Of playing songs by the Stones and for Shannon …

— Owner Brad will grace the stage of his own establishment, Seasons Tavern in North Hudson, with his longtime band Thirsty Camel, which he says plays cover songs the way they were meant to be played. The gig is Saturday night, May 11. Thirsty Camel has been together for 20 years and has used that experience to hone covers of songs by Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Rush, and more recently has included Neil Diamond, Rolling Stones, Johnny Cash and Bob Segar, to name a few. Thirsty Camel started playing at Peppercorns, the Iron Horse and even Dibbo’s back when they were known as Myth — yes, like the  Maplewood club — and then even scored gigs at the Cabooze and Fine Line Music Cafe. The members of Thirsty Camel consider music to be “a co-pilot” and pride themselves on covering it the way the artists performed it.

But as much as they love them, Thirsty Camel is not just covers. They wrote an album and recorded the CD at Oarfin Records in Minneapolis with the help of James Walsh (Gypsy), and then forged on with that for two years before deciding that cover tunes was where the market was heading for them.

— There is a benefit for the medical and financial expenses of Shannon O’Brien on Saturday from 1-7 p.m. at the Village Inn, and on Friday night right before bar close, owner Leigh Halvorsen could still be seen tending to the pig roasting machine. The event has many other draws, including kids games and an old car display. Sixties music from Thunderman is on the docket, and also performing are fittingly, the O’Brien’s from Hudson with their vocal harmonies. (On the other end of the scale, there is also karaoke). Flyers for the event are up all over town, as virtually everyone knows Shannon, and they tout the benefits of driving safely using seat belts.