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boston area shows of note:


sunday, september 7th

ryan adams & the cardinals

@ the bank of america pavilion


monday, september 8th

mates of state

the cool kids

tim fite

(free, but students only)

5:30pm @ northeastern university


tuesday, september 9th

paul weller

@ the berklee performance center


wednesday, september 10th

'what the fluff?' fest

comic book art exhibit opening

somerville community access tv

5-8pm, 90 union square, somerville


friday, september 12th

mission of burma

in-store performance

7pm @ newbury comics, newbury st.


friday, september 12th

buffalo tom

@ the boston arts festival

6pm @ christopher columbus park


saturday, september 13th

rogue wave (in-store)

@ newbury comics grand opening

8:30pm in norwood, ma


saturday, september 13th

wfnx disorientation 2008

the kooks, flogging molly,

alkaline trio, rogue wave,

and more to be announced

@ bank of america pavilion


sunday, september 14th

juliana hatfield (full band)

hayden

@ the brattle theatre


sunday, september 14th

lymbyc systym

this will destroy you

arms and sleepers

@ harper's ferry


sunday & monday

september 14th & 15th

james

unkle bob

@ the paradise


monday, september 15th

lagwagon, mxpx,

only crime, & tat

@ harper's ferry


monday, september 15th

sunset rubdown

@ the middle east


tuesday, september 16th

a place to bury strangers

sian alice group

neptune

@ the paradise


thursday, september 18th

bell x1

wild light

@ the paradise


thursday, september 18th

the walkmen

@ the middle east downstairs


friday, september 19th

sigur ros

@ the bank of america pavilion


friday, september 19th

the swell season ('once'/frames)

bill callahan (smog)

@ agganis arena


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


saturday, september 20th

mike viola (solo)

(1st of 3 weekly residencies)

with guest blue and their

band, the major labels

@ the lizard lounge


saturday, september 20th

noah & the whale

@ toad


sunday, september 21st

the low lows

magic magic

ryan lee crosby

@ tt the bears


monday, september 22nd

wye oak

@ cafe 939 @ berklee


monday, september 22nd

the broken west

@ the middle east


monday, september 22nd

oxford collapse

love as laughter

takka takka

@ tt the bears


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


tuesday, september 23rd

weezer

angels & airwaves

tokyo police club

@ the tsongas arena


tuesday, september 23rd

cut copy

the presets

@ the paradise


wednesday, september 24th

joan as policewoman

@ the middle east


wednesday, september 24th

low

tulsa

@ the museum of fine arts boston


wednesday, september 24th

gemma hayes

sydney wayser

@ great scott


friday, september 26th

ben folds

missy higgins

@ the orpheum


saturday, september 27th

mike viola (solo)

(2nd of 3 weekly residencies)

@ the lizard lounge


saturday, september 27th

julie doiron

mount eerie

calm down, it's monday

@ massart


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


sunday and monday

september 28th and 29th

ratatat

panther

e*rock

@ the paradise


tuesday, september 30th

boston spaceships

(gbv's robert pollard)

big dipper

@ the paradise


tuesday, september 30th

say hi

jukebox the ghost

@ the middle east


wednesday, october 1st

chromeo

treasure fingers

@ the paradise


thursday & friday

october 2nd & 3rd

baltimore round robin

29 bands playing in a circle,

non-stop, one song at a time,

with you in the very center

with dan deacon, beach house,

creepers, the death set, adventure,

and everyone listed here

@ mass art


friday, october 3rd

death cab for cutie

@ agganis arena


friday, october 3rd

the fratellis

airborne toxic event

electric touch

@ the orpheum


saturday, october 4th

mike viola @ friends

(3rd of 3 weekly residencies)

@ the lizard lounge


sunday, october 5th

old 97s

@ the wilbur theatre


sunday, october 5th

pinback

sbach

@ the paradise


monday, october 6th

the wedding present

the jealous girlfriends

@ the middle east downstairs


monday, october 6th

fleet foxes

frank fairfield

@ the somerville theatre


monday, october 6th

stereolab

le loup

monade

@ the paradise


tuesday, october 7th

liam finn

the veils

@ the paradise


wednesday, october 8th

lucinda williams

@ the orpheum


wednesday, october 8th

the opening night of

carrie fisher's one woman show

'wishful drinking'

@ the huntington theater (bu)


wednesday, october 8th

allison moyet

@ the wilbur theatre


wednesday, october 8th

wire

@ the middle east downstairs


thursday, october 9th

chuck ragan (of hot water music)

ben nichols (of lucero)

tim barry (of avail)

with guest jesse malin

@ the middle east


saturday, october 11th

les savy fav

passion pit

@ the middle east


saturday, october 11th

the feelies

@ the roxy


sunday, october 12th

the residents

@ showcase live, foxboro


sunday, october 12th

the notwist

@ the roxy


sunday, october 12th

jamie lidell

janelle monae

@ the paradise


sunday, october 12th

against me!

ted leo & the pharmacists

the future of the left

@ the wilbur theatre


monday, october 13th

tv on the radio

the dirtbombs

@ the wilbur theatre


tuesday, october 14th

cold war kids

@ the paradise


thursday, october 16th

ben kweller

whitley

@ the paradise


thursday, october 16th

jonatha brooke

glen phillips

(from toad the wet sprocket)

@ the wilbur theatre


friday, october 17th

hallelujah the hills

wonderful spells

capstan shafts

needy visions

@ tt the bears


friday, october 17th

jonathan richman

with drummer tommy larkin

@ the somerville theatre


saturday, october 18th

asobi seksu

the broken river prophet

@ the middle east


saturday, october 18th

ra ra riot

walter meego

the morning benders

@ the middle east


sunday, october 19th

the spinto band

frightened rabbit

@ the middle east


monday, october 20th

magnetic morning

(adam swervedriver & sam interpol)

julie ocean

springhouse (w/jack rabid)

@ great scott


tuesday, october 21st

minus the bear

annuals

sylvie

@ the wilbur theatre


tuesday & wednesday

october 21st & 22nd

billy bragg

@ the somerville theatre


wednesday, october 22nd

yeasayer

@ the paradise


wednesday, october 22nd

lyle lovett & john hiatt

(acoustic, on stage together)

@ the orpheum


thursday, october 23rd

lykke li

@ the paradise


thursday, october 23rd

deerhoof

experimental dental school

@ the middle east down


friday, october 24th

fujiya & miyagi

prototypes

@ the paradise


sunday, october 26th

scars on broadway

the duke spirit

@ the paradise


sunday, october 26th

broken social scene

land of talk

@ the wilbur theatre


monday, october 27th

matthew sweet

@ the paradise


wednesday, october 29th

legendary pink dots

@ the middle east down


thursday, october 30th

of montreal

@ the orpheum


friday, october 31st

hotel cafe tour

with rachael yamagata, meiko,

thao nguyen, samanatha crain,

and jenny owen youngs

@ the paradise


friday, october 31st

the rumble strips

birdmonster

@ tt the bears


friday, october 31st

david byrne

performing the songs of byrne & eno

@ the wang center


saturday, november 1st

henry rollins (spoken word)

@ the orpheum


monday, november 3rd

matt and kim

best fwends

@ the middle east


monday, november 3rd

coldplay

@ the td banknorth garden


wednesday, november 5th

conor oberst +

the mystic valley band

@ the roxy


thursday, november 6th

the decemberists

loche lamond

@ the orpheum


friday, november 7th

"my name is bruce"

area theatrical premiere

with director/star bruce campbell

@ a boston-area theatre (tbd)


sunday, november 9th

the hold steady

drive-by truckers

@ the orpheum


tuesday, november 11th

deerhunter

times new viking

the vivian girls

@ the paradise


wednesday, november 12th

the sea and cake

@ the middle east down


wednesday, november 12th

kings of leon

we are scientists

the whigs

@ the orpheum


thursday, november 13th

nicole atkins & the sea

salt & samovar

@ tt the bears


thursday, november 13th

scarce (cd release!)

wheat

triplethick

@ tt the bears


tuesday, november 18th

m83

school of seven bells

@ the middle east down


thursday, november 20th

bishop allen

@ the middle east


friday, november 21st

robyn hitchcock

performing 'i often dream of trains'

@ the somerville theatre


saturday, december 13th

neil young

wilco

@ the dcu center, worcester


visit tourfilter for more shows




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Thursday, August 04, 2005

Mp3s: A Long, Live Weekend

My six day break sadly over, I'm back at work playing catch-up. My ears are still filled with the sounds of the two shows we played, thanks to the merch-table discs I snagged and the live recordings I've been editing down to share.

Picastro, The Broken River Prophet, and LOOK IT in Brooklyn on Saturday, A Northern Chorus and Sianspheric back here in town two days later. Charlene played both nights, and there wasn't a let-down among the lineups.

I taped everyone on Saturday night at Williamsburg's Trash Bar except Brian Bonz (they were last, and I was loading out), as well as a new sorta-super-groop called LOOK IT. They were up first, and I was too preoccupied setting up to tape it, which I regretted almost immediately. It was their very first show, and they've got a nifty pedigree: Cindy Wheeler of the Caulfield Sisters on guitar/vocals, Andrew Deustch (singer/guitarist of Home) on keyboards/vocals, unmistakable flutist Suzanne Thorpe from Mercury Rev, and Dave Janick from Company on drums. Seems this is a little side project for Cindy until the Caulfield Sisters return to action in September, so who knows if we'll hear more from 'em.

Next up was The Broken River Prophet, and captain Adam Brilla's (he also of Lockgroove) rotating cast of collaborators keeps helping take his songs to greater heights. I say this having been one of them, making me not just an ex-BRP member, but a current-BRP fan. As much as I miss playing on the songs, I'm infinitely glad I get to stand in the audience and simply enjoy 'em. Adam & Co. need to get some recorded output together right now... I cannot wait to hear the stuff get a studio treatment.


Until then, here's the two songs that ended last Saturday's set. I believe these are BRP's first available recordings, aside from a demo over at their site...
(files removed on 10/1/05)

The Broken River Prophet - December Wolves (live)
(at the Trash Bar, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NYC 7/30/2005)

The Broken River Prophet - Chemical Solitaire (live)
(at the Trash Bar, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NYC 7/30/2005)
Charlene played right after BRP, but the recording is, shall we say, less than stellar. While we played well, I thought, the mix to my little microphone was fairly funky. So I'll spare you until later on this post...

Toronto's Picastro was up next, and I was in the perfect mental place to take them in, coming down from our set. Sparse, mellow, occasionally off-kilter songs anchored by an acoustic guitar and the haunting voice of Liz Hysen. As hard as I'm trying to avoid using the words 'Cat Power', and as sick as Liz probably is of hearing it, it's kinda unavoidable. Here's their entire mesmerizing set, and if you know the names of the two I don't, lemme know in the comments...

Picastro
live at the Trash Bar
Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NYC
Saturday, July 30th, 2005

(files removed on 10/1/05)

01. No Contest
02. All Erase
03. Dramaman
04. Unknown Title 1
05. Unknown Title 2
06. I Can't Fall Asleep
07. Sharks
After a Sunday drive back to Boston, and not enough sleep that night, it was over to the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge for another show on Monday. Charlene was in the middle of a Canadian sonic sandwich, with A Northern Chorus opening up, and Sianspheric closing things out. This was the last night of a short east coast trip for those two bands, with ANC supporting their latest disc 'Bitter Hands Resign', and Sianspheric offering up their brand-new DVD/CD release, 'RGB'.

I'll save myself some writing, and just agree with what Frank over at Chromewaves had to say about seeing the two bands earlier this year: "Comparatively, if A Northern Chorus were the sonic equivalent of a gentle rainshower, Sianspheric were a tidal wave."

So, first, the cello-colored rainshower...

A Northern Chorus
live at the Lizard Lounge
Cambridge, MA
Monday, August 1st, 2005

(files removed on 10/1/05)

01. Prisoners Of Circumstance
02. Costa Del Sol
03. Subjects & Matter
04. Fragile Day
05. The Shepherd & The Chauffeur
06. Louder Than Love
The Lizard Lounge is so small that I was worried some of our Charlene songs would overwhelm... I mean, we're not exactly an all-out rock band, but sometimes Matt's guitar noise and my snare hits can threaten the ol' eardrums. We actually had free plugs at the merch table just in case, and they hopefully saved some unprepared patrons a good ringing. (That said, we were like church mice compared to Sianspheric.)

It's been a loooong time since the release of Charlene's self-titled debut disc back in late 2002, so these two live tracks will hopefully ease the wait for the in-the-works follow-up...


Charlene - Ripoff (live)
(at the Lizard Lounge, Cambridge, MA 08/01/2005)

(files removed on 10/1/05)

Charlene - The Way of Things (live)
(at the Lizard Lounge, Cambridge, MA 08/01/2005)
The studio version of 'Ripoff' (which you can download here) appears on that debut (although you'll notice the original's drum machine is replaced with, um, the far-less-precise me), but 'The Way of Things' is new and unrecorded. Hopefully you'll hear a studio version of it, along with a whole bunch more, before too long.

If our set didn't have people breaking out the earplugs, then Sianspheric's sent them scrambling. Seriously, I had some hi-tech plugs in, and it was still loud as hell. But in the best way. The layers upon layers of guitar wash, the cymbals and buried vocals (try to make them out here... good luck), the rolling bass lines... it all combined perfectly. The influence of their foot-pedal forebearers abound: Echoes of Slowdive, MBV, Spacemen 3, the fuzz of Flying Saucer Attack... I was more than impressed with the aural assault.

Supposedly there was a massively deafening thunderstorm outside while the band played on, but honestly, there's no way any of us would have known.

So here, for you, is their tidal wave. It's an absolute miracle that it didn't overload my little microphone...

Sianspheric
live at the Lizard Lounge
Cambridge, MA
Monday, August 1st, 2005

(files removed on 10/1/05)

01. Audiophone
02. To Myself
03. No Space
04. The Skids
05. Tous Les Soirs
06. All On Standby
07. Rave On, Full On
08. The Stars Above
09. I Like The Ride
It inspired me enough to pick up that 'RGB' CD/DVD, which just came out last week, and all of the songs from their set save one can be found on it. As I was starting to pull together this write-up, today's Chromewaves post appeared in my RSS reader. Who's it about? Why, Sianspheric, of course. Mystery & Misery also reviewed RGB a couple days back, too. So head over to those fine music blogs to read more.

More photos over at my flickr space. Big thanks to Petrina over at WZBC for putting together Monday's show. A memorable night if ever there was one.

(A little Almanac reminder: Posted live tracks remain up for at least a couple weeks, sometimes longer, depending on server space. If any of the artists shared here have issues with the posting of their live recordings, just let me know. My email addy is over in the left column.)

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