If Blizarro's drummer hadn't been pounding away in Boulder Coffee's window as I sat at the red light on Saturday, I might have missed the surprise show of the week. The duo filled the joint with theatre organ drama and heavy drop-tune guitar that sounded Sabbath and insane at a - believe it or not - comfortable volume. You could taste the madness. Maybe it was the chai.

The Lobster Quadrille was big, beautiful, and electric later that night at The Bug Jar with Cleveland's Uncle Scratch's Gospel Revival. The drums were made from cardboard with a megaphone on top and were almost immediately destroyed when the guitarist mounted them in a Pentecostal tantrum. It was vulgar and uplifting and I loved it.

For a relatively crude setup, it seemed to take The Willowz forever to get going last night at the Bug Jar. All the club kids waiting for the DJs that were to follow were chomping at the bit when I rolled up. Forty-five minutes later, the band hit the stage - totally worth the wait, baby. It was slightly psychedelic and retro raunchy in the extreme, with a sort of old-world understanding of feedback as a texture and musical exclamation point. Singer Richie Follin's voice was a non-falsetto stratospheric blast. The guitars were heavy with tone you could touch, and bassist Jessica Reynoza flailed and contorted in a dress that looked like something worn on "The Lawrence Welk Show" circa 1970. The music flexed a good bit heavier than on the band's new "Chautauqua," with a bluesy swagger. When the band dialed it down, it was like Crazy Horse with soul.

Finally, a show to get excited about at CMAC: Willie Nelson and Family will play Sunday, August 26, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20-$60 and go on sale Saturday, May 12. Head to http://www.ticketmaster.com/ or call the Rochester Broadway Theatre League box office at 222-5000.

The Perkins mansion concert series kicked off Friday night with about 60 people walking through the door to see Sharpsword, Hungness, and Gregory Paul. I was there long enough to catch Hungness' set. The band's loose sound was enhanced by the unconventional surrondings as it travelled to the seated audience sprinkled about the place. Brandon Hungness' guitar was as organic as Gregory Paul's was all big sky and atmosphere. It was serene, surreal, and truly beautiful. The room seemed to take the music on as its own, as if it had perhaps been there before.