*TREBLEHOOK member Andy Spencer dropped a line in to the office this week, letting us know that the trio will be performing in Newtown later this month. Next week, in fact. Treblehook will be featured at The Fireside Inn in Newtown on Friday, December 17. The music starts at 9 pm.

*BEN HARPER & THE INNOCENT CRIMINALS will be at the Palace Theatre in New Haven on January 31. If the band’s name sounds vaguely familiar but you just can’t quite place where you have heard of them before, think of last year’s opener for PEARL JAM at The Meadows and one of the band’s in last week’s radio 104 Jingle Bell Jam at the Oakdale. Next month, Ben and his band will finally get to play full-fledged headliners for their third trip into Connecticut.

*QUIET RIOT has been added to the ever-interesting schedule at City Limits in Waterbury. The band will be in town on December 14.

*Tune Inn in New Haven — one of the best names ever for a club, by the way — has a pair of triple-bill shows on its calendar next weekend. The first will feature MARY LOU LORD, SWEETER THAN WINE and SHELLYS VALAUSKAS on Friday, December 17. The following night will feature a series of retro Big Band and swing sounds, as THE AMAZING ROYAL CROWNS, BIG BAD BOLLOCKS and BIG FAT COMBO all make the trek to the New Haven club.

*Speaking of SWEETER THAN WINE, the band is part of the big Girls Rule The Yule bonanza being pulled together for next weekend at Toad’s Place. In addition to STW, the December 19 show will also feature a set or two by SWIVEL HIPS. Tickets are still plentiful at $8.50 in advance or $10 at the door, and the show will be open to all ages.

Details are in concerning the big New Year’s Eve 2000/Dawn of The Millennium Party at Toad’s Place later this month. Doors will open at 8 pm Friday night and festivities will continue through 3 am Saturday morning. This is an age 21+ happening. Tickets are $10 in advance, or $15 at the door, and include a buffet and continental breakfast, party favors, party favors galore. Highlights at midnight include a gigantic balloon drop and the official countdown beamed in from Times Square on the club’s oversize video screens, plus a complimentary champagne toast. Dancing will be to a DJ’s choice, and accompanied by a laser light show. For details or your tickets, contact the club at 203/624-TOAD (8623).

*Tickets for the February 11 “Evening with THE MOODY BLUES” concert at the Oakdale in Wallingford are going on sale this weekend. The band will be the only featured performer that night, which means a 7:30 pm start. Tickets are $31, $41 and $51 each and available through the Oakdale’s box office directly at 203/265-1501.

*ANTHRAX fans should be pretty happy right about now. Not only has the band released its album Return Of The Killer A’s Greatest Hits, but the band has also confirmed its headlining tour to support the new release. On the tour, the band — vocalist John Bush, guitarist Scott Ian, bassist Frank Bello and drummer/percussionist Charlie Benante — will not only be performing the newer songs of its 14-year history, but the group will be joined onstage by former vocalist Joey Belladonna, who departed in 1992, for the band’s older songs. Not only that, but both lead singers will perform together on the Temptations classic and Anthrax’s current single, “Ball of Confusion,” which is what they also did for the new album.

The tour kicks off January 16 in Springfield, Virginia. Less than a week later, after a January 18 show in New York City (The Roxy) and a January 19 stop in Boston (Axis), Anthrax will be in Hartford for a January 20 show at The Webster Theatre. Tickets are $16 each for the all-ages event, and Fu Manchu will open.

*SUGAR is now scheduled to play the Christmas night show at Tuxedo Junction in Danbury, replacing the previously-announced CHANNELING JIM.

Until next week, I’ll be seeing you... on the road.

Questions and comments should be sent to Shannon Hicks, c/o Bee Publishing Co., 5 Church Hill Road, Newtown 06470, or shannon@thebee.com. Include a phone number for confirmation, please. If you don’t have a stamp or a piece of paper or a writing utensil that works, give me a call! The phone number at the office is 426-3141. Shows listed on the calendar at club locations are for ages 21 and over unless specified.

 

UPCOMING CONCERTS

DECEMBER 10 —Peat Moss & The Fertilizers at Tuxedo Junction, Danbury; Fantomas at Toad’s Place, New Haven (all ages), Kid 606 opening; Who’s Insane at Laszlo’s Arts Café, Monroe;

December 11 —Future Tense at Tuxedo Junction; Rose Coppola at Toad’s Place (featured performer for club’s “Band Together For Kids” fundraiser for CT Children’s Hospital; call club for details, 203/624-8623); Sevendust at The Webster Theatre, Hartford, Static X, Dope and Chevelle opening; Outspoken, Point of View and The Limit at Laszlo’s Arts Café;

December 12 —Phish at Hartford Civic Center;

December 14 —2nd Annual Toad’s Place Christmas Party (call for details, 203/624-8623); Quiet Riot at City Limits, Waterbury;

December 15 —Gregg Allman & Friends at The Palace, New Haven; John Valby at Tuxedo Junction; Clutch at The Webster Theatre, Bakerton Group and Pleasure Crush opening;

December 16 —Marion Meadows’ Jazz Christmas Show at Toad’s Place;

December 17 —Treblehook at The Fireside Inn, Newtown; Gregg Allman & Friends at Foxwoods Casino, Ledyard; Harvey & The Wallbangers at Tuxedo Junction; Mary Lou Lord, Sweeter Than Wine and Shellye Valauskas at Tune Inn, New Haven;

December 18 —The Nerds at Tuxedo Junction; The Amazing Royal Crowns, Big Bad Bollocks and Big Fat Combo at Tune Inn; Leon Redbone at The Towne Crier Café, Pawling, N.Y.;

December 19 —Girls Rule The Yule at Toad’s Place (all ages), Sweeter Than Wine and Swivel Hips opening;

December 21 —Deep Banana Blackout at Toad’s Place (all ages);

December 23 —Sol Dog at Classic Rock Brew Pub, Danbury; Mighty Purple’s Christmas Show at Toad’s Place (all ages), Mollycoddle and The Limit opening;

December 25 —Sugar at Tuxedo Junction;

December 26 —Hubinger Street at Toad’s Place (all ages), Cubistic Jack opening;

December 29 —Spring Heeled Jack USA, Sgt Scagnetti, Big Mistake at Flip Ya For Real at The Webster Theatre (all ages).

JANUARY 1 —Post Y2K Party at Tuxedo Junction, Danbury, featuring Scream;

January 7 —Darik & The Funbags at Toad’s Place, New Haven, DOA 2000, Epic and Ink opening;

January 14 —Gargantua Soul and Murphy’s Law at Toad’s Place (all ages);

January 20 —Anthrax at The Webster Theatre, Hartford, Fu Manchu opening;

January 21 —Shakedown at Toad’s Place (all ages);

January 28 — Simple Jim at Toad’s Place;

January 31 —Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals at the New Haven Palace.