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

Yeah, it's a song title from my least favorite Ride album, but it fits. The most ideal New England spring weekend just finished up, and despite the fact that I'm back in the old cube farm, I'm still on a bit of a high from it.

Lots of time spent with Amie and Nina on Saturday, a relaxing drive up to Gloucester, oceanside on Wingaersheek beach, a lunch of fried clams and Corona, then back to Boston for Fever Pitch (the power of the Sox compelled us) and a great meal at Panaficio. Sunday was errand day, did some work on the house, then relaxed with videogames, dvds, and comics. So many of my favorite things packed into two near-perfect days (only two Sox losses kept it from perfection). If my life had a TiVo, I'd hit rewind do it all over again.

I know it was kinda quiet here on the 'Nac this past week... which means my real world was the polar opposite. If it wasn't for the stress relief of the weekend, I'm not sure I'd be functioning right now. A couple doses of employment-related weirdness knocked me out, but things are settling down and I'm nearing normal...

Here, have a couple live-from-tv mp3s to make up for my absence (each featuring a guest appearance by a damn talented lady). A new song from John Doe, and a Sabbath cover...

John Doe with Neko Case - 'Highway 5' (live on Conan)

The Flaming Lips with Cat Power - 'War Pigs' (live on Austin City Limits)

I'll be posting that long-awaited five song set from Jodi Buonanno later on today or tomorrow morning, so definitely come back for that.

And now, a quick brain-purge...

So today the Red Sox get their World Series rings, and a few of us from work are taking late lunches to watch the ceremony at the bar next door. Seeing Fever Pitch got me in the mood, although until then I'd been less than enthusiastic about this new season (even before our pitching staff started us out in last place). Call it coming down from the highs of last year, but I feel like that big payoff, the near-heartbreak and emotional rescue, the total drama and impossible wins... it feels like whatever hunger I had has been satiated. I'm still full from it, and anything else is anti-climactic, y'know? It's not surprising, even a little expected, but maybe today (and a couple of wins against the yanks?) will get me back in the game.

Oh, and speaking o' the Sox, Matt is exactly right about this crap. Lighten the hell up, folks... we won the whole damn thing, in spectacular freakin' fashion, and nothin' else matters (and besides, the movie was actually pretty good). It's not like Fallon ran out and got in the way of a Dave Roberts' season-saving second base slide. Yeesh.

And for New England sports fans: Sports radio station WEEI now has their live web stream up and running. Yeah, you won't be able to listen to Red Sox games (the MLB has a legal lock on that), but you can at least listen to them blather before and after (and listen to the ring ceremony this afternoon?). You have to sign up for their listener network, though. Hey, y'know what I'm thankful for? That the presidential election is finally far behind us, and I don't have to listen to their occasional political pearls of wisdom. Man, that made last fall a little painful, and nearly put me off WEEI for good. Kindly keep your politics outta my sports, fellas.

Switching gears: Easytree is dead. Long live Dime A Dozen. Yeah, the Easytree torrent-sharing site was intimidated into closure by the RIAA, but faster than I could even mention it, Dime A Dozen arose to take it's place, using the same user and torrent database. No need to even re-register. Damn glad to see that happen, and we'll see if they stay or get scared away.

Good news in game land: The follow-up to Call of Duty, the best combat-related first person PC game ever, is coming this fall. The hyperbole starts with a bang, but I'm a believer. I'm also pretty jazzed about the in-the-works Half Life 2 expansion. Gimme.

Many thanks to WMPG DJ (and apparant Almanac reader) Tom Flynn for letting me know that Crooked Fingers stopped by their Portland, Maine studio a couple weeks ago and played a live acoustic set on their Local Motives program. All five songs, interview clips, and some pictures are available for download right here. Such a treat.

Also relating to quality independent radio: The Late Risers Club program has been running on Boston's WMBR for almost 30 years, and a new documentary by Marissa Acosta celebrates and explains how its early days. A bastion of the independent airwaves, the LRC is one of life's few comforting constants. From 10am to noon on weekdays, there's always a place to turn. The documentary screens at 11:55pm this Friday, April 15th, at the Coolidge Corner Theater.

Bob Mould just finished up his next solo album on Saturday. Looking forward to it.

So yeah, we saw Fever Pitch and it was good for a few laughs, and some inevitable warm fuzzies when they showed Sox winning it all. That footage just never fails me.

But that's far from the best movie I saw last week. That'd be the preview screening of freakin' Kung-Fu Hustle, baby. If you're a Stephen Chow fan (Shaolin Soccer, God of Cookery), you know what you're in for... he breaks the martial arts and special effects rules, making what amounts to exaggerated live action cartoons, and I gotta say, this one may be his peak. Blatant lifts from (and homages to) Looney Toons, Spider-Man, Star Wars, even broadway musicals. It starts off hiliriously and doesn't let up. The crowd I saw it with ate it up, the thing got major applause afterwards, and my friend Adam is now referring to life events like this: B.K.F.H and A.K.F.U. (Before Kung-Fu Hustle and After Kung-Fu Hustle). It's that good, and I am so seeing it again after it opens on April 22nd.

Also starting that weekend is the Independent Film Festival of Boston, which kicks off on the 21st. My friend Alex spent much of the past couple years producing one of the films featured in this years fest, a documentary called 'Same Sex America', which "follows the fallout of the Massachusetts Supreme Court decision that allowed same-sex couples to obtain marriage licenses." Can't get much more timely and locally relevant than that, can ya? Check out the trailer here, and grab tickets to one of three screenings in Boston that weekend. If you miss out, word is that it'll be on Showtime in June. Can't wait to see it.

Oh, and heads up: Steve Buscemi will be hosting the East Coast premiere of the new film he directed, Lonesome Jim, on the opening night of the festival, and there are tickets available (just bought my two!). Just ten bucks each and no service charge, so go here and scroll down to get 'em. That's April 21st at 7pm, and I'll be rushing from there over to catch the Wedding Present at the Middle East right after. Great night, that'll be.

So I updated the 'upcoming shows' list on the left, and there's some really great stuff coming up here in Boston. Not only do we get Mary Timony and that Wedding Present show later this month, but Ted Leo returns in a couple weeks for a college gig, and Pinback hit the Paradise. That's just a few of many that I need to check out. I also need a big bag of cash to fall out the sky in front of me.

Back to the grind, then I'm off to watch the Red Sox World Series ring ceremony. Yeah, I still need all the visual proof I can get that the whole thing actually happened....

posted by brad at 12:39 PM | direct link |