Simply sublime
Tribute bands -- think Beatlejuice (the Beatles), the Machine (Pink Floyd), and Kist (Kiss) -- don't usually make it to large rooms like Avalon. They play small clubs in front of worshipful cult audiences that are well aware they're getting a replica. So you've got to hand it to Badfish, and, of course, the band it fetes, Southern California punk/reggae band Sublime, for upping the ante. Sublime peaked just as it released its third album and leader Brad Nowell overdosed on heroin and died. That was nine years ago. Badfish -- its moniker taken from a Sublime song -- began in 2001. The group has carved out quite a career for itself in the wake of a band that might well have been relegated to another decade's ephemeral pleasures. So if you want to groove and you want to thrash, and you miss the glory days of Sublime or just want to catch a glimmer of what it might have been about, get to Lansdowne street tonight, where State Radio, On the Drop, and Suspect support Badfish. The all-ages show starts at 7. Tickets: $15.
15 Lansdowne St., 617-262-2437.
No more for the road
Denis Leary, who plays the most complex alcoholic ever seen on TV in ''Rescue Me," calls Heather King's ''Parched: A Memoir" ''dark, poignant and hilariously funny. King's escapades evoke the demons that drive and haunt us all," Leary says in a press release. King spent years underachieving and drinking, though she did manage to go to law school and pass the Massachusetts bar. Says King: ''The drinking part of me was perversely proud I was throwing away something someone else would give their right arm for. You're in the grip of this horrible compulsion and the only freedom you can see is to squander everything, and you think there's freedom in that. . . . I was just dying, spiritually dead -- saturated with shame, guilt, and remorse." King, who says she was saved by Catholicism, hasn't had a drink in two decades and has been writing essays and doing commentaries for NPR. ''I don't see it as a book about recovery," King says. ''It's about the mystery of suffering and how I've come to terms with it. There's nothing inherently interesting about drinking or getting sober; it's about the poverty of spirit and the ash heap the spirit rises out of." King reads at 6 p.m. at the Prudential Center Barnes & Noble. Free.800 Boylston St., 617-247-7733.
Patriotism on parade
Boston is celebrating its 375th birthday this year, and there's a party going on today at Faneuil Hall Marketplace, starting at 11:30 a.m. A patriotic parade led by the Middlesex County Volunteers Fifes & Drums kicks off in front of Quincy Market. Mayor Menino (and some pals) will cut a George Montilio-made 8-foot high, 1,000-pound cake. ''I've never cut a cake of that magnitude before," mused Menino, adding, ''I'm going to cut some of it myself and then let the professionals take over. That's a lot of carbs, but how could you refuse [a slice]?" Four Guys in Tuxes will sing swing, patriotic, and classic rock songs, paying tribute to the US armed forces. It's the first day of a six-day festival called Boston Harborfest 2005. ''We start a great weekend with a lot of activities, and for the Fourth of July there's no better place to be than Boston," Menino said. ''It's about neighbors, friends, and family and about celebrating this country's independence." Free for all.Quincy Market, 617-523-1300.
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.
