*Newtown Coffee House will come back on line next weekend, thanks to the efforts of Newtown residents Andy and Darlene Spencer and the anticipated performance by Portland (CT) resident KENT ALDRICH.

This month’s coffee house will be Saturday, November 20, in the Memorial Room of Newtown Congregational Church House, at 41-A Main Street. Doors open at 7:30 pm for an hour of open mic, and then the featured performer will be on at 8:30. Admission is $5 for adults, which includes the show and all the coffee, soft drinks and home-baked goodies you can eat. Children under 5 are admitted free.

Mr Aldrich has been playing throughout New England and the tri-state area for a number of years both as a solo performer and with various bands. His blues-based roots are apparent in his writing and guitar work, where he is as much at home with a flat pick as he is finger-picking. He performs on a vintage Gibson and an assortment of harmonicas, peppering his shows with observations on life and music. His performances are suitable for all ages.

*Tickets are now available for the December 17 concert by GREGG ALLMAN & FRIENDS. The 9 pm show is selling at $33 and $49.50 a seat. There is still no word, however, concerning when and for how much the tickets for Allman’s show on December 15 at the New Haven Palace will be made available.

*Tuxedo Junction in Danbury will host SOFAKING next week, a band that used to go by a more recognizable name: TESLA. Tickets for the November 17 show are available through the club and TicketMaster. Scudmunch opens.

On Friday, November 19, the club will host another of its “special event” appearances by THE NERDS. HARVE Y & THE WALLBANGERS return November 24, followed by a “special event” with THE ZOO on the 26th. THE BENJAMINS headline November 27, replacing the previously-announced BIG TOE show.

Doors will open at 5 pm on Sunday, December 5, for an all-ages show headlined by SGT SCAGNETTI. Mephiskapheles and Sifters will also be playing.

SEBASTIAN BACH has two shows in Connecticut next month, the second of which is in Danbury on December 8. That show will have an opening set by Livesay (Bach’s first show will be at The Webster Theatre in Hartford the previous night; Grey Cell Green and Groove Fiction Sex Ceremony are on the bill for that show).

Tuxedo Junction’s December schedule continues with PEAT MOSS & THE FERTILIZERS on the 10th; FUTURE TENSE, December 11; JOHN VALBY, December 15; HARVEY & THE WALLBANGERS, December 17; THE NERDS, December 18; and CHANNELING JIM on Christmas night. Interestingly, the club will be closed Christmas and New Year’s Eves, which means it will not be part of the big First Night Danbury celebration this year.

*Right after the date of the GODSMACK show at The Webster Theatre in Hartford was changed from December 4 to December 1 last week, the show also sold out. The good news is, the band has added a second show the previous night. Tickets went on sale last Saturday for Godsmack’s show on November 30, which will still have Jim Rose Circus and Reveille opening.

Also at the Webster, this weekend is the big show by INSANE CLOWN POSSE and Twizted, which is open to all ages. BIM SKALA BIM headlines next weekend on the 19th, with the bands Subcity, Paisanos, Maybe Later and One Less Chicken all playing opening sets.

*radio 104’s new morning DJ, DEE SNIDER — yup, the fella from Twisted Sister — is getting a band together to play at City Limits in Waterbury later this month. Tickets for the all ages show on November 20 are just $15 a pop. Also new on the schedule is a December 4 show by STEVE WHITEMAN, formerly of KIXX. Anvil opens that all-ages show.

The AFI show scheduled for November 19 at the club has been cancelled. Refunds for your tickets are available at the point of purchase.

At the Waterbury club this weekend will be the Irish band THE WOLFE TONES, on Sunday, November 14. That one is a 21+ show, and tickets are $25 each. The club is at 57 East Main Street.

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

NOVEMBER 12 —Darik & The Funbags at Tuxedo Junction, Danbury; The Nields at Towne Crier Cafe, Pawling, N.Y.; Max Creek at Toad’s Place, New Haven (all ages); Survivor at Mohegan Sun’s Wolf Den, Uncasville;

November 13 —Big Orange Cone at Tuxedo Junction; Meat Loaf at Mohegan Sun Casino; Blue Oyster Cult at Mohegan Sun Casino’s Wolf Den; Insane Clown Posse at The Webster Theatre, Hartford, Twiztid opening (all ages);

November 14 —Greg Brown at Towne Crier Cafe, Pawling, N.Y., Garnet Rogers opening; Ratdog at The Palace, New Haven; The Wolfe Tones at City Limits, Waterbury;

November 17 —Sofa King (formerly Tesla) at Tuxedo Junction;

November 19  —The Nerds at Tuxedo Junction; Bim Skala Bim at The Webster Theatre, Hartford, Subcity, Paisanos, Maybe Later and One Less Chicken opening (all ages);

November 20 —Kent Aldrich at Newtown Coffee House (Congregational Church House), Newtown; Simple Jim at Tuxedo Junction; Dee Snider at City Limits (all ages);

November 21 —The Derek Trucks Band at Mohegan Sun Casino’s Wolf Den; Steve Vai at Toad’s Place (all ages); Widespread Panic at The Palace, New Haven;

November 23 —Megadeth at The Oakdale, Wallingford, Static X and DDT opening; Anvil at City Limits (all ages);

November 24 —Sting at The Oakdale; Harvey & The Wallbangers at Tuxedo Junction; Deep Banana Blackout at The Webster Theatre (all ages, second show Nov 26);

November 25 —Buckcherry at The Webster Theatre;

November 26 —The Zoo at Tuxedo Junction; NRBQ at Toad’s Place; Deep Banana Blackout at The Webster Theatre (all ages);

November 27 —The Benjamins at Tuxedo Junction; Max Creek at The Webster Theatre (annual Thanksgiving show); Yes at Foxwoods Casino, Ledyard;

November 28 —Yes at The Oakdale; Lucy Kaplansky at Towne Crier Café, The Wiggins Sisters opening;

November 30 —Godsmack at The Webster Theatre, Hartford, Jim Rose Circus and Revelle opening;