Tuba Christmas was big and brassy, with more than 200 tubas decking Midtown Plaza's halls Saturday afternoon. But it wasn't nearly as loud as I'd hoped. I guess because the instrument occupies such a low register it came off more as a warm hum than a bombastic blast. Memories of dates with grandma and riding the monorail with my sister assailed me despite the place looking gutted and dingy like a skid row bus station. Still, it was festive and fun.It was a fistful of rock 'n' roll with the Chesterfield Kings/UV Rays/New York Vaults triple bill at das German

I'm not one to shout out songs to the band. I'm more of the monosyllabic "yeah!" or "woo hoo!" variety than one that sets forth demands. Yet I was a little worried; Los Lobos has a big repertoire at this point, and I wasn't sure if the greasier, more obscure numbers would show up in the band's warm-up set for John Mellencamp at the Auditorium Theatre last night. Mellencmp's followers are a tad more mainstream, and I was ready to holler out for "Don't Worry Baby" if I didn't hear it. That song changed my life, man. Well, I heard

Dear Amy, Last night I fell in love. I knew I liked you the minute I laid eyes on you; those switchblade stilettos, that skyscraping beehive, that Tura Satana makeup and trashy swagger. But it's when I heard you sing that I came all unglued. Simultaneously confused and elated, I knew we were meant to be.The ragged soul in your voice goes through me, leaving me flushed with a low-grade fever and high-grade lust. Your music is a soundtrack to daydreams where I'm better looking, better dressed, and a girl like you actually laughs at my jokes. I avoided taking

Country bigshots Carrie Underwood and Keith Urban are coming to town Saturday, February 2, with their "Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Carnival" Tour. The show will take place at Blue Cross Arena. Tickets run $55-$75 and will go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday, December 15. Call 232-1900 or visit ticketmaster.com.

Dear Ike,I'm gonna miss you, man. You were one righteous cat. We only met twice, but the impression you left on me remains. Rock 'n' roll is so important to me and you were so important to rock 'n' roll. Along with the late 40's rhythm and blues artists like Tiny Bradshaw, Wynonie Harris, Roy Brown, Hank Ballard, Louis Jordan, Clyde McPhatter, Bull Moose Jackson, and Big Joe Turner, you ushered in rock 'n' roll with what is arguably its first single. The tremors you set off with 1951's "Rocket 88" by Jackie Brenston still shake the earth and my soul.

Bringing a hired gun like multi-instrumentalist Kevin Breit into your crew will no doubt sharpen your sound. But if you're smart you'll view those lethal chops as an invitation, or a challenge to match the heat. When I first saw guitarist Dawn Thompson, she played rudimentarily slick and precise. It was pretty, but relatively close to the ground. Thompson's warm honey tone - on her guitar and voice - makes her music perfect for a memorable tete-a-tete over cocktails. At The Rochester International Jazz Fest holiday soiree at Max Of Eastman Place Thursday night, Thompson and her band swung top

The sold-out crowd (lots of leather and lots of stripper heels) at Water Street Music Hall got righteously zombified Friday night at the feet of head-banging cinema auteur Rob Zombie. It was a first-rate rock spectacle with video monitors, projections, and a fairly intense light show -- Rob's favorite colors are apparently red and blue. It was at least 10 times better than I thought it was gonna be. The band was tight. Show highlights included a cool half-take on Metallica's "Enter Sandman" and of course the White Zombie rocker "Thunder Kiss 65," which grooved deep despite the band playing it

In the whole retro-rooted world I come from, wallow in, gravitate to, and preach about, there are degrees of ragged energy that grab me before a band's talent or music does. I've always admired moxie and out-and-out-balls over proficiency. You can learn to be good - to a certain extent - but you can't study up on wild 'n' loose; either you is or you ain't. That's not to say that a thumbs-up from me means you're no good, you're no good, you're no good, baby you're no good... It's just that I love a big splash of wrong and