: 2009-11-01

The Two Man Gentlemen play Bordentown's Record Collector

this weekend.

The Cincinnati demon-core death-dealer’s grim reaping infests Championships Sports Bar and Grill (931 Chambers St., Trenton) this afternoon. The heavy-metal heathens were signed to Metal Blade Records in 2008 after earning its hardcore stripes through road-warrior romps with The Black Dahlia Murder, The Red Chord and – On the Beat faves – Dead To Fall. “The Resting Sonata” is the band’s latest release. The thrash after school special starts at 4. Sicker Than Most, Esquilax, Kill The Evidence, Descend The Architect, In Wake of the Plague and Strychnia open. Tickets cost $10 in advance, $12 at the door. All-ages.

Richie Cole and His Alto Madness Orchestra

The 61-year-old sax legend has been bumping the bebop beat since his Ewing High School days. Now he’s considered the No. 1 sax player in the world. A member of both Buddy Rich’s and Doc Severinsen’s big bands, Cole says the theory behind his jazz orchestra, “is the concept and sound of an 18-piece big band using only seven instruments, four of which are horns.” He said the idea of the seven-piece “big band” allows the group “plenty of room for improvisation” as if they were in a quartet setting. Cole, playing Bordentown’s Record Collector (358 Farnsworth Ave.) tonight, recorded his first LP, “Battle of the Saxes, Vol. 1,” in 1978 - ushering Charlie Parker’s classic style into the ’80s and beyond. Show starts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets cost $15 in advance, $17 at the door. All-ages.

The Elephant and the Girl

The Newtowner’s finger-snapping mood pop and dream-folk shoegazes give off this feeling of Hope Sandoval taming the “Where The Wild Things Are” soundtrack. Also for fans of sleepier Jenny Lewis, PJ Harvey and White Stripes tunes and the background music to Wes Anderson movies. The foursome softens up an electric – and wildly eclectic – lineup at The All Call Inn (214 Weber Ave., Ewing) tomorrow night, that includes art-punks DEMO (Pats!e, Towers Open Fire), Lawrence rapper To Live and Die in NJ (a Cage incarnate) and Money$ide. Show starts at 9 p.m. Tickets cost $5. 21-plus.

The Paper Jets

The power-pop pusher’s carefree harmonizing and Velvet Crush hooks exploit all that we love about Superdrag, Matthew Sweet and pre-war Beatles. The Jersey guys get their grin on at McGuinn’s Place (1781 Brunswick Pike, Lawrence) tomorrow night. Show starts at 9. 58 Fury plays, too. Tickets cost $5. 21-plus.

Rebel Nights

The Jersey rockers, whose melody-enriched alt-punk and working-class attitude will remind you of Alkaline Trio, Jimmy Eat World and “White Light, White Heat, White Trash”-era Social Distortion, headline Championships Sports Bar and Grill (931 Chambers St., Trenton) tomorrow night. Show starts at 9 p.m. Less Than Average, Maya’s Ruin, Lost In Society and As Summer Fades open. Tickets cost $8. 21-plus.

The Great Explainer

The Hot Water Music doppelganger’s unyielding vocal sandblasts and rhythmically-loaded guitar dances spearhead a Hamilton post-punk beach invasion of Asbury Lanes (209 4th Ave., Asbury Park) tomorrow night with ex-Philo, Frantic and Rape Babies players, Honah Lee. Show starts at 8. Philly’s The Holy Mess and Oklahoma’s Red City Radio play, too. Tickets cost $10. All-ages.

The Two Man Gentlemen

The Long Island tag team use Dixieland antics and ragtime jazz to sell its vaudeville elixir. Kind of a weird duo, who interestingly enough opened for Bob Dylan over the summer. There’s one guy on banjo. The other is on upright bass. Both play kazoos, which they duel with from time to time. They have a song about Howard Taft. Another about drip-drying with your favorite gal. Intrigued yet? Looks like something you’d see walking down The Magic Kingdom’s Main Street right before the Disneyland Parade. Or if you’re keen on the Squirrel Nut Zippers, hit up their show at The Record Collector (358 Farnsworth Ave., Bordentown) tomorrow night. Show starts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets cost $12. All-ages.

The Luna Laval

The Old Bridge jammers .moe-down Championships Sports Bar and Grill (931 Chambers St., Trenton) Saturday afternoon. Show starts at noon. Atlantic Run, Skattered, Nuclear Shakedown, Principai, Along Those Lines and J. Webb round out the bill. Tickets cost $10. All-ages.

Isyou

The Trenton tech-metal soul-reaper’s hardcore sorcery takes technical genius to wage war with such pulverizing force. If a devilish grin brews when bracing for a roller coaster or during one of Between the Buried and Me’s barbaric break downs, then you’ll love these mayhem makers, playing The All Call Inn (214 Weber Ave., Ewing) Saturday night. Show starts at 9. Earth’s Final Sunset, Ghost of the Machine, Honor Amongst Evil and Jonne Blue round out the bill. Tickets cost $5. 21-plus.

Machuco’s Trabuco

The Latin jazz ensemble, who’s Cuban-influenced percussions and stylized horns infusions seen in hip collectives like Ozomatli have become a popular fixture of Trenton’s Capital City Market summer celebrations, headline the New Jersey State Museum’s (205 W. State St., Trenton) “I Am Trenton” celebration on Saturday night. Show starts at 8 p.m. A suggested donation of $10 per person, $15 per couple will be collected at the door. Children under 12 are free. All-ages.

Guerra

Dreaded metal and a spitting image of Sepultura in sound, too? That’s never a bad thing, especially at the area’s top hardcore stomp – Championships Sports Bar and Grill (931 Chambers St., Trenton). The Connecticut fearsome hit up the bar with Night and Tomorrow Never Dies at 9 p.m. Saturday. Tickets cost $8. 21-plus.

Barry Ryan’s Rockabilly Express

The Jersey City guitarist and current Robert Gordon band mate strums a ’50s-style southern rock blend of Elvis Presley and Brian Setzer. In fact, when the Rockabilly Express slides into Bordentown’s Record Collector (358 Farnsworth Ave.) Saturday night, Ryan will have Gary Setzer – the Stray Cats’ brother – on drums. Show starts at 7:30 p.m. The Ultra Kings open. Tickets cost $11 in advance, $14 at the door. All-ages.

Jàc

The Lambertville sextet’s Flamenco-folk percussion parade marches into The Stone Pony (913 Ocean Ave., Asbury Park) Saturday night. The show starts at 7:30 and features notable New Brunswick bands WUPA, The New Arcane, Only Living Boy and Nymphomatics. Tickets cost $10. All-ages. the casualties

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The Casualties

You really can’t call yourself hardcore until you were personally flipped off by these legendary New York City gutter punks – boot-kicking your pansy ass and harvesting bad behavior at Championships Sports Bar and Grill (931 Chambers St., Trenton) Sunday night. Grimy fun for the whole squatter family, and one of the smelliest shows you’ll ever go to. Plus, Jorge Herrera still kicks it with this totally rad, sometime multi-colored Mohawk – a real one, too, not those totally bogus Fro-hawks that dude from the Black Eyed Peas brought to urban America – and that’s a sight to see. Show starts at 5 p.m. Guilt Trip!, Post No Bills, FreeDoom, Ash Monday and Too Much Too Fast Too Soon are also on the bill. Tickets cost $15. All-ages. Scott Frost’s On The Beat concert listing appears in The Trentonian every Thursday. If your band is playing around town, email the On the Beat webline at djscott111@aol.com.