Kristin Hersh does double duty tonight fronting the opening 50-Foot Wave, taking a break while Bullseye plays and then returning to headline yet another Throwing Muses reunion at the Middle East Downstairs Aug. 11. What's Bullseye doing in the middle? "Playing so I have time for a beer," quips Hersh. "I don't even know if I can do this. It's quite a workout to play with either one of them. It's like an athletic event. 50-Foot Wave is like racing down the stars and with the Muses it's getting lost in notes and chords of music, leaning on autopilot. It's gonna be a rough night." Both groups are trios and share a bassist, Bernard Georges.

Hersh's comment about playing autopilot is at least a semi-joke. "A song is like a syringe of emotion and memory," she says, "and I'm flooded with emotion and memory. I'd be lying to say otherwise. I'll be putting myself through a wringer or two."

Hersh, who turns 40 this month, notes that there's a certain irony in the way 50-Foot Wave and Throwing Muses tend to be perceived. "There are fans of 50-Foot Wave who don't even know who I am,'' she says. They think "'there s a cool girl singer' and assume we're kids from LA, which is totally fine. My name is a dirty word. They don't know me solo' - Hersh also records solo, albums she terms either "manic" or "depressive'' - or the Muses."

The Muses, then based in Newport, RI, cut their teeth in these parts so it's fair to say the fan base will be a tad more educated. It should make for an enticing evening of scream-your-lungs out punk and jagged art rock. Hersh's ideal life? "Do music honestly and work with good people, then go and hide. … The underground is the safest place to be." Tickets are $20. Music around 9 p.m

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