Club Notes, Thursday, Aug. 27

Thursday, Bret Talbert sings at Beatnik's.

Friday, Guns of Navarone joins Orange Diesel, Overshine and Build a Machine split the bill at Tammany Hall; The Roosters are back at JJ's in Northboro; Bill McCarthy sings at Greendale's; Broken Cross rocks London Billiards; Bill McCarthy sings at Greendale's; Rose Colored Glasses returns to the Kaz Bar; Girl Haggard is part of the bill at the Lucky Dog along with Jason James and the Cobramatics; Tori Pyne debuts at the Dive Bar; Sunlea opens for Uncle Billy's Smokehouse at Beatnik's; the Chicken Slacks funk up Ralph's;

Saturday, the Gears of Worcester Music bring the Hoosegow Kings to play the blues at Vincent's; the Cosby Sweaters return to Junior's; the annual spectacle and yard sale led by Bob Jordan takes place at 13 West Street in Grafton; Beatles for Sale does just that at the Grafton Inn; Bruce Marshall makes his Greendale's Pub debut; Craving Lucy headlines the Raven; Clamdigger is a fave at the Galway Bay; Clamdigger returns to the Galway; Dub Sack Dynasty does Moynihan's; and Emptyhead headlines Irish Times.

Sunday, it's the Boulder Beer Party's 30th birthday at The Dive Bar; Chris Brunelle makes his debut at Emerald Isle; and the Summoned is the one at London Billiards.

Tuesdays, Jon Short's always at Armsby Abbey.

Other events:

On Friday, They're showing The Firm at 2 p.m. at the Worcester Public Library.

Club Notes, Thursday, Aug. 13

Pictured, Emilie Poulin, owner of The Q, this week's guest on The Weekly Shuffle. Be sure to head to the Q on Sunday for their second year anniversary celebration.

Thursday, Chet Williamson's blowing the harp at Oxford's Casual Dining; Sean Ryan of Uncle Billy's Smokehouse sings at Beatnik's; Driven's rocking Ralph's; The Change-Up and the Alchemystics join the lineup as part of the Wonderland Music Series at Mechanics Hall; and the Tokyo Tramps join The Flock at the Lucky Dog.

Friday, Ben Cooley Hall and Sarah Winant return to Nick's; Shane Hall is part of the bill at the Raven that is called a Last Minute Awesome Fest and also features Greg McKillop; Christopher Bell debuts at Spiritual Haze; In Harm's Way opens for Zero Point at London Billiards; Fergus does contemporary Irish at the Fiddler's Green; The Ten Foot Pole Cats are back at The Dive Bar; Orange Diesel opens for, East Coast Runaways and All in Blind at Ralph's; and Lisa Marie is All Shook Up at the Sahara.

Saturday, Guns of Navarone fire at Beatnik's; The Curtain Society and the Bee's Knees are out at Sally O'Brien's in Somerville; Huck's hitting Finnegan's; the Thrash and Burn tour pulls into the Palladium with Seize the Day and Periphery; Stuart Ferguson sings at the Grafton Inn; Switchblade Suicide is with Sorry and the Sinatras at The Raven; Color Me Badd is with This Burning World, opening for Ozzy tribute Crazy Train, at the Lucky Dog Music Hall; The Mike Cranville Band debuts at Greendale's; Ben Cooley Hall sings at Nick's; SuperVolcano headlines Ralphs and also invites the Retakes; The Ed Melikian Ensemble is a favorite at the Sahara Restaurant; and Whalebone Farmhouse heads back to Vincent's.

Touched takes care of the weekend at Sakura Tokyo.

Sunday, Rounding Off Numbers is out at Boston Billiards on Grove Street; and Bobby Gadoury and the Speakeasy Combo gather at Nick's.

Monday, it's a bon voyage party for Brian and Goff with Sam Politz at Nick's.

Other events:

Thursday, it's Peterman Bobblehead night at the Worcester Tornadoes game - the first 1,000 gets one.

Friday, All Shook Up opens at Mount Wachusett Community Theatre and continues through the weekend; Worcester Storytellers returns to Vasa Hall (where readers get up to eight minutes of stage time).

Saturday's the annual and fantastic Latin Festival, taking over downtown with bands, food and frenzy; at the DCU bank in Marlboro there's a huge Soap Suds for Schools car wash all day; the Barbara J. Walker Butterfly Festival flutters at the Broad Meadow Brook Wildlife Sanctuary.
Sunday, the Q's celebrating two years in business with a big celebration, most likely including poetry and music.

Sunday, Julio's Liquors in Westboro is hosting a Belgian Beer Fest from 1-4 p.m.

Club Notes, Thursday, Aug. 6

Lisa Barthelson (pictured), interviewed today on WCUW's the Weekly Shuffle. Barthelson talked about Art in the Park, which opens Thursday, Aug. 6, at Elm Park at 6 p.m. The opening includes artist talks, food and tunes by the mighty Dinosaurs. This 22-piece exhibit, which will be on display through October, featuring an exceptional, and eclectic, mix of media by artists Andy Campbell, Vicente Garcia, Susan Champeny, Susu Wing and many more. Barthelson's piece, "Found Nest, After Ice Storm," was inspired by last year's monstrous ice storm that pummeled the area at the beginning of the winter.

Thursday, WCUW is presenting Duke Robillard at the Hanover Theatre as part of their series; Reverend JJ and the Casual Sinners preach at Tammany Hall; Eternal Embrace is part of the Ralph's metal show; Twitch the Ripper joins Streak at the Raven; Joshua English, Ghost Ocean and Nate MacKinnon do acoustic performances at Nick's; Ken Macy Jr. sings at Block 5, and down the street it's a funk party in the beer garden at The Dive.

Friday, Saint to Sinner joins Levity at London Billiards; Bill McCarthy brings his guitar to the Old Post Office Pub; Bottlefight hits the stage with Designer Drugs, Slitstitch and Sadplant at Ralph's; Hat On, Drinking Wine debuts, along with Only at Night, at the Lucky Dog; The Summer Street Band returns to Speakers; Ripcord racks 'em up at Jillian's; Shirley Lewis belts the blues at Gilrein's; BlackSheep herds at the Fiddler's Green; and Gold Star Campaign rocks Beatnik's.
Saturday, The Lights Out's at Ralph's with the Bad Bads; Still Aggravated rocks PJ's Bar and Grill; Slack debuts at the Emerald Isle; Beatles for Sale does the Fab4 at JJ's in Northboro; White Chocolate melts at Chaser's; Ben Cole's heating up the Boiler Room; Never Enough Bullets and New Ditty split the bill at The Raven; the Gobshites do surf at the Cannery; The Weight of Gravity jams at Oxford Tavern; The Trick Bag Blues Band improvises at Gilrein's; Go Gadget Go does covers at The Nines; the Middle River Band rocks Breakaway Billiards in Clinton; and DJ Reckless spins at Red 1888.

Friday and Saturday night, the Matt Schwachman Band returns to Sakura Tokyo; and speaking of Sakura Tokyo, a favorite there, Pet Rock, is calling it quits and doing so with two farewell shows this weekend at Foxwoods Casino, Friday and Saturday night. Speaking of breakups, Cathy's Clown and New England Soul Revue, too, have unfortunately called it quits, with no appropriate glue for repair in clear sight at this time.

On Sunday, Poison the Well, Bane and Madball are part of the $10 for 10 bands tour at the Palladium; Jason James tears down the place at Nick's; CD Stone and his Screamin' Blue Orchestra jams at the Blue Plate in the afternoon; and Letterday does an all ages show at the Raven.

Other events:

Art in the Park opens at Elm Park on Thursday, and will be on display through October. It opens at 6 p.m. with live music, artist tours and food.
Saturday is the Puttin' for Pawz event at the Leicester County Club to raise money for the Worcester Animal Rescue League. Also Saturday morning, at 10, Broad Meadow Brook Wildlife Sanctuary runs a program for kids called Insects Have Six Legs.

Saturday and Sunday the Worcester World Cup takes place at Foley Stadium.

On Sunday, the Import Evolution Car Show is at the DCU Center; there's a birthday celebration for Smokey the Bear at the Riverbend Farm Visitor's Center in Uxbridge; the fantastic Fat City Band swings at the Elks Club for their weekly Dance2Swing in Leominster; the Poet's Asylum brings words to Jumpin, Juice and Java; there's a Stone Beer Dinner at Armsby Abbey; and Jo Dee Messina sings country at Indian Ranch in Webster.

Do you have a show coming up? Want to be a guest on the weekly shuffle? Have your tune played on the show? Email Charlene at carsena882@aol.com. Mailing address PO Box 310, Auburn, MA 01501.