Roadtrips

Back before Elliott Smith was a DreamWorks project with an Academy Award nomination to his name, the then Portland-based indie-folk troubadour was supposed to hit the road with Portland's Quasi, an R&B-transmogrifying duo featuring Sleater-Kinney drummer Janet Weiss and her keyboardist/guitarist ex-husband, Sam Combs (who used to play in Heatmiser with Smith). That tour fell through, but Smith is finally making good on what had all the makings of a killer combo. Quasi play the opening set, then join Smith for his headlining set, at the Paradise (562-8804) in Boston on October 5 and the following night at Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel (401-272-5876) in Providence.

The West Coast indie-rock outfit Mumble and Peg come highly recommended, with a skewed take on the traditional acoustic guitar/bass/drums set-up that's had some folks comparing their version of Leadbelly's "Hangman" to the Velvets' "Black Angel's Death Song." They're touring behind a brand-new album, Wondering in Volume (Vaccination), with gigs October 2 at Jacque's (426-8902) in Boston and October 3 at Fire and Water (413-586-8336) in Northampton.

Also keep a lookout for the Man . . . or Astroman Clone Project Gamma. In what may be the first instance of franchise rock and roll, Astroman material will be performed by creatures appearing to be female humans, who are reported to have been hatched in a lab as a result of the band's ongoing human-genome research efforts. This is definitely not the actual Man . . . or Astroman?, and we're really not kidding, though we have reason to believe it'll be at least as much fun (we'll bring you extensive details next week in "State of the Art.") The Gammas are at the Met Café (401-861-2142) in Providence on October 6, and at the Middle East (864-EAST) in Cambridge on October 9.

Lots of all-ages ska and punk is in the offing, but none of it in Boston. The Bouncing Souls and teen sensations the Gadjits -- who have a cover of "(Don't You) Forget About Me" coming out on a Rhino compilation of '80s teen movie-song covers -- are at the Met Café on October 1. The Palladium (508-797-9696) in Worcester plays host to Blink 182 and Unwritten Law on October 2; Reel Big Fish and Spring Heeled Jack are at Pearl Street (413-584-0610) in Northampton on October 4.

And gee whiz, who woulda ever figured former Sepultura crooner Max Cavalera and Twisted Sister's Dee Snider would ever wind up in bed together? Snider has a movie -- and a soundtrack -- called Strangeland, which is the excuse behind a tour featuring Cavalera's Soulfly, Snot (whose singer got busted for nudity at Great Woods this summer), hed(pe), and dayinthelife (who do a cover of Twisted Sister's "Street Justice"). It's at Lupo's on October 3 and at Avalon (262-2424) in Boston on the 5th.

-- CC