Fri. Oct. 12 & Sat. Oct. 13

How many club gigs can you do? For rock bands on the circuit, the answer can be "infinite." And how do you make each special? Aye, there's the rub. The guys in Jim's Big Ego - Jim Infantino's band - have an answer. You put on something called "The Ego & The Oracle." A Spontaneous Musical Interactive Theatrical Event." We asked Infantino to explain. Says Jim: "We are putting together another run of 'The Ego and the Oracle' at the Davis Square Theatre Friday Oct. 12 and Saturday Oct. 13. As anyone who saw our shows at the old Jimmy Tingle's Off Broadway will remember, 'The Ego and the Oracle is an improvisational and amusing combination of the songs of Jim's Big Ego, and randomized divination. When people arrive to see the show, they are given a chance to put a question on a card which goes into a box. 30 of JBE's songs are arranged on a spinning wheel on the stage. The Interpreter is introduced - in the case of the first two weeks, this is actor, writer and improv comedian Shawn Peters. Shawn chooses a question from the box at random, and invites the questioner on stage to ask their question aloud and then spin the wheel. As soon as the song comes up, Jim's Big Ego plays it for the guest, and upon completion, Shawn helps to draw the connections between the song and the question. Sometimes spooky, often hilarious, the answer emerges. When the guest feels satisfied with the answer, they pick the next card and the process repeats."

"There are several things I like about these shows. The real star of the show is the guest asking the question. The band can take a back seat, and just deliver the song - while everyone in the room hopes for a good answer. People who know our songs have a strong opinion of what songs should come around on the wheel. As the wheel slows down, you can hear them. I like hearing more about the people who have come to see the show. Many of them ask really serious questions. There is a lot of trust and compassion in the room when a person asks a real question, and the wheel or Oracle has yet to disappoint. Of course the connections are not always obvious, and there is always a healthy air of skepticism in the audience. After all - we are not professional fortune-tellers. Nor are we trying to prove some absolute connection between random events and people's lives. It's fun to play with that edge between skepticism and belief, between the random and the karmic. It's a lot deeper, from my point of view than a string of songs broken with some monologue by the lead singer. That's also fun, but it's nice to take a break and try sometime more complex.  What this means is the Ego do what they calll 'rock 'n' roll divnination.' Que? It's further described as "Magic 8 Ball meets the iPod Shuffle." OK, what happens is audience members are invited on stage to ask questions of the Oracle. Then, they spin a wheel with Ego's songs on it - shades of what Elvis Costello did years ago - and when the wheel stops the band plays the song, which is then interpreted as the answer to the question. This could be fun, a lark, or just plain weird, but these guys have done this before so they are pros ... at whatever it is they do." Music: http://jimsbigego.bandcamp.com/album/stay 

Note: In the group, Fenway Park organist and Baseball Project keyboardist, Josh Kantor. He's been with them four years. I asked Josh: "Aren't you glad this miserable season has ended and you're not playing the "joyous" take me out to the ballgame during the worst season since '65?" He was very diplomatic: "It certainly was the most challenging baseball season during my ten years of working at Fenway; still very fun, but not as joyous as the last several years."

Show at 10:30. Tix: $10.

255 Elm Street, Davis Square www.theegoandtheoracle.com