Roadtrips

By now even the embalmed-looking anchors on the local news know they're supposed to smile brightly every time the words "Latin" and "music" appear together in the same sentence on their teleprompters. A south-of-the-border craze that's been simmering even in the rock underground (where every indie kid worth his mettle now drops Tom Zé's name) has finally erupted, even if Ricky Martin's "Livin' La Vida Loca" is more like "La Isla Bonita" than "La Bamba." Back, oh, last year, when the phrase rock en español started to percolate toward the tongues of rock critics, one of the acts it got test-driven on was Bloque, a Colombian outfit signed to David Byrne's Luaka Bop label who were given to anti-pop declarations ("Our music fills the immense black hole that was created by the media revolution in the '60s, when Colombian people forgot to create their own modern music while they were busy trying to learn how to dance to the sound of the fucking Beach Boys") as well as to spirited romps through salsa, jazz, and rock. Their versatility will get a workout this week. They hit the Iron Horse (413-584-0610) in Northampton this Thursday, June 3, with local mambo-punks Babaloo opening. On Friday the 4th they're at Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel (401-272-5876) in Providence opening for Los Lobos. And they're headlining one of the rock stages at the free, outdoor Central Square World's Fair (617-868-FAIR) in Cambridge on June 6.

Shortly after tickets went on sale for Rammstein's June 5 gig at the Palladium (508-797-9696) in Worcester, ads began running on the radio in which a monster-truck announcer encouraged listeners to check out, and we quote, "THE SCARIEST BAND IN THE WORLD." Now, even after the revelation that those trenchcoat-clad killers in Colorado built their pyro to the tune of "Du Hast," we still find 16-year-old pop stars with boob jobs way scarier than paleface industro-metal artfags setting off firecrackers. From the band who helped the shooters get their groove on, we move to Shootyz Groove, whose new hip-hop-centric disc, High Definition (Reprise), might do for them what Limp Bizkit's Three Dollar Bill, Y'All did for those jokers. After years of circling through New England suburban joints, the NYC combo play a record-release gig at Lupo's on June 5. Speaking of rap metal: local suburban white teens Reveille are at some joint called C.R. Goody's (978-345-4477) in Fitchburg on June 10. And speaking of jokers: you can catch major-label recording artist Jesse Camp signing and goofing at the Newbury Comics in Braintree (781-356-8285) at around 2 p.m. on June 5.

Squirrel Nut Zippers singer Katherine Whalen is touring with her Jazz Squad in what's shaping up to be a Zippers tour in almost everything but name. A couple of Zippers are along for the ride, though Whalen's promising more faithfully jazzy standards from the '20s and '30s. Given her pretty remarkable vocal resemblance to Billie Holiday, it ought to make for a treat even for those wacko nay-sayers who find the Zippers, y'know, not conservative enough. Catch Whalen and Squad along with one of New Orleans's finest exports, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, at the Middle East (617-864-EAST) in Cambridge on June 5, and at the Iron Horse on June 7.

Quickly: deadpan comic Steven Wright makes his only local appearance at the Calvin Theatre (413-586-8686) in Northampton on June 5; ditto for former Maniac Natalie Merchant at the Tweeter Center (617-331-2211) in Mansfield on June 4. And Jamaican legend Gregory "The Cool Ruler" Isaacs returns to the House of Blues' "Reggae Greats" series in Cambridge (617-491-BLUE) for two shows on June 9 and 10 before heading on to Pearl Street (413-584-0610) in Northampton on the 11th.
-- CC