursday, Billy Claire is solo at the Piccadilly Pub in Marlboro; Sean Ryan is with Matt Bruce at Beatnik's; and Sarah Collett joins Grand Evolution at Chaser's.

Friday, Uncle Billy's Smokeouse is at Mechanics Hall, of all places, as part of the Wonderland Music Series, also including performances by Sam James, Skullfunked, The Gary Backstrom Band and Black River Sound; Tomorrow's World teams up with the Search and Rescue and Teamwork at the India Center in Shrewsbury; Sean Ryan sings at the Galway Bay; Bill McCarthy sings at Al Fresco in Holden; the Matt Schwachman Band is at Biagio's; Fergus brings Irish to the Fiddler's Green; Johnny Press stomps into Gilrein's; Your Move is a tribute to progressive rock, headlining Ralph's; Soulstice funks out with the Weight of Gravity; Jason James rocks Beatnik's for the first time; Never in Vegas rocks Jillian's; and The Flock is at Boston Billiards.

Saturday, it's the annual cancer benefit at the Singletary Rod and Gun Club with Rose Colored Glasses, Rock House Six and many more; Absense of the Sun joins Nova Project and more at the all-ages QVCC; No Alibi does cover tunes at Greendale's; Jerkus Circus livens up Ralph's; Revolver rocks Irish Times; the Boston Slang Band makes its PJ's Bar and Grille debut; Beatles for Sale is the act at the Grafton Summer Concert Series; Treadwater's swimming at the Nines; Andy Cummings sings tunes at Vincent's; Whalebone Farmhouse tries out Beatnik's; Identical Image is at Mint; and A Rising Eclipse headlines Tammany.

The New England Soul Revue does Friday and Saturday in the Atrium at Foxwoods.

Other events:

Batter Up! Peanuts at Bat showcases some of Charles Shultz's best baseball themed comics at the Worcester Historical Museum through August 8.

Tonight, Beatles for Sale is in the park – Elm Park, that is.

Among the many cruise nights around town is Friday nights at Sam's Club. Also Friday, Shakin' All Over does the Friday night concert series at Brookfield Common. The Worcester Jazz Orchestra hits the EcoTarium for the wondeful Jazz at Sunset series.

Saturday, the Big Dipper smothers City Hall Plaza with ice cream, in many varieties and brands – apparently Ayla Brown is performing at it, too. And of course Paulie's NOLA Jazz and Blues Festival takes place from noon to 11 p.m. at John and Son's Fairgrounds on Chandler Street. It features traditional New Orleans food, a Harpoon beer tent, vendors and performances by the Hurricane Horns, Henri Smith, River City Slim and the Zydeco Hogs, the Chris Fitz Band and Lisa Marie.