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The Big Ticket

Natti Lovejoys
Atlanta's favorite reggae band. May 29, 10 p.m. Preservation Pub. Free.

USAISAMONSTER w/ 7 Year Rabbit Cycle
Psychedelic-punk-anarchic-protest music. May 29, 10 p.m. Pilot Light. $5.

Crazy Train
A tribute to the grandaddy of heavy metal. May 30, 9 p.m. Blue Cats. $8/$6 w/ college ID.

Nancy Brennan Strange & Friends
Benefit concert for the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance. May 30, 8 p.m. Laurel Theater. $15.

Solid Earth, Lemon Drop Kid, Codasleuth, CAS, the Weekends
Hip hop and electronica. May 30, 9 p.m. Ivey's. $5. 18+.

Nan Citty and Blues Voice
Six-piece local blues outfit. May 30, 9:30 p.m. Sassy Ann's. $4.

Fiesta Ritmo de Latino America
Dance to the Orquesta Fuego. May 30, 10 p.m. Fairbanks. $10.

Comedy Cruise
LA comedian Kirk Noland headlines the event on the Tennessee Riverboat. May 30, 10:30 pm. Call for info, 1-800-509-2628.

Adventure Con
Hundreds of tables with antique toys, comics, dolls, and other collectibles. Plus, celebrity guests. May 31, 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m.; June 1, 10 a.m.-4p.m. K'ville I-75 Expo Ctr. $5 per person.

Chick Graning w/ Agent Zarkov
Knoxville native and former Scarce frontman with local boys. May 31, 10 p.m. Pilot Light. $5.

Alexia
Middle Eastern belly dancing and music. May 31, 8:30 p.m. Fairbanks.

The Loners w/ the Greatest Hits
Power punk rock. June 3, 10 p.m. Pilot Light. $5.

Quantum
Jazz electronica. June 4, 8 p.m. 4620. $3

Battery
A tribute to Metallica, the band whose music is forcing captured Iraqi officials to talk. June 6, 9 p.m. Blue Cats. $8/$6 w/ college ID.

Pleuroma
Tool-ish prog rockers. June 6, 10 p.m. Patrick Sullivan's. $5. 18+.

Bigger Than Dallas
Alt country. June 6, 8 p.m. New City Cafe.

The Apes
Hard and loud and from D.C. June 7, 10 p.m. Pilot Light. $5.

Cave Catt Sammy
Rockabilly from San Antonio. June 7, 10 p.m. Barley's.

Lanterna
With some belly shakin' dancers. June 8, 10 p.m. Pilot Light. $5.

Festival Americana Benefit for Steps House Veterans Program

The Steps House Homeless Veterans Program has a funding problem, thanks to cuts in the Veterans Administration's budget. A program that provides a home to vets along with aid in dealing with homelessness, addiction to drugs and/or alcohol, and legal issues, the Steps House is an important resource for vets who may have nowhere else to turn. So J.P. Stratson Productions has decided, in best Mickey Rooney/Judy Garland tradition, to put on a show to raise funds for the program.

To pitch in, they've rustled up a few of their friends—including musical acts the Kim Baxter Band, R.B. Morris, Hector Qirko, Todd Steed, Jodie Manross Band, LB1 featuring Larry Blair from Blair Brothers, RMS, The Dixie Werewolves, New Generation, Leslie Woods, Gary Memelo, Michael Crawley and the Macdaddies, the Tim Lee Band, Louise Mosrie, Just In Time (pictured), the Razell Brothers, Perfect Orange, Edens Way, and other entertainers, like comedy improv group Einstein Simplified, Tom Vorjohan's comedy and magic, the Michael Messing Magic Show, and the Comedy Barn Theatre and Dog Show. Plus, there will be clowns, juggling, a dunking booth, players (and dancers) from the Tennessee Riverhawks, arts, crafts, and who knows what all. Rolling Thunder will get the festivities started at 10 a.m.

It doesn't get much better than this, great entertainment in the name of a most worthy cause. All for the low, low ticket price of $14—and only $20 if you purchase two. So Saturday, plan to motorvate to City Streetz Skate Park in West Knoxville and get your fill of good times and good intentions. (Scott McNutt)

FESTIVAL AMERICANA BENEFIT FOR STEPS HOUSE VETERANS PROGRAM * SATURDAY, MAY 31, 10 A.M.-11 P.M. * CITY STREETZ SKATE PARK * 8530 KINGSTON PIKE * TICKETS $14, $20 FOR TWO, AVAILABLE AT JIM COGDILL DODGE, RIKS MUSIC GUITARS AND SOUND, RIKS MUSIC GARDEN, DISC EXCHANGE, AND AT ANY OF THE STEPS HOUSE, INC. OFFICES. CALL 386-3286 FOR MORE INFO.

Pump Boys & Dinettes

Musicals make my skin crawl. I've never been fond of any of the greats of the modern American theatre like Oklahoma or Show Boat or Phantom of the Opera. I hated Rent and Les Miserables. Chicago I can tolerate, but that's because Fosse's choreography is such a wonder. Given my distaste for all things related to doing a big song-and-dance whenever the action lulls, I am perpetually amazed by my love of Pump Boys and Dinettes, a little tiny musical about a gas station/coffee shop deep in the heart of backwoods Georgia. My toes can't help but tap. My spirits invariably lift. And my hands enthusiastically clap. I can't explain it either, but it is good stuff. (Adrienne Martini)

PUMP BOYS AND DINETTES * CLARENCE BROWN THEATRE * MAY 30-JUNE 14 * $5-$23 * CALL 974-5161 FOR EXACT DATES AND TIMES

Cobra Verde

It's hard not to like an album that opens with a song like "Riot Industry," where lead singer John Petkovic sings "we gave up politics took up sexology/ an orgy, another kiss/ the blowjob of liberty." Who says that there are no longer any great anti-war songs? Based in Cleveland, Ohio, Cobra Verde has been plugging away at its unique blend of "glam-punk" for about a decade now and were briefly absorbed into Guided by Voices, a union that didn't work out too well. Petkovic is becoming somewhat of an avatar for glam rock. Listening to the band's latest LP, Easy Listening (which features J. Mascis), it's easy to see why. Cobra Verde—like every other rock band getting any buzz these days—borrows so heavily from the '70s punk and rock scenes (they even have a song called "Modified Frankenstein"). But like any of those other past-looking musicians worth writing about, Petkovic puts his personal twist on it. These songs might sound familiar, but they could have only been made in the 21st century. (Joe Tarr)

COBRA VERDE WITH THE HIGH SCORE * FRIDAY, MAY 30, 9 P.M. * THE PILOT LIGHT * $8