Wed. Dec. 8

Bob Schneider is not a country musician, but he must be doing something to attract the Dixie Chicks fancy. Schneider is opening some dates on the Chicks current tour. He's also headlining the Middle East Downstairs Wednesday Dec. 8. Schneider's idea of a verse is: "Got a passable karate/ Got the real live wire/ A crazy combination/ Couldn't get any higher/ Got the Gamma radiation/ The chocolatey swirl/ Sticky implication/ Holding in the world." Mmmm, we like that, although we don't know what it means either. Before going solo, Schneider played in Austin bands the Ugly Americans and the Scabs. His solo work combines ZZ Top boogie and punk, couple with, need we say, a delightuflly warped sense of humor. Opening: Matt the Electrician who really is an electrician (his day job) but is also an Austin guy who plays scruffy folk-rock. He starts things at 8 p.m. Tickets: $15,

472 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, 617-864-3278 mideastclub.com