At Mayday in Northside, widely acclaimed singer/songwriter Sharon Van Etten comes to town on her tour supporting her latest album, Tramp, which features contributions from members of The National (local boy-done-good Aaron Dessner produced the album), The Walkmen and Beirut. Van Etten spoke with Jason Gargano for this week's CityBeat about how the new album was her first attempt at serious collaboration, as well as what working with Dessner brought to the project and why she's been getting "dolled up" a little more lately ("A friend of mine once said, 'When I’m not feeling very confident I put on lipstick' and she just feels better. I kind of like that idea," she told CityBeat). Read the entire interview here. Doors open at 8 p.m. tonight and, unlike most Mayday shows, there is an admission fee ($12). Opening the show is Flock of Dimes, the solo guise of Jenn Wasner of acclaimed group Wye Oak.Here's a video from earlier this year of Van Etten performing songs from Tramp in NYC. • Local rockers Messerly & Ewing present a really cool after-party for Building Value's annual fundraiser/design competition ReUse-apalooza in Northside (click here for details). Following the event, the M&E band will head to Northside Tavern to perform a special tribute to R.E.M.'s 1988 album, Green. The band has some really unique swag to auction off for the cause (get a look at some examples here) and R.E.M.'s official website even gave the event some attention. To help M&E perform the album, they'll be joined by a slew of special guests: Mike Fair (Adventure Seekers), John Erhardt (Wussy, Ass Ponys), Chris Comer (Chris Comer Trio), Pete Janidlo (Clifford Nevernew, Seven Speed Vortex), Tricia Suit (Seven Speed Vortex) and poet Nick Barrows (Eagle to Squirrel). Wussy and Shiny and the Spoon will also do what's being called "R.E.M. album inspired performances."Showtime is 10 p.m. and it's free to attend. Here's the whole album to get you in the mood.Click here for even more live music events going on around town tonight.

On this date in 1984, Athens, Ga., "College Rock" favorites R.E.M. released its second album, the fantastic Reckoning. The album — featuring the singles "So. Central Rain" and "(Don't Go Back to) Rockville" — was well before the band reached superstar status. The band were pretty big for a cult band, but it wasn't until 1988's Green that R.E.M. became worldwide Rock stars (and only got bigger after that).Green will be the subject of an upcoming local benefit for Northside's Building Value, Inc. Following BVI's annual fundraiser, ReUse-apalooza, on April 27, Cincinnati rockers Messerly & Ewing will head up a Green tribute concert at the Northside Tavern at 10 p.m. The Messerly & Ewing band will become a Rockestra that night, joined by several local musicians as they play the seminal AltRock album, including Jazz pianist Chris Comer, singer/songwriter Mike Fair and members of The Ass Ponys, Wussy, Seven Speed Vortex and Eagle to Squirrel. The show will also include a raffle of R.E.M. merch and memorabilia, donated by the band thanks to a friend of M&E's from the R.E.M. camp. Keep an eye on M&E's Facebook page for updates. And since we're talking about two great R.E.M. albums, enjoy a song from both below.Click on for Born This Day featuring Gerald Way, Hal Ketchum and Carl Perkins.

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