E-Mail This Article to a Friend Truth to power Tom Morello headlines the "Tell Us the Truth" tour, the Concert for a Landmine Free World returns, and more

Truth to Power I

Tom Morello is raging against the machine again — no, he hasn’t reteamed with Zack de la Rocha, and Audioslave haven’t gone political. This time, Harvard poly-sci major Morello has gone solo — calling himself the Nightwatchman, he’s heading up the "Tell Us the Truth Tour," for which he’s teaming with righteous folkies Billy Bragg, Steve Earle, and Lester Chambers in an effort to "raise awareness on current media reform and trade issues." The tour’s sponsors include a traditional lefty alliance (AFL-CIO, Common Cause, the Future of Music Coalition), and they’re promising an evening of "the loudest, angriest, funniest, and most effective challenge to corporate domination of the public discourse in recent history." The tour hits the Berklee Performance Center, 136 Massachusetts Avenue in Boston, November 23. Tickets are $29.50 and $35; call (617) 931-2000.

Truth to Power II

Steve Earle’s pal Emmylou Harris launched the Concerts for a Landmine Free World back in 1998 (Steve and Emmylou played one together at Johnny D’s back in 2000), addressing an international issue that was also near and dear to Princess Di’s heart. Under the auspices of the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation, the shows have raised awareness about the civilian costs of war that linger long after the cessation of hostilities — the damn unexploded landmines have a nasty habit of eventually going off — and have also funded health clinics in Cambodia, Vietnam, and Kosovo. This year’s Concert for a Landmine Free World at Sanders Theatre, 45 Quincy Street in Harvard Square, takes place on November 12, with Nanci Griffith, Julie Gold, Maura and Pete Kennedy, and Le Ann Etheridge. It’s a 7:30 p.m. show, and tickets are $42.50 and $52.50; call (617) 496-2222.

Ten spot

When you were in the market for a fancy dildo, when you wanted to learn the ropes of stripping and the ins and outs of anal intercourse, when you had a hankering for some well-written smut, the upscale Brookline sex shop Grand Opening! was your best pal. Ten years into an exemplary career, GO celebrates with a steamy soiree at the Boston Center for the Arts’ Cyclorama, 539 Tremont Street in the South End, on November 9 from 3 to 7 p.m. Among the guests will be porn legend (and some-time Borscht Belt comic) Ron Jeremy, the slinky fetish diva Midori, and local wigstockish rockers All the King’s Men. It’s 18-plus, and tickets are $10; call (617) 731-2626.

Black and gold Blackout

Visitors to Dropkick Murphys’ Web site last week were greeted with a simple black screen proclaiming "Go Sox!" — which proves that Boston’s biggest punk band are equal-opportunity home-town boosters. The Murphys are better known as the rowdiest season-ticket holders the Bruins have ever had — their Black & Gold anthem, "Time To Go," appears on their recent Blackout (Epitaph) — and for the Bruins’ home game against the Vancouver Canucks on November 15, there’s a bit of a bonus track: the Murphys will play immediately following the game, thereby joining the ranks of Aerosmith as FleetCenter headliners. A ticket to the game gets you into the concert; call (617) 624-BEAR.