Shred

The hip South End restaurant/club the BEEHIVE is indeed a hub of activity, offering good food and live music — mostly in the jazz/blues/soul/ambient realm — every night of the week. Since there’s no cover charge, a big-name act isn’t required to fill the place, and booker/guitarist BRUCE FERRARA says he has free rein to (a) pay a decent fee to the bands he does hire and (b) create an “artists’ studio” environment. He wants the Beehive to “make a statement” and give musicians — from Boston and elsewhere — a spot for “high-level, sophisticated playing.” A week ago last Monday at a press party, Grammy-winning drummer MARK WALKER and his band entertained, followed by the æthereal sounds of the GARTH STEVENSON GROUP. . . . TEAM SHRED is actually just Shred at the moment, but the promoter/DJ who left town last year is back: he’s the booker at Oliver’s/Cask ’n Flagon, and he’s putting bands in the Middle East, O’Brien’s, Great Scott, and Quincy’s Beachcomber. He hopes to start DJing at a club on a regular basis.