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Girls With Guitars Rock & roll vixens get serious By Sarah Quelland SOME OF THE BITCHENEST BABES in the business are headed this way. Nashville Pussy hits the Usual tonight (Aug. 30) along with the Reverend Horton Heat. The Southern-fried punk rock band has found a suitably kick-ass replacement for fire-spitting bassist Corey Parks in Tracy Almazan, and Ruyter Suys is still kicking like a female Angus Young on lead guitar. With Suys' husband, Blaine Cartwright, on vocals and guitar, and Jeremy Thompson on drums, this trashy outfit is one of the wickedest bands around. The redneck rockers earned a Grammy nomination in 1999 for "Fried Chicken and Coffee" (from Let Them Eat Pussy) and followed up with the scorching High as Hell. This band of tattooed outlaws is known for its blistering live shows. On Sept. 11, the Cactus Club hosts Harlow from episode one of VH1's Bands on the Run (which also featured Flickerstick, Soulcracker and the Josh Dodes Band and saw winner Flickerstick get signed to Epic Records). This all-female quartet from L.A. offers dark, moody songs with titles like "Serial Killer Hangover" and "Vertigo." ... Fresh off a string of European dates, including the Reading and Leeds festivals, Palo Alto's own The Donnas perform on Sept. 9 at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco with the Eyeliners and the Kicks. ... Sacramento rock band the Skirts play the Catalyst on Sept. 6 with Here Kitty Kitty and Daycare. ... Venus Bleeding is playing Sept. 8 at El Rio in San Francisco with Wire Graffiti, FICTION and Jayde. The show runs 3-8:30pm, and $6 includes cover and barbecue. It's presented by webzine Voice Is Venom, an online resource for female rockers all over the Bay Area. The informational site offers links to regional clubs, bands, newspapers, radio stations and much more. Visit www.voiceisvenom.com for more info. ... San Francisco-based Bakersfield transplants Spike 1000, led by Shannon Harris, releases its Columbia Records debut, Waste of Skin, on Sept. 11. This Friday (Aug. 31), Ultravibe.com holds the grand finals of its Sound Off 2001 contest at the Cactus Club. The finalists include Lords of the Manor, Monkey and Naughty Barnyard. Both Luxt and Creamsickle made the cut, but Luxt is unable to compete, and Creamsickle reportedly broke up and canceled its appearance, so the honor goes to the next highest scorers, Motiv and Red Asfault. The show is 16+, tickets are $8 and doors are at 8pm. The 25th-annual Tapestry in Talent arts festival takes place Saturday-Monday (Sept. 1-3). Multiple stages, including the Guitar & Classical Stage, the Fuel Stage, the MIX 106/KBAY Stage, the Art & Tech Stage, the Suntrips Stage and the KARA/KRTY Stage,feature live performers, and more than 340 artists are reportedly participating in the Labor Day weekend event. The free community celebration runs 10am-6pm and takes place along Almaden Boulevard, Park Avenue and San Fernando Street in downtown San Jose. Metro's Music in the Park continues this Thursday (Aug. 30) with Pete Yorn. The free concert will run 5-8:15pm at Plaza de Cesar Chavez. Next week's concert (held Sept. 6) is the last in this year's series and Pete Escovedo will close out the season. PLAN AHEAD: Imagika, Nosedive and Mindsick, Aug. 30 at the Cactus; Horchata, Aug. 30 at JJ's Blues; I Need More! Rock & Roll Luau with Surf Cinema, Aug. 30 at the Lido; Revolution Smile, Vent and Tenfold, Aug. 30 at the Gaslighter Theater in Campbell; Static-X, Deadsy and Diesel Machine, Aug. 30 at the Fillmore in San Francisco; the Velvet Teen, Rilo Kiley, Fan 5, Enda and Robert and Karen, Aug. 31 at the Outhouse in Los Gatos; Picnic, Aug. 31 at Boswell's in Campbell; Rollins Band, Aug. 31 at the Fillmore; Dread Zeppelin, Sept. 1 at Waves Smokehouse; D.R.I., Sworn Enemy, Zero Bullshit, the Sick and El Buzzard, Sept. 1 at the Cactus; I Need More! with Drunkhorse, Bodies in the Basement and Comets on Fire, Sept. 1 at Kleidon's; the Bacon Brothers, Sept. 2 at the Usual; the Black Crowes, Sept. 4-5 at Maritime Hall in San Francisco; G. Love and Special Sauce, Sept. 6 at the Usual; Moodfrye, Lords of the Manor, Code:47 and Dexter Danger, Sept. 7 at the Gaslighter Theater; They Might Be Giants, Sept. 18 at the Usual; Melissa Etheridge, Sept. 20-22 at the Paramount Theatre in Oakland; Professional Murder Music, Luxt and My Ruin, Sept. 22 at the Pound; Fishbone, Oct. 6 at the Cactus; Cypress Hill's Smoke Out, Oct. 13 at the Oakland Coliseum; Ben Folds, Oct. 14 at the Fillmore; Bridge School Benefit, Oct. 20-21 at Shoreline; Tori Amos and Rufus Wainwright, Nov. 11 at the Paramount Theatre. [ San Jose | Metroactive Central | Archives ]