Roadtrips

There's nothing quite like the spectacle of a tortured, compromised pop genius hitting his highs and lows at exactly the same time -- and not since Kurt and Tupac have the stars aligned to produce a saga to compare with Eminem's. His The Marshall Mathers LP has sparked high praise, outrage, tremendous sales (it's been bouncing in and out of the #1 spot since its release), and a soap-opera-like drama that's seen Eminem arrested several times and his wife, whom he kills on the album, attempt suicide. So even though he's not the top-billed star on the "Up in Smoke" tour -- the big highlight of which is a kinda sorta N.W.A reunion with Eminem's mentor Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, MC Ren, and Snoop Dogg filling in for the late Easy E -- all eyes will be on Slim Shady. The tour hits the Worcester Centrum (617-931-2000) on July 20 and 21; Eminem's also booked for a solo date at the Meadowbrook Musical Arts Center (603-528-5550) in New Hampshire on July 24.

Between the Warped Tour and the Gravity Games, we've pretty much got a Gen X olympics on our hands this weekend. Warped, which comes to Boston's Suffolk Downs (800-477-6869) on July 20, has the usual contingent of pro skaters, rollerbladers, and BMX bandits in addition to a punk-rock line-up featuring Green Day, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, the Long Beach Dub Allstars, MxPx, NOFX, and 25 more. Later that night, at Bill's Bar (617-421-9678) in Boston, you can catch local-stage punks the Vigilantes headlining an after-show bill. Meanwhile, in Rhode Island, the second annual installment of the Gravity Games -- NBC's knockoff of ESPN's X Games -- wraps up this weekend, with competitors in street luge, downhill skateboarding, wakeboarding, and freestyle motorcross hitting the Providence pavement July 20 through 23. There's also a "music and film festival" scheduled each night at 5:30 p.m., with locations, bands, and DJs to be announced. For info call (877) 7-GRAVITY, or hit www.gravitygames.com.

If you missed the Throwing Muses reunion gig in Boston last month, you get another shot on July 22 at Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel (401-272-5876) in Providence -- and the club has been running a photo of founding member Tanya Donelly (later of Belly and solo fame) in the ads, which is a good sign. The sugariest of '80s pop-metal confectionaries, the VH1-revived Def Leppard kick off a summer tour with a gig at the Tweeter Center (617-931-2000) in Mansfield on July 20. Prog monsters Yes headline with Kansas at the FleetBoston Pavilion (617-931-2000) on July 21; then the new-wave revival brings the B-52s, the Go-Go's, and the Psychedelic Furs to the Pavilion on July 22.

Former Jesus and Mary Chain singer/guitarist Jim Reid brings his new band, Freeheat, to the Middle East (617-864-EAST) in Cambridge on July 21-- it's only the second show ever by the group, and their US debut. The brilliant Boston psych-pop band Lockgroove open up. And though Gene and Dean Ween aren't playing Boston this time around, they'll make a weird addition to the sun-and-surf-soaked Wellfleet Beachcomber (508-349-6055) schedule on July 23.
-- Carly Carioli