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sunday, march 14th
a special screening of the
white stripes tour documentary
"under the great white northern lights"
free admission / prize pack drawing
10pm @ the otherside cafe
sunday, march 14th
carbon leaf
@ 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
tuesday, march 16th
bacchus king
croquet
cathy cathodic
the ugly fucklings
@ the middle east upstairs
wednesday, march 17th
joanna newsom
@ the sanders theatre, harvard
wednesday, march 17th
henry rollins (spoken word)
@ the somerville theatre
thursday, march 18th
apollo sunshine
drug rug
@ the paradise
friday, march 19th
i, pistol
mascara
planetoid
forgetful jones
@ tt the bears
saturday, march 20th
the whitehaus family blastfest
needy visions, manners,
morgan shaker, avi jacob,
and many more
@ cambridge ymca theatre
saturday, march 20th
air
am
@ berklee performance center
sunday, march 21st
the clientele
field music
@ great scott
wednesday, march 24th
extraneous noise presents...
golden spurs
spirit kid
some say fire
the novel ideas
@ the middle east upstairs
thursday, march 25th
"thursday night alright!" with
the beatings
aloud
action camp
hello ninja
@ great scott
thursday, march 25th
the donnas
@ the paradise
friday, march 26th
eldridge rodriguez (the beatings)
ryan lee crosby
ted billings (age rings/hot protestants)
@ the somerville armory
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
magic magic
@ 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
cassavettes
the grownup noise
kingsley flood (cd release)
spouse
@ the middle east upstairs
saturday, april 3rd
black rebel motorcycle club
alberta cross
@ the house of blues
saturday, april 3rd
nada surf
dawn landes & the hounds
@ the paradise
sunday, april 4th
serena maneesh
depreciation guild
black fortress of opium
@ tt the bears
tuesday, april 6th
wilco
@ the orpheum
tuesday, april 6th
ben fold & a piano
kate miller-heidke
@ the house of blues
wednesday, april 7th
florence & the machine
@ the paradise
wednesday, april 7th
rocky votolato
brooke waggoner
@ great scott
thursday, april 8th
faces on film
hands & knees
st. claire (cd release!)
mr. sister
@ tt the bears
thursday, april 8th
thom yorke + atoms for peace
flying lotus
@ the citi/wang theatre
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
screaming females
@ the paradise
saturday, april 10th
pissed jeans
confines
sqrm
@ great scott
sunday, april 11th
fanfarlo
lawrence arabia
robert francis
@ the paradise
monday, april 12th
the wedding present
play their 1989 lp 'bizarro'
with openers girl in a coma
@ the middle east downstairs
monday, april 12th
titus andronicus
the babies
@ great scott
thursday, april 15th
jakob dylan with guests
neko case + kelly hogan
@ the wilbur theatre
thursday, april 15th
red sparowes
doomriders
@ the middle east downstairs
friday, april 16th
guillermo sexo
freddie t and the people
(ex-june of 44 / hoover)
travels
ghost box orchestra
@ pa's lounge
friday, april 16th
have nots (vinyl release!)
the appreciation post
razors in the night
wicked whiskey
the swaggerin growlers
@ tt the bears
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
heavy trash (w/jon spencer)
the konks
the cobra-matics
@ 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
timber timbre
@ the paradise
tuesday, april 20th
quasi
let's wrestle
@ the middle east downstairs
wednesday, april 21st
the church
special 30th anniversary
acoustic career retrospective
@ the somerville armory
wednesday, april 21st through
wednesday, april 28th
the 8th annual independent film festival of boston
@ various boston area theatres
including the somerville + brattle
thursday, april 22nd
the mary onettes
@ great scott
saturday, april 24th
graham parker with
the figgs
@ johnny d's, somerville
saturday, april 24th
los campesinos!
here we go magic
@ the paradise
sunday, april 25th
harlem
@ the great scott
monday, april 26th
echo + the bunneymen
hatcham social
@ 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
the everyday visuals
the lights out
the flying machines
aloud
@ tt the bears
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
saturday, may 1st
white rabbits
here we go magic
@ the paradise
monday, may 3rd
yeasayer
sleigh bells
@ the paradise
tuesday, may 4th
gregory & the hawk
lady lamb the beekeeper
@ tt the bears
tuesday & wednesday
may 4th & 5th
public image ltd.
@ the royale (formerly the roxy)
wednesday & thursday
may 5th & 6th
jonsi (from sigur ros)
@ the house of blues
thursday, may 6th
shout out louds
@ the paradise
friday, may 7th
ok go
earl greyhound
robert francis
@ the paradise
saturday, may 8th
local natives
@ great scott
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
saturday, may 22nd
killing joke
@ the paradise
tuesday, may 18th
spectrum (featuring sonic boom
from spacemen 3 + e.a.r.)
with the broken river prophet
@ the middle east upstairs
tuesday, may 25th
the smittens
allo darlin'
one happy island
hearts!attack
a smile and a ribbon
horowitz
@ the lizard lounge
wednesday, may 26th
reverend horton heat
cracker
miss derringer
@ the house of blues
friday, may 28th
mono
the twilight sad
@ the middle east downstairs
wednesday, june 2nd
kings of convenience
franklin for short
@ the paradise
wednesday, june 2nd
ryan bingham & the dead horses
@ tt the bears
wednesday & thursday
june 2nd & 3rd
the national
@ the house of blues
friday, june 4th
brian jonestown massacre
@ the paradise
friday, june 18th
reigning sound
movers & shakers
triplethick
@ tt the bears
saturday, june 19th
james taylor
carole king
@ the garden
sunday + monday
june 20th + 21st
isis
melvins
totimoshi
@ the paradise
thursday + saturday
august 19th + 21st
tom petty + the heartbreakers
my morning jacket
@ the comcast center
|
Tuesday, October 12, 2004 So Tonight, It Begins... I make no predictions, I have no expectations. Us Red Sox fans may be made from sturdy stuff, but let's hope we don't have to find out exactly how tough we are. Oh, my achin' haaaht! (beware, children, there be swearin' ahead!)  Caught Team America this past Saturday, and it is by far the funniest film of the year. I swear, my stomach still hurts from laughing constantly throughout. Takes no prisoners (hell, it just blows 'em up), crosses every line, the jokes go from low-brow to high-brow, from vomit-launching to veiled social commentary, and back again. And the swearing. Oh, the glorious, unrestricted cussin'. I laughed every time they said "Cockbag!". I'm so easy! This movie could only have been made with marionettes, even using some of their inherant limitations to poke fun at itself. While it takes aim at all sides of the "America as World Police" argument, and also skewers every action film cliche it can, it is particularly brutal to outspoken Hollywood celebrities. Sean Penn, Matt Damon, Helen Hunt (?), Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, Samuel L. Jackson (?!), George Clooney, Danny Glover, Janeane Garofalo, Martin Sheen, Michael Moore (natch), and especially Alec Baldwin are trashed and torn apart (some literally). Trey Parker and Matt Stone have always found easy, generally deserving targets in South Park (Phil Collins, Elton John, Rod Stewart, Mel Gibson, etc.), but this time around their attacks seem so far over the top that the over-sensitive might bristle at a perceived imbalance. Admittedly, I felt a little of this... the targeting of the so-called left is more pointed and far more obvious than the overall criticism of over-enthusiastic flag-wavers and right-wing hawks. In the end, though, it doesn't matter... it's all just funny as hell, no matter which side you fall on. Both sides could find something about Team America that supports their beliefs... and they'd both be wrong. Or right. They'd also be talking about a marionette movie, so they'd sound pretty silly if they tried. And the music... oh, man. Genius. Hysterical new songs, and the ressurection of my favorite song from the South Park series. Not gonna blow the surprise, just go see it. I double-dog dare ya not to laugh. A lot. "Freedom isn't free! No, there's a hefty fuckin' fee!" Speaking of T.A., and Mr. Sean Penn, you've probably read his unfortunate letter to Matt & Trey in response to their recent statements about voting (that there's "no shame in not voting ... if you don't know what you're talking about."). Here's part of what he had to say to them... "I do mind when anybody who doesn't have a child, doesn't have a child at war, or isn't or won't be in harm's way themselves, is encouraging that there's "no shame in not voting" "if you don't know what you're talking about" (Mr. Stone) without mentioning the shame of not knowing what your talking about, and encouraging people to know. You guys are talented young guys but alas, primarily young guys. It's all well to joke about me or whomever you choose. Not so well, to encourage irresponsibility that will ultimately lead to the disembowelment, mutilation, exploitation, and death of innocent people throughout the world. The vote matters to them. No one's ignorance, indcluding a couple of hip cross-dressers, is an excuse.Now, I can understand where Penn is coming from, but his poor choice of words, and even poorer timing (as a target in Team America, it can only appear that he can't take a joke, and maybe he can't) come off as knee-jerk and just plain silly. If anything, it helps Parker & Stone prove one of the points (if there really are any) of the film. You'll know what I mean. They responded to Penn in Salon yesterday... According to Stone, "when you read it, the letter comes from such a high place of arrogance, you know, [deep, serious voice] 'You guys are young guys! If you don't have children, you can't say anything about anything!' And the whole voting thing. All we ever said was that we thought that uninformed people should not vote -- on either side of the political spectrum. It doesn't matter who you're gonna vote for. If you really don't know who you're gonna vote for, or are uninformed, or haven't really thought about it? Just stay home. Don't let people fucking shame you into going to the polls."They're wrong, though... if you don't know who you're gonna vote for, are uninformed, or haven't really thought about it? Well, don't just stay home... how hard is it to spend a couple hours surfing the web, visiting both candidates' sites, their supporters, hell, just talking to your friends. Ignorance isn't an excuse, at least not this time around. In any other election, the differences between the two major party candidates might be small enough that abstaining makes a strange sort of sense, or that voting for a third party like Nader seems a wise statement. Not anymore. The political gulf is too wide, the basic beliefs too different. A side needs to be chosen. Speaking of which, the documentary on John Kerry's time in Vietnam, and the aftermath in which he protested, called Going Upriver, is available as a completely free download. Here's a direct link to a torrent file if this site's link proves too slow. I've grabbed it at home and plan on watching this week... I've heard only great things. So not only did George Bush's hometown paper, deep in the heart of Texas, decide to endorse John Kerry this time around, but they're standing strong under a barrage of whiny Republican letters and death threats. Their stance is inspiring, as are the letters of support amongst the negativity. Huge gearshift here... Really, really psyched to read that the Cure will be reissuing their first album, Three Imaginary Boys with lots of extra tracks, and even a few I didn't know existed, on December 9th. It's never been released in the U.S., and my vinyl copy melted in the "big burn of '92", so I'll be glad to have it back with bonuses. From Bitchfork, the tracklist... Disc 1: Three Imaginary BoysWow. I can only hope the future reissues, like 1982's Pornography, contain half that much treasure. Gothamist talks to rockstar Ted Leo about NYC. A great little read. (thanks TRJ via CW) Fans of good sci-fi, don't forget to set the TiVo: This coming Sunday brings the two-part Farscape mini-series that fans were hoping for. Titled "The Peacekeeper Wars", it promises to wrap up a bunch of loose ends (the biggest being the abrupt death/abduction of the two main characters), and will no doubt leave a few open for followups. I'm damn glad we get at least these four more hours with the characters. I found the Farscape bandwagon late, but devoured every episode (the great and even the not-so-good ones) furiously once I jumped on. Sunday is the two-hour first part (airing three times in a row, starting at 9 o'clock), and Monday is the two-hour conclusion. One of my favorite Sealab 2021 episodes is "All That Jazz", in which Captain Murphy gets stuck under a soda machine and gets befriended/tortured by a scorpion. Well, someone went and wrote down every flavor of jazz-inspired cola available from the machine, including John Cola-trane, Dave Bruberry, and Fizzy Gillespie. Aces. I heart Jessi Klein from VH1's Best Week Ever. Look, she blogged the presidental debate over on CNN. X-Box Gamers rejoice: HALO 2 is finished. Done. Gone Gold. Shipping November 9th. Bring it. If you're like me, you enjoy the magic that is a perfect piece of cheddar cheese. Well, here's my new favorite: Grafton Village Cheese, and it's from my own home state. You can find it in most Whole Foods stores, or in finer cheese shops... but order it direct, it's cheaper. MmmmMMM... cheeeese... So, it's safe to say that I've got an interesting evening ahead of me... I somehow got invited to this. Two hours of free snacks and Johnnie Walker drinkin' after work. This promo-fest "features a guided whisky education led by a qualified Johnnie Walker Ambassador. You'll have the chance to sample some of the extraordinary single malts used in Johnnie Walker Black Label Scotch, and learn everything you need to know about the exquisite blend." Whisky and I don't have much of a relationship, but maybe that's about to change. Edumacate me, oh J.W. Ambassador! And whaddya know, when it wraps up at 8 o'clock, we'll conveniently already be in a South Boston sports bar (sorry... spohuuts baaahhh) for the first pitch in game one of the Sox vs. the Yanks. Yes, I know a Southie bar for such a big game may be a risky proposition, but I'm soooo up for it. Plus, won't have to drive anywhere after the free whisky action. Might as well get a buzz going before the stress settles in to stay for a week or so. The emotional scars of last year are still with me, and I'm not sure I'm ready to relive it. Everyone else can do their part and 'keep the faith'... me, I'll be over here in a fetal position, waiting for a big pin-striped anvil to drop. I know, I know... I'm weak, but I do so fear for my sanity...  |
sparklehorse
live at the paradise
in boston, mass.
on monday, february 26th, 2009
recent posts on the 'nac...
- Mp3(s) of the Week: Giant Sand Live
- If Ever A Week There Was...
- Rilo Kiley - Live In Somerville
- Mp3s: Late night Waits, Wilco, & Keane
- Parallel Campaign Speeches
- Mp3(s) of the Week: Live Sloan Action
- Ultra-Violet Rays Wash Over...
- Sayonara Summer
- The Pain Inside My Brain...
- The Not-So-Full Flower of the Evening
latest comments...
on the mp3 player
on the screen
on the nightstand
other boston-area music blogs
- anti-gravity bunny
- the ash gray proclamation
- aurgasm
- band in boston
- beginning to see the light
- boston band crush
- boston music spotlight
- boston through my eyes
- clicky clicky
- drive blind
- enough cowbell
- forgotten disc friday
- the giant panther
- heads up boston
- hip to be square
- i heart noise
- melophobe
- morkelson
- music down to your soul
- new artillery
- one in a million media
- onward charles
- pelly twins
- pilgrims of sound
- playground boston
- pocket|trax
- rock n roll boston
- ryan's smashing life
- soho the dog
- stereo typing
- the stu reid experiment
- under 21 in boston
- under the rotunda
- zed equals zee
boston music media
boston live show / event info
music blogroll
- between thought & expression
- brainwashed
- brooklyn vegan
- captain's dead
- the catbirdseat
- cerulean's love of music
- chromewaves
- coolfer
- comets, stars, & moons
- donewaiting
- ear farm
- excellent online
- exitfare
- extrawack!
- fluxblog
- for the records
- gorilla vs. bear
- hard to find a friend
- harmonium
- heartache with hard work
- the hype machine
- i am fuel, you are friends
- idolator
- i guess i'm floating
- ijamming
- information leafblower
- junkmedia's world of sound
- kingblind
- lacunae
- largehearted boy
- the late greats
- leaky sparrow
- little hits
- more cowbell
- music for robots
- muzzle of bees
- my old kentucky blog
- pitchfork
- quick before it melts
- said the gramophone
- scenestars
- shake your fist
- sixeyes
- skatterbrain
- song, by toad
- the sound of indie
- stereogum
- the rawking refuses to stop
- too much rock
- torr
- unfinished
- yeti don't dance
music audiocasts
surf-worthy
- amie's flickr page
- andi's nonsequiturs
- bitter-girl
- brian wood
- bridget's journal
- ckelly's ink
- the dead part of you
- falfa's milk
- the great leap forward
- heath's media diet
- hedgehog's dilemma
- the icebox journals
- jim's flickr page
- jen's jenville
- jen's blossom
- joe sizzle's
- kimprobable
- march to the sea's musings
- marm0t's livejournal
- mickipedia!
- miller's memorables
- mishie's tear
- off on a tangent
- rsl's ostracons
- the shy turnip
- sooz's dot com
- steve's f.r.h.m.
other frequent haunts
boston-centric
- boston.com
- boston phoenix
- boston online
- boston common
- boston blogs
- craigslist boston
- exploit boston!
- boston wireless
- surfacecity's boston
- tourfilter
- the middle east cafe
- tt the bears place
- the plan @ great scott's
- wmbr concert report
- wzbc concert report
- phoenix movie listings
- coolidge corner theater
- brattle theater
- red sox / dirt dogs
- sox: surviving grady
- patriots / go pats
- celtics
- mass pike traffic
( < | > random list )
some cele-bloggers
