*DOUG WAHLBERG will be playing his next show at Georgetown Saloon this month on the 16th. That’s a Friday, and the show will get going after 9:15 pm.

Additional shows at the saloon this month include PETER HOP & THE WALLBANGERS, with blues, folk, country, rockabilly, rock and more, tonight; CURTIS T tomorrow night; JONNY DAKOTA on Saturday the 17th, with his country, rock and acoustic mix; HUBINGER STREET returning with rock, jam band stuff and “progressive” music on the 21st; UNCLE MUSTACHE on Friday, November 23; TANGLED VINE, playing “a swampy mix of R&B, blues and rock & roll” on the 24th; and JAY STOLLMAN & THE BLACK ROCK ALL STARS returning to close out the month on November 30.

*MIKE TOWNSEND, the self-proclaimed King of Slide Guitar (at least according to his website address, MySpace.com/TheKindOfSlideGuitarMikeTownsend), will be the first headliner at Mocha Coffee House this weekend. Mike will be playing on Friday, November 9, from 7:30 on.

This guy was born in the Appalachian mountains, learned guitar and banjo at an early age, then mastered harmonica and mandolin, and has been playing professionally since being hired as a replacement banjo player for a local country band years ago. Along the way he has also shared the stage with the likes of Gordon Lightfoot and Rick Danko.

Now we have the chance to hear some of his talent up close and personal in the comfortable space that is Mocha,

Then on Saturday night, WILL LINDSAY (a/k/a INFRASONIC) will offer an acoustic rock performance encompassing folk, new wave, blues and psychedelic a la The Grateful Dead. Will’s show will also start at 7:30 and should run right up until the last cup of coffee is poured, around 9 pm.

Next Thursday will be a dual event, with Mocha hosting music by KEVIN KING, GARRETT UHDE and AARON CESNICK while neighboring store Wishing Well (which just opened in the house that was formerly home to Tre Regazze, sharing parking lot space with Mocha) continues to celebrate its grand opening as well as the opening of the 3rd Annual Gathering of Artists. This is the holiday event that was started by Stacey Olszewski, one of the owners of Wishing Well, in her home back in 2005. The event moved to the barn behind The Budd House last year and is now moving into the new store on Glen Road.

The show and sale will offer fine hand-crafted gifts, collectibles and gift baskets by more than 30 area artists, including Mrs Olszewski. It will open on Thursday, running from 6 to 10 pm, and then continue on Friday and Saturday, November 16-17, from 10 am to 8 pm each day, and finish on Sunday, November 19, running 10 am to 3 pm. I’ve been to this event in the past and I can tell you that Stacey has a great network of artisans of crafters set up each year. The quality of the show is always terrific and the prices are more than affordable. See you at this one!

Back to Mocha, on Friday night it’ll be a return by Sandy Hook native J.D. HILL and then on Saturday, November 17, it’ll be a return by buddies JOHN VOKET and BRENDAN WALSH.

For additional info about these and other upcoming shows at Mocha, call 364-9200 or visit MochaCoffeeHouse.com.

*Also happening in town this weekend will be a pair of shows by native LUCINDA.

Lucinda and special guest Michael Connolly will be at Proud Mary’s, at 19 Main Street in Newtown, tonight (Friday, Nov 9) starting at 9 pm.

The duo will then be performing as part of the open house weekend at Lexington Gardens, 32 Church Hill Road. Lucinda and Michael will be playing on Saturday afternoon starting around 1.

Admission to both events is free.

*OZZY OSBOURNE, who is on the road supporting his May release Black Rain, and ROB ZOMBIE, who just released his first live album, Zombie Live, on October 23, will bring their co-headlining tour to Mohegan Sun Arena on Saturday, January 12. Tickets will be going on sale Friday morning (Nov 9), priced at $80.25 and $90.25 apiece.

*Speaking of Mohegan Sun, ticket sales for the December and January shows by AARON LEWIS are steady. Radio station WCCC is listing these eight shows as sold out, in fact, but Mohegan Sun and TicketMaster are each showing a handful of tickets available for each show. The solo acoustic tour has been going very well for the Staind frontman, so I would suggest picking up a ticket sooner rather than later if you’re thinking about going.

*So I’m back after having spent ten days in the south – 5½ days in Mississippi (where there is still plenty of Hurricane Katrina relief work to be done) followed immediately by 4½ days in New Orleans (ditto…). I finally tasted proper sweet tea this year. This stuff is so popular they serve it with every meal and even in bars as a chaser (a slight exaggeration, but I think you get my point). Sweet tea is even served in McDonald’s down there; it’s the equivalent of going to McDonald’s in Maine, where you can get a lobster roll during the season.

Ten days of having sweet tea got my system hooked on the stuff, so imagine my surprise when I went into our Dunkin Donuts in Newtown earlier this week and they told me they don’t have iced tea yet. It isn’t the same as southern sweet tea, but add enough Equal into that cup and it works for me.

Apparently the Newtown store is considered part of the tri-state market, yet the Brookfield-Federal Road shop and the Southbury shops are both considered part of the New England market; guess which region has started serving iced tea? Jeff Dymerski, the manager at our Dunkin Donuts, says we probably won’t be getting DD iced tea for a few months. Bummer.

I say we start a letter-writing campaign to Dunkin Donuts and tell them we don’t want to wait for our iced tea, or our flatbread sandwiches… which also won’t be coming for a few months. Double bummer.

Until next week I’ll be seeing you... on the road, but I’ll be off my soapbox.

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 clubs are for ages 21 and over unless specified.

 

UPCOMING SHOWS

NOVEMBER 9 — Mike Townsend at Mocha Coffee House, Sandy Hook; Lucinda at Proud Mary’s, Newtown, with special guest Michael Connolly; Travis Tritt at Foxwoods Casino’s Fox Theatre, Ledyard; Jonathan Davis at The Webster Theater, Hartford; John Fogerty at Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville; Three Dog Night at Mohegan Sun’s Wolf Den; Petey Hop & The Wallbangers at Georgetown Saloon, Redding;

November 10 — Lucinda at Lexington Gardens, Newtown Infrasonic at Mocha Coffee House; Fall Out Boy at Arena at Harbor Yard, Bridgeport, with Gym Class Heroes and Cute Is What We Aim For; Loudon Wainwright III at Fairfield Theatre Company, Fairfield; Debbie Harry at Foxwoods Casino’s Fox Theatre; Curtis T at Georgetown Saloon;

November 11 — The Subdudes at Fairfield Theatre Company; Trans Siberian Orchestra at Mohegan Sun Arena (two shows, 2:30 and 7:30); Starship featuring Mickey Thomas at Mohegan Sun’s Wolf Den; Willie Nininger at Georgetown Saloon;

November 14 — Stevie Wonder at Mohegan Sun Arena (also November 16);

November 15 — Kevin King, Garrett Uhde and Aaron Cesnick at Mocha Coffee House; Hip Hop Live at Toad’s Place, Ghostface, Rakim and Brother Ali opening; Sara Evans at Mohegan Sun Arena, Josh Turner and Luke Bryan opening;

November 16 — J.D. Hill at Mocha Coffee House; Stevie Wonder at Mohegan Sun Arena; Susan Tedesci at Mohegan Sun’s Wolf Den; Doug Wahlberg Band at Georgetown Saloon;  Third Eye Blind at The Webster Theater;

November 17 — John Voket and Brendan Walsh at Mocha Coffee House; Foghat at Mohegan Sun’s Wolf Den (shows at 8 and 10).