Weekly Music Picks: Prelude to Fall

If you're not into traveling all the way to the Tweeter Center for Journey and Def Leopard, check out this week's picks. Even if you are into heading down to the big name act's show you'll need something to do the rest of the week. There's no joking about it this week. Fall is here. By the time the weekend hits it's time to break out the cider and make some pumpkin pie. We're saving that for Sunday, however, the rest of the week is for music.

Monday 9/18
Golden Smog
Rockers Golden Smog comes together with members of The Jayhawks, Soul Asylum and Wilco – take stage on the last leg of their tour (Chicago is next before the R&R). Jayhawks drummer Tim O'Reagan opens the show.
Golden Smog: myspace

Tuesday 9/19
Verona Downs
Dreamy rockers Verona Downs hit the main stage at Abbey Lounge in their appearance in the month long Tuesday residency of Sort of Records.
Abbey Lounge Main Stage

Verona Downs: myspace | after all.mp3

Wednesday 9/20
The English Beat with The Specials' Lynval Golding and the Selecter's Pauline Black
A Message to You, Rude Boys and Girls: Expect a wild night of dancing at the Middle East as second wave ska legends the English Beat are joined by original members of the Specials and the Selecter. Don your black and white and get ready to step to the beat of "Mirror in the Bathroom," "Twist and Crawl," "Gangsters," and "Ghost Town" (for starters). With Boston's own third fourth wave ska kings Westbound Train, who are celebrating the release of their new CD Transitions on Hellcat Records.
Middle East Downstairs
18+ $20, 7:30pm doors
The English Beat: website | "Mirror In the Bathroom" video on YouTube
The Specials: website | myspace
The Selecter: website
Westbound Train: website | myspace | purchase

Thursday 9/21
John Brown's Body w/ Sam Kininger Band
Hailed by many as the "Best American Reggae Band", John Brown's Body had its genesis in 1996 and has been touring ever since. Their "future roots" music represents a fusion of influences from Johnny Cash to Massive Attack, promising an extremely accessible and energized show for all ends of the music spectrum.
Paradise
8pm
John Brown's Body: website

Faces on Film
Before they hit Bill's Bar next week as part of the NEMO showcase they'll be up on stage at Great Scott. Also playing is Keys To The Streets Of Fear-Bradley Hyland-Abraham Lincoln Brigade.
Great Scott
18+ 9pm $8.00
Faces on Film: myspace | Makers of Medicine.mp3 | purchase

Dave Alpert
Local blogger, video blogger, and up and coming rock star Dave Alpert serves as front man and namesake. An EP has been released, Peace of Mind EP is now for sale. In the spirit of a good neighbor on the internets, Dave has shared with us some videos of prior performances, all videographed by Rodrigo Valenzuela. One recommendation: don't ask Dave about Hemenway Street.
TT the Bear's Place
$8
Dave Alpert: website | myspace | ties that bind (vid) | Peace of Mind (vid) | Hang On (vid)

Friday 9/22
The Bad Plus (also Saturday)
The Bad Plus are not your typical jazz trio. Bassist Reid Anderson, pianist Ethan Iverson and drummer David King create a sound influenced by indie rock, underground dance, and contemporary classical composition. The trio has covered everything from Björk's "Human Behavior" and Radiohead's "Karma Police," to Queen's "We Are the Champions" and Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song." So it's no wonder that the trio's fans include indie kids, clubbers, jazzbos, and hip hop heads. Check out their fresh sound as they promote their new album Suspicious Activity (which TBP says reflects the "paranoid security conscious society in which we're now living").
Regattabar
$28, 7:30pm &10pm
website | myspace | blog

Milestones 2006: A Tribute to True Musical Innovation
Berklee College of Music's Milestones 2006 program honors DJs, producers, recording engineers and performers, including legendary hip hop pioneer DJs Grand Wizard Theodore and GrandMaster DXT (aka D.St., perhaps best known for his work on Herbie Hancok's "Rockit"), old school masters DJ Jazzy J and (Run D.M.C.'s) Jam Master Jay, and more recent and contemporary greats like DJ Premier, Marley Marl, and the late, great J Dilla. The event features musical performances by DJ Jazzy Jay, GrandMaster DXT, GrandWizard Theodore, Al Kooper, John Blackwell, The Xecutioners, and The Alchemist. Special appearance by the Berklee Turntablism Ensemble.
Berklee Performance Center
$30 - $250, reserved seating, 7:30pm
The art of turntablism and the history of hip hop DJs: wikipedia

Handel and Haydn Society, L'Orfeo (also Saturday and Sunday)
Monteverdi's musical setting of the Orpheus myth was the first true opera, premiered in 1607 before a small and presumably adventurous audience. For this modern interpretation, Chinese director Chen Shi-Zheng has assembled the expected orchestra of many weird and wonderful Baroque-style instruments and, somewhat more unexpectedly, a troupe which includes a dozen Indonesian dancers. L'Orfeo will be sung in Italian, with English translations
projected above the stage.
Schubert Theatre, 8 p.m. (9/22 and 9/23) and 3 p.m. (9/24), $81, $61, $47
Handel and Haydn Society: website
Chen Shi-Zheng: website

Saturday 9/23
Sunset Rubdown
The side project of Wolf Parade's co-front man Spencer Krug won't suit all of Wolf Parade's fans – but those who like it seem to really like it. We're not going to try and describe it but, instead, drop a few mp3's in the links and hope you decide for yourself.
Middle East Downstairs
18+ $12
Sunset Rubdown: website | Stadiums and Shrines II.mp3 | Three Colors

The War on the War on the Lonely
The good folks at sQuare Productions are putting on a pop operetta written by Boston's own Taylor Young, performed by Fumika Yamazaki on piano and Taylor Young doing vocals and guitar. The performance takes place at the "sQuareone loft" in Fort Point.
sQuareone Loft,49 Melcher St., Fort Point, Boston
Doors at 7:30 pm, show at 8:30 pm
$10
The War on the War on the Lonely: website | Red Lights Out.mp3

Monday 9/25
Daniel Barenboim
Holder of Spanish and Israeli passports, Hebrew-speaking defender of Wagner, co-author with the late Edward Said of the book Parallels and Paradoxes: Daniel Barenboim loves contrast, and loves to talk. In six free lectures starting on Monday, he will speak on "Sound and Thought."
Sanders Theatre, 4:30 p.m.
Free and open to the public, no tickets required
The Charles Eliot Norton: lecture
Barenboim and Said: on NPR

Erin Anguish, Matt Durutti, and Christina Linklater played an instrumental role in pulling together this weeks picks