GREAT SCOTT

One of the things I love about Boston is that on any particular night I can fulfill almost any of my musical whims. Of course, with great choice comes the problem of who to spend your hard earned time and money on. Boston, like most great cities, boasts varying musical journeys every day and as the clock starts to move toward the all-important festival season, help out your wallet by catching the up-and-coming bands before they are "discovered."

This week, there are several acts playing in Beantown that are worthy of investigation.

• 4/8 - Bear In Heaven, will be sprinkling their "controlled chaos" at The Middle East
  tonight

• 4/8 -Dashboard Confessional has been around for what seems like ages and will inexplicably be supporting the popular Bon Jovi on their tour later this year. However, tonight, they'll be bringing their own brand of cheerful melanchol at the House of Blues. Not the most intimate of venues, it will still be a chance to get more personal with the band than the stadium-sized venues they will hit up later this year

• 4/10- House of Blues will also host Get The Led Out, the self-proclaimed American Led Zeppelin, who will probably be playing some covers by their legendary influencers.

• 4/12 - And speaking of hugely influential British bands, this saturday, The Wedding Present will be at The Middle East. Since their formation in 1985, they have gone through numerous member changes, with David Gedge as the last remaining founding member of the group. However, this is not a nostalgic-lets-all-cash-in type of an affair. Instead, in keeping with the trend of performing "classic" albums in their entirety (anyone who caught The Pixies last year will know about this), they will be performing their major label debut Bizarro, which was originally released through RCA in 1989 and contained the John Peel-approved single "Brassneck." If you want to see one of the bands that influenced Oasis and numerous other indie shoe-gazers, then this is a must.

• 4/12 -One of those bands could be New Jersey's Titus Andronicus who play on the same night at Great Scott in Allston. Their current LP The Monitor (XL Recordings) got a good review in Rolling Stone who described it as "mixing Springsteen with Honest Abe." The Monitor also seems to be a favourite of the staff at Newbury Comics, which I consider a good sign. With lyrics like "tramps like us, baby we were born to die" ("A More Perfect Union"), they wear their influences on their sleeve. Again, this could be a chance to see a band on the way up before the inevitability of over-expectation blunts their creativity.

• 4/11- Ted Leo and the Pharmacists play at the Paradise Rock Club this Saturday.(April

• 4/13 -This Providence, with support from The Audition, will be at The Middle East

With so many options for your listening pleasure, the hard part will be choosing.

On what was the kick-off date of their 2010 Spring tour, Vivian Girls visited Allston's Great Scott and pleased a young, bouncy audience. The girls paired up with longtime friends, Male Bonding of the UK, and local band, You Can Be A Wesley (YCBAW), for a superb show on March 8th.

Is there a better place to be in St. Patrick's Day than in Boston? Unless you have a couch to crash on Dublin for a week, there's not. But, even with said couch, you would miss out on Beantown's music scene. I mean, what is St. Paddy's without an entire week of Celtic celebration and the Dropkick Murphys?

Boston's finest Irish punks will be making their traditional appearances from the 12th to the 17th of March, at the House of Blues.. and guess what? Not all dates are sold out yet!. $30 will get you in the door and dropkickin' around til your little Irish hearts' content.

Taking their Brooklyn sound nationwide, the Vivian Girls roundout their North American tour in Boston on March 8th. With two albums under their belt, the girls of surf guitar and fluffy pop have really generated a buzz around their name. A mix of girl-power and sweet melodic refrains full of old-timey, rock 'n roll pith are what makes us hit 'play' over and over again. Check out these hipster croonies at Allston's Great Scott on March 8th. Tickets on sale at ticketweb.com
Great Scott 1222 Commonwealth Ave. Allston, MA 02134 617.566.9014

Televandals & Dragonette
Great Scott
1222 Comm Ave. Allston, MA
9:00pm 18+ $10
www.greatscottboston.com

Once you’re done giving yourself enough cavities from all the Halloween candy you just downed to allow your dentist to retire early, don’t waste the extra hour we just stole from Mama Nature, spend it wisely. Wednesday night at Great Scott is your best bet for timely spending.

Boston’s own Televandals will for sure get you dancing with their brand of straight up-good times-synth pop that they describe as “Music for the apocalypse, or to prevent it.” How could that not be good? They will also be throwing an Album listening party and video screening of their brand-new video for the single “Good For Nothing” (watch it here).

The Penguin Club
474 Massachusetts Ave
Cambridge, MA 02139
(617) 292-7695
www.mideastclub.com

Adding in some extra “hump” into Humpday, the Penguin Club is here to save you from boring mid-week TV and your liver’s need for the weekend. If you like The Pill on Friday’s at Great Scott, you will feel right at home at ZuZu Wednesday nights. The DJ’s trade sets mixing genres and decades to get you on the dance floor. Be ready to hipster step to some Bowie, Pulp, The Rapture, Passion Pit, The Knife and many more. Spinning indie, soul, electro, britpop, punk, retro and beyond, you’ll be sure to hear a handful of songs you can’t help but dance to. Much like your hands after a walk through Central Square in nippy weather, Penguin Club can take some time to warm up, but don’t give up on it.