E-Mail This Article to a Friend What's the score? Movie themes by the London Symphony Orchestra, plus Jake Simpson in Tommy and more

Hollywood hits

Here in Boston, we’re a bit spoiled when it comes to symphonic movie music, especially since the guy who wrote the big hits happens to be a franchise player with the Pops. But the London Symphony Orchestra is embarking on a tour that’ll bring high-end bells and whistles — planetarium-style laser lights and indoor fireworks — to the contemporary film-score canon. When conductor Dirk Brossé and the LSO hit the FleetCenter on September 16 to play "The Music of Hollywood," they’ll be performing plenty of cuts from homeboy John Williams’s music — including Star Wars, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Harry Potter, and E.T. — while the movie scenes they’re drawn from are shown on a really, really big screen. Also expect tunes from Star Trek, Titanic, Gone with the Wind, and many more. Tickets are $29 to $125; call (617) 931-2000.

Dude, where’s my career?

Jake Simpson — no relation to Jessica or Ashlee — is, for those of you (we dare say most of you) who haven’t been watching CBS lately, the winner of the Arsenio Hall version of Star Search. But without big-time American Idol–style star power behind him, his future isn’t filled with arena dates, movie offers, or even punch lines on VH1’s The Best Week Ever. No, after releasing an album on Sony last year, the poor kid is headed to Stoneham to play the title deaf, dumb, and blind pinball wizard in a regional-theater production of the Who’s classic Tommy, which opens at Stoneham Theatre on September 9. Will the book be altered to include his new A&M single "We’ll Know"? Stranger things have happened. See him, feel him, touch him, through October 3. That’s at 395 Main Street in Stoneham, and tickets are $32; call (781) 279-2200.

Third time’s a charm?

The first time we alerted you to the genius of the Scissor Sisters, their album was still awaiting release in this country, and their gig at T.T.’s got scrapped at the last minute because of visa problems. The last time we reminded you about ’em, they were opening for the B-52’s out in Brockton, which was probably too long a haul for most of you hipsters. So we’ll warn you one last time: they have a gig scheduled for September 9 at T.T.’s, tickets are flying out the door so quickly that they’re now available only at the club’s box office (Ticketmaster sold out its share), and the Sisters’ homonymous debut, a brilliant fusion of ’70s pop and disco modeled after Elton John and the Bee Gees, is finally catching on over here. (Ask nice and maybe they’ll play their Elton-ish cover of Franz Ferdinand’s "Take Me Out," which is currently burning up mp3 blogs everywhere.) That’s at 10 Brookline Street in Central Square; call (617) 492-BEAR.

Camper back on road

Fourteen years after retiring the Camper Van Beethoven moniker, enigmatic roots-rocker David Lowry has resurrected the group for a tour that hits the Middle East on October 16, by which time the punk/folk band’s first new album of the century, New Roman Times (Vanguard), will be on shelves. (CVB haven’t exactly been idle for all that time — Lowry has staged reunions to promote a couple of best-of discs, and he took both Camper and Cracker on a two-fer tour of Europe earlier this year.) Lowry was in town during the DNC last month with Cracker to play Patrick Kennedy’s bash, and New Roman Times won’t be helping the Republicans, either: it’s a rock opera that "loosely tells the story of a young juvenile delinquent from Texas who joins an elite military unit." The Middle East is at 480 Massachusetts Avenue in Central Square; call (617) 864-EAST.