FRIDAY

If Joan Jett and Lita Ford and Kate Shellenbach and Kathleen Hanna haven’t already given you a clue, get one: Women can rock, even rawk, as hard, as competently, and as passionately as their testosterone-riddled colleagues. In fact, women are starting to be real equals with men in a wide variety of roles. And there’s one area in which women are number one—unfortunately, it’s not good news: The American Heart Association reports that more women than men die from cardiovascular disease each year. And that’s not all. Because many women are uninformed or misinformed—and yes, some of that is due to vestiges of sexism in medical research—the gap is widening. Heart disease is now the number-one killer of women, and yet most of us don’t know what the particular warning signs for women are. The third annual Women ‘N Rock Tour is stepping up to make a difference. Tonight’s show at Jaxx features rockin’ women: Rain Fell Within, Brave, Maven, Gadget, and the ever-enchanting Esmirelda (pictured). It’s more than a concert, it’s a nationwide crusade to save women’s lives. If you want to get better informed about heart disease and women’s health—hell, if you wanna rawk—tonight’s the night to have some fun for a really good cause. At 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 29, at Jaxx, 6355 Rolling Road, West Springfield. $10. (703) 569-5940. (Natalie Davis)