Club and Event Notes, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2009

Uncle Billy's Smokehouse, playing Saturday at Beatnik's for a benefit for William Hurley

Thursday, Scott Ricciuti, Troy Gonyea and Duncan Arsenault play the Dive Bar; The Scales run up and down 'em at Beatnik's; Macey and Hart sing country tunes at TJ's Seafood in Auburn; Sam James sings at The Banner (as he does every week); Brooks Milgate sings at Nick's; and Venerable joins Contortionist at Ralph's.

Friday, Bill McCarthy's bringing his acoustic to Al Fresco in Holden; Anomia headlines QVCC; Ottomatic Slim jams at Gilrein's; Guns of Navarone headline Beatnik's; The Throttles burn it up at Vincent's; a band called the Rubblebucket Orchestra's the main act at Tammany Hall; The Chicken Slacks funk up Ralph's; Bret Talbert and his Six String Thing are at Tavern on the Common; The Right Now opens for OSB at the Lucky Dog; Mulligan's Fancy returns to Fiddler's Green; Last Call is out at Trumbull's in Spencer; Dead tribute Fennario shares the night with Sunlea at The Cannery; Soulstice locks in at the Irish Times; Fourth Gear pulls into the Blue Plate; and the Matt Shwachman Band is at Chaser's.

Saturday, Bill McCarthy sings at Junior's Pizza; WAAF's hosting a big Halloween bash at The Palladium with a ton of bands, including the Pantera tribute Trendkill, Killa T and Bogus Trizzy; Chase Haven joins the bill, which includes Limited Sight and Wednesday Night Coincidence, at Tammany Hall; Melt drips at The Raven with Bullethead; No Alibi's rocking in costumes at Greendale's; Auntie Trainwreck returns to the Kaz Bar; SexCoffee is with Vulgarrity for Rocktober at Ralph's; Gilmour's Breakfast pays tribute to Floyd at the Lucky Dog; Alive and Kickin' does covers at the Fifth Amendment; Destruct-a-Thon plays its last show ever in the afternoon at the Midway Cafe in Jamaica Plain; The Alchemystics bring hip-hop and reggae to the Cannery; and Uncle Billy's Smokehouse plays a benefit at Beatnik's for the family of William Hurley, who passed away tragically after disappearing from a Boston train station a few weeks ago.

Other events:

On Thursdays, Chuck's Steakhouse in Auburn has got team trivia nights.

Point, Click, Shoot – Snapshots Celebrating Life shows more than 200 family snapshots, from poignant to hilarious, at the Fitchburg Art Museum through January. At Booklovers' Gourmet, Sarah Hage's paintings are up through October. Called Small Pleasures, this exhibit features the California artist's bright, whimsical works.

Reckless opens at the Gateway Players in Southbridge on Friday, and continues through Halloween. Also Friday, The Worcester Pride Association hosts Casino Night at Carrington Hall on Harding Street. Bill Maher is out at the Wilbur Theatre in Boston.

Saturday, the West Brookfield Elementary School hosts a Vendor and Craft Fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mount Wachusett hosts its annual Applefest; taste plenty of apple-induced treats, enjoy music, a moonbounce, farmer's market, take skyrides, and take in the beauty of the mountain in Princeton. And ClayTime Studio on Park Ave. celebrates 10 years with an open house from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. that includes snacks, free gifts and of course painting some pottery. The EcoTarium hosts its annual Great Pumpkin Fest, which includes displays of hundreds of carved pumpkins, hayrides, trainrides, costume contests, crafts, demonstratons and more from noon to 9 p.m.