Just after 7:30 P.M. last night (May 14) New York City's Mercury Lounge was starkly populated and dimly lit, much of the packed crowd sitting criss-cross-apple-sauce by the stage awaiting what would become a welcomed shock of beautiful sonic authority. A shimmering blanket draped over a keyboard came to life as Joan as Police Woman, a.k.a.

There's no doubting that plenty of the approximately 2,000 people who paid 200 bucks to see Metallica play a benefit concert at L.A.'s Wiltern Theatre last night took pride in the fact that their money was going to support a good cause -- namely, the Silverlake Conservatory of Music, a nonprofit music-education center founded in part by Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Teetering on the edge, where nature collides with urban sprawl, tucked away in the heart of Westford, MA on an outdoor stage, the luminous British Sea Power took an otherwise serene scene of beer-sipping professionals and unfurled a cacophony of bright and lively sounds Tuesday (May 13) in a special afternoon event at Puma HQ before their Boston show later that evening.