Roadtrips

By now, just about everybody knows what his name is. Whether you call him Marshall Mathers or Slim Shady or just plain' ol Eminem -- or if you call him every name in the book, as is getting popular -- the kid from Detroit's got household-recognition status from South Central to Great Neck. Having sold out the Middle East downstairs on short notice a little over a month ago, the most lauded white MC of the decade, the most "offensive" rapper this month, and the toast of the moment hits the Palladium (508-797-9696) in Worcester on Wednesday April 14 with the answer to a long-held whatever-happened-to, the Beatnuts. Also check the Palladium on April 16 for buck-wild hip-hop walking like a man, Busta Rhymes, playing a make-up date rescheduled from March.

If Marilyn Manson keeps up at his current pace, even he won't be on the bill by the time the tour makes its way to the Worcester Centrum (331-2211) this Friday, April 9. The tour was originally slated to include Manson, Hole, and Monster Magnet, though Courtney Love negotiated one of her faves, Imperial Teen, to substitute for Monster Magnet on half the tour's stops. After Love left in a huff, Manson canned the Teens and reinstated Monster Magnet, adding fire-breathing motörpunks Nashville Pussy as the opener. Now Monster Magnet have left the tour as well. So Manson and Pussy it is . . . for the moment.

Indie cult folk diva Ani DiFranco visits her adoring masses for shows at the Mullins Center at UMass-Amherst (331-2211) on April 9, the Providence Concert Hall (331-2211) -- a subdivision of the Providence Civic Center -- in Rhode Island on April 10, and at Whittimore Arena (603-868-7300) in Durham, New Hampshire, on April 13 before playing two sold-out shows at the University of Maine on April 16 and the State Theater in Portland on April 17. And the one-time folkie who's become the most beloved jazz vocalist of the decade, Cassandra Wilson, plays a couple of New England dates supporting her tribute to Miles Davis, Traveling Miles (Blue Note). She'll travel a few more between Symphony Hall (617-266-1200) in Boston on April 15 and the Calvin Theatre (413-586-8686) in Northampton on April 16.
-- CC