There are plenty of reasons to hold a concert in Lawrence, but Monday’s Campitronicon is the rare event to have cosmic significance.

The outdoor gathering centers around the Leonid meteor shower, which takes place each November. And this time, there’s a musical bent to the proceedings.

“Last year we had 40 or 50 people out there, and that just spread essentially through word of mouth,” says Shelby Thomas, organizer of Campitronicon.

“It wasn’t like we did a lot of planning for it. But last year the meteors were just awesome. And this year they’re supposed to be even better, so we just decided to try and encourage as many people as possible to get out there. We thought having a really cool band would make it that much cooler.”

Enter singer/guitarist Andrew Connor and drummer Richard Gintowt of Lawrence indie rock faves Ghosty. The pair will perform an acoustic set of their band’s material beginning at 10 p.m.

Thomas says this isn’t the only act, just the scheduled musical entertainment.

“People are encouraged to bring an instrument to jam, a la Winfield,” he says. “We’d love to have people perform.”

Thomas, a KU senior, first got involved with the Leonid spectacle in 2000.

“Back then I wanted to go watch the meteor shower because I really like to camp in the winter,” he recalls. “So I just started calling it Campitronicon?” even though it really doesn’t mean anything. This is the third one. The first year it started there were probably 10-15 people.”

According to NASA’s Web site, “Leonid meteor storms happen when Earth plows through clouds of dusty debris shed by comet 55/P Tempel-Tuttle.”

The first cloud will be at the pinnacle of visibility in Lawrence around 10:30 p.m. Monday. The second, more intensive flurry will occur six hours later at 4:30 a.m. Tuesday.

“This will be the last meteor storm of more than 1,000 meteors per hour of our lifetime,” adds Thomas. “I’ll probably do it again next year. It would be nice if it kind of spirals out of my control and people just start showing up on their own … There’s plenty of room out there.”

Directions to the spot where the participants will assemble can be found at ljworld.com/leonids. Also, people can e-mail campitronicon3@hotmail.com for map information.

Pack up the House

¢ Map to event (PDF)¢ Flyer for event (PDF)

House of Blues, the nation’s premier corporate booking agency, has broken ties with its Lawrence outlet.

Word is that a decision was made in part because a House of Blues concert venue was not presently based in the area, and there were no plans to open one. The organization chose not to renew its contract after it expired with Lawrence HOB proprietor Jeff Fortier.

The longtime local promoter sold/franchised his independent agency Avalanche Productions to HOB in January 2001. Fortier is currently promoting shows through his own company Renegade Productions. But he is also still involved in partnership deals with HOB regarding larger concert tours.

Fortier has no official comment on whether he will continue his ties with either organization or even remain based in Lawrence.

Making waves

As those lovable ’60s radicals used to beseech, “Don’t trust anyone over 30.” Luckily KJHK 90.7 FM has three years left of counter-culture credibility.

The student radio station is celebrating its 27th year on the air with a party Monday night at The Bottleneck. Seattle act Pedro the Lion will perform, joined by fellow indie touring bands Seldom and Scientific.

“We’ve put more of an emphasis on getting the staff out, and to have it be more of a party than it has in the past,” says Peter Berard, KJHK’s development director. “Often it’s been more about the show than it is the party, and we’re hoping to reverse that. We want people to come out and see Pedro, of course, but we’re hoping it will be more about KJHK.”

The station launched its initial broadcast on Oct. 16, 1975, with a format of Top 40 hits. Only four months later, a listener survey prompted KJHK to alter its concept and cater to a more underground audience.

“Our very first role is to expose people to music that they haven’t heard before ?” music they don’t have the opportunity to hear anywhere else,” Berard maintains.

Tickets are $10 to Monday’s birthday bash, and admission is open to all ages. The first act takes the stage at 9 p.m. As usual, the staff will be giving away CDs and other promotional items. Most of the proceeds from the event will benefit the station.

“It’s going to be a great show,” Berard says. “If you’re a fan of KJHK, then definitely come out. Also we encourage students to come out. We try to bring as many students into our organization as possible. There are lots of jobs available, and we’re always looking for new people.”