*AMERICAN MORTAR ORIGINAL ROCK BAND has a show at Mario’s Café in Derby this weekend. The five-member band is vocalist Susan, lead guitarist Danny, drummer Bob, rhythm guitarist Al and bass guitarist Lee, who “play rockin’ originals and contemporary to classic rock covers,” will be at the 165 Main Street café Saturday night, October 25.

*“Who needs a Halloween costume when you can put on a funky wig, platform shoes and a glitter dress?”

Kathy Buda contacted me recently to alert me – and readers – of the inevitable reunion of everyone’s favorite funky band, MOPPIN’ SAUCE. It’s true! The October 31 event at The Red Door Café in Watertown will feature original members Kathy (“The Diva,” with lead vocals), Glenn “Dr Fong” Dean (lead vocals and percussion), Ed “Where’s Ed?” Zand (trombone), Cas Stevens (sax), Chris Morrison (guitar) and Bob Henderson (drums). The performance will also feature Mitch Taub on bass.

The band played a number of Halloween shows at Fat Daddy’s in Watertown (1998, 1999 and 2000), so fans of the band will be able to find The Red Door Café considering the café is at the location of the former Fat Daddy’s – 675 Main Street. Expect to enjoy the same high energy music and fantastic costumes these folks presented a few years ago.

Rehearsals are reportedly going great, so expect to hear plenty of James Brown, Average White Band, Maceo Parker, Earth Wind & Fire and plenty other favorite funk and disco tunes. Showtime is 10 pm.

*David Lott dropped off some notes this week about last weekend’s big HAT CITY BLUES BAND show at The Fireside Inn. More than 75 Newtown and area residents showed up for the Oktoberfest event and were treated to the band’s renditions of classic blues tunes such as B.B. King’s “The Thrill is Gone,” Eric Clapton’s “Tore Down,” “One Way Out” by the Allman Brothers and 37 other songs.

“We had a wonderful time,” Newtown resident Lisa Swain, who went to the show with her husband John and their three sons, told the band on Saturday – those are the Swains in the photo below left. “We’re loyal fans of the band now. Just tell us where they’re going to play and we’ll be there.”

“The attendance here was amazing,” said Hat City Blues drummer Bill Morris. “It showed there’s a market for good blues. It was a risk to stick our necks’ out to do this, but the reward was worth it.”

*Still available are tickets for two shows this week at Stamford Center for the Arts/Palace Theatre.

Tickets for THE EYES OF ALICE COOPER tour will be in town on October 28, with special guest Silvertide. Tickets are priced at $27, $42, $57 and 67. Also available are seats for the Thursday, October 30, stop of the JACKSON BROWNE – Solo Acoustic Tour, with those tickets set at $27, $42 and $57.

Tickets may be charged by phone with major credit cards by calling the box office at 203-325-4466. The box office is open Monday through Friday from 11 am to 5 pm. Showtimes, the theater’s schedule and other information is available at www.OnlyAtSCA.com.

*Speaking of these two Stamford shows, both of those performers will also be at Foxwoods in November, Cooper on November 1 and Browne the following evening. Tickets for either show are $49.50 and $60.50 and the phone number for the casino’s theater box office is 800-200-2882.

LYNYRD SKYNYRD, who had to cancel a show at The Big E last month after continued health problems for guitarist Gary Rossington (a mild seizure during the summer following quintuple bypass surgery in February), is back on the road and heading into Connecticut. The southern rock band will be at Foxwoods Casino’s Fox Theatre on November 22. That’s just five days after the release of the live DVD Lynyrd Skynyrd Lyve: The Vicious Cycle Tour, Celebrating 30 Years of Rock ‘N Roll, which was shot during the band’s July 11 performance in Nashville.

Tickets for this show are $55 and $66, and available by calling 800-200-2882.

Also available are tickets for SEAL, will be at the same spot on Saturday, December 6. His tickets are $38.50 and $55; wilshire will be opening.

And finally for Foxwoods this week, B.B. KING will be headlining at Fox Theatre on Friday and Saturday, January 9-10. No ticket details are available yet.

*The stage at Toad’s Place will be fuller than usual on November 26 when DEEP BANANA BLACKOUT plays a show that will feature not only all of the band’s current members but also the group’s original line-up.

Also new on the New Haven club’s calendar are shows on November 12 by RUFUS WAINWRIGHT, November 16 by KING CRIMSON, a November 28 return by NRBQ, and a December 4 “evening with” show by MARTIN SEXTON. The Banana Blackout, Wainwright and Sexton shows are open to all ages.

*New shows at Mohegan Sun’s Wolf Den – which means new free shows for consideration – include THE GEORGIA SATELLITES on November 7, LITTLE FEAT on November 16, and THE DEREK TRUCKS BAND on November 21.

Until next week I’ll be seeing you… on the road, probably trying to figure out why I keep running about an hour late for engagements.

Questions and comments should be sent to Shannon Hicks c/o The Newtown Bee, 5 Church Hill Road, Newtown, CT 06470, or shannon@thebee.com, or call the office at 426-3141.

Shows listed at club locations are for ages 21 and over unless specified.

UPCOMING CONCERTS

OCTOBER 24 — Off The Hook at Proud Mary’s, Newtown; Blue Oyster Cult at Tuxedo Junction, Danbury; The Kennedys at Stamford Center for the Arts, Stamford; Big Shot at Toad’s Place, New Haven; Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem at UHartford’s Wilde Auditorium, West Hartford, The Roadbirds opening; Liam Bailey and Friends and Mike Dougherty at The Acoustic Café, Bridgeport (separate sets);

October 25 — American Mortar Original Rock Band at Mario’s Café, Derby; SideShow at The Thirsty Turtle, Stamford; The Nerds at Tuxedo Junction; The Debbie Davies Band at Black-Eyed Sally’s BBQ & Blues Café, Hartford; Keller Williams at The Webster Theatre, Hartford; Aztec Two-Step at The Acoustic Café;

October 26 — They Might Be Giants at The Ridgefield Playhouse, Ridgefield; Twisted Sister at The Webster Theatre, Sebastian Bach opening (all ages); Tom Rush at The Acoustic Café; Six Feet Under at Toad’s Place (all ages);

October 27 — Dope at Toad’s Place (all ages);

October 28 — Queensryche at The Webster Theater, Echo 7 opening; Alice Cooper at SCA’s Palace Theatre, Stamford, Silvertide opening; Raekwon “The Chef” at Toad’s Place (all ages);

October 29 — Sizzla at Toad’s place (all ages);

October 30 — Jackson Browne at Stamford Center for the Arts’ Palace Theatre, Stamford; Medeski, Martin & Wood at Toad’s Place (all ages); ModeRenko at Black-Eyed Sally’s;

October 31 — Off The Hook at Carl Anthony’s; Moppin’ Sauce at The Red Door Café, Watertown; Halloween Party at Tuxedo Junction featuring The Gyst; Annual Kooks & Spooks Convention at Toad’s Place, bands TBA; Psychedelic Breakfast at The Webster Theatre; Raisin Hill at The Acoustic Café.