Be good Jolie
It's not a bad thing at all to have good people sing your praises. Go! remembers a phase when we'd gotten a little bored with NRBQ and then read a quote by a young Elvis Costello, essentially stating how the old 'Q was better than 90 percent of punk rock bands. We woke up to the 'Q again. So we'll alert you to the fact that Jolie Holland, once of the Canadian folk/blues band the Be Good Tanyas, is getting high praise from the likes of Nick Cave and Tom Waits. This, you can bet, means there's some drama and deeply felt emotion going on. Holland, touring behind her second solo album, the Daniel Lanois-produced "Escondida," plays in a bluesy jazz mode that might make you think Norah Jones, but without putting you to sleep. There's some rawness here; some folks even think she's channeling Billie Holiday. She's at Johnny D's tonight. Opening: Dana Kletter, who moved from Chapel Hill, N.C., to Boston last year and plays in the folk-pop vein. Tickets are $7; show starts at 8:30 p.m. 17 Holland St., Somerville, 617-776-2004,
They'll be your mirror
In a previous life, Joe Harvard was an archeologist. In a sense, he still is; it's just that he's digging through the bones of Velvet Underground, having written a smart little book about the band that has the same name as its first album, "The Velvet Underground and Nico," an edgy effort undiminished by time. You might be expecting a book release party, and you will be getting that and more. Tonight at the Lizard Lounge is something called "An Evening in Velvet: A Tribute to the Velvet Underground." It begins with belly dancer Zareena and continues with Katie and David Champagne (ex-Treat Her Right) of the bluegrass-tinted Heygoods, who will include some Velvets material. Then it's the Kendall Brothers, Bob and Skeggie, who will play an all-Velvets mini-set. The big banana is Velveeta, which Go! must say is a pretty neat name for this cover band. Harvard, a guitarist who also cofounded Fort1667 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, 617-547-1228.
Not a bummer
You'd have to say an album entitled "Hope, Volume One," is a hopeful effort, just because it implies there will be a Volume Two. Go! has always had a tangled, twisted relationship with hope. On the other hand, we saw Jesse Jackson speak at a rally in London last year and never felt so much contagious hope. At any rate, the Women's Lunch Place and Club Passim are grabbing hope by the horns. Tonight, Melissa Ferrick, Katy Barbato, Gregory Douglass, Rachel Sage, and Syd are performing to celebrate the release of the aforementioned album. Proceeds from the event and album sales go to the Women's Lunch Place. Syd, who runs number five with a bullet productions, is a volunteer at the Women's Lunch Place, a daytime community center for poor and homeless women and children in Boston."Producing this album was truly a labor of love," he said. Veggie Planet is catering the affair, which starts at 8 p.m. and costs $20.47 Palmer St., Cambridge, 617-492-7679.
Having your cake, eating it, too
Hungry for cake? You weren't, but we wrote it, you read it, and now you're hungry. That's how it works. Get yourself downtown today at noon -- specifically, to the Faneuil Hall Marketplace -- and enjoy a cake-cutting spectacular. George Montilio is creating a gigantic vanilla cake with 27 candles that can feed 400 people, and Comedy Connection owner Bill Blumenreich will be there to serve it up. Blumenreich is celebrating the club's 26th anniversary and marveling over the fact that guys who can play huge joints -- say, Chris Rock -- like playing his relatively small club, which is just about the longest-running comedy club in the country. Helping cut the cake today will be Cedric the Entertainer, who just played two nights; Frank Santorelli, who will play the club later tonight; and Harrison Stebbins. Blumenreich is savoring the cake already. "I always want a piece with a rose," the big man says. But does he watch his weight? "I watch my weight and it scares me," he says. Tonight's show also features Don Gavin, Paul Nardizzi, DJ Hazard, and Mike Donovan. It starts at 8 p.m.; tickets are $15.Quincy Market at Faneuil Hall, 617-248-9700.
Events can always be canceled, rescheduled, or sold out; call to confirm. Go! can be reached at go@globe.com or by calling 617-929-8257.
