bradley's almanac - a boston music blog

boston area shows of note:

friday, july 25th

comedian joel mchale

(from the soup)

@ the wilbur theatre

saturday, july 26th

bon iver

bowerbirds

@ the museum of fine arts

sunday, july 27th

the new collisions (debut)

red quiet

melt

@ tt the bears

sunday, july 27th

sunfold

antiques

@ the middle east upstairs

wednesday, july 30th

we are scientists

@ the middle east downstairs

wednesday, july 30th

earlimart

@ the middle east upstairs

wednesday, july 30th

spiritualized

the dirtbombs

@ the wilbur theatre

thursday, july 31st

the police

elvis costello & the impersonators

@ the tweeter center

friday & saturday

august 1st & 2nd

eddie vedder

liam finn

solo @ the opera house

saturday, august 2nd

wolf parade

@ the paradise

monday, august 4th

coldplay

@ the garden

tuesday, august 5th

(and every tuesday this month)

neil cleary's 'doozy'

a guest-packed 4-show residency

@ the lizard lounge

wednesday, august 6th

neil halstead (slowdive/mojave 3)

rogue wave

jack johnson

@ the tweeter center

saturday, august 9th

margot & the nuclear so and so's

@ the middle east

saturday, august 9th

melvins

@ the paradise

sunday, august 10th

ho-ag

six finger satellite

the in-out

certainly, sir

@ great scott

tuesday, august 12th

thao nguyen with

the get down stay down

david schultz & the skyline

pepi ginsberg

@ tt the bears

tuesday, august 12th

(and every tuesday this month)

neil cleary's 'doozy'

a guest-packed 4-show residency

@ the lizard lounge

wednesday, august 13th

radiohead

grizzly bear

@ the tweeter center

thursday, august 14th

grizzly bear

violens

outside in the courtyard

@ the museum of fine arts

friday, august 15th

the ex

getachew mekuria

debo band

@ the middle east downstairs

saturday, august 16th

+/- (plus minus)

broken river prophet (cd release!)

animal hospital

ba-na-nas

free kickass cupcakes from 9-10pm!

@ the middle east upstairs

tuesday, august 19th

(and every tuesday this month)

neil cleary's 'doozy'

a guest-packed 4-show residency

@ the lizard lounge

wednesday, august 20th

human league, belinda carlisle, abc,

flock of seagulls, naked eyes

@ the bank of america pavilion

thursday, august 21st

yndi halda

caspian

irepress

@ tt the bears

friday, august 22nd

obits (ex-hot snakes/rftc)

@ the middle east

saturday, august 23rd

amo joy!

franklin bruno

(from nothing painted blue)

one happy island (ep release!)

@ the lily pad

saturday, august 23rd

newbury comics / unnatural axe

30th anniversary bash

the meatmen, queers, nasties,

unnatural axe, sleazies

@ the middle east down

tuesday, august 26th

the final installment of...

neil cleary's 'doozy'

a guest-packed august residency

@ the lizard lounge

wednesday, august 27th

liz phair performing

'exile in guyville'

@ the paradise

wednesday, august 27th

xiu xiu

prurient

@ the paradise

monday, september 1st

the juan maclean

@ the middle east downstairs

friday, september 5th

silver jews

@ the middle east downstairs

saturday, september 6th

my morning jacket

@ the bank of america pavilion

sunday, september 7th

ryan adams & the cardinals

@ the bank of america pavilion

tuesday, september 9th

paul weller

@ the berklee performance center

saturday, september 13th

wfnx disorientation 2008

the kooks, flogging molly,

alkaline trio, rogue wave,

and more to be announced

@ bank of america pavilion

monday, september 15th

james

@ the paradise

tuesday, september 16th

a place to bury strangers

@ the paradise

thursday, september 18th

the walkmen

@ the middle east downstairs

friday, september 19th

sigur ros

@ the bank of america pavilion

friday, september 19th to

sunday, september 21st

all tomorrow's parties

with my bloody valentine, low

built to spill, mogwai, shellac,

polvo, yo la tengo, lilys, autolux

dinosaur jr, mercury rev, & more

@ the catskills in nyc

monday, september 22nd

mogwai

fuck buttons

@ the wilbur theatre

tuesday, september 23rd

writer dennis lehane

(release day for 'the given day')

@ the coolidge corner theatre

wednesday, september 24th

low

@ the museum of fine arts boston

saturday, september 27th

built to spill

performing 'perfect from now on'

dinosaur jr.

meat puppets

@ the orpheum

sunday, september 28th

the bird and the bee

willoughby

@ great scott

thursday, september 30th

boston spaceships

(gbv's robert pollard)

big dipper

@ the paradise

sunday, october 5th

pinback

@ the paradise

monday, october 6th

the wedding present

@ the middle east downstairs

monday, october 6th

stereolab

monade

@ the paradise

wednesday, october 8th

wire

@ the middle east downstairs

sunday, october 12th

the residents

@ showcase live, foxboro

sunday, october 12th

the notwist

@ the roxy

tuesday, october 14th

cold war kids

@ the paradise

friday, october 17th

jonathan richman

with drummer tommy larkin

@ the somerville theatre

saturday, october 18th

ra ra riot

walter meego

the morning benders

@ the middle east

tuesday & wednesday

october 21st & 22nd

billy bragg

@ the somerville theatre

wednesday, october 22nd

lyle lovett & john hiatt

(acoustic, on stage together)

@ the orpheum

thursday, october 30th

of montreal

@ the orpheum

saturday, november 1st

henry rollins (spoken word)

@ the orpheum

monday, november 3rd

coldplay

@ the td banknorth garden

visit tourfilter for more shows

Tuesday, July 19, 2005

Cue a Crashing Dream

Since podcasting started, I've found myself on both sides of the fence. Pro about the whole concept, the idea that anybody with a computer and a mic can record one, and that anyone with an mp3 player (no, not just an iPod) can listen in. I've been fascinated with the entire idea, experimented with doing my own for months (only a lack of time keeps me from diving in... for now there's just the streaming bradcast), have followed along as new 'casts spring up and it becomes easier and easier to find 'em.

It's only when I devote some serious time listening that I discover there's just so much noise and not enough signal. There are a growing number of sub-par blogcasts out there, so many that are the audio equivalent of a tedious (and tmi) livejournal site, all ego and no info. 'Casters with little personality conveying things that could more easily be read in lesser time with a little surfing (case in point, news sites with 'casts that are just people reading their articles, verbatim).

That's why 'musicasts' have most podcasting potential. Genre-specific radio shows when you want them, delivered with info and enthusiasm. New music from someone with time and discriminating tastes, straight into your ears. I've been digging some of writer Warren Ellis' Superburst Mixtapes, but they're a bit shorter than I'd like, the artists are more often miss-than-hit, and the 'casts lack the personal touch that his voice would bring (yup, they're all music, no DJ).

I've been waiting for that near-perfect musicast to come along, one that clicks with me personally, and I think it finally has thanks to former Pop Narcotic label-guy Bill Peregoy. Straight outta Boston, it's called Crashing Dream, and the first 'cast hit the net just a couple days ago. Bill's a longtime friend and longer-time hero... having put out some of the best indie 7'' records of the early 90s. He brought the world early wax from Versus, Small Factory, Helium, Swirlies, and a bunch more. His double-10'' vinyl compilation 'Why Do You Think They Call It Pop?' is a classic. Suffice it to say, Bill knows his stuff, has an ear for the best in new and not-so-new music.

From his first entry...

"In addition to writing about music, I�m diving into the world of podcasts. These podcasts are basically mix tapes with my commentary. I�m just digging into the music I�ve been listening to and picking about an hour of music a week to share with the world. I hope to update this weekly when possible."

The first one's ace, with songs from the Pernice Brothers, Doug Gillard, Lou Barlow, & more. Check the site for a complete track listing. I've heard good things about that Gillard solo album, and after hearing Bill talk about it and play a track, it's on my to-buy list. And that, right there, is kinda the whole point.

Thanks, Bill... looking forward to many, many more weeks.

And as long as I'm talkin' about great musicasts, the second installment of Idiot Radio is now available.

A few other quick things, just in case you missed them elsewhere...

New Death Cab For Cutie song on their MySpace page. I like it, but that's probably no surprise to you, and definitely not to me.

Grab a new Nada Surf song on the Barsuk Records site. Another excellent one, and you can hear a couple live versions of songs from their upcoming 'The Weight Is A Gift' album from my recording of a recent show here (getting removed soon). Apparantly, and unsurprisingly these days, the entire album has leaked, and their forum is having the predictable 'I got it!'" vs. 'Don't share it!' debate. Nada Surf singer/guitarist Matthew Caws chimed in when their last album, the stellar 'Let Go', was leaked, and he was distinctly not pleased. Me, I'll be buying the new one the day it comes out.

Couple new online music vids to check out: a clip for The Dears' '22', and Bloc Party's super-neat animated video for 'The Pioneers'.

Mark Zupan, charismatic star of the new documentary Murderball (go see it. seriously.), is blogging his movie promo tour. Good stuff.

Added a bunch of shows to the list on the left, so if you're a Bostonite, check 'em out. Nada Surf and the National will both be back, so I'm psyched about that. Oh, and while the pre-sale tickets for the Sigur Ros date are gone, regular tickets went on sale this past Saturday, and it looks like there's still a few left. Head to ticketbastard pronto.

I'll leave you with something that selected readers may find highly amusing...

I was fortunate enough to, out of the blue, be offered a ticket to this past Saturday's Red Sox vs. Yankees game at Fenway. To my complete shock, when I arrived and took my seat, I was a mere 8 rows back from the third base line. I swear, I could smell the Yanks as they took turns in the on-deck circle. But that's not the funny part. Very lucky, yes. Funny, no.

Anyway, a great beer-drinkin', peanut-eatin' time was had, and even though the Sox lost the game (also not funny), I decided to watch some highlights (uh, lowlights) the next morning, thanks to the recording on my TiVo.

Imagine my surprise when, as I rapid-fire hit the 30-second skip button to cruise through the game, I happened upon this image on my teevee screen...

I'm still laughing. Yeah, that's me, getting a call from Amie as she drove back home from NYC, during a little 'cell-phone-montage' (click picture for video). The Fox crew apparantly decided America needed to be subjected to that mug for a moment, subtracting about 4 seconds from my 15 minutes of fame. Combine the odds of that happening with the odds that I'd actually see it... bizarre.

And oh, the irony: I hate Diet Pepsi almost as much as I hate people who talk on their cell phones at ballgames. And there I am inadvertantly pimping both. I do love old Blondie, though, so there's that.

That's it for now... gotta get ready for a meeting soon. More tomorrow...

posted by brad at 3:17 PM | direct link | rss (1 :2) | |

view previous entries