thePULSEBy Brian Goslow
Don’t forget to check here for the latest on what’s new around town!
If you don’t those original songs quite ready for public consumption, or if you simply want to get onstage and rock out to some well-known tunes, “GreendaleMania,” the new house band for Bill McCarthy’s Tuesday night open mic at Greendale’s Pub, 404 West Boylston Street, is ready to back you on any number of classic rock tunes. For the first portion of the evening (from 8 to 9:30 p.m.), a group featuring McCarthy on bass, Amazing Len Rabinowitz on guitar, and Sue Gillies on drums will be happy to help you feel as if you’re up on the DCU Center stage. Of course, you can still sign up with Bill to do your own thing at openmcc@verizon.net.
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After a month off, the highly successful Tuesday Night Trivia returns this month to the Irish Times, 244 Main Street. Each week teams of two to six people compete for prizes and one grand prize of $500. The payoff will be much greater for their third $3000 karaoke contest starting up on Wednesday nights. Meanwhile, Brian Richard, Terry Brennan, and Chris Reddy are alternating weeks on the first floor every Thursday night when it’s 18+ night upstairs at Rehab.
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Heidi-Jo Hanson hosts the Thursday Night Songwriter Showcase at McNally’s Grill & Pub, 88 Sargent Road, Westminster. Six to eight songwriters take the stage beginning at 8 p.m. with the featured act going on stage around 9:15 p.m. August features Scott McGrath, Talaria, Jon Swenson, Greg Klyma & Tom Bianchi, and Stephanie Marsha. If you want to sign up to perform, contact Heidi-Jo at mamajogo@aol.com.
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With their café area successfully converted to a Seattle’s Best Coffee resource, Borders Shrewsbury, 476 Boston Turnpike (Route 9), is once again holding monthly acoustic open mics on the second Thursday of each month. Now hosted by Ed and Louise Hetzler, the event starts at 7 p.m.; this month’s event takes place on August 10 and includes a full spotlight set by Acoustica, a duo featuring Kim Bomba and Darren Iven.
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The Lucky Dog Music Hall, 89 Green Street, continues to host “Wormtown Wednesdays,” providing an opportunity for new groups to make their stage debut, solo performers to try out new material, and bands to break in new members – not to mention try to catch the eye of club owner Erick Godin with the hope of securing a weekend slot. You might also catch out-of-town acts – North Carolina’s The Ashley Crash is scheduled to perform on August 30. Sign up to perform with Steve Blake at wormtownwednesday.com.
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A few performers have found out the hard way – the Acoustic Persuasion open mic no longer takes place at the Zodiac Café; the affiliated musicians are staying in contact with each other via a Yahoo newsgroup so expect to see them in a new home this fall.
If you host an open mic or own a club that’s starting up a new ongoing event, let me know about it at bgoslow@yahoo.com.
