Roadtrips

edited by Matt Ashare

Has anyone noticed the remarkable similarity between the chorus to Rage Against the Machine's Grammy-busting "Bulls on Parade" and "Pocket Full o' Fat Caps" by downset? You be the judge when downset and Earth Crisis (vegan death metal, er, hardcore) rip it up March 25 at the all-ages, non-corporate, but nonetheless hallowed ground of St. John's Gymnasium (508-365-9085), 149 Chestnut Street, in Clinton, and follow up on the 26th at Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel (401-272-5876) in Providence.

Servotron, the Amphetamine Reptile cyborg supergroup that includes members of fellow interstellar travelers Man . . . or Astroman? and Supernova, team up with out-punks Pansy Division for a bill that hits the Met Café (401-861-2142) in Providence on March 24 and moves to T.T. the Bear's Place (617-492-BEAR) in Cambridge on the 25th (see "Next Weekend," page 6, for more on Pansy Division, and "Off the Record," page 44, for a review of Servotron's No Room for Humans).

Helmet stopped in Boston last December to preview their new album, Aftertaste (Interscope), but they're bypassing Beantown on their current stretch. To see them you can trek to the Central Maine Civic Center (207-783-2009) in Lewiston, where they open for Korn on a bill that also includes something called Limp Biscuit on March 27. Or you can wait till they headline at Lupo's on March 31.

Further ahead, License To Ill-bred goofballs Bloodhound Gang team up with Star Wars-bred pop geeks Nerf Herder for gigs at the Living Room (401-521-5200) in Providence on March 29 and the Middle East (617-864-EAST) in Cambridge on March 31. And if you can't get to the Breeders' homecoming at the Paradise (617-562-8800) on March 29 -- Australian instrumentalists the Dirty Three make a rare local appearance at Mama Kin (617-536-2100) on Boston's Lansdowne Street that same night -- you can catch Kim Deal and company on March 26 at the Living Room.