bradley's almanac - a boston music blog

boston area shows of note:

friday, may 9th

shearwater

clinic

wild light

@ the paradise

friday, may 9th

band in boston presents...

an organ donation awareness show

with drug rug, carter tanton (of tulsa),

the tony the bookie orchestra,

marc pinansky (of township),

george lewis jr.,

chris warren (of viva viva),

and robert rivera

@ pa's lounge

sunday, may 11th

hallelujah the hills

girls, guns, & glory

and many more

free @ mayfair in harvard square

sunday, may 11th

the lymbyc systym

@ the middle east

monday, may 12th

the cure

@ agganis arena

tuesday, may 13th

british sea power

the rosebuds

jeffrey lewis

@ the paradise

thursday, may 15th

tourfilter dj night

songs by bands coming to town

(with djs yours truly & chris tourfilter)

9pm @ river gods near central square

thursday, may 15th

bishop allen

the teeth

the self righteous brothers

@ the middle east downstairs

friday, may 16th

ryan's smashing life presents...

aloud, murder mystery,

miss fairchild, & scuba

@ tt the bears

friday, may 16th

bell x1

@ the paradise

friday, may 16th

bruce cockburn

catherine maclellan

@ the somerville theatre

saturday, may 17th

thee silver mt. zion memorial

orchestra & tra-la-la band

(members of godspeed you black emperor)

@ the middle east downstairs

sunday, may 18th

snowden

colour revolt

the epochs

age rings

@ great scott

monday, may 19th

daily show writer

rob kutner

signing 'apocalypse how'

@ pandemonium in cambridge

tuesday, may 20th

x (john doe, exene, bonebrake, & billy)

the detroit cobras

@ the paradise

friday, may 23rd

joe lally (of fugazi)

glorytellers

thalia zedek

@ the middle east

friday, may 23rd

writer neil gaiman

@ mit's kresge auditorium

friday, may 23rd

laura veirs

liam finn

@ the middle east

saturday, may 24th

cake, cracker,

the english beat, bodeans

@ the dcr hatch shell

saturday, may 24th

son volt

@ the museum of fine arts boston

saturday, may 24th

the mary onettes

@ the middle east

wednesday, may 28th

duran duran

@ agganis arena

friday, may 30th

the gentlemen

eric salt & the electric city

the rationales (cd release)

@ tt the bears

friday, may 30th

sea wolf

the jealous girlfriends

@ the paradise

saturday, may 31st

jeremy enigk

damien jurado

@ great scott

sunday, june 1st

ida

michael hurley

@ the nave gallery, somerville

monday, june 2nd

M83

@ the middle east downstairs

wednesday, june 4thnd

hayden

@ great scott

thursday, june 5th

the breeders

the montana boys

@ the paradise

friday, june 6th

orbit

taxpayer

the fatal flaw

boone

@ tt the bears

friday, june 6th

styrofoam

broken spindles

@ the middle east

friday, june 6th

mudhoney

the cynics

@ the middle east

saturday, june 7th

langhorne slim

baker

@ tt the bears

saturday, june 7th

pela

static of the gods

the motion sick

shawn fogel

@ the middle east

sunday, june 8th

donita sparks (ex-L7)

& the stellar moments

@ tt the bears

monday, june 9th

the kooks

@ the paradise

tuesday, june 10th

swervedriver

@ the paradise

wednesday, june 11th

grand archives

@ great scott

wednesday, june 11th

mark kozelek

(sun kil moon / red house painters)

marissa nadler

@ the museum of fine arts boston

thursday, june 12th

tullycraft

pants yell!

the smittens

@ pa's lounge

thursday, june 12th

damon & naomi

helena espvall & masaki batoh

@ tt the bears

thursday, june 12th

mission of burma

performing the album

'signals, calls and marches'

@ the paradise

friday, june 13th

mission of burma

performing the album 'vs'

@ the paradise

saturday, june 14th

centro-matic

@ the middle east upstairs

friday, june 13th

r.e.m.

modest mouse

the national

@ the tweeter center

wednesday, june 18th

sloan

the golden dogs

@ tt the bears

thursday, june 19th

retribution gospel choir

(with low's alan sparhawk)

@ the middle east upstairs

thursday, june 19th

the ting tings

@ great scott

friday, june 20th

polvo

birds of avalon

@ the middle east downstairs

friday, june 20th

my brightest diamond

clare & the reasons

@ the berklee performance center

saturday, june 21st

eksi ekso (cd release)

caspian

hooray for earth

dj die young

@ the paradise

friday, june 27th

devo

tom tom club

@ bank of american pavillion

saturday, june 28th

peter murphy

@ the roxy

saturday, june 28th

& monday, june 30th

pearl jam

ted leo & the pharmacists

@ the tweeter center

saturday, july 5th

cassavettes

girls, guns, and glory

teenage prayers

@ the paradise

tuesday, july 8th

feist

@ the bank of america pavilion

saturday, july 12th

bottomless pit

the kadane bros.

(of the new year / bedhead)

chris brokaw

@ the middle east upstairs

thursday, july 31st

the police

elvis costello & the impersonators

@ the tweeter center

saturday, august 2nd

wolf parade

@ the paradise

wednesday, august 6th

neil halstead (slowdive/mojave 3)

rogue wave

jack johnson

@ the tweeter center

wednesday, august 13th

radiohead

@ the tweeter center

wednesday, august 20th

human league, belinda carlisle, abc,

flock of seagulls, naked eyes

@ the bank of america pavilion

sunday, september 7th

ryan adams & the cardinals

@ the bank of america pavilion

tuesday, september 23rd

writer dennis lehane

(release day for 'the given day')

@ the coolidge corner theatre

monday, october 6th

stereolab

monade

@ the paradise

visit tourfilter for more shows

Monday, February 07, 2005

Mp3s of the Week: live Low & Pedro the Lion

Saturday night's Low & Pedro the Lion show at the Somerville Theatre was just what I needed after a relatively long personal live-music drought. There's always that dry spell in December & January, with both touring bands & show-going students on holiday break, so with the blizzard blowing a couple shows I'd planned on (and with me skipping last Thursday's Arcade Fire show), it had been too damn long since I'd been out.

This was probably the 4th or 5th time I've seen Pedro, and while their latest disc is maybe my least favorite of the four full-lengthers (but hey, still good), this was by far the best I've ever seen 'em play. The rhythm section that David Bazan has pulled together was so right on, Frank Lenz the perfect fit on drums (as he was with Starflyer 59), and Ken Maiuri playing bass and adding ace backing vocals. TW Walsh filled it all out beautifully with second guitar, the occasional keyboard line, and a little shaker-action. It all just worked for me.

The live versions of the recent stuff made me appreciate the album much more, they skipped the clunkers, and even the older stuff had well-chosen minor tweakings that fit in really well. Throw in a Neil Young cover (with Low's Alan Sparhawk guesting on tasteful guitar-wankery), and I got the full-on live-music head-buzz. After some recently faded enthusiasm, I am wholly back in the PTL booster club.

The setlist, and a few downloadable songs from the night...

Pedro the Lion
Live at the Somerville Theater, Somerville, MA
February 5th, 2005

(songs removed on 3/20/2005)

1. Penetration / Never Leave a Job Half Done
2. Magazine
3. Foregone Conclusions / I Do
4. Keep Swinging
5. Start Without Me
6. Bands With Managers
7. Transcontinental
8. I Am Always The One Who Calls
9. Simple Economics / When They Really Get To Know You They Will Run
10. Revolution Blues (Neil Young cover with Alan Sparhawk)
11. A Mind of Her Own

I'm loving the new Low album, and as much as I was glad to see them again, there was a little something missing. Maybe it's this new-Low, the occasionally-louder, more dynamic Low experience that threw things off... of the many times I've seen them, they've never failed to take me to another place, to transport me somewhere I wouldn't mind living full-time, lulling me into some kind of half-asleep-but-totally-not-bored trance. I missed that Saturday night, although older songs like 'Shame' and 'Violence' nearly got me there. I suppose I have to separate those previous experiences, leave them behind, and just judge the new material, the new live Low, on it's own.

That said, they sounded great, Alan's guitar-work has come a long way, or maybe the rockier songs allow him to show off a bit more... thinking back, though, it was I Remember, one of the quietest songs, where I really noticed. It's not just Def Leppard he's getting his tricks from.

Their setlist, with some more songs for ya, including a new one with my guess at the title...

Low
Live at the Somerville Theater, Somerville, MA
February 5th, 2005

1. Death of a Salesman
2. Monkey
3. California
4. (That's How You Sing) Amazing Grace
5. Shame
6. Everybody's Song
7. Silver Rider
8. Walk Into the Sea
9. Dragonfly (new)
10. Laser Beam
11. Pissing
12. I Remember
13. Broadway (So Many People)
14. When I Go Deaf
15. Sunflower
16. Violence
17. Cue The Strings

One thing about the Low recordings... their huge swings in volume definitely presented a challenge for my sensitive little Archos, so some of the quiet moments are a little hissy, punctuated by the occasional cough (and by the clutz in front of me who dropped her cell phone three times during the set). I swear, at one point you can actually hear the kid next to me and his nasal breathing. I really wanted to hand that guy a kleenex. Yuck.

And another thing... both bands gave the crowd ample opportunity to speak up between a few songs, and this was decidedly not a good thing. Interactivity can be fun and all, but it's been a long time since I've heard such inanity from an audience, whether invited or not. Dunno if it was the whole Saturday-night thing, maybe a bit too much of the alky-hall, or if they were just naturally retarded, but yeesh. Why don'tcha just yell out "Hey, guess what everyone, I'm an idiot!". Lucky for you, I edited most of that out. We're all better off.

Other Low & Pedro related bits...

PTL was still selling their 2004 Tour EP at their merch table, and it's well worth the measly five bucks. It's a six-song live-in-studio affair, three of their songs and three covers: A Randy Newman song, a Cat Power song, and my fave, a cover of Radiohead's Let Down. If you can't grab the EP at a show, you can order it here.

If you can't wait to hear that Radiohead cover, you can check it out over at Pure Volume, who are hosting a whole bunch of Pedro tracks, including an entire live set recorded last year in Omaha.

While it's not necessarily news to many, Suicide Squeeze Records has officially announced the signing of David Bazan, TW Walsh, & drummer Frank Lenz's new non-Pedro (and more-electronicy) project, Headphones. Their debut self-titled full-length will be out in May, and they'll appearing at this year's SXSW festival (do let me know how they are, Frank).

The long-standing, and always-complete Low site at Chairkickers.com is undergoing it's first facelift in years. Lots of content is forthcoming, but for now you can check out a super-cute little video of Alan & Mimi's daughter Hollis Mae, alternately holding a sharpie and a cookie, and signing copies of the new album at a Duluth record store.

If you catch any of this tour's remaining dates, while you're at the merch table you'd be wise to pick up the first release on Low bassist Zak Sally's new comics publishing imprint, La Mano. It's a collection of John Porcellino's King-Cat comics & stories called 'Diary of a Mosquito Abatement Man', and it includes work from the late eighties up through stuff he finished up just last year. Read it yesterday, and it's worth ordering if you can't pick it up yourself. Here's hoping that Mr. Sally puts out some of his own stuff (including his two Recidivist mini-comics) somewhere down the road.

Labels: livemp3s