It's May, and that means it's time for Boston's annual Battle of

the Bands -- better known in these parts as WBCN's (104.1) Rock 'n' Roll

Rumble.

In the nearly 20 years that 'BCN has hosted the Rumble, there have been a fair

share of great moments, and after last year's successful run at the Middle East

(following several rather sluggish years) the Rumble returns to Cambridge

beginning tonight (May 6).

The lineup:

May 6: Deliriants, Bald Guys,

Thought Junkie, and Trona

May 7: V-Card, The Red Telephone, Jabbering

Trout, and Turkish Delight

May 8: Jules Verdone, Bison, Skavooie and the

Epitones, and Honkeyball

May 9: Jack Frosting, Roadsaw, The Gravel Pit, and

UKLA;

May 10: Blau Zur, Plank, Pie, and Quintaine Americana

May 11:

Underball, St. Chimera, Jocobono, and Chelsea on Fire.

The preliminaries

are $6 a pop; the semifinals, which will be held on May 17 and 18 cost $7 to

attend; and the finals, held on May 23, are $8 in advance, $9 at the door. All

shows are 18+. 'BCN, which was known as one of the better radio stations in the

country in the late '60s (as well as the starting place for J. Geils band

singer Peter Wolf), has been competing for the last several years with WZLX

(100.7) for the classic rock crowd and WFNX (101.7) for alternative rockers.

For the record, I'm rooting for prog/alterna-rockers Trona.