Paul Gauguin, D'où venons-nous? Que sommes-nous? Où allons-nous? ('Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?'), at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Boston Music Awards/NEMO

You can imagine, if you like, an "Under New Management!" banner hanging under the Boston Music Awards marquee this year, as the event — along with the two-day NEMO Showcase and Conference — has been bought up lock, stock, and barrel by a pair of sports-management bigwigs, though founder Candace Avery is still on board as a consultant. This year’s BMA ceremony — which is set for next Thursday, September 4 — moves back to the Wang Theatre after a stint at the Orpheum, but otherwise both the Awards and NEMO look much the way they did last year. So far the performers announced for the show don’t quite measure up to the last couple of years, when chart-topping groups like Godsmack and American Hi-Fi took the stage, but the organizers still have a few more announcements to make, so that could change. Godsmack are back this year, but only as award presenters; other presenters include Gary Cherone and Celtics dude Walter McCarty. Among those confirmed to perform are Rumble winners the Dresden Dolls, Boston hip-hop godfather Ed OG, bluesman James Montgomery with guitarist Johnny A. sitting in, alterna-pop dudes Rubyhorse, and the Blue Man Group touring outfit with guest Tracey Bonham. There’s also a "Taylor Family Tribute" featuring appearances by Livingston, Ben, and Kate — though no James, which strikes us as akin to throwing a Jacksons reunion without Michael. The Wang is at 270 Tremont Street in the Theater District, and tickets are $28 to $100; call (800) 447-7400.

On the following two nights, NEMO takes over clubland for a weekend bash including some 200 bands from here and abroad playing at 22 venues, with a two-day-long program of panels and workshops featuring industry pros and local scenesters running at the Hyatt Regency. There will also be free gigs at the Hyatt on Friday and Saturday afternoons from noon to 4. For panel schedules and festival-pass information, visit www.nemoboston.com.

What follows is the most up-to-date schedule for the music, with headliners given first and openers last. Most gigs start at 9:30 p.m.; call ahead to make sure. For club addresses and phone numbers, see our Clubs Directory, on page 11.

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 5

Bill’s Bar (Boston): The Good North, Washington Social Club, Aberdeen City, Elgin James & the Suicide Gang, the Cignal.

Club Passim (Cambridge): Matt Haimovitz, Karaugh Brown, Yael Naim, Amy Fairchild.

Copperfields (Boston): Eden Row, Cube, Rainshine, Lost Pilot, Strain Busy Sky, Central Basement. In the Basement: T House of the Almighty, True, IIJ, LP, Add, SED.

Hard Rock CafŽ (Boston): Blind by Noon, Strawman, Munk, Vic Thrill, Rubicon.

Harpers Ferry (Allston): Superhoney, Urban Funk Ordinance, Soul of John Black, Francis Jockey, Elevation 74, Nine Mile, Parker House and Theory.

House of Blues (Cambridge): Al and the Trans Americans, Stymie, Seks Bomba, Keith Dunn, Nicole Nelson Band.

Kendall CafŽ (Cambridge): Deb Pasternak, Emergency Music, Devon Sproul, the Splendid Nobodies, the Stairs, the Heygoods.

Lizard Lounge (Cambridge): Ad Frank, Miranda Sound, Blankface, Loretta, Lanky.

Linwood (Boston): The Irresponsibles, By Divine Right, the Suggestions, Paranoid Social Club, Rocket Science.

Middle East (Cambridge): Upstairs: Officer May, Quickfix, the Remedey Session, Favorite Atomic Hero, Lipfloater. Downstairs: Babystrange, the Pieces, Mappari, Scout, Mrs. Children, Elcodrive. Corner: Sali Oyugi, Pharaoh’s Daughter, Romero.

Paradise (Boston): Superdrag, Pilot to Gunner, Jetpak, Hero Pattern.

Paradise Lounge (Boston): Bleu, Dresden Dolls, Paul Brill, Dave Aranoff.

Ryles Jazz Club (Cambridge): Lovewhip, Kusun Ensemble, Pieces of East, Mamadou, Robin McElhatten.

Toad (Cambridge): Three Day Threshold, the Flapjacks, Damnwells, the Myrtles, the Pearl.

T.T. the Bear’s Place (Cambridge): Consonant, Read Yellow, the Love Scene, Damn Personals, Killit.

ZuZu (Cambridge): Grubstake, Matt Keating, Cory Branan, Rob Gonzalez.

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 6

Bill’s Bar (Boston): Gargantua Soul, the Buzzhorn, 6gig, Slitheryn, No December.

Hard Rock CafŽ (Boston): Rueben, the Dead Abigails, Bachelor Red, De Nova Dahl, the High Ceilings.

House of Blues (Cambridge): Glenn Tillbrook, Jill Sobule, Angie Aparo.

Kendall CafŽ (Cambridge): Carla Ryder, Reed Waddle, Flynn, Jettatura, Lucid, Beth Boucher.

Lizard Lounge (Cambridge): The Mobius Band, the Brunettes, Emm Gryner, the Brilliant Mistakes, Inflight Safety, Bowman.

Linwood (Boston): Fooled By April, Digby, Shelby, Gordo Gringo, the Deafening.

Middle East (Cambridge): Upstairs: 7L & Esoteric, Psyche Origami, D-Tension, Jenae Raquel, Kabir, OVM, the Foundation, Crisis Center, III Kings. Downstairs: Kingsize, Val Emmich, Car Crash Show, Foursided Letter, Alphatide, American Girls Club. Corner: Alan Dobb, Ashleigh Flynn, the Macvitties.

Paradise (Boston): Averi, All the Queen’s Men, Conshafter, Homesick for Space.

Paradise Lounge (Boston): Chauncey, the Broken Hips, Annette Farrington, the Method and Result, Tom Glynn.

Ryles Jazz Club (Cambridge): CK5, Steve Kirby, Rasinhill, Vadim Neselovskyi, Mamiko Watabe.

Toad (Cambridge): Jabe, Grace Hearn & Michael Savage, Boris McCutcheon, Becky Chase, Jess Tardy.

T.T. the Bear’s Place (Cambridge): Loveless, Oh, Ranger!, Francine, Johnny Society, Senor Happy.

ZuZu (Cambridge): Mieka Pauley, John O’Brien, Emma Wall, David Berkley.

Fleet sponsors "Gauguin — Tahiti"

The Museum of Fine Arts has announced that FleetBoston Financial will be the sponsor of this season’s MFA blockbuster, "Gauguin – Tahiti," which will be up from February 29 through June 20. That’s no surprise, since Fleet sponsored the two most recent Impressionist-era MFA extravaganzas, "Monet in the 20th Century" in 1998 and "Van Gogh: Face to Face" in 2000. This show, which has been organized by the MFA with the RŽunion des MusŽes Nationaux and the MusŽe d’Orsay to mark the centenary of Paul Gauguin’s death, will include more than 150 works — paintings, carved wood sculptures, objects of decorative art, drawings, prints, and illustrated manuscripts — that he created between 1891 and 1903. It will open at the Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais in Paris on October 3 and continue there through January 19 before coming to the MFA, which will be its only American stop.

No such show would, of course, be complete without the MFA’s own D’o venons-nous? Que sommes-nous? O allons-nous? ("Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?"), which Gauguin painted in 1897-’98. Which means that painting will be going to off to Paris, and it’s already been taken down in preparation for the trip, so no opportunity to get a last look. Tant pis — its return will be that much more welcome.

The usual blockbuster rules will apply for admission to "Gauguin – Tahiti" — that is, you’ll need a ticket for a specific date and time of entry. The price is $22 for adults; $20 for senior citizens and students ($5 for members of the MFA’s University Membership Program on weekdays after noon); and $7.50 for children ages seven to 17. Children age six and under get in free. That includes general museum admission and a repeat visit to the museum within 30 days. You should also remember that "Rembrandt’s Journey" is coming up in October (see "Future Perfect"), and that if you’re planning to go to both shows (and why wouldn’t you be?), you might as well become an MFA member and get complimentary tickets. Gauguin will be available in January. For general MFA information, visit www.mfa.org or call (617) 267-9300.

Weather report

Back in the August 8 Boston Phoenix, in his "Film Culture" column, Gerry Peary wrote that the cast of the documentary What I Want My Words To Do to You includes "former Weather Underground members Kathy Boudin and Judy Clark, who continue to contemplate their murderous activities as fiery youths militantly protesting the Vietnam War. Today, Boudin and Clark seem the most peaceful and pacifist of women; it’s clear that they’re rehabilitated. Not that they will be let out. Boudin says, ‘I’ve been in prison for 20 years. I don’t look at this as unreal. We’re just as real as the outside. This is our life.’ "

Well, as of October 1, it won’t be Boudin’s — Gerry’s gloomy prediction notwithstanding, she’s been granted parole. And this past week, she’s been part of not just one but two documentaries (which may have influenced the parole board) playing in town. What I Want My Words To Do to You follows Eve Ensler as she leads a writing workshop at the maximum-security Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women, where Boudin is incarcerated. The Weather Underground tells the story of the title radical organization of the late ’60s and early ’70s; Boudin does not appear in this film, but David Gilbert, with whom she had a child, does; both were convicted of taking part in an attempted robbery that left three persons dead, and he remains in jail.

What I Want My Words To Do to You has been running in the Coolidge Corner Theatre’s screening room; check our "Film Listings" page, on page 24 of Arts, to see whether it’s still there. The Weather Underground will be playing at the Brattle through next Thursday, September 4; times are 3:30, 5:30, 7:30, and 9:30 p.m., with 1:30 p.m. shows on Saturday and Sunday.

"Alternative Spaces"

In Boston, residents and visitors do not want for guided tours. By land or by river (in the case of those quacking duck tours), witty and knowledgeable guides will lead you all over the city, telling you everything you ever wanted to know about the Freedom Trail and Paul Revere’s ride, musty churches, tea parties, the battle of Bunker Hill, Boston’s ghosts and graveyards, and much much more.

But that’s ancient history. Now the Art Interactive Gallery, which is located in Cambridge, has designed a guided tour with a contemporary and an artistic bent. Next Sunday, September 7, Art Interactive launches "Alternative Spaces," a monthly guided tour around the "lesser-known art spaces" of Boston and Cambridge. Emanuel Lewin, the director of Art Interactive, and Robyn Whittington will lead the first tour, which will take visitors through Art Interactive itself, MIT’s List Visual Arts Center, and the Boston Center for the Art’s Mills Gallery, in the South End.

"Alternative Spaces" will take place on the first Sunday of the month. Tours will leave at noon from the Art Interactive Gallery, 130 Bishop Allen Drive in Cambridge; they will last approximately four hours, and the cost will be $15, which includes public transportation and some refreshments. For more information, call (617) 498-0100.