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wednesday and thursday
february 10th and 11th
the magnetic fields
laura barrett
@ the wilbur theatre
thursday, february 11th
v66 reunion
with rod & cones, big city rock,
the fools, o positive, animotion,
right turn, digney fingus, ernie boch jr.,
lizzie borden and the axes, & more
@ house of blues
thursday, february 11th
found audio
the first annual
the rockefeller fortune
boone
@ oliver's / cask 'n flagon
friday, february 12th
kings of convenience
franklin for short
@ the paradise
saturday, february 13th
one happy island
human hearts (with franklin bruno)
boy genius
free! @ toad, cambridge
saturday, february 13th
a benefit for haiti
the okay win
new son rising
the elevators
@ copperfields
saturday, february 13th
tegan & sara
holly miranda
@ the orpheum
sunday, february 14th
we were promised jetpacks
bad veins
royal bangs
@ the middle east downstairs
monday, february 15th
a benefit for haiti
with big bear, ketman,
chris brokaw, monique ortiz,
art decade, & the dirty dishes
@ the middle east downstairs
tuesday, wednesday, & thursday
february 16th, 17th, & 18th
3 nights with jonathan richman
@ the middle east upstairs
thursday, february 18th
editors
the antlers
@ house of blues
friday, february 19th
28 degrees taurus
el jezel
the broken river prophet
metal feathers
@ o'briens, allston
friday, february 19th
taken by trees
el perro del mar
@ the cambridge ymca theatre
saturday, february 20th
dawes
corey chisel & the wandering sons
jason boesel (rilo kiley)
@ great scott
monday, february 22nd
boy without god
ryan lee crosby quartet
the wailing wall
sleepy very sleepy
@ tt the bears
wednesday, february 24th
wild beasts
still life still
dj carbo
@ great scott
saturday, february 27th
hadoken (cd release)
caspian
irepress
slowest runner
@ tt the bears
monday, march 1st
rogue wave
@ the paradise
tuesday, march 9th
jet
crash kings
@ the paradise
monday, march 15th
one happy island
standard fare
summer cats
@ great scott
monday, march 15th
letting up despite great faults
the brother kite
plumerai
singing bridges
@ the middle east upstairs
wednesday, march 17th
joanna newsom
@ the sanders theatre, harvard
wednesday, march 17th
henry rollins (spoken word)
@ the somerville theatre
sunday, march 21st
the clientele
field music
@ great scott
saturday, march 20th
air
am
@ berklee performance center
thursday, march 25th
aloud
action camp
hello ninja
@ great scott
thursday, march 25th
the donnas
@ the paradise
friday, march 26th
basia bulat
marissa nadler
lady lamb the beekeeper
@ tt the bears
saturday, march 27th
your say party! we say die!
the new collisions
static of the gods (cd release)
@ tt the bears
saturday, march 27th
the big pink
a place to bury strangers
@ the paradise
saturday, march 27th
spoon
deerhunter
@ the house of blues
sunday, march 28th
beach house
bachelorette
@ the paradise
monday, march 29th
the soft pack
nodzzz
beaters
@ great scott
tuesday, march 30th
shearwater
wye oak
hospital ships
@ tt the bears
tuesday, march 30th
manchester orchestra
the features
biffy clyro
o'brother
@ the paradise
wednesday, march 31st
japandroids
love is all
girlfriends
@ the middle east downstairs
wednesday, march 31st
miike snow
delorean
@ the paradise
wednesday, march 31st
a sunny day in glasgow
pants yell!
bearstronaut
@ great scott
thursday, april 1st
girls
dum dum girls
@ the paradise
friday, april 2nd
the xx
jj (late show only)
two shows @ the paradise
friday, april 2nd
drive-by truckers
lucero
langhorne slim
@ the house of blues
saturday, april 3rd
nada surf
@ the paradise
sunday, april 4th
serena maneesh
depreciation guild
@ tt the bears
tuesday, april 6th
wilco
@ the orpheum
wednesday, april 7th
florence & the machine
@ the paradise
wednesday, april 7th
rocky votolato
brooke waggoner
@ great scott
friday, april 9th
midlake
@ the paradise
saturday, april 10th
xiu xiu
tune-yards
@ the middle east downstairs
saturday, april 10th
ted leo & the pharmacists
obits
@ the paradise
saturday, april 10th
pissed jeans
confines
sqrm
@ great scott
monday, april 12th
the wedding present
play their 1989 lp 'bizarro'
with openers girl in a coma
@ the middle east downstairs
thursday, april 15th
red sparowes
doomriders
@ the middle east downstairs
saturday, april 17th
kaki king
an horse
@ the middle east downstairs
saturday, april 17th
the morning benders
miniature tigers
@ tt the bears
sunday, april 18th
the thermals
past lives
@ the middle east downstairs
monday, april 19th
trans am
@ the middle east downstairs
tuesday, april 20th
owen pallett (aka final fantasy)
@ the ica boston
tuesday, april 20th
elvis costello & the sugarcanes
@ the orpheum
tuesday, april 20th
the low anthem
@ the paradise
tuesday, april 20th
quasi
let's wrestle
@ the middle east downstairs
saturday, april 24th
los campesinos!
here we go magic
@ the paradise
wednesday, april 28th
gogol bordello
devotchka
jesse malin
st. mark's social
@ the house of blues
thursday, april 29th
frightened rabbit
@ the paradise
friday, april 30th
corinne bailey ray
@ the house of blues
friday, april 30th
the album leaf
sea wolf
@ the paradise
wednesday, april 28th
little boots
dragonette
fan death
@ the middle east downstairs
monday, may 3rd
yeasayer
sleigh bells
@ the paradise
thursday, may 6th
shout out louds
@ the paradise
tuesday & wednesday
may 11th & 12th
dr. dog
deer tick
@ the paradise
thursday, may 13th
small brown bike
bridge and tunnel
your skull my closet
wallcreeper
@ great scott
tuesday, may 25th
smittens
allo darlin'
one happy island
horrowitz
@ toad
wednesday, may 26th
reverend horton heat
cracker
miss derringer
@ the house of blues
wednesday, june 2nd
the national
@ the house of blues
friday, june 4th
brian jonestown massacre
@ the paradise
saturday, june 19th
james taylor
carole king
@ the garden
|
Friday, August 29, 2003 Hawking the Sexual Metro This morning brought a marked change to the hawking technique used by "Mr. Metro", the guy who stands outside the Back Bay T-Station trying to convince all exiters that they need to grab a free copy of today's Metro newspaper from his hot hands. Instead of trying to thrust the newly folded copies of the rag towards the oncoming masses, all he had to do was stand back, proudly display one full, unfolded front page, and watch the masses come to him. Yes, for probably the first time in two years, Mr. Metro became the designated go-to guy. I think he was visited more than Adelina and Nouria, the Dynamic Dunkin Donuts Duo. Why the demand for the morning news? Why the glazed eyes and zombie-like stumble towards our man M.M.? A hot headline? The sad transcripts of the 9-11 cell phone calls? A controversial editorial? Nope, it was the half-page, full-color photo spread of Madonna and Britney trading tongues at last night's MTV VMAs. Mr. Metro knows his Marketing. Flash a little hot Mouseketeer on Material Girl action and watch the papers disappear.  Thursday, August 28, 2003 Tix On Sale : Boston Area 'Mystic River' Movie Premiere Thanks to Bridget, I just found out that tickets for the area premiere of the Clint Eastwood-directed movie adaptation of local author Dennis Lehane's amazing novel "Mystic River" (whew, there's a mouthful) went on sale just this morning. The screening will take place on Monday, October 6th (a few days before it hits 'select cities', and a week before it goes national), and it's a benefit for the Harvard Film Archive. The Sanders Theater showing will also include an appearance by the author himself (beaming with pride, no doubt), and a videotaped message from Clint Eastwood for the crowd. Should be a pretty incredible evening. For details, check out the Harvard Film Archive online, and to buy tickets, head over to the Harvard Box Office site or call them at (617) 496-2222. Wednesday, August 27, 2003 Catching Up : British Sea Power, Joe Jackson, Rock in Rockingham The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of crazy workdays, weekends away, and wicked good rock shows. As expected, I've hardly had the time or motivation to blog it up, but last night I cleared the decks and posted a bunch of pics I've been sitting on.  First up, British Sea Power at TT the Bears back on Sunday the 10th. As you recall, I was really looking forward to this, and was not even close to disappointed. They lived up to their record (which gets released domestically on September 9th with extra tracks) and more, putting on an intense, energetic, at times fairly bizarre live show. Army outfits, plastic birds, headstands, military marching, the works. They were aloof, distant, filled with attitude, and just amazing. The set started off with Fear of Drowning, followed by Apologies to Insect Life, Spirit of St. Louis, Childhood Memories, Remember Me, Bass Rock (a new one?), Carrion, and then finished up with a full 14-minute jaw-dropping version of Lately. Amie arrived late and only caught the second half of it, but was entirely blown away. She pointed out to me something I hadn't realized before... there's a whole lot of early Bowie getting mutated within BSP, along with the obvious Joy Division and Mercury Rev influences. It's great stuff, and when they return to Boston, don't miss 'em. If I see you there, and you aren't impressed, a beer is on me. I barely made it to Cambridge in time for BSP's set, 'cuz I had to rush across the river from Avalon, where I caught a reunited Joe Jackson band. My folks came down for the day to visit and see the show, and it was a more meaningful experience with 'em there. I wasn't even ten years old when my dad brought home the first couple Joe Jackson records ("I'm the Man" & "Look Sharp"), but I have vivid memories of hearing every single song on them, start to finish, many times over. I've been a fan ever since, although I kinda lost track of Joe through his many musical metamorphoses over the past 25 years. (25 years?! yikes.) When I heard about this reunion tour, which included all four players from those first two albums, I knew I had to be there, and I knew I had to invite my parents along. My dad is more than a little responsible for my obsessive love of music, and the early british poppy-punk of those first two JJ records really opened me up to new things at a young age. It was such an excellent show, perfect seats with a clear view, the sound mix was spot on. Like the Elvis Costello show last October, I was amazed by the energy level of these aging rockstars... they played like they were in their early 20s, not what must be their late 40s. Guitarist Gary Sanford even played with a broken foot on a wheeled chair, rolling around the stage like a madman, pushing himself with his good leg. Bassist Graham Maby and drummer Dave Houghton are two of the best, and they proved it. Joe was as filled with bile as he's ever been, spitting out his lyrics on the fast stuff, singing 'em sadly on the slow stuff. Got the Time, Look Sharp, Be My Number Two, Right & Wrong (updated for the new decade... 'the commies' become 'the arabs'), Don't Wanna Be Like That (a highlight), Throw It Away, so many more. I was a little bummed that my favorite JJ song, It's Different For Girls, didn't make the cut, but considering Joe himself said this band would never get back together, we were lucky to see them at all. He may have mellowed enough to reunite, but he sure hasn't mellowed too much to rock out. On Friday the 16th, Amie and I headed west and slightly north to the Bellows Falls, Vermont area for a three day music fest called Rock in Rockingham. Actually, you're probably all blogged out by now, and the experience definitely deserves it's own posting, so I'll save it for a little later on. Knowing me, 'later on' may mean next week sometime, so check out all the pictures in the meantime. They're worth a whole lotta words, after all. Monday, August 25, 2003 Almanac Mp3 of the Week : Pond's "Pretty Thing" Peel Session Almost eleven years ago, Pond headed to the U.K. for the first time to play some shows with the Throwing Muses just before the release of their self-titled debut album on Sub Pop. The trip included a session on the famed John Peel radio show, where they played three songs from the record along with a Bo Diddley cover. That cover is called Pretty Thing. Saturday, August 23, 2003 Ixnay on the OuseHay : Terminated by Termites Whew, that was a close one. As excited as we were about our potential new home, we're breathing a huge sigh of relief this morning after the ace house inspector we hired uncovered a termite problem that the sellers 'neglected' to inform us about. They knew about it, even had it treated in the past, but didn't feel they needed to bring us into the loop. Even went so far as to claim they weren't "legally" obligated to tell us (which they were). I guess they didn't struggle with any personal "moral" compulsions, either. The inspector poked one of the main basement beams with a large screwdriver, then showed us how it literally just sunk into the wood. He kept poking, and it got worse. Without getting into some of the walls, there's no way to tell how extensive the damage is.  They weren't willing to budge on paying for any further costs to assess the damage, or for any of the other problems revealed (like the rotting front porch roof and upper deck or the leaky sewage pipe in the basement). Apparantly that's unheard of... there's always some post-inspection negotiating room, unless the seller advertises the house for sale "as is." So now the place is just too much of a risk for us... it could be a soul-sucking money pit that crumbles beneath us in a couple years. We have to walk away, keep looking, hope for a better place and more honest sellers. Disappointed? Sure. Feeling lucky? You betcha. And I think Amie's going to make me get a dog anyway. Friday, August 22, 2003 Welcome to the World : Eli "Little Elf" Kochalka From American Elf : "Eli Ray Kochalka was born at 11:11 pm on Thursday, August 21. He's 8 pounds, 8 ounces, and he's a really funny little guy."  Big congratulations go out to James Kochalka, Amy King, and little Eli. And if you haven't been reading James' daily online comic journal, American Elf, well, you should be. A Dean Dispatch : A Million Against Bush With a potential house-purchase on the horizon and a tight budget in effect, donations are tough for Amie and I. We're consistently contacted by organizations we've donated to in the past; WBUR Public Radio, the ASPCA, NARAL, the Animal Rescue League of Boston; they all come calling but we sadly just can't spare the change. There's only one cause left we both contribute to, and that's the presidential campaign of Howard Dean. We believe in him strongly, and sending a little of our money his way is empowering, involving, and exciting... even if it is just a small amount every few months. We usually save them for the end-of-the-quarter fundraising drives, but this dispatch from campaign manager Joe Trippi has caused us to move up our donations up a bit, and maybe even add a little bit extra. He says... Yesterday George Bush took time off from his vacation to go fundraising again, this time in Portland, Oregon. At just one event he brought in $1 million from 500 of his biggest contributors. Outside the fundraiser more than 2,000 Americans gathered to speak out against Bush�s failed policies, which have ruined our economy and damaged our standing in the world community. Yet pocketing $1 million dollars was enough for George W. Bush to thank the people of Portland for their �warm welcome.�We're listening Joe, and the money is digitally on the way. As of 11am on the first of five days, donations are already over $100,000. A million bucks by Tuesday? Lookin' good. Join in, will you? Every little bit helps us take the power back. Mass Pike Muscle : Forcing the Fast Lane My daily commute is made slightly more satisfying at the Allston/Cambridge onramp, as I buzz by the long lines of Mass Pike toll payers and cruise on through the automated "Fast Lane". I'm one of those who just can't comprehend why some would choose to queue up for manual payment rather than get a little transponder and be on their way. Then again, I'm one of the lucky ones who didn't have to fork over almost $30 for the windshield-mounted gadget... I ordered one online from the Jersey Turnpike Authority back when they were free, yet worked just fine on Mass tolls. Unfortunately, that little loophole has since been closed so the MTA can get their chunk of the cash... the NJ ordering site directs any MA residents straight over to the MTA site, even though their transponders will still work here. So why bring this up now and come dangerously close to boring the hell out of you? Read this, from today's Boston Globe... "(Mass Pike) Authority officials said they are replacing the (exact change) baskets with toll collectors to stop motorists from changing lanes at toll plazas after getting into the wrong line, but they acknowledged that the move is also likely to prompt some motorists now accustomed to using exact change lanes to buy the transponders, rather than waiting to hand their tolls to collectors.Yesterday morning, coming around the curve towards the on-ramp tollboth, I was confronted with the longest line I'd ever seen there. I assumed there was some sort of accident or mechanical failure, but no... the exact change lanes were just plain gone. Disappeared and replaced with "Cash Only" lanes manned by newly employed toll-takers. Behold the mass confusion clusterfuck. Even the Fast Lane was blocked by the buildup. Seems the MTA got tired of their marketing campaign, which oddly tried to use logic to convince people to sign up for Fast Lane. As I can attest, not enough people were listening ... the pay lanes are still packed. So now the MTA is resorting to the old strongarm technique... piss people off, make 'em sit in long lines in late-August heat, watching the fastlaners blow by them. Make 'em jealous, rile 'em up. By Labor Day weekend, one of the most travelled days of the year, all exact change lanes will be gone, and the waits will be massive. Beware. Sure, I can understand them making this change under the guise of "commuter safety"... I've been the victim of last minute lane switches, when people realize they don't have quite enough quarters and start sliding on over, heading for that lone 'cash only' isle, blocking the fast lane hard. It's annoying, dumb, and dangerous. However, given what I saw yesterday, with dozens of cars backed up down the on-ramp, fastlaners trying to squeeze on by them... it's tough to say if this change is really going to make things safer. Not that it matters. "Public Safety" was a clearly a smokescreen. "Automate or Else" would never have survived policy makers and public opinion. Ironic that this new setup employs fresh tolltakers in an attempt to increase enrollment in a program that could eventually lead to them becoming entirely obsolete. Y'know what else will happen when everyone has Fast Lane? I won't have anyone else to laugh at as I fly on by. Tuesday, August 19, 2003 Holy Mortgage ... Monday, August 18, 2003 Almanac Mp3 of the Week : Bedhead's "I'm Not Here"
Friday, August 15, 2003 Blogging the Blackout / Catch Conan O'Brien in the Dark There's not much more I can add to all the blackout commentary other than, well, I'm damn glad I'm in Boston. I'm feeling for my NYC friends, hoping things get back to normal (whatever that may be in NYC) sooner rather than later. Some rumors say full power won't be back until Sunday. Until then, this sounds like a good plan, but you've probably already thought of that on your own. Images from the blackout are being collected at a fast-appearing and oft-updated Blackout Blog. Take a look. And a heads up : If you get Comedy Central, catch this evening's 6pm (est) rebroadcast of the Conan O'Brien that aired last night. They filmed a 10 minute very surreal, and very dark, introduction to the show on generator power, with no studio audience (they were evacuated), no guests (them too), and a limited crew. No monologue, casual dress all around, and announcer Joel Goddard in a t-shirt in the guests' chair. Bizarre, improvised, and still damn funny. Glad they chose to do a little something different.  Thursday, August 14, 2003 Watching the Worm : Not Really Loving the LovSAN At last, another perfect summer morning in Boston. Humidity down, no more 'chance of thunderstorms', sunshine and seventies at seven a.m. Car windows down, masspike on-ramp behind me, cityscape and light traffic ahead. Ben Gibbard's voice on the car stereo, a quick drive into work, a perfect dunkies coffee, the overwhelming smell of freshly cut grass along the Southwest Corridor Park. What was supposed to be a relatively easy workweek became a full-on defensive action, as we were assaulted by the now-infamous LovSan Worm. I'm one of the guys that keeps this kind of stuff at bay, manning the firewalls, pouring pitch on infected machines as they try to crash our gates. It's been a good, solid fight... we were prepared, and our reaction time was swift on Monday morning when it all started. It's been by far the most serious virus attack I've seen in my nearly two years here, and I've seen more than my share. Watching the firewall logs, you wouldn't believe the number of infected external machines knocking on the doors, trying in vain to get in. It's mostly home users with dsl and cable modems, people who ignored warnings to patch their systems, have no firewalls, no virus protection, probably don't even pay attention to the all the news stories of the past few days. We're also seeing hundreds upon hundreds of scan attempts from the Asia Pacific network, which comes as no surprise considering China has the second-highest number of interneters in the world. The script kiddie who made this sucker may have done us all a favor... there's no brutal payload, just the ability to spread fast, increase internet traffic, along with a declaration of love and a taunting message to 'billy gates'. It could be much, much worse. Aside from jamming the superhighway, the main side effect will hopefully be to wake people the hell up... viruses don't just come in email anymore, you're not safe if you don't surf, you're not clean if you keep your unknown attachments closed. All you have to do is be connected to the internet to be infected, and to infect others. Patch your machine, keep your virus definitions up to date. Go download and run the brand new version of Stinger. It's free, it's quick, and it looks for the LoveSAN. You might be infected right now and you'd never know it. SAN-lover actually screwed up when they wrote the thing, creating flawed code that accidentally causes machines to reboot, yet with no other ill effects. It was a mistake that worked against them, because it made users who would have been otherwise clueless realize that something was wrong, and most likely prompted them to scan and clean. It didn't take long for the rest of the black hats to join in on the fun, though. New 'fixed' versions of the virus are already on the loose, ones that don't so obviously reveal themselves, ones that try to skirt around the scanning updates that were released earlier in the week. The big payoff will be this Saturday, when the various mutations of the thing are set to initiate a full-on denial-of-service attack on Microsoft's WindowsUpdate sites. If you don't update your PC by then, who knows when you'll be able to access it, because the attack goes on non-stop for the next month and a half. So, there's my week for ya. Long-awaited projects sit untouched, the best made work-plans laid to waste. A dozen in-progress blog entries and pics wait to be posted, the inbox is full of unanswered mail. Hopefully today I'll play catch up, but it's too early to tell. When they aren't on the keyboard, the fingers are crossed... "The glove compartment is inaccurately named, and everybody knows it. So I'm proposing a swift, orderly change, 'cause behind its door is nothing to keep my fingers warm..." - Death Cab For Cutie Monday, August 11, 2003 Almanac Mp3 of the Week : My Own Sweet's "VHS" Another Monday mornin', another mp3. This week brings an unreleased recording from one of the best bands you've probably never heard. My Own Sweet started out in Burlington, Vermont, releasing the excellent New Strings EP, and then headed slightly south, with most of the band migrating to Boston and their drummer heading down to NYC. They kept things together long enough to record a ton of songs at Fort Apache, but packed it in before they could be mastered and released. While Kurt Herrmann focused on playing drums in Brooklyn's Pilot to Gunner, the rest of My Own Sweet continued on with a new drummer as the Disconnect, who ended up releasing even less then M.O.S. Eventually, guitarist/vocalist Tim Lauben (ex-Huffy) headed down to NYC and joined up with the Red and the Black, and fellow guitar/vocal guy Chris Kelly started playing with the Also-Rans. It was a lucky break that I got to spend time in a band with a guy I was geniunely a fan of, and if the fates are kind, the dozen or so unreleased My Own Sweet songs will at some point see the light of day. Until then, here's an unmastered mix of the song VHS. Friday, August 08, 2003 Hacking the Flash Mob Tom over at FlashHack may have the right idea. Has it come full circle already? Is it time to shake things up? Is it time to hack the flash mob? Warren Ellis : Blogged to Death We've seen the Summer of the Shark, the Summer of the Teen Abductions, the Summer of the Movie Sequels. Following close on the heels of the Spring of SARS, Summer 2003 is angling for the Summer of the freakin' Flash Mob. If anyone remembers it in a month, that is. It's impossible to find a publication or site that hasn't at least mentioned it, negatively or positively. Hard to find a major city that hasn't tried planning one. I make a couple of Boston Flash Mob entries and my site traffic jumps by a factor of 10. I get excerpted in the Phoenix this week, get contacted by the Sunday Times of London, get trolled by some flash-snobs, get ridiculed, get linked at sites I'll need to have translated, and my site load times slow to a crawl. I'm no Mob expert, just a guy who wanted to see one and write about the experience. When it comes to explaining the overwhelming interest of the mob-curious, I'm as clueless as any random tech-news-junkie. Further, and more significant, proof that people still can't get enough mob-related news: Die Puny Humans Died. Received via Bad Signal dispatch from acclaimed writer and D.P.H. webmaster Warren Ellis: Just FYI; www.diepunyhumans.com is fried. According to the data the host's auto-mail sent me, I've eaten 25 gigs of bandwidth within the last 24 hours, constituting over a million file requests. Their system's taken the site down, and their auto-responder is all I'm hearing from.Word of his moblogging (mobile phone blogging, for those not keeping up) of yesterday's first London Flash Mob spread so fast that it apparantly crippled his hosting company's webserver, and they shut him down. Twenty-four hours. One million requests. Wrap your brain around that one. Update : Received just now from Mr. Ellis, again via Bad Signal : The hosts took pity on me and switched the site back on. I win. God knows what the bandwidth penalty at the end of the month will be like, though...Go, have a look. Then buy one of his books to help defray the bandwidth costs you're helping build up. Cali's Policital Predators I don't envy the news sites that have to classify the story that Arnold has entered the California Governor's race. File under Politics or Entertainment? Yeah, they're going with Politics. Gary Coleman, though? As Mr. Weller sang, that's Entertainment. A couple weeks ago I saw an interview with Ahnuld and someone asked "So, how about these rumors that you'll be running for Governor?". He missed a perfect opportunity to say "That's not a Roo-Muh." (my apologies to those who missed the joke. actually, apologies to those who got it, too.) If Schwarzy really pulls this off, he'll be the second of the Predator commandoes to be put in charge of an entire state. Paging Carl Weathers. Your new career is calling. Heads Up : British Sea Power Hits Boston Thanks to the refined musical tastes of Mr. Miller over in the UK, I've become a fast fan of a band called British Sea Power. He turned me onto them a couple months ago, and they've settled perfectly into my summer listenin' rotation. Well, now I owe him not just one pint, but maybe dinner to go with it, since he pointed out the fact that they're playing here in just two days. 10:15, Sunday night, at TT the Bears in Cambridge. I check the TTs schedule regularly, so it must have just been added. I lucked out.  Do me a favor, will ya? Go to the B.S.P. site, read some reviews, download a couple of mp3s. Stop by this unoffical fan-site to see what they inspire. It's their first U.S. tour, and these guys deserve a solid crowd, even on a Sunday night. Their new full-lengther is import-only, so not only will you get to see their first and last appearance in such a small club, but you'll be able to buy the disc straight from them. I've downloaded it, and it's excellent stuff. I'll be glad to have the top-notch graphic design to go along with the songs. If you're outside the Boston area, check their concert page. They're doing a few East Coast shows, then it's back to the UK, Germany, and Ireland. The U.S. dates are... 9 August New York Bowery Ballroom (Supporting Kings of Leon)
10 August Cambridge T T Bears 11 August Brooklyn NY North Six 14 August Philadelphia Khyber Pass 15 August New York Irving Plaza (Supporting Libertines) 16 August Washington DC Black Cat (Supporting Libertines) Thanks again, Steve. Appreciate the tip. Wednesday, August 06, 2003 The Mystery of the Monitor Meet the Monitor. Early every weekday morning, without fail, he appears. He stands there, just inside the rightmost entrance of the Back Bay T-station, maybe for hours, a blind-man's cane in his right hand and a high-powered walkie-talkie in his left. Well-dressed, eyes closed, the radio never leaves his ear, and I've never seen him move from his chosen position. Nearly two years running and he's hardly missed a morning.  What is he listening for? The chatter of the train controllers, directing this busy intersection of commuter and subway lines? Is he scanning the emergency bands, eavesdropping as dispatchers dole out early-morning alerts? Or is it something else entirely? Is it some sort of therapy? Is there a kind of comfort in the communication that maybe makes up, just a little, for a lack of eyesight? Maybe something only he can hear, or something he's never heard but thinks he just might, from this perfect spot? Thousands of commuters walk by him, step around him as they start their downtown Boston days. But this is the start of his day, his regular routine. I don't have it in me to ask him what's out there, partly because I wouldn't want to interrupt... and maybe because it's more fun wondering. Monday, August 04, 2003 A Boston Mob Attempt : Missing the Flash-Point This here, ladies and gents, is either an attempt to take advantage of the growing mob phenom, or a lesson in exactly how not to conduct a Flash Mob. From Flashmob.info : Posted by: AnonymousThe obvious assumption? This is just a joke posted by a reactionary anti-mobber who doesn't "get" flash mobs (not that I do, but that's part of the deal). If initial suspicions are true, this bitter little troll will be hiding in the bushes, waiting to see if anyone fell for their hipper-than-thou gag, or cackling at their computer, waiting for news reports that will never happen. Enjoy. Let's have some fun, though, and assume for a second that this is an actual stab at a Flash Mob invitiation. First off, I'll resist the temptation to pick on the AOL-speak ("2 Boston"? "da big TV stationz"? "shotz"? Yikes.) As Flash Mobs hit the mainstream (like the Boston Metro this morning, and the N.Y. Times, and just now at CNN, for example), I suppose it was inevitable that attention-hounds jumping on the bandwagon... the same people who sit behind the backstop at Sox games, clutching their cell phones, waving incessently. "I'm on camera! Woo!" Morons. Planning three simultaneous Mobs, with virtually no notice? In front of TV stations? At a pre-announced time with no instructions and a complete lack of creativity? It's too stupid to be real, just mean enough to be fake. One thing about flash mobs : Anyone can do it. Just because one person was motivated enough to pull together the first one in your city doesn't mean you have to follow them blindly. Go to one, see what it's like. Doesn't mean you have to keep going. Do your own thing, learn from all the rest. What worked? What didn't? Is there a point? Does it mean anything to you? Was it fun or did you feel sheepish? Is the mob trend a signal of something larger, more significant? Is it disruptive, and a massive waste of time and resources? Harmless or harmful? Whatever your opinion, look at all sides, make up your mind. The RIAA : On a Wild Scapegoat Chase This morning the BBC's Mark Ward offers up an interesting overview of how misguided the RIAA is in blaming, and suing, their very own customers. There are so many contributing factors to the decline in compact disc sales, and going after the little guys is not only a massive waste of time and resources, but will only continue to turn consumers against them. Just wait until the individual stories of the lawsuit targets come out... it's not going to be pretty. Almanac Mp3 of the Week : Elliott Smith's "Angel in the Snow" While we wait for Mr. Smith's next album, here's an outtake from his first solo sessions, way back in 1995. Although never released on an Elliott album, the acoustic "Angel in the Snow" was eventually included on a compilation disc that accompanied the first (and as far as I can tell, only) issue of a 'zine called Yeti. It's long out of print, so I figured I'd offer the song up for Elliott Smith fans and anyone else who's never had the good fortune of hearing it. Not sure why it was kept off his first record, 'cuz it's a keeper. Friday, August 01, 2003 Here Lies Harv... He may not have outlived you, but he sure as hell outrocked you.  The original, less-contrasty photo is here. So, is it a photoshop job or not? Looks real enough to me. thanks to waxy.org More on the Flash Mob : Boston Report Roundup Pulling together some other postings and perspectives on last night's inaugural Boston FlashMob ... If you happen to know of any other write-ups, feel free to post links on the comments page. |
midlake
two copies of their new cd
running until 9am on 2/12
david bazan + his band
live at tt the bear's place
in cambridge, mass.
on tuesday, october 20th, 2009
recent posts on the 'nac...
- CD Giveaway: Midlake's "The Courage Of Others"
- Future Faves? Upcoming 2010 album releases...
- 2009: My Favorite Music
- Last Night's Playlist (Tourfilter DJ Night @ River...
- Live Mp3s: David Bazan + his band in Cambridge, MA...
- Boston Ticket Giveaway: Mission of Burma at the Pa...
- Year-End Giveaway: Mucho Merge Records Merch!
- Some '09 Faves: My Bazaar Bizarre Boston playlist
- Live Mp3s: The XX in-store at Newbury Comics
- Ticket Giveaway: Wye Oak at Allston's Great Scott ...
latest comments...
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