Sat. Dec. 16

Sean Lennon plays the Paradise about a week after the 29th anniversary of his dad's assassination. Doesn't seem possible does it? It didn't seem possible that Sean recorded so young (in 1999) either, but he did - proved himself creditible - and then stepped back saying he "felt disillusioned with the machinery of the industry." Hey, why not form your own record company? Oh, the Beatles did that. Never mind. Lennon worked with Cibo Matto, Thurston Moore, Ryan Adams, John Zorn and many more, but his second solo disc, "Friendly Fire,"(with short film included for each track on a bonus DVD) just came out. Rolling Stone gave it four stars. It's a gentle, melodic, mid-tempo work reminsecent of the late Elliott Smith, with a very obscure T.Rex cover included ("Would I Be the One"). There's sweetness with a little bit of bite. Lennon has said, "I think beauty without suffering is kind of saccharine, like a Hallmark card." We like that. We must report "Friendly Fire" is not a real rocking affair - he's walking on the lighter side, taking a path his father sometimes took. (There's no Yoko influence here.) There are plenty of piano-based, quasi-melancholic. verging-on-gorgeous songs. Oh, and the producer is former Bostonian and pop ace Jon Brion. Lennon and his band take the stage Saturday Dec. 16 at 10 p.m. Jim Noir opens at 9. Tickets: $17. (On a personal, but somewhat related, note, I've got a piece about John Lennon, coinciding with the 29th annivesary of his assassination, up on halloffamemagazine.com Dec. 4. I'm a contributing writer and columnist for the magazine.)

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