Who’d be stupid or lonely enough to be out on tour this time of year? Well, good timing has never been the strong suit of Mindless Self Indulgence, the lethally inane potty-humored glam-metal stars whose major-label debut, Frankenstein Girls Will Seem Strangely Sexy (Elektra), consisted of 30 brutally offensive songs in alphabetical order — think 69 Love Songs for ADD-afflicted headbanging retards. More recently, the group’s members composed a 40-song, 30-minute "children’s album" under the name the Left Rights. (Sample song titles: "Metallica Doody," "Poo Out My Ass," "Darth Vader: Who Gives a Sith?") This time around, MSI are on tour with Atom & His Package, the keyboard-toting quirk-punk one-man band who’re out in support of the new Attention Blah Blah Blah (Hopeless), on which Atom makes like Andrew W.K. and indulges his latent speed-metal muse. Both groups are at Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel (401-272-5876) in Providence on Friday and at Pearl Street (413-584-0610) in Northampton on Saturday.

So is it too late to sneak in one more new-metal band before the garage-punk backlash wipes it out altogether? How about one that sounds like a cross between Jimmy Eat World and a Justin Timberlake–fronted Papa Roach? Warner Bros. signees Trapt are out behind their homonymous debut with gigs at Chantilly’s (603-621-0330) in Manchester tonight (December 19), at the Palladium (800-477-6849) in Worcester on Friday, and at the Edge (207-621-6387) in Augusta on Saturday.

In Boston, it’s accepted as gospel that all good musical things must come to an end — either that or they move to LA. The latter was true of indie-rock heroes Piebald, but they’re back home for Christmas and a Yuletide gig at the Andover Town Hall (978-623-8241) on Saturday with fellow Andover natives Apollo Sunshine — expect no cursing (their parents will all be in the house) and a holiday tune or three. On Sunday, Piebald head down to New London to play a benefit for the embattled El-N-Gee (860-437-3800); expect a semi-acoustic set.

Issue Date: December 19 - 26, 2002
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