Donaghy's Boys and Girls; Nashville Pussy/Nebula; Mysterio Sympatico,An Illumined Musicale; a Big Night at Northsix; the Seen; American Fabulous; Hudson River Rocks

Okay, so Nashville Pussy usually blows these fireball things out over the audience, and it's always vaguely entertaining to see how many boob jobs the girls have gotten since last tour. But the real show (musically and otherwise) at Irving Plaza on Fri., June 7, should be the opening act, Stooges-via-Blue-Cheer power trio Nebula, whom one can expect to be understandably dubious about appearing minus the Wall of Blondes they normally attract closer to home in L.A. 17 Irving Pl. (15th St.), 777-6800.

On the face of it, a live collaboration between an arty guitarist and a Zap Comix-style cartoonist sounds pretty mysterious. Maybe that's why this sound-and-images jam is called Mysterio Sympatico, An Illumined Musicale. The cartoonist is the great Jim Woodring, an old-school psychedelicist best known for his "Frank" series (jimwoodring.com); the guitarist is the also great Bill Frisell, who can chop wood like a muvva or build beautiful layered drones like Robert Fripp. With jazz trumpeter Ron Miles and violinist Jenny Scheinman, he'll set music to projections of Woodring's spacey drawings, collages and animations. It's a logical esthetic match: both artists explore the numinous, the ineffable and the cosmically weird. They recently collaborated on a strange little book-and-CD package, Trosper; also, Frisell's celebrating the release of a new CD, The Willies. At St. Ann's Warehouse in DUMBO this Fri.-Sat., June 7-8, 8 p.m. 38 Water St. (betw. Main &Dock Sts.), 718-858-2424; $30.

The demise of the Man's Ruin label in 2001 left a lot of casualties, but saddest of all was San Francisco rock quartet Drunk Horse. The band quietly put out an absolute killer album in '01 called Tanning Salon/Biblical Proportions, an experiment that mixed two concept EPs (one about technology, the other about the Bible) with jazz interludes and robot voices. Now, of course, with no label, there's no telling if the Drunk Horse genius will stumble forth on further records. Best catch the band this Sat., June 8, at Northsix, on a particularly good night for music: Ben Kweller at 7:30, Drunk Horse and heavy instrumentalists the Fucking Champs at 10. 66 N. 6th St. (betw. Wythe & Kent Aves.), Williamsburg, 718-599-5103.

A seminal figure in the 90s sideshow revival, Jim Rose not only studied historical freaks 'n' geeks like many of his colleagues, he put some pretty authentically weird acts on the road, and did a fine hipster version of a carny rolling-thunder revue. It'll be very interesting to see how the Jim Rose Circus holds up now that reality tv's I-dare-you shows have coopted so many of the freakshow's bug-eatin', pain-defyin' chops. This 10th-anniversary tour features Rose stalwart Lifto, Mexican transvestite wrestlers, the Idiot Brothers, Rubberboy and more. It's at the Knitting Factory, Sat., June 8, 11 p.m. 74 Leonard St. (betw. Church St. &B'way), 219-3055.

We love the Motherfucker parties. We really do. But sometimes we think these things can get too big for their own good. That's why we really dig the Seen, a weekly party held every Saturday night beginning at 11 p.m. in Lit's basement. It's basically the same rock 'n' roll sleazoid crowd we've come to love and bum drinks from. Georgie Seville (who also does Motherfucker) hosts with Korby. We always have a good time checking out the girls' muscles and the boys' long hair. As we wonder whether they use Bumble & Bumble or Vidal Sassoon, we gladly chug down the brews and dance our asses off to Iggy, the Dead Boys and even Poison. The door is free, and unlike the last Motherfucker at the Roxy, we don't expect to be practically strip-searched and fingered upon entry. 93 2nd Ave. (betw. 5th & 6th Sts.), 777-7987.

American Fabulous is an hilarious one-man show based on the life of the late Jeffrey Strouth, who rose from a trailer-park upbringing in Ohio through whoring and waiting tables to become a centerpiece of Manhattan nightlife in the early 80s. Troy Carson stars in the production, which is directed by Jonathan Warman and adapted from Reno Dakota's film. It's at the Duplex this Sun., June 9, and again June 16 & 23. 61 Christopher St. (7th Ave.), 255-5438; $15 + two-drink minimum.

Last summer Hudson River Rocks brought some admirably cool acts to Pier 54, like the White Stripes, the Mooney Suzuki and the Waco Brothers, making it, in the evolution of summer concert series, a smaller, quicker mammal to SummerStage's by-now-lumbering dinosaur. The second season of free concerts starts up Sun., June 9, at 5 p.m. with funky Venezuelans Los Amigos Invisibles, the arty groove collective Thunderball, the X-ecutioners' DJ Angola and local r&b rockers the Rummies. That's the kind of intelligent bill SummerStage used to be capable of, half a dozen summers ago. And you can't beat the waterfront setting. 14th St. (West Side Hwy.), 533-7275.