bradley's almanac - a boston-based music blog

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thursday, september 2nd

lou barlow + the missingmen

wye oak

the unfamiliars

@ the middle east upstairs

saturday, september 4th

mg lederman (ex-victory at sea)

cd release show with

the wrong reasons

the beat awfuls

brant deatley

@ the plough & stars

sunday, september 5th

sweet apple

(w/j mascis on drums)

black helicopter

zombie radio

@ the middle east downstairs

sunday, september 5th

the milling gowns

what time is it, mr. fox?

faux ox

jaggery

@ harper's ferry

monday, september 6th

wallcreeper

@ charlie's kitchen

monday, september 6th

shellac

helen money

@ the middle east downstairs

tuesday, september 7th

tortoise

greg davis

ben vidas

@ the paradise

tuesday, september 7th

someone still loves you boris yeltsin

telekinesis

golden bloom

@ tt the bears

tuesday, september 7th

kele (from bloc party)

does it offend you, yeah?

@ the royale boston

wednesday, september 8th

hot hot heat

22-20s

hey rosetta!

@ the middle east downstairs

wednesday, september 8th

airborne toxic event (acoustic)

with the calder string quartet

@ the somerville theatre

thursday, september 9th

apple betty

this blue heaven

the backup factor

apollo run

@ tt the bears

friday, september 10th

i, pistol

black fortress of opium

the crushing low

@ precinct

friday, september 10th

the charlatans uk

sherlock's daughter

@ the royale boston

saturday, september 11th

school of seven bells

active child

@ the middle east downstairs

saturday, september 11th

neutral uke hotel (nmh covers on ukelele)

the michael j. epstein memorial library

@ cafe 939, berklee

saturday, september 11th

28 degrees taurus

magic shoppe (record release!)

@ the rosebud

saturday, september 11th

jamie lidell

@ the royale boston

friday + saturday

september 11th + 12th

the life is good festival

lots of bands, raising money for kids

over 2 days in canton, ma

sunday, september 12th

jarrod gorbel

(of the honorary title)

air traffic controller

@ great scott

sunday, september 12th

blondie

@ the house of blues

sunday, september 12th

vampire weekend

beach house

dum dum girls

@ the boa pavilion

monday, september 13th

dirty projectors

owen pallett (final fantasy)

@ the wilbur theatre

monday, september 13th

isobel campbell

mark lanegan

willy mason

@ the middle east downstairs

tuesday, september 14th

rush

@ the td garden

wednesday, september 15th

laura veirs + the hall of flames

the watson twins

led to sea

@ tt the bears

thursday, september 16th

of montreal

janelle monae

@ the house of blues boston

friday, september 17th

one happy island

kevin dunn

cotton candy

7:30pm @ the lily pad, cambridge

friday, september 17th

broken social scene

@ the house of blues

friday & saturday

september 17th & 18th

the 5th annual

viva la vinal festival!

with live performances from

audrey ryan, kingsley flood,

this blue heaven, bridget + the squares,

the international string trio, & justin shorey

6-10pm on friday + 12-9 on saturday

@ somerville community growing center

on vinal ave. in somerville's union square

saturday, september 18th

pavement

jenny (lewis) + johnny (rice)

@ agganis arena

saturday, september 18th

wavves

@ brandeis university, waltham

sunday, september 19th

thee oh sees

the human tail

thick shakes

@ the magic room gallery, brighton

sunday, september 19th

caribou

holy fuck

emeralds

@ the paradise

monday, september 20th

girlfriends

carnivores

weekend dads

@ o'brien's

tuesday, september 21st

superchunk

versus

@ royale boston

tuesday, september 21st

basia bulat

the acorn

john shade

@ tt the bears

tuesday, september 21st

sea wolf (alex acoustic)

sera cahoone

patrick park

@ the middle east upstairs

wednesday, september 22nd

phantogram

railbird

@ the paradise

wednesday, september 22nd

david bazan

the mynabirds

@ tt the bears

wednesday, september 22nd

field music

@ great scott

thursday, september 23rd

aloud (album release party!)

st. claire

old jack

with special emcee

poet/author james caroline

@ church of boston

thursday, september 23rd

stars

wild nothing

@ the house of blues

thursday, september 23rd

!!! (chk chk chk)

fol chen

@ the royale boston

thursday, september 23rd

bettie serveert

meandjoancollins

the painted lights

@ tt the bears

friday, september 24th

eels

@ the royale boston

saturday, september 25th

teenage fanclub

@ the royale boston

saturday, september 25th

james

ed harcourt

@ the paradise

sunday, september 26th

come (reunited!)

wussy

@ tt the bears

sunday, september 26th

mr. sister (debut album release!)

coyote kolb

tallahassee

@ great scott

sunday, september 26th

mates of state

@ the paradise

monday, september 27th

rogue wave

midlake

peter wolf crier

@ royale boston

tuesday, september 28th

lcd soundsystem

sleigh bells

@ the orpheum

tuesday, september 28th

best coast

male bonding

@ the middle east downstairs

wednesday, september 29th

quilt

paper castles

toothache

@ the lilypad

wednesday, september 29th

foals

esben + the witch

@ the paradise

thursday, september 30th

mc frontalot

@ tt the bears

thursday, september 30th

menomena

suckers

@ the royale boston

thursday + friday

sept 30th + oct 1st

built to spill

revolt revolt

pretty & nice

@ the paradise

friday, october 1st

the tallest man on earth

s. carey (of bon iver's band)

@ the somerville theatre

friday, october 1st

ra ra riot

chikita violenta

we barbarians

@ the royale boston

saturday, october 2nd

gayngs

(with bon iver's justin vernon)

glasser

@ the paradise

saturday, october 2nd

film school

the depreciation guild

static of the gods

night fruit

@ tt the bears

sunday, october 3rd

the xx

@ the orpheum

sunday, october 3rd

tom tom club

caravan of thieves

tony castles

@ the paradise

sunday, october 3rd

lost in the trees

@ tt the bears

tuesday, october 5th

the vaselines

jeffrey lewis

@ the paradise

tuesday, october 5th

chapterhouse

ulrich schnauss

@ the middle east downstairs

tuesday, october 5th

ratatat

dom

@ the house of blues boston

wednesday, october 6th

gorillaz

@ agganis arena

wednesday, october 6th

the hold steady

wintersleep

@ the royale boston

thursday, october 7th

the walkmen

a.a. bondy

blood feathers

@ the royale boston

friday, october 8th

death

@ the middle east downstairs

friday, october 8th

fountains of wayne

marshall crenshaw (solo)

@ the paradise

friday, october 8th

bell x1 (acoustic)

@ the brattle theatre

saturday, october 9th

paul f. tompkins

@ the brattle theatre

sunday, october 10th

deerhoof

xiu xiu

father murphy

first show @ the paramount!

sunday, october 10th

miike snow

@ the house of blues

sunday, october 10th

primus

mucca pazza

@ the orpheum

tuesday, october 12th

ingrid michaelson

@ the house of blues

wednesday, october 13th

dead kennedys

@ the paradise

thursday, october 14th

the thermals

cymbals eat guitars

@ the paradise

thursday, october 14th

the morning after girls

the lovetones

the december sound

ghost box orchestra

@ tt the bears

friday, october 15th

nick lowe + his band

graham parker (solo acoustic)

@ the somerville theatre

friday, october 15th

jimmy eat world

@ the house of blues

friday, october 15th

bowerbirds

death vessel

@ tt the bears

friday, october 15th

belle + sebastian

@ the wang theatre / citi center

saturday, october 16th

deerhunter

real estate

casino vs. japan

@ royale boston

sunday, october 17th

the henry clay people

the dig

@ tt the bears

monday, october 18th

greg dulli

(afghan whigs/twilight singers)

first-ever solo tour

with opener craig wedren

(of shudder to think)

@ the brattle theatre

monday, october 18th

bad religion

the bouncing souls

@ the house of blues

monday, october 18th

the drums

the hairs

@ the paradise

monday, october 18th

phoenix

two door cinema club

wavves

@ agganis arena

tuesday, october 19th

massive attack

thievery corporation

@ the orpheum

wednesday, october 20th

the pains of being pure at heart

yuck

eternal summers

@ the paradise

wednesday, october 20th

helmet

@ the middle east downstairs

sunday, october 22nd

gary numan

rasputina

playing 'the pleasure principle'

@ the paradise

saturday, october 23rd

local natives

the ruby suns

union line

@ the house of blues

sunday, october 24th

woven bones

frankie rose & the outs

@ tt the bears

monday, october 25th

the corin tucker band

hungry ghost

darren hanlon

@ the paradise

wednesday, october 27th

a sunny day in glasgow

candy claws

@ great scott

wednesday, october 27th

black prairie

(members of the decemberists)

sarah jarosz

@ the middle east upstairs

thursday, october 28th

the tt's halloween bash

with members of mean creek + campaign

for real time (as talking heads)

john powhida (as todd rundgren)

preacher roe (as guided by voices)

@ tt the bears

friday, october 29th

frightened rabbit

plants and animals

the phantom band

@ the paradise

saturday, october 30th

hallelujah the hills

magic magic

boy without god

@ great scott

sunday, october 31st

florence and the machine

the smith westerns

@ the house of blues

monday, november 1st

blonde redhead

pantha du prince

@ the paradise

monday, november 1st

social distortion

lucero

frank turner

@ the house of blues boston

tuesday, november 2nd

junip (jose gonzales)

sharon van etten

@ the royale boston

tuesday, november 2nd

black mountain

the black angels

@ the paradise

wednesday, november 3rd

the dandy warhols

blue giant

@ tt the bears

wednesday, november 3rd

land of talk

suuns

little scream

@ tt the bears

thursday, november 4th

through sunday, november 7th

the international pop overthrow

4 nights @ pa's lounge

thursday, november 4th

matt + kim

javelin

@ the house of blues

thursday, november 4th

blitzen trapper

@ the paradise

friday, november 5th

guided by voices

blitzen trapper

@ the paradise

sunday, november 7th

drivin 'n cryin

@ tt the bears

monday, november 8th

clinic

the fresh & onlys

@ the paradise

tuesday, november 9th

the morning benders

@ the paradise

thursday + friday

november 11th + 12th

sufjan stevens

@ the orpheum

thursday, november 11th

shearwater

horse feathers

damien jurado

anais mitchell

@ the house of blues

thursday, november 11th

deer tick

@ the royale boston

thursday, november 11th

mumford & sons

cadillac sky

king charles

@ the house of blues

friday, november 12th

bottomless pit

black helicopter

chris brokaw

@ the middle east downstairs

saturday, november 13th

roky erickson

@ the royale boston

saturday, november 13th

grinderman

(nick cave, warren ellis, + more)

@ the house of blues

sunday, november 14th

elizabeth mitchell (of ida)

and friends

(a children's show!)

4:30pm @ club passim

sunday, november 14th

man or astro-man?

@ the middle east downstairs

monday, november 15th

la roux

@ the house of blues

tuesday, november 16th

a night of springsteen covers

with chris keene (mean creek),

corin ashley, dave aaronoff,

brendan little, hilken mancini,

the dirty truckers, drew o'doherty,

and more to be announced

marking the release of the new

6-disk 'darkness on the edge of town'

box set @ tt the bears

tuesday, november 16th

the posies

brendan benson

aqueduct

@ the royale boston

wednesday, november 17th

cornershop

@ the middle east downstairs

thursday, november 18th

kate nash

@ the paradise

thursday, november 18th

bear in heaven

@ the middle east downstairs

friday, november 19th

township

the lights out

the organ beats

@ tt the bears

saturday, november 20th

delorean

lemonade

@ the middle east downstairs

wednesday, november 24th

idlewild

happy hollows

@ the middle east downstairs

thursday, december 2nd

director/actor kevin smith

@ the house of blues

saturday, december 4th

peter hook + the light

play joy division's "unknown pleasures"

@ the royale boston

saturday, december 4th

killing joke

@ the paradise

visit tourfilter for more shows

I've been trying to write a full-on, in-depth review of Sin City, the upcoming adaptation of Frank Miller's killer comic stories that I was pretty lucky to see last week... but I'm actually too enthusiastic about it. I'm trying to resist the raising of your expectations (uh oh... it's already started), and the all-out gushing. It's a struggle... but here I go...

Well, of all the comic-property adaptations I've seen (superhero and non-superhero alike), this was easily the most literal, uncompromising, and loyal translation yet. For fans of the books, it opens with the short story 'The Customer Is Always Right', straight into 'That Yellow Bastard', onto 'The Hard Goodbye' (aka book one), then 'The Big Fat Kill', and back to 'That Yellow Bastard'. It finishes with a short and specially written epilogue that wraps things up with in a black and white bow. As a long-time Sin City reader, I feel like I need to give director Robert Rodriguez a big honkin' fan-to-man-hug. Or maybe just buy the guy a beer. He calls himself the co-director, along with Miller (the credits actually say 'Shot & Cut by Robert Rodriguez'), and the two of them together got nearly everything right... the visuals, the score, the pacing, the cast. They kept the best parts of the stories intact, taking exact panels and lines of dialogue from the books... it's eerie. It says a lot about Miller's visual storytelling that his books work so well unfiltered on the screen, and a lot about Rodriguez in that he understood that. Sometimes you don't need to fix what sure as hell ain't broke.

There's that perfect way the cars shoot down streets, grabbing just the right amount of exaggerated comic-book air. The way the beaten bodies fly further than normal after an extra-hard punch. The inhuman amount of pain each anti-hero can take and keep coming back for more. Speaking of which, Mickey Rourke is amazing... he's a Marv action figure come to life (yes, I've got one... call in the geek police). It takes a few minutes to get by the Dick Tracy-esque makeup job, but once you're in, you're so very in. And Bruce Willis... better as Hartigan in this than the whole of Hostage. Carla Gugino, not just a good performance as Lucille, but a very brave one, revealing more of herself than any other woman in the film. Just, um, wow. You'll see. Nick Stahl, also excellent, and keep an eye out for some pretty amusing line delivery from a bald Nicky Katt... didn't even recognize the guy at first. And Elijah Wood was actually frightening. Who would have thought that possible? Hell, even the occasional laugh-grabbing lines that worked on paper work better on screen. There were a few small character changes (secondary players get combined, an occasional small scene gets skipped), but the good stuff is all in there. It is Basin City, unfiltered, with all its ultra-violence, nakedness, and dark alleys intact.

My only minor complaints: Brittany Murphy's cringe-worthy moments, especially her goodbye in the window... not sure why the girl keeps gettin' work. Also, Clive Owen & Benicio Del Toro's (as Dwight & Jack) drive to the tar pit drags a little, the only slow moment in the thing. Other than that... cinematic perfection. I cannot wait to see this thing again on opening weekend, so I can put some of my money into the pockets of everyone involved.

Oh, and if you have to go out of your way to catch it on a digitally projected screen, do it. They set one up for us at the screening, and it was noticably gorgeous... the contrast, the deep blacks, the brief uses of color jumping out. Best use of digital filming and cgi-backgrounds (aside from LOTR) that I've seen yet.

If you're a die-hard fan of HBO's the Wire, you've already heard this... but for all of you who should be fans but aren't yet, listen up: It's coming back, and we're damn lucky for it. Apparantly it was a close call for HBO, who thankfully decided to look beyond ratings and ask creator David Simon to present his 4th season story ideas. Well, he sold them on it, so we get another bound-to-be-great 12 episodes. So excited, but it's going to be a long wait until early 2006. Between now and then, do yourself (and the show) a favor and rent the first couple seasons on DVD, or catch all the episodes in order through HBO on demand. I guarantee you'll be there for the fourth season premiere if you do.

It's been a long time since I visited the Indie Rock Photo Gallery, but I won't make that mistake again. Some amazing shots over there, including some fantastic photos from the Teenbeat 20th Anniversary. Very, very nice.

So you can get three semi-new American Analog Set songs thanks to... Tylenol? Yeah, it's true. Details are here at the Ouch website, although it looks like I'm a little slow on the uptake. The free split EP with White Magic, called 'Songs of Hurt and Healing', was available in certain magazines last month, and supposedly at records stores like Newbury Comics (although they had no idea what I was asking about). I'm on a mission to find this sucker, so if anyone has a clue, drop me a comment. You can listen to one song from each band here and read a pretty nice interview with AmAnSet main-man Andrew Kenny while you're at it.

How the hell did I miss the news that Toni Halliday disbanded Curve? Sad to hear, but not too surprising, I s'pose. They hadn't played live in years, their latest releases were compilations of sporadically recorded and internet-posted tracks that were largely ignored (but sure as hell not by me). I held out hope they'd hit the road, but it wasn't to be. Since Curve was always, at it's core, a duo... it's not hard to imagine her and Dean Garcia working together again someday, but as she wrote: "I do intend to do small one off projects in the future but nothing that needs the time and commitment of a full time band." Hope to hear her voice again sooner rather than later.

While it's still available, grab what may be the last internet-released Curve mp3, 'Weekend', from their mp3 page.

Scrubs guy and Garden Stater Zach Braff totally got Punk'd. (waitaminute, that show is actually still on the air?). Click that link, watch the video clip, and witness normally easy-goin' Braff prepare to deck a pre-teen for messin' with his ride ("That's a 100,000 car!"). Semi-embarrassing, yes. His Scrubs co-star Donald Faison is so dead when the revenge comes around.

Psyched to find out that Braff ~~directed~~ is appearing in the April 10th episode of Arrested Development, and that he's using his blog to spread the word. Please. Watch. That. Show. If it dies, and you didn't watch, I'm totally going to send a hungry seal after you.

Buy the new Spring issue of Venus magazine. Features on both Sarah Silverman and Mary Timony? Serious swoon-age.

In case I don't get around to mentioning it before then, you might wanna watch the Thursday night premiere of the U.S. version of The Office. As a huge Office fan, and a lover of all things Steve Carell, I'll be TiVo-ing it (even though I've, um, seen it). Before you write it off, you've gotta watch at least one, right? Me, I thought it was better than expected, and I'm glad to hear they start using original scripts (rather than adapting the BBC versions) after the pilot episode.

Instead of being in front of the TV on Thursday, though, I'll probably be at the Matt Pond PA show over at Brandeis University. Just $5 for non-students, and since it's free for Brandeisers, it's probably gonna be packed. MPPA is on at 11, and openers Lincoln Conspiracy are on at 10.

Hey, look, it's a Magnetic Fields KVRX radio session from 1998. And hey, over here you can stream every song from the new New Order album. Thanks, um, random forgotten mp3 blogs (sorry). You'll also be able to stream the entirety of the new British Sea Power album at NME.com starting this Friday. Until then, grab three tracks at their official site.

Allow me join the chorus of love for mp3 blog Tofu Hut, especially now that they've gone daily.

The Screen Savers, the long-running and formerly tech-centric show that died a symbolic death last year when G4 assimilated their network, TechTV (and the content turned more towards cheesy celeb-interviews, usually-bad live bands, bikini-wearing babes, and video game reviews) is now dying an official death by changing it's name on March 28th to the fairly terrible 'Attack of the Show'. Yeah, might as well abandon any pretense at being computer-centric, even though you still let Kevin & Sarah do the occasional tech-or-web-related piece. Those two are the only reason I still have that TiVo Season Pass, although it now takes me about 10 minutes to cruise through each hour-long program. So farewell to The Screen Savers, and here's hoping another tech-heavy TV show comes along sometime soon.

And for longtime TSS fans, you'll be happy to know that the kilt-wearing, Dropkick Murphys-loving former host, Patrick Norton, now has a blog. The fact that the guy resisted having any web-presence was always a source a humor on the show, but he finally gave in. It'll be nice to see what he's up to, assuming he keeps up the content.

Picked up some music today... the new Yo La Tengo 3-disc collection, 'Prisoners of Love', and the new full-length from Laetitia Sadier's Stereolab side project, Monade, called 'A Few Steps More'. They had the Monade disc playing in the store, and it sounded very, very good. If you've got a Newbury Comics near you, both discs are on sale, as is the cheaper 2-disc version of the Yo La Tengo collection... but who'd wanna miss out on that 3rd disc of outtakes and rarities? Not I.

Oh, and Yo La Tengo returns to Massachusetts on Saturday, July 9th for a show at the Mass. Museum of Contemporary Art in North Adams, performing live accompaniment for the films of Jean Painlev�. Sure to be a pretty interesting show, but it's a bit of a drive from Boston... might make a nice weekend trip, though.

And speaking o' Stereolab, we're just a month away from the release of 'Oscillons From the Anti Sun', the 3-cd-1-dvd collection of previously import-only EPs. 35 songs (28 of which have never been released in the U.S.) and a DVD of rare videos and television performances. Hot dayum.

Also out this week: A new trade paperback collection of one of my favorite comics, Greg Rucka's excellent spy-story Queen & Country. 'Operation Saddlebags' is the name of this seventh volume, and Rucka's writing makes it pretty tough not to buy each individual issue on a monthly basis. Any week that sees the release of another multi-issue collection is automatically a good one.

Work has kept me from updating this place lately, but I'm playing catch-up and should have this week's mp3(s) up sometime soon.

On deck for us tonight... tickets to a 'Secret Screening' at a local theater, but since the pass lists 'Fox Searchlight' on it, I'm guessing it's the new Woody Allen movie 'Melinda & Melinda'. I'm up for that.

posted by brad at 3:19 PM | direct link |