SAT 9/4: Museums, Folk, Punk, Tango, Rock

After all of the hoopla, Earl wasn't much more than a big storm along Nantucket and the Cape. Ho-hum.

Here's to a good long weekend!

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SAT 9/4

Various Times
"Free Fun Fridays"
at Various Locations
FREE

If you're in any part of the Commonwealth, you're not too far from an institution that'll let you enjoy their exhibits for free today:

Edward Gorey House (Yarmouth Port)
Worcester Art Museum
USS Constitution Museum
Basketball Hall of Fame (Springfield)
American Textile History Museum (Lowell)
Discovery Museums (Acton)
Cape Cod Children's Museum
Berkshire Museum

Thanks, Highland Street Foundation! This is the kind of philanthropic organization I can get behind...

SAT 9/4 (thru MON 9/6)

Noon to Midnight-ish
Campfire Festival
at Club Passim, 47 Palmer St, Cambridge (Harvard Sq)
$10 per day / $25 all 4 days

Getting folky all weekend long.

It's a pretty long day of music, and there are some particularly good sections like Miss Tess and The White Ravens near the beginning (who are neither really that folky but are damn good) and it woudn't hurt to get there a couple hours before Mieka Pauley goes on for some loads of good folks.

Saturday Schedule:

Noon -- Americana Ensemble
12:45pm -- Miss Tess & The Bon Ton Parade
1:30pm -- The White Ravens
2:15pm -- Addie Brownlee, Myra Flynn, Hayley Reardon, Brad Yoder
3:45pm -- The Olympic Symphonium
4:30pm -- Rebecca Correia, Lydia Warren, Adrien Reju, Sarah Rabdau
6pm -- Eric McDonald & Rebecca Wudarski, Jordan Tice, Courtney Hartman, Kellen Zakula
7:30pm -- We're About 9
8:15pm -- Jennah Bell, Julia Easterlin, Rose Polenzani, Bearkat
10pm -- Pesky J. Nixon
10:45pm -- Chris O'Brien, Robby Hecht, Mieka Pauley, Jason Myles Goss

I assume you can come and go as you please. Pretend you're taking a 'smoke break'...

SAT 9/4

1:30pm
Blanks '77, Blood Stained Brindle, Ashers, Side Effects, The Spats
at Middle East - Upstairs, 472 Mass Ave, Cambridge (Central Sq)
$10 / All Ages

This "punk matinee" should have the young folks thrashing about the room, so go if you can handle it. Besides Blanks '77 from NJ, it's your full-on Boston punk show. I might even say that Side Effects is my favorite band before I remembered that one of the guys is in the Dropkick Murphys, but they're a bunch of idiots who have let people f--- up their MySpace for 2 weeks with comments that play videos. Someone let them know about it, please!

SAT 9/4

7:30pm to 11pm
Tango By Moonlight
at Weeks Memorial Footbridge, Memorial Dr & DeWolfe St, Harvard Sq
FREE

Does it look like a hurricane passed through? It's another sunny summer day!

I don't know why they didn't schedule the session to the full moon as in previous years, but it's still a nice way to spend a little bit of your evening. Get there early for a demonstration/lesson. It doesn't hurt to get a basic idea of the correct steps, but no one criticizes your dancing.

Bring a partner or find one there -- I've done it both ways and enjoyed myself. Make it a part of tonight's date, and you should look like a star. October's session will be the last of the year, and do you think it'll be as nice as tonight?

SAT 9/4

9:30pm
Suit of Hair, Drew & the Medicinal Pen, The Sunsets Quick, Nervous
at PA's Lounge, 345 Somerville Ave, Somerville (Union Sq)
$7 / 18+

I dig Suit of Hair whenever I listen to their quirky, poppy, fuzzy rock. Drew & The Medicinal Pen reminds us that people are making delightfully modest yet peculiar in all corners of Brooklyn, and someone always will.

The Sunsets Quick probably changed their name from "Drugs Delaney" because they were concerned about Google search results, but the new name doesn't have the same punch even though they still make fresh, straightforward indie-rock. Then there's a band called Nervous who could be the faves of noise-pop lovers except you can't find them without a link.

SAT 9/4 (and SUN 9/5)

Various Times
Gloucester Schooner Festival
around Gloucester Harbor
FREE

Saturday -- 10am to 10pm
Sunday -- 10:30am to 10pm

I like Gloucester, and I like watching ships sail.

There's a fireworks display over the harbor on Saturday around 9:15pm after the "Boat Parade of Lights" beginning at 7:30pm.