WED 8/12: Shakespeare, Opera, Folk/Rock

Is it bad that I've been too lazy/cheap to put in my air-conditioning units, but I find myself lingering in CVS or Shaw's for the free coolness?

Have you heard Band of Skulls yet? They're playing at Great Scott on Saturday, and I'll have a chance to win a pair of tix in about an hour or so...

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WED 8/12

12:30pm, 8pm
"The Comedy Of Errors"
at Parkman Bandstand, about 165 Tremont St, Boston (Boston Common)
FREE-ish

Don't moan and groan if "Shakespeare in the Common" packs it up one day, and your stuck with crazy people yelling around the fountain near Park Street T. It's free, but the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company consistently deliver a great production every year. If you don't drop a few bucks in the basket, at least show up and appreciate their efforts.

They've taken one of early farces about two pairs of identical twins separated at birth and set it in Miami South Beach of the '30s. It's still the original text, but they inject Latin flavor all over the place.

Have a few laughs with a culture and sabor caliente...

Shows run through SUN 8/16 -- 8pm on most nights, 7pm on Sundays. I don't know why, but they've scheduled a show for this afternoon.

WED 8/12

7pm
Boston Landmarks Orchestra & Boston Lyric Opera, "Opera Highlights"
at Hatch Shell, Storrow Dr, Boston (Charles River Esplanade)
FREE

Boston Lyric Opera teams up again with the Boston Landmarks Orchestra for a night of opera that must bolster Boston as one of the best stay-cation cities in the country. Two top notch outfits perform pieces from opera's that take place in all sorts of times and places.

Tonight's program includes 17 selections from "The Barber of Seville" (Rossini), "Carmen" (Bizet), "Rigoletto" (Verdi), "L'elisir d'Amore" & "Don Giovanni" (Mozart), "Die Fledermaus" (Strauss), "La Traviata" (Verdi), and others.

Rain Location: Church of the Covenant, 67 Newbury St, Boston (Back Bay)

WED 8/12

9:30pm
The Mieka Canon, Putnam Murdock
at Lizard Lounge/Cambridge Common, 1667 Mass Ave, Cambridge (between Harvard Sq & Porter Sq)
$8 / 21+

Mieka Pauley and her band are kicking off a weekly August residency that coincides with a new EP release. Sometimes I neglect to list these things at the beginning, because I have this idea that I'll go the first week and report back. Well, we know that I usually wait 'til the end...

Don't make the mistake of missing her, because it's shocking that we can see her in such a small venue. I really get the feeling that Mieka has everything to make a huge international splash -- including that special something beyond songs, talent, ambition, etc.

Various guests will open each week. I listened to Putnam Murdock a couple months ago and loved his pure folk goodness. My favorite song was "Lovers Gold"; it's a beautiful song that he should play everyday of his life (request it!), and he's got a bunch of 'em.

WED 8/12

10:30pm to 12:30am
Kay McKinstry & the Good Pour
at Plough & Stars, 912 Mass. Ave, Cambridge (Central Sq)
FREE

If you want to hear beautiful singing over a couple sets of cool, laidback alt-country/Americana, you can hang out at the Plough for free. I was at this band's first show at the Plough, and it was really damn good.