Roadtrips

Hey, we like Bob Dylan just as much as the next lopheaded freak, right on up to Time Out of Mind. But lately we're starting to wonder about the crowd he's hanging with. First there was his cameo on Dharma & Greg. C'mon -- 30 years of reclusiveness and the guy comes out of his shell for these retards? And now he shows up on tour with that dreaded specter of post-Grateful death, Phil Lesh. And friends. Wooga. Choke us with an ankh, but we'll wait for the VH1 special. They're at the Worcester Centrum (401-331-2211) on November 14.

A lack of fiber has left plenty of other folk stuck in the pipeline. Richard Thompson is at the Orpheum Theatre (401-331-2211) on November 16 with Lucinda Williams; he's also hitting the Calvin Theatre (413-586-8686) in Northampton on November 18 and Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel (401-272-5876) in Providence on November 19. In a similar vein, Boston's re-formed folk-pop trio Knots and Crosses are at the Iron Horse (413-584-0610) in Northampton on November 11 and at the Somerville Theatre (401-331-2211) on November 12. A critics' darling and poster boy for the '90s singer-songwriter, Freedy Johnston is gravitating away from pop hipness and toward middle-of-the-road coffeehouse fans, who might actually care long enough to support him for the next couple of decades. After a couple of dates at Cambridge's Club Passim last week, he makes his way to the Iron Horse on November 14.

In a last-minute addition, the yang to Lauren Hill's yin, Wyclef Jean, brings his Refugee Allstars to the Lowell Memorial Auditorium (401-331-2211) tonight, November 11. Indie hip-hop avatars the Arsonists -- now recording for the indie-rock label Matador, of all places -- headline an all-ages gig at the Ocean Mist (401-782-3740) in Matunuck, Rhode Island, on November 12. Also on the bill are Providence's Clockworx, who are gearing up for the latest Lyricist Lounge tour later this month. And just so that for once in their lives someone actually mentions their name in the same paragraph with an actual hip-hop artist, Midwestern ragamuffin cheesecakes 311 ("Come Original") are at Lupo's on November 12, and at the Palladium (508-797-9696) in Worcester on November 13.

Halloween comes late to Providence as Lupo's hosts psychedelica-minded goth-metal hammers Type O Negative on November 13 -- those in the northern provinces can also catch Type O at the Asylum (207-772-8274) in Portland, Maine, tonight, November 11 -- and the only New England stop of Glenn Danzig's Samhain reunion tour on November 16. Glenn will also do a set with the band who bear his name, and Hatebreed open up the show. We've long been sick of NYC hardcore clowns Sick of It All, but this time around they're bringing Florida's ever-tuneful Hot Water Music with them, so maybe we'll show up at the Karma Club (617-421-9595) in Boston on the afternoon of November 14. The bill also includes Indecision and IFA, and it's repeated at Portland's Asylum on November 16. Last, and not least, teenage pin-up punks Blink-182 and Aussie grunge brats Silverchair turn Tsongas Arena (401-331-2211) in Lowell into a rock-and-roll romper room on November 12.
-- Carly Carioli