TALKING HEAD
Hammerin’ Hank Rollins, the former Black Flag singer turned poet, movie star, advertising pitchman, indie publisher, and journeyman metal maniac, has always prized quantity over quality: he’s a stone-cold jock with an ironclad work ethic and a penchant for pulverizing mediocrity. We were quite sure we’d had enough of him. Then he latched onto the West Memphis Three case and came up with his best idea in a decade: he sent his latest backing band into the studio with the keys to the Black Flag catalogue, an insane guest list (Iggy, Lemmy, Ice T, Chuck D, Slayer’s Tom Arraya, Queens of the Stone Age’s Nick Oliveri, Amen’s Casey Chaos, the Rancid dudes, Slipknot’s Corey Taylor, Mike Patton, At the Drive-In’s Cedric Bixler Zavala, a bunch of original Flag members), and his own bad self. The resulting benefit disc is one of the best tribute albums we’ve heard in years — we’re almost inclined to forgive Henry for his inanity on the Learning Channel’s demo-derby tournament "Full Metal Challenge." But don’t take our word for it; get it from the horse’s yapper when Rollins gets his big mouth in gear for another spoken-word tour and comes to Avalon, 15 Lansdowne Street, on February 4. It’s an 8 p.m., 18-plus show, and tickets are $18; call (617) 423-NEXT.
SWEDE DIVISION
The Swedish rock invasion continues into the new year with a return visit from the Division of Laura Lee, whose Epitaph debut, Black City, incorporates Fugazian blast-furnace punk, Ian Curtis–esque razorblade solipsism (DOLL frontman Per Stahlberg lost his dad to cancer and his brother to suicide), and good old-fashioned classic-rock anthemicism (courtesy of the Soundtrack of Our Lives’ Kalle Gustafsson, who produced). They’re at T.T. the Bear’s Place, 10 Brookline Street in Central Square, on January 18 with Philly deathpunks Burning Brides and Sub Pop garageniks the Catheters. Call (617) 492-BEAR.
Youth of the nation
Director Peter Sellars’s adaptation of the rarely performed (it’s received just six professional productions since its modern revival in 1781) Euripides tragedy The Children of Herakles updates the ancient tale — which follows the hero’s family as they’re evicted from their homeland on a search for sanctuary and asylum throughout the Greek world — as an allegory about the plight of our modern-day international refugee crisis. And to drive the point home, each performance will be accompanied by a host of pre-and post-show activities. Beforehand, a panel discussion moderated by newsie Christopher Lydon will include "an eminent policy maker, refugee expert, or scholar" as well as testimony from Boston-area refugees. The performances will be followed by "an informal gathering of the audience, cast, and refugee participants," with food from local immigrant restaurants. And there’ll also be film screenings each night for ticketholders. The Children of Herakles runs January 4 through 25 at the American Repertory Theatre, 64 Brattle Street in Harvard Square. Call (617) 547-8300.
SOUNDS OF TOMORROW
We’ll always have a soft spot for Roland Smart, the curator a couple of years back for Davis Square’s short-lived Gallery Bershad, if only for that space’s closing party: the band at said function was some prep-school outfit called the Strokes. Smart is now a visiting curator at the Boston Center for the Arts’ Mills Gallery, and his latest endeavor is once again music to our ears. "Boom Box: The Art of Sound," which opens January 17, collects the work of "forward-thinking Boston artists" working with multimedia and audio-producing media while also exploring how the emerging "sound artists" have influenced their visual-art counterparts. The installations range from pirate-radio broadcasts to computers that use real-time audience-monitoring equipment to generate music. And Smart is also curating two concerts, on February 7 and March 7; these will integrate live music and performance art as part of the exhibition. "Boom Box" runs though March 9, and the BCA is at 539 Tremont Street in the South End; call (617) 426-7700.
