• Firehouse 13  Queen Of Hearts Prom ‘08 Music by Abstract Soul, killer dance party action at Firehouse 13. You don’t have to dress up but really, don’t you want to get all fly? 9pm, $10
• The Blackstone  Phoenix Poll Winners The ‘Mericans along with Sleepyhead and Costarr. 9pm, $6
• AS220  Indian Jewelry, Lybthith, Phthalocynine, Bronhard/Going/Public, and possibly other ridiculously named bands. Here, I’ll make one up: Bthlinonislappy 9pm, $7

Does it count as shameless self-promotion to promote my promotion of a friend’s event? Hopefully not. Scope my piece in this week’s Phoenix on the upcoming criminal justice reform festival, Justice or Just Us?, taking place at AS220 real soon.

Ian has a scrabble scoop, via the Projo.

The National School Scrabble Championship kicks off today at the Rhode Island Convention Center from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and continues tomorrow from 8:45 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.

The championship will be filmed for broadcast later this year on ESPN.

Rocking Rock and soft rock, and then not-very-rock at all: out and about tonight in the city of Prov.

• AS220 Space-folk super fairy Larkin Grimm brings her Billie Holiday cult chanting to town along with Drew Danbury and Dan McCauley of Deer Tick, which is weird because I thought he was the only member of Deer Tick. PS, his voice is awesome. 9pm $6
• White Electric Another in the series of quiet and eclectic stuff they’ve been doing for awhile, tonight it’s Area C, Mem1, Shawn Greenlee and Freida Abtan. 7pm, donations smacked out ya’ mouth.
• Studio Blue Way, way out in Riverside this ex-karate dojo and current recording studio/party space hosts the Viennagram (pictured) tonight with Baylies Band and Radio Drama 7pm $5
• The Blackstone Way, way up in Pawtucket The Radionics with most-robbed-Phoenix Poll-band the Cold War, also Penrose and Senior Discount. 10pm $5

The Manton Avenue Project’s annual benefit, Big Top - A Three Ring Musicale will take place on Monday May 19th from 6-8pm at the Pell Chafee Performance Center!

These eight tiny circus themed plays, each with an even tinier song, will be written by project kids in conjunction with special guest writers, Donald W. King, executive artistic director for Providence Black Repertory Company, Michelle Muscatello, WPRI Meteorologist, Lynne McCormack, Director of the Department of Art, Culture and Tourism, Councilman Cliff Wood, Ward 2 (College Hill), City of Providence and performed by professional actors from Perishable, Trinity Repertory Company, Providence Black Repertory Company, The Gamm, and 2nd Story Theatre. It will be directed by Peter Sampieri.

Tickets are $100. Call 401.331.7007 or visit www.mantonavenueproject.org

Who knew?

Marcus Hotels and Resorts Corp. of Milwaukee said Wednesday that it has been selected to manage the 7th Wave Resort, a $150 million indoor water park project in Rhode Island.

The Hawaiian-themed resort, which will feature 409 rooms, a 75,000 square foot indoor water park, 53,000 square feet of outdoor space and 12,000 square feet of flexible meeting space, is being developed by Dial Family Resorts, an Omaha, Neb., developer of indoor water park family resorts. The firm is also developing an indoor water park resort in Sandusky, Ohio.

Construction of the resort in West Warwick, R.I., just south of Providence, R.I., is scheduled to begin in August 2008, with its opening slated for the first quarter of 2010.

Your last chance to see this spring’s festival of dance at Brown Univerity’s Stuart Theatre (Waterman Street) is at 2PM today. Tickets start at $7.

Think you wouldn’t enjoy a freaking dance recital? Think again. Weird doesn’t even begin to describe the 6 dance numbers that make up this event. Strange, like Dr. Suess Meets A Couple of Drunk African Starving kids strange? Better. So Freaking Bizarre, And Yet Beautiful, That It Made My Head Spin? Yeah, that’s about right. (more…)

Many of you know that, for the past two years, I have been facilitating arts and writing workshops at the Rhode Island Adult Correctional Institutions (ACI) through Space in Prison for the Arts and Creative Expression ( SPACE).

This Sunday, May 4, SPACE will be opening its annual exhibit of art and writing from the ACI. The exhibit will take place in the Youth Gallery at AS220, 115 Empire Street from 4 PM to 7 PM.

In addition to displaying art and writing, we will be reading selections of poetry written by the men and women who participate in our workshops. We will also be distributing our annual Zine, a collection of their work. Refreshments will be served. If you can’t make it on Sunday, the exhibit will be up in the AS220 Youth Gallery through July; please stop in and check it out!

More about SPACE and the exhibit after the jump.

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Shows going on Friday night…

• White Electric Coffeehouse Some quite, folky, cool stuff with NYC artists Bedsit Poets and Lauren Agnelli. 7pm, free.
• Building 16  Dan Deacon, Future Islands, Javelin, and Notendo. 9pm, ?$
• AS220  Killing Pablo, Dirty Dirty, Spurs, Exiles. 9pm, $6
• Firehouse XIII  Baylock, Benedict Arnold, and Soul Movement. 7pm, $5
• Jimmy’s Saloon, Newport  Suicide Bill & The Liquors, Diepod, Six Star General. 9pm, ?$
• Thunderdome  Sneepo De Mayo III featuring The Body, Ramming Speed (Boston), Dave n’ Steve, Steve Pid. 8pm, donations kindly beaten out of you at the door.

For those of you who don’t know about Robert Healey, founder of Rhode Island’s Cool Moose party, here’s the story. Healey is an East Bay local, a former town councilman, a lawyer, a successful wine merchant, a web-publisher and a perennial candidate for Governor. Or, most recently, the office of Lieutenant Governor, which he ran for in 2006 on a pledge to abolish the office, pulling a respectable 13.4%. For a more detailed (and interesting) explanation of the more than two-decade old Cool Moose party, try the Rhode Island Historical Society.

At any rate, Healey’s got a new wine ‘n cheese joint, The Cheese Plate, in yon towne of Wahrinn, and the Projizzle has the scouppe:

“I never thought I’d be doing this,” [Healey] says as he crafts a cheese plate with all the condiments, accouterments and tastes that will make it a party for a diner’s palate.

The Cheese Plate at 54 State St. is a quiet haven where one man will take the order, make up the cheese plate and deliver it with an explanation of everything it offers. And he’ll serve you a wine from his nice list, maybe even one bearing his mug. He’ll even point out those board games in the corner if he thinks someone is getting bored.

But do they have wireless? Your reporter will be finding out soon enough.
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Jersey City’s Black Hollies are incredible. They fuse all kinds of dark, Nuggets-era psychedelic white-boy soul with Black Rebel/Brian Jonestown fuzz and stomp. They’re also not afraid to rip insane solos at inappropriate moments. And that’s a pretty goddamn perfect band name, actually. They’re at AS220 tonight along with Darsombra and Kintaan, 9pm, $6.

After that, head to Local 121 for LOADED! K-Leav, HP and I bring the guitar-pop sugar rush to your torn and frayed eardrums. We take requests but usually ingore them. 10pm, free, man.

Playing at the Hi-Hat tonight is Mark Olson, one of the founding members of the Jayhawks. The show starts at 7PM with openers, the ‘mericans, playing an acoustic set. This is a classy joint people — no sneakers, no t-shirts, no hats. C’mon, dress up. Act like you’re somebody.

Long-awaited, much-rumored, and deeply-desired.

TJ is coming to L’il Rhodie!

From the Projo:

Offbeat grocery-store chain Trader Joe’s will open its first Rhode Island supermarket on Bald Hill Road this fall.

Known for its Hawaiian-shirt-wearing employees, $3 bottles of wine and inexpensive, gourmet-style goods, Trader Joe’s has expanded rapidly in recent years.

The grocer now operates about 300 stores in 23 states and Washington, D.C., according to company spokeswoman Alison Mochizuki.

Warwick Mayor Scott Avedisian added, “”It’s a win for us because it creates a reason for people to go to Route 2,” he said. “People do drive to Massachusetts for Trader Joe’s.” The last thing we want is for people to drive to Massachusetts, especially for peanut-butter stuffed pretzels and dried mango rings. No word on whether they’ll sell booze, so you may still need to trek to Framingham for your $3 Malbec.

May we at the Dose be the first to say: Aloha, TJ.

Projo has it.

There’s no reason to stay in tonight, after Cops is over of course…but get out before America’s Most Wanted because that show has always blown.

• Six Star General, Fashion Failures, the Jesse Minute at the Blackstone, 9pm, $5
• Providence Is Burning! with Certified Bananas, Javelin and Micah Jackson. Firehouse 13, 10pm, $5
• Chris Paddock, Jack Ohly, Diego Perez, a Yummy Yum Yum Yum Records family showcase. Building 16, 8pm, donations will be beaten out of you.
• Nicky Click, Triangle Forest and Screamclub at AS220, 9pm $6
• Hard On Tron, DJ Bronhard/Going/Public, DJ Discipline 8pm, see LON.com for deets.
• Soul Power at tazza tonight? It’s the last Saturday of the month, right? Someone confirm this for me. You expect me to do all the work around here? UPDATE: confirmed, I’m stupid.
• Von Doom, the Masons at Jake’s Bar and Grille, 11-ish, $5?

More on the way…

When it comes to dancing, who’s worse … Zombies or Episcopalians? Following the actual Z-Day invasion in and around Thayer Street as previously described here, there will be a pahty across the river with Mike and Cat and the gang. Drive carefully (it’s too far to lurch) and try not to get blood on the car upholstery. The Viennagram is awesome and I heard great things about that last magic show. 11PM/21 and over only/$5 donation

Friday Night:

• AS220 MEME Ensemble, Butch Rovan of Grey Code (and guests!) and Metropolis. Experimental, electronic and world-type jams and compositions. Zorn factor: 8.9 9pm, $5
• Jake’s presents Exile On Richmond St. This week’s guests: The Cold War DJs. Indie rock, glam, new wave, psychedelic, nuggets, britpop, lots of Pavement. 10-ish, free.