*ZOX returns to Toad’s Place in New Haven tonight. The guys, along with Vertigo and Fistful of Steel, will be opening for the Sublime tribute band Badfish.

Tickets are $12 at the door, and the show is open to all ages.

Tomorrow night Toad’s Place will be hosting a tsunami benefit concert coordinated by The Connecticut Blues Society. This is going to be an early show, and doors will open at 4 pm. This is also an all-ages event, and admission is a suggested donation of $10.

Featured performers will include DEBBY DAVIES, ROXY PERRY and MARK NAFTALIN. There will be an All-Star Harmonica Jam, “and more,” promises the website for Toad’s.

The weekend will wrap with an appearance by the comedy trio STELLA – Michael Ian Black, Michael Showalter and David Wain, three of the comedians from MTV’s former show The State. The show has long since disappeared, but these three continue to tour occasionally and will offer their bizarre comedy on Sunday at 9 pm. Open to all ages, this show’s tickets are $15 in advance or $17 at the door.

Eugene Mirman will handle the opening set.

*HAT CITY BLUES BAND will be back on the road this weekend, playing Saturday night at The Lodge in Southbury (1455 Southford Road/Route 188; telephone 267-6974).

Upcoming shows include February 25 at Redding Roadhouse and then March 5 again at The Lodge.

*A trio of bands will be performing next weekend at The Garage – Newtown’s teen center on Church Hill Road – in a concert where their proceeds will be used to help victims of the December 26 tsunamis in southeast Asia.

Kel Bowers is the musician behind this event. The Newtown resident is a member of the alt-rock band SALANUM, one of the bands that will be performing on Friday, January 28. Also scheduled to play that night are THERE GOES BILL and KAMIKAZE PILOTS, two ska bands.

Admission will be just $5, and the event will run from 7 to 11 pm.

Contact Kel at 270-3555 or KelDrumz@aol.com for additional information.

*The Ridgefield Playhouse continues to make news with its line-up of performances for all ages and likes.

DR JOHN will be at the playhouse on Thursday, March 10, for an 8 pm show. The David Morgan Trio will open. Tickets are $60 and $65.

Ridgefield resident and former Connecticut State Troubadour Kevin Briody will be opening for recent Songwriter’s Hall of Fame inductee DON McLEAN when he plays the playhouse on Saturday, April 9. Tickets for that evening range from $68 to $80.

Anyone with tickets for the original BOB WEIR & RATDOG show at the playhouse is still in luck. Those tickets will be honored when the rescheduled show takes place on April 25.

Anyone else, you’re out of luck now – the show has sold out.

RICHIE HAVENS will headline, with special guest Morely, on Thursday, May 26. Tickets for that show are $50 and $55.

AL DI MEOLA will open the music calendar in June, with a show on Saturday the 4th (tickets are $50 and $60), and then THE DEREK TRUCKS BAND will return to the playhouse on June 21 ($35 and $45). In August GEORGE THOROGOOD will make what I believe is his debut performance at the playhouse on August 4; tickets are $75 and $85. These shows all start at 8 pm.

*One of the greatest (and arguably most recognizable) rock voices of all time, JOE COCKER will take the stage at Stamford’s Palace Theatre for the first time ever on Friday, February 11. Showtime is 8 pm, and his opener will be Eugen Grove.

Tickets range from $27 to $67, and are available by calling Telecharge at 800-233-3123 or online at www.telecharge.com or www.OnlyAtSCA.com.

Tickets can also be purchased in person at the Palace’s box office, located at 61 Atlantic Street in Stamford, weekdays between noon and 5 pm. Until next week I’ll be seeing you… on the road.

Questions and comments should be sent to Shannon Hicks c/o The Newtown Bee, 5 Church Hill Road, Newtown, CT 06470, or shannon@thebee.com, or call the office at 426-3141.

Shows listed at club locations are for ages 21 and over unless specified.

UPCOMING CONCERTS

JANUARY 21 — Eight To The Bar at Black-Eyed Sally’s BBQ & Blues Café, Hartford; New Edition at Foxwoods Casino’s Fox Theatre, Ledyard; Badfish at Toad’s Place, New Haven, Zox and Vertigo opening (all ages); Chuck Negron at Mohegan Sun’s Wolf Den; Charlotte Kendrick, then Matt Rae Trio at The Acoustic Café, Bridgeport;

January 22 — Gregg Allman & Friends at Mohegan Sun’s Wolf Den; Hat City Blues Band at The Lodge, Southbury; Kick at Tuxedo Junction; George Boone Blues Band at Black-Eyed Sally’s; Tsunami Benefit Concert at Toad’s Place featuring Debby Davies, Roxy Perry, Mark Naftalin, et al (sponsored by CT Blues Society, open to all ages); Dylan Connor at Acoustic Café, with special guests Todd Martin and Sam Bisbee; John Hammond at The Ridgefield Playhouse, Party Boss opening; Johnny A. at Towne Crier Café, Pawling, N.Y.;

January 23 — Stella at Toad’s Place, Eugene Mirman opening (all ages); The Toasters at The Webster Theatre, featuring Supervillians, Three Years Accident Free, et al (all ages);

January 25 — Hilary Duff at The Arena at Harbor Yard, Bridgeport;

January 26 — open jam at The Acoustic Café hosted by The Darian Cunning Band;

January 27 — D. Smith Blues Band at Black-Eyed Sally’s; local rock showcase at Toad’s Place featuring Our Finest Hour, The Matt Hudobanko Project, Pthalo and Code Y Fog (all ages);

January 28 — Tsunami Benefit Concert at The Garage, Newtown, featuring Salanum, There Goes Bill and Kamikaze Pilots; The Nerds at Toad’s Place, Sick Ticket and Sector 7G opening; The Jazz Mandolin Project at The Webster Theatre; Lucy Bonilla at Black-Eyed Sally’s; The Alternate Routes at Acoustic Café, with special guests Todd Martin and Down Dexter;

January 29 — Patty Smythe & Scandal at The Webster Theatre, Secret Smile, Mending Wall, Lucinda, et al opening (all ages); Popa Chubby Band at Black-Eyed Sally’s; The Benjamins at Tuxedo Junction; Vivino Bros. Band at Towne Crier Café;

January 30 — The Iguanas at Café Nine, New Haven; Gwar at Toad’s Place, Alabama Thunderpussy and Mensrea opening (all ages).