WED 5/26: Talk, Trivia, Music

The hump has arrived, and it's better to be out on a hot night.

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WED 5/26

6:30pm to 8pm
Michael Marx, "Advanced Googling for Genealogists"
at Orientation Room, 1st Fl, Boston Public Library, 700 Boylston St, Boston (Copley Sq)
FREE

Although I'm skeptical that you can draw a family tree through Google, maybe it's because I've never tried to find this kind of information. Despite the genealogical angle, one might find tips for improving Google searches as well as pointers to...

find photographs and images of your ancestral town, get maps for towns and regions of interest, translate documents in other languages, connect with other researchers with similar interests, find unique resource materials which can be downloaded, and some of the new tools and finding aids coming out of Google Labs that allow you to customize Google to your specific interests.

Michael Marx of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Boston has written articles and presented programs on the subject.

WED 5/26

7pm to 8:30pm
Stump Trivia Red Sox Edition
at Cask'n Flagon, 62 Brookline Ave, Boston (Kenmore Sq)
FREE / 21+

New musical "Johnny Baseball" is debuting at the A.R.T., and one of the related events is this baseball trivia night. I'm not sure how hardcore the baseball questions will be, but this could be a good time to corral a couple of sports-trivia buddies. There will supposedly be many prize opportunities including Red Sox tickets.

Wednesday trivia at the Cask usually starts at 8pm, but I received an email from the Weekly Dig that put the start time at 7pm. It looks like you could be in for an hour of bar time if you really want to play. (The email implied they wanted to do it before the Celtics game.)

WED 5/26

9pm
Ian Adams, Eldridge Rodriguez, Audrey Ryan, Greg Lyon, Dave Grabowski
at O'Brien's, 3 Harvard St, Allston
$6 / 21+

I didn't really pay too much attention when I read this quartet of Wednesday shows were called "The Eldridge Rodriguez 100 Percent Natural Good-Time Family Band Solution Residency", but it's been pretty much the case.

He's played an acoustic(?!) set with The Beatings, and many of the acts each week have been associated with record company they founded.

I think with the exception of the amazing Audrey Ryan, that describes all of the people joining him tonight. It really doesn't matter, because there's 5 excellent sets ahead of you for $6. (And PBR is $3, I think.)

In most cases, you're catching these folks in a mellower mood than you may have heard them before. Greg Lyon plays with Rodriguez in The Beatings. Ian Adams may be better known as the former frontman of the horrorbilly Rock City Crimewave. Dave Grabowski of indie-rockers Scuba may be playing solo. I have a feeling that you'll see a lot them jumping on stage with each other too.

DJ Ryan Spaulding of the excellent music blog Ryan's Smashing Life will likely rock the laptop between sets.

WED 5/26

9:30pm
Wicked Whiskey, Lonesome Republic, King Sickabilly One Man Band
at House of Blues Front Room, 15 Lansdowne St, Boston (Kenmore Sq)
FREE / 21+

In a clever bit of scheduling, Reverend Horton Heat is playing in the main venue and couple hopped-up rockabilly acts are in the front room. Besides Wicked Whiskey and King Sickabilly, Lonesome Republic adds some Americana to the party.

WED 5/26

10pm
Rick Berlin, Emily Eastridge, Steve Lawrence
at Alchemist Lounge, 435 S Huntington Ave, Jamaica Plain
FREE

Whether in bands (Shelley Winters Project, Orchestra Luna) or sitting solo at a keybord, Rick Berlin's songs and performance are an experience that you won't soon forget. The charming and emotionally potent songster is joined by a guitarist and cellist/trumpeter tonight.

Emily Eastridge of Pariah Beat may be playing a solo set. I'm having a difficult time believing that Steve Lawrence of "Steve & Eydie" fame is appearing tonight, but who knows...

I'm not sure if there's a sign at Alchemist Lounge, but I'm pretty sure this is one of the last shows under the current sign. It's not like this place has the history of the Triple D's that they replaced, but it seems like they've been good neighbors over the past few years -- and they offered lots of free music.