In clubs 

You know, there are two ways to handle the St. Patrick's Day thing: Immerse yourself in it totally by wearing green, eating corned beef, listening to tin whistle music and drinking copious amounts of Guinness; or stay as far away as you can from a local Irish pub. If your tastes run toward the former, I personally suggest you try out Durham's James Joyce pub. But be forewarned that just about everyone else in the Triangle is going to have the same idea. If you believe that Guinness tastes like a wet ashtray and James Galway is on Hell's Muzak system, several clubs offer selections that are about as all-American as they come. Twang-core stars Chip Robinson of Backsliders fame and Jeffrey Dean Foster of the Pinetops will be at Humble Pie (829-9222), Saxapahaw alt-country group Lobsterboy will be at Lakeside Lounge (833-6557), and Cary glam rockers Jam Pain Society will be at the Brewery (834-7018). Kings (831-1005) will host an evening of dirty blues and weirdness with One-Percenters, Dirty Sanchez and Bucks Deluxe, while over at Cat's Cradle (967-9053) longtime local skins Patriot will do their thing. The show of the week, however, will be the night before, Thursday, March 16, when former Throwing Muses chanteuse Kristen Hersh (pictured above) shares a bill with Vic Chestnutt, who is probably the closest thing to a dour Irish poet the South has to offer. Finally, for a look at what the local singer-songwriter set is up to, check out the Songwriter's Showcase on Saturday, March 18, at Go! Studios (969-1400). --Karen A. Mann

Slumming-it Diamond Dave fans take note: Fair Warning, a Raleigh-area Van Halen tribute band, are doin' their gig at Local 506. A friend caught them at the Brewery and gave the thumbs-up to the David Lee Roth-esque (circa 1984) frontman. ("He had the banter, the jumps, the sass, the chaps!") Also, these guys have been known to shred up to three hours. "Eddie" isn't all that Eddie just yet, guitar heads, but the attitude is full on. Share in the reverie beginning at 9 p.m. this Wednesday, March 15, at Local 506. --Angie Carlson