Wed. Jan. 20

Memoir Part Deux for Nick Flynn (in photo)? Sorta. The Scituate-born writer and poet, is in town Wednesday at Berklee's Cafe 939 doing a reading/music combo. The reading comes from Flynn's followup to "Another Bullshit Night in Suck City," "The Ticking Is the Bomb." At 7, his musical guests are Eric Martin (recently a Neats guy all over again) and Drew O'Doherty. At 9:30, Buffalo Tom's Bill Janovitz and Chris Colbourn (along with Franc Graham) join up. Them's good company. And ticket for each? Just $5.

About "The Bomb": In 2007, during the months before Flynn’s daughter’s birth, his growing outrage and obsession with torture, exacerbated by the Abu Ghraib photographs, led him to Istanbul to meet some of the Iraqi men depicted in those photos. Haunted by a history of addiction, a relationship with his unsteady father, and a longing to connect with his mother who committed suicide, Flynn artfully interweaves in "The Ticking is the Bomb" passages from his childhood, his relationships with women, and his growing obsession—a questioning of terror, torture, and the political crimes we can neither see nor understand in post-9/11 American life. The time bomb of the title becomes an unlikely metaphor and vehicle for exploring the fears and joys of becoming a father. Here is a memoir of profound self-discovery—of being lost and found, of painful family memories and losses, of the need to run from love, and of the ability to embrace it again.

939 Boylston St., 617-923-8487 www.berklee.edu/events.

Tues. Jan. 19

Roger Miller - not content with two Mission of Burma shows last weekend, and a playing piano at a private gig for the engagment party of David Kleiler Jr. and 70th birthday party for David Sr. - brings his axe to the Plough & Stars Tuesday Jan. 19. There he'll be joined by fellow Binary System guy, drummer Larry Dersch and bassist Monique Ortiz.

It's actually Ortiz's residency. Dersch explains: "It's simple really.  Monique had this Tuesday residency, and after asking me to play drums, asked if I could see about Roger doing one of the nights.  We're not sure what we'll be doing, probably a little Roger winging-it to Mo's songs, and some group improv, maybe some pieces that Roger and I have done, with Mo winging-it.  We won't really know till we fire it up.  It'll be one of those nights.  I told Monique the other day that this is like rock history for me, getting the two of them together! Roger will most likely just do the first set with us, from 10:30-11:30.  Monique and I will do a duo set to finish the night." Rog says you might call this entourage AKA ROD. (Get it, Roger, Ortiz, Dersch, a pun on A.K.A. C.O.D. the post-Morphine band with whom Monique also plays. Saxophonist Dana Colley joins next Tuesday.

912 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, 617-576-0032 www.ploughandstars.com

Mon. Jan. 18

The Museum of Fine Arts always does something neat on Monday holidays. That is, they open the place to the public at no charge. This means you have (probably) a day off and no excuse not to expose yourself to culture. There's no football on TV. Nope, today's a day to learn, explore, grow ... all that good stuff. And since it's Monday January 18, it's Martin Luther King Jr. Day, maybe a day to honor Dr. King and not go shopping, but checking out the gospel sounds of the 12th Baptist Church's Choir, the singing of Shea Rose (in photo) with a Berklee College ensemble, a poetry slam, a screening of short films and, of course, a gallery tour which could involve Secrets of the Tomb 10A: Egypt 2000 BC; Object, Image, Collector: African and Oceanic Art in Focus and Cafe and Cabaret: Toulouse-Lautrec's Paris.  Open 10 am to 4:45 pm. Check website or call for specific times of events.

465 Huntington Ave., 617-267-9300 www.mfa.org

Mon. Jan. 18

 There's going to be a lot of these Haiti benefits happening around town, and that's always a good thing. Benefits, I mean. We all know Haiti called this earthquake on itself for choosing to worship the devil - sarcasm - but hey we've shot out the devil salute at AC/DC and Metallica shows so maybe here at JSink we're in cahoots too. At any rate, the New Collisions - one of Boston's finest Blondie-esque neo-new wave bands - headlines a Haitian benefit gig at Great Scott Monday Jan. 18. The cover is but $10, and 100% of the proceeds will go directly to Partners In Health, a Boston-based charitable organization with an established reputation for providing quality health care in Haiti for more than 20 years.
Doors are at 8 and the performers (and links to their sites) are:
KeyBook (myspace.com/keybook); Southern Belle (myspace.com/whatissouthernbelle)'
E-603 (myspace.com/e603); The New Collisions (myspace.com/thenewcollisions) and DJ Die Young (myspace.com/djdieyoung),

1222 Commonwealth Ave., Allston, 617-734-4502 www.greatscottboston.com

  Sat. Jan. 16 

Ok, there's not the amazing, wonderful shock of "Oh my god! Mission of Burma is playing live again!" That was the story back in 2002 the improbable reunion when the original trio, guitarist Roger Miller, bassist Clint Conley and drummer Peter Prescott (plus Shellac's Bob Weston filling Martin Swope's slot on looping the sound in concert). Mission of Burma has found a reason to exist - at least on a semi-permanent basis - and they've got a two dates - it's Jaunary, they do these things this month! - at the Paradise for two shows wrapping up Sat. Jan. 16. They've also got a new-ish album, last fall's "The Sound The Speed The Light," which we loved, and showed the band to as jarring - if in a sorta familiar way - as ever.

What to expect for this show? Miller checked in with us recently: "Well, it's 2010, and it's been 8 years since we reformed: that's fairly insane for a band that thought they'd never play together again.