And now for something completely different — and for adults only. The 201 will be the site of ‘Bawdy Broads’, presented by Speakeasy! and hosted by Lulu Locks of Providence Pinup,

fresh off her performance in the Vagina Monologues earlier that day. Bettysioux Tailor returns to tantalize with burlesque, and Niki Luparelli and the Gold Diggers play live. Further musical musings are provided by local favorites Miss Wensday and the New Medicinals, performing jazz and cabaret classics with a saucy twist.

Join us at 8:30 for our VIP cocktail hour and have an exclusive photo taken at the Providence Pinup VIP photo booth! Bettysioux Tailor will delight with Burlesque Bingo — this is NOT your grandmother’s bingo! Win the game and get a fabulous treat. Enjoy some tasty nibbles and an exclusive first pass at our fabulous vendors.

Bettysioux Tailor is known to fans of the annual ‘Christmas Belles and a Couple of Balls’ at Perishable and she is awesome. VIP cocktail hour starts at 8:30pm for $15. General admission starts at 9:30pm for $7. A portion of the proceeds go to benefit Crossroads RI Women’s Center.

Saturday, 8:30pm VIP, 9:30pm general admission, the 201, 201 Westminster Street, 21+

Head down to the 201 for some loud and fast ass-kickage, and you will forever be telling friends how you saw local acts Chinese Stars and Tinsel Teeth just before they performed at the SXSW festival where their careers totally blew up! (I hope that means what I think it does.) I take this as a sign that music is taking a turn towards the metal (a check of the festival band grid even turns up Motorhead — and I know there is an umlaut in there, I just don’t know how to do it). According to Lots of Noise the show starts tonight at 12pm which does not sound quite right (Thursday night? In Providence?) According to the Chinese Stars the show starts at 8pm. Tinsel Teeth say 9pm. Opening band Arcing also say 9pm, so let’s go with that.

(photo of chinese stars by molly booker)

9-ish, $6, Thursday, the 201, 201 Westminster Street

I like the idea of this a lot, but I can never go. One thing that bothers me is that they seem to like Navy time which seems too precious by half, maybe they are trying to recruit more sailors. As to this particular evening I see among the presenters — Dan Bass. Is that the Dan Bass? Is that our Dan Bass? The Bassmaster?! (Hey, plug this blog why doncha?) At any rate, the Providence PK chapter has now lasted one year and is celebrating with a party at the Waterplace Restaurant. After the usual presentations all the people will jump up and dance to DJ Micah Jackson. (More info, go here.)

Free, Wednesday, doors open 19:20, presentations 20:20, Waterplace, 1 Finance Way, downtown, 272.1040

More things for me to covet — urchins! These fabulous creatures, created by Jennifer Maestre, are on display and for sale ($125 each) at the ‘Material Desires’ show at Craftland. Curated by Rebecca Siemering — and up through Saturday, March 13th — the show also features artists Jenine Bressner, Lynne Harlow, Peter Lutz, Barbara Owen and Islay Taylor. (More pix after the jump.)

Show through Saturday, Craftland, 235 Westminster Street, 272.4285

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I suppose it wasn’t too surprising to bump right into Dose regulars Matthew Lawrence and Micah Salkind (in 3D) immediately upon arrival at the Museum of Westminster Street, an event I wanted to cover for The Dose. Everybody knows everybody and goes everywhere all together all the time. Each had been designated a ‘current exhibit’, along with the bicycle rack and the sidewalk. Friday was the first of two days for The Museum which runs the two blocks between Dorrance and Union Streets.  For a chilly weekday it was pretty busy, and the weather is supposed to be getting warmer and sunny. Head over and you will be greeted by a museum guard who will hand you a guide with a map and notes. Also on ‘exhibit’ was Peter Green (after the jump) the photographer who has long documented the peregrine falcons nesting on the old Industrial National Bank. One flew by as we spoke. Mr. Green showed me a picture he took yesterday of the female getting busy.

Free, Westminster Street, Saturday, noon to 4pm

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Head downtown tomorrow and Saturday for an ‘event’ in which the installation that was a reflection of the street it was on, now spills back out onto the street and becomes a ‘museum’ of the original installation which was about the street to begin with. Okay I give up. Let them tell it.

Since December, a store window in downtown Providence, has contained an exhibit called Westminster Stories, a diorama telling stories of people and buildings on two blocks of Westminster Street. This March, the project will culminate in a spectacular, three-dimensional museum exhibit . . . on the street itself.

It’s the latest creation of Providence-based group, The Museum On Site. The museum’s labels will be placed on street furniture, buildings, inside stores, on the sidewalk — even on people, who have volunteered to be labeled for the event. The labels are the result of historical research and more than 150 interviews with people on Westminster Street. A special ‘Museum of Westminster Street Gift Store’ will also be created.

More info at The Museum of Westminster Street.

Friday 11:30am to 2pm, Saturday noon to 4pm

First, I just love the name of this band and it’s fun to say out loud. Also, the music is very appealing. But they are getting a lot of buzz and this show will probably draw a good crowd. Frontman JP Pitts spoke with Rolling Stone

While the band’s members cite influences like Motown and the Jesus Lizard, Pitts tells Rolling Stone he’s most inspired by the 1990s indie rock that permeates Surfer Blood’s sound. “I was listening to mostly Pavement, Bedhead, Yo La Tengo,” Pitts says, “And that’s a huge part of what influenced the way I write songs and the way I play guitar.”

Pitchfork liked their debut cd ‘Astro Coast’ quite a bit. Also playing is Mast, Turbo Fruits, Black Clouds. Should be fun.

$6, 9pm, Wednesday, AS220, 115 Empire Street

[Misstallica canceled!!! Snowed in somewhere. Boo Hoo.]

I have to make special mention of one act coming into town this weekend. Misstallica, the all chick tribute to Metallica, will be headlining a tribute show at Lupo’s on Friday. I have already sung their praises here and I’m going to do it all over again, because I think people might dismiss them as a novelty act and miss out on a fantastic show. These gals met at the Philadelphia School of Rock, and anyone who has seen the documentary Rock School knows that Paul Green is a demanding crazy tyrant who produces mind-blowingly talented musicians.

Last year at Harper’s Ferry, the gals completely won over all the hardcore Metallica fans in the crowd, who started the evening with arms crossed (go ahead, impress me) and were all banging their heads and singing along within minutes. Drummer Kaleen Reading pounds away with inhuman stamina and energy, never letting up the entire show. As to guitarist Gigi Gleason — she must be seen to be believed. At the time, she was still not old enough to drink at the bar (see hands) but had the charisma and mastery of someone who had been performing for years.

Reading and Gleason first caught my attention playing in Dethklok with Brendon Small, where people in the crowd literally had their mouths hanging open in disbelief. I don’t know what the future holds for such talent (and Gleason does have another project going) but I bet you’ll end up bragging someday about how you saw these gals one night, for only $10.

$10, Friday, doors 7:30, show 8:30pm, Lupo’s, 79 Washington Street, 331.5876, (Trendkill, Voodoo open)

Don’t let the weekend end. Head downtown to AS220 on Monday and hear Pepi Ginsberg play folk rock. Also, Last Good Tooth combines a raspy howling voice of Penn Sultan and a beautiful songbird voice of Abigail Noyes. Tallahassee performs folky/acoustic/indie/country music and will be stripped down and acoustic with guitar, banjo and violin. Detroit Rebellion is agitated blues and protest tunes.

9pm, $7, Monday, AS220, 115 Empire Street

Still time to register for winter classes at the Craftland School of Craft. On tap for February and March — sew plushies, make soap (never talk about Fight Club), create pop-up books, stencil your skateboard, or learn basic stained glass construction as seen here by instructor Jennifer Daltry, who will get you cutting, grinding, foiling, and soldering. Complete list of classes, fees etc. click here.

Craftland School of Craft, 235 Westminster Street, 272.4285

I laundered some materials through GCPVD earlier this week, which Jef has kindly posted in a comprehensible format. The bridge will be built in a couple of years, on the piers on which the old 195 crosses the river. Jef’s posted some official proposals here. And has a second thread on various pedestrian bridge designs from around the universe.

Head over to Jerky’s tonight for an EP release party for Conservative Man (with Minky Starshine and Some Say Fire in support). Conservative Man is a guitar/synth/drums trio (two of them pictured here) from Philadelphia and Nashua, New Hampshire (how does that work?) and they are actually pretty good. They got the Caesars included in their list of influences so that makes points with me. The band has a few synthy dance tracks in the pipeline, so you can make it a party. The openers are a bit more ‘mid-tempo’. Minky Starshine lists Jellyfish and Brendan Benson as their influences and they are hitting that mark pretty hard (even have their own song called ‘Good to Me’).

$6, 8pm, Thursday, Jerky’s Music Hall, 71 Richmond Street

Go inside and see real live artists in their natural habitat (quiet please, mating season).

Ever wonder what’s happening on on the other floors of AS220? Curious about AS220’s history? Come on down and take a free tour of AS220 with artistic director and founder Bert Crenca! Meet in the Bar & Restaurant area at 115 Empire St. to join in.

Like what you see? There are currently two live/work studio vacancies at this location. Contact Susan Clausen at 831.9327.

6pm to 7pm, free, Thursday, AS220, 115 Empire Street

Today’s monthly Providence Geeks Dinner is particularly exciting as it doubles as a book launch. . . for a book that was inspired by the Geeks Dinner last May! It’s an official incubator now.

That’s where Providence-based web & mobile application strategist Jonathan Stark met O’Reilly Media Senior Editor and Providence Geeks Co-Founder Brian Jepson. Jonathan proposed a new book on an important, but under-addressed dimension of the iPhone. Brian got it. Now 8 short months later (light speed in the publishing world), the print version of Building iPhone Apps with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript is about to hit the shelves, and Jonathan is about to embark on an international speaking tour (including such prestigious stops as South by Southwest).

Mr. Stark will be giving an overview and talk about things I don’t understand. Admission is free, but you will have to buy your own food and drink (quite reasonable).

5:30pm to 8:30pm, Wednesday, AS220, 115 Empire Street, rsvp at Facebook

Head over to ‘the 201′ tomorrow for some party night mayhem. This invitation comes from the lovely and pneumatic Shara who was terrorizing the Jersey Shore when Snooki was still in catechism class (and classing up the joint I might add).

Join Kimmy “The Situation” Sunshine, and Shara “Shay-woww” the Jersey Girl for 4 decades of planet rockin, booty poppin’, rump shakin’, bumpin’ and grindin’…

Ghetto Fabulous attire encouraged, but not required. This event is only for the Grown and Sexy.

Caution: Keep open flames away from all hair (the fabrics are fairly flame-retahded).

Saturday, 9pm to 2am, Booty Pop, 201 Westminster Street

Fans of Knife World will want to check out Moonstone tonight at AS220. Guitarist Jon Nielsen is the common thread, although he and everyone else in the group seems to have adopted philosophical godling alter-egos with which to inhabit their “lunarian” universe. Why not let them explain.

Through musical therapeutrics, spiritual consultation, and satisfaction advocacy, Moonstone transmits procedures of analytical Factualism, and individual rebrilliantation, which aid in illuminating the path of well-tendered Want and perceptual fulfillment.

And so on. According to a recent piece in the Minneapolis News they simply refuse to drop the act. However, judging from this picture they do not take themselves too seriously. If speechifying is on tap for tonight I hope it’s brief. (Don’t test the patience of the audience guys — and by ‘ the audience’ I mean ‘me’.) There is only one cut on their myspace page, and after the talky part the music is pretty awesome. This guy can play the guitar. Bonus points for having a girl drummer!

9pm (wanna bet), $7, Saturday, AS220, 115 Empire Street

[Additional note: This wildly original musical revival made converts of us all. Fantastic show!]