PERFORMANCES : AN OPINIONATED GUIDE : TONIGHT

* The Convertibles, Garage-a-saurus Wrecks (Charlie’s, 362 California St., Ventura, 648-6688) Two great girl singers on the same bill--Mary Kay Fishell wails for the former while Jenny Murphy belts out some serious decibels for the latter.

* Maelstrom (Club Soda, 317 E. Main St., Ventura, 658-0100) Metal upstairs Downtown Ventura.

* Crucial DBC (Brewhouse Grill, 202 State St., Santa Barbara, 963-3090) Half English Beat, half Lion I’s, add a pinch of Raging Arb & the Redheads--it’s the ultimate party band in Santa Barbara--and all that gnarly homemade beer too. It’s a cultural landslide!

* Decline of Paisley John Shaver, Rogue Chedder (Shake, 525 State St., Santa Barbara, 963-7756) Two local S.B. bands with funny names that rock hard.

* Leo Downey Band (The Ketch, 514 State St., Santa Barbara, 564-3231) It’s sort of the yuppie Buffy and Scott hangout, but with a good band and, at least, no crummy DJ.

* Pat, Fin & Greg (Alex’s Cantina, 633 State St., Santa Barbara, 966-0032) Perfect power pop smartly done by these S.B. veterans.

* The Avant Gardeners (Soho, 21 W. Victoria St., Santa Barbara, 965-5497) It’s the horn section from Spencer the Gardener plus a few friends getting jazzy all over the place.

* Avocado Sundae (The Pub, UCSB, 965-3536) Local night at the bar on campus with a zillion different kinds of beer and cheap popcorn too.

FRIDAY

* One Love Vibration (Charlie’s) Roots reggae, mon, all over the beach.

* The Wolf (Club Charizma, 3639 Harbor Blvd., Ventura, 644-9038) Former members of Steppenwolf do it on the beach. (Saturday also)

* Leo Downey Band (Fess Parker’s Red Lion Resort, 633 E. Cabrillo Blvd., Santa Barbara, 564-4333) Stirring original rock soundtrack for the yuppscale yahoos in expensive suits. It’s better than they deserve. (Also Saturday)

* Spencer the Gardener (Brewhouse Grill) The dance floor will stay totally packed and you’ll be outside in line if you think fashionably late is fashionable.

* Official Resistance (Alex’s Cantina, 5918 Hollister Ave., Goleta, 683-2577) Certifiably surly rock ‘n’ roll with a conscience and also a killer guitar player in Col. Doug Gutner.

SATURDAY

* Lion I’s (Bedford’s, 1583 Spinnaker Drive, Ventura, 644-3333) The first of three concerts by these local reggae stars. This one is a daytime show.

* Michael On Fire, the Acousticats, Matt & Bill, Mosaic, Zephyr (Ventura Harbor) The Earth Day celebration featuring five good bands from 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

* Mudheads (Charlie’s) Dave Girtsman has replaced hard-core Dodger fan Dave Ragsdale as the bass player, but all those memorable folk rock tunes sound just as good as ever. Maybe the best band in the 805 area code.

* Toy Matinee (Ventura Theatre, 26 Chestnut St., Ventura, 648-1888) Stylish pop rock comes to the big stage. Opening will be local folk rockers Evans & Van Loan.

* Crucial DBC (Brewhouse Grill) After a night off to rest (and recover from all that gnarly beer) these raucous reggae rockers are back.

SUNDAY

* Lion I’s (Eric Ericsson’s, Seaward Ave. and the blue Pacific) Wild and woolly reggae rock on the beach. The band’s new horn section is tighter than your boss.

* NoMeansNo, No Man (The Graduate, 935 Embarcadero del Norte, Isla Vista, 967-7265) Like yours loud? Here it is--don’t forget those earplugs for this preachy thrash featuring the one and only Jello Biafra--if he shows up.

MONDAY

* Mudheads (Charlie’s) Yup, it’s them again, but this time, Matt Schulte and the Mudheads’ lead singer, Bill Coffey, do some memorable folk songs for the 6 p.m. Happy Hour show.

* John Marx & the Blues Patrol (Alexander’s, Harbor Boulevard and Schooner Drive, Ventura, 658-2000) It’s blues for Blue Monday beginning at 7:30 pm.

TUESDAY

* Michael On Fire (The Grill, 1279 Coast Village Road, Montecito, 969-5969) All original, all mind-bending folk rock by a bunch of optimistic Pistons fans.

* John Marx & the Blues Patrol (Felix’s Cantina, 525 State St., Santa Barbara, 963-7756) Same blues band, different night.

* Joseppi’s Wedding Band (434 State St., Santa Barbara, 962-5516) A hundred guys from a thousand bands that know a million songs. Imagine eight single girls dancing alone--and it’s just the first song--what more can I tell you guys? And girls, you could be number nine. Enough said.

WEDNESDAY

* Lion I’s (Ventura College, 4667 Telegraph Road, Ventura, 642-3211) Tired of all those silly soaps? Gonna hang yourself if you see one more episode of “Gilligan’s Island?” Dance your lunch away between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. with this raging reggae rockers.

Yup, it’s only rock and roll, and thus, these listings are subject to change for no apparent reason. And yup, your mom was right--call first.