Roadtrips

In a way, it's a wonder Speedball Baby ever got signed to a major label. Crazed and trashy, with guitarist Matt Verta-Ray's feverish, rockabilly-laced squalls setting the stage for manic madman Ron Ward's stream-of-consciousness Pentecostalisms, they boast charms that lie beneath the belts and over the heads of the mainstream record-buying public. After a stint on a major as part of the bolloxed Fort Apache/MCA deal, they're back with a new disc, I'm Gonna Stomp Mr. Harry Lee, on Sympathy for the Record Industry, the decade-old label that's been home to such like-minded lost souls as the Honeymoon Killers, '68 Comeback, and the Workdogs. Ward, a former drummer for the Blood Oranges, brings Speedball Baby back to the area with a gig at the Call (401-751-2255) in Providence this Friday, June 12, along with 12 Rods, Ashley Von Hurter and the Haters, the Erotics, and the Highway Strippers. On the 14th they'll do a stripped-down, semi-acoustic performance at the Green Street Grill (617-876-1655) in Cambridge with former Pussy Galore/current Chrome Cranks guy Jerry Teel, who's bringing in his band Pork Chop. It'll also be a rare appearance by our own Daviess County Panthers, who'll play acoustic. The Panthers will do their full-bore Stooges / Birthday Party thing at Jacque's (617-426-8902) in Boston on June 20 with Hamlet Idiot and Broadcaster.

Meanwhile, aging garage-rock standard bearers the Fleshtones -- last seen here with ? and the Mysterians -- pop up at Dinny's (508-752-9667) in Worcester on the 12th with the Fearless Leaders and Free Radicals. They're also at T.T. the Bear's Place (617-492-BEAR) in Cambridge on the 13th with the Gravy, Lowell's Chris Ware Band, and the Pompous Lovejoys. A bunch of Scottish dudes playing meticulous '60s-period mod-garage pop, the Kaisers are doing a rare US tour with the Neanderthals (a side project of Eddie Angel from masked surfers Los Straitjackets). They'll be at the Middle East (617-864-EAST) in Cambridge tonight, June 11 (Seks Bomba open), and at the Met Cafe (401-861-2142) in Providence on the 12th (with the Itchies).

The Pines Theatre (413-586-8686), a 100-year old natural amphitheater at Northampton's Look Park, opens for the season on June 16 with "An Evening of Real Life Songs," a package tour with singer-songwriters Bruce Cockburn, Dar Williams, and Richard Thompson. The tour will also come to the Harborlights Pavilion (617-423-NEXT) in Boston, on the 18th.