bradley's almanac - a boston music blog

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

Thursday, November 10, 2005

Come Back Alive

'ello, Guv'nah!

Cheers and salutations and all that to ya. Work's busy (shocker!), so I'm just gonna jump right in here...

Much to my surprise, the Dinosaur Jr. tickets I mentioned yesterday, y'know the ones for their 'intimate' show at the Middle East Downstairs (just you and 575 close friends) on December 4th? Well, there's still some available. I mean, you'd think that given the bajillions of people that visit the 'Nac site every day, they'd all be long gone. [sarcasm off]. Seriously though, word must not be spreading all that fast.

Wanna know what sucks? That show is on the same night as both New Radiant Storm King at PA's Lounge and Mark Gardener (of Ride) at the Paradise Lounge. Feast or famine, I tells ya. Fairly freakin' frustrating.

Speakin' of that massive 'Nac traffic, can I just tell you how much I'm loving the whole Frappr map thing? I get a mini-thrill every time someone jumps on there, every time I find out where you and your computer call home. My hungry hungry ego cries 'mmmm... sustenance!'. If you haven't yet done so, go on and stick a virtual pushpin in this sucker. Thanks to all who have already.

As he reported himself on the Whedonesque site, Sir Joss Whedon will be continuing the 'official' story of Buffy the Vampire Slayer in comic book form, picking up after the events of the seventh and final TV season, with Ms. Summers doing slayer-type-stuff over in Italy. This fills me with geek-flavored joy.

And speaking of things Whedon-y, you may have noticed up in the upper right corner that Amie and I were in the presence of Buffy actress Amber 'Tara' Benson, who was appearing in her role as fiction writer at the BU Barnes & Noble with co-author Christopher Golden. Non-Buffy fans just tuned out again there, I know, but bear with me. While Ms. Benson is mainly known as Willow's main squeeze on the show, she's building quite a bibliography, with screenplays, comics, and now a novel on the list. Her new one, 'Accursed: Ghosts of Albion', is a collaboration with Mr. Golden (known for his Outcast books, comic work, and a couple of excellent original Hellboy novels, which is where my appreciation of his skillz stems from), and follows up on the online animated stories they started for the BBC.

Some bits from the Q&A conducted after the reading...

They've written a horror screenplay together that they're hoping to get made.
Golden isn't afraid to speak his mind, even when he's being recorded: After hesitating and then revealing that a screenwriter (the gent who did first drafts of Seabiscuit and Cinderella Man) is working on a script that will adapt his first two Outcast novels for the screen, and that the writer is being paid 'a million dollars', Amber said to him "you're being recorded, you know". Christopher followed with "It'll be just like when I said at the Boston Comicon that I thought Serenity sucked!". The Joss-worshipping crowd at the reading let out a mild gasp.
Less surprising: On the subject of modern horror movies, Golden said "If you haven't already, do not see the new remake of The Fog. It may very well be the worst movie of all time." Amber said "But wait, doesn't Tom Welling take his shirt off in that?!" Not enough to save it, apparently.
Benson then blurted out "Isn't ('Lost' actress) Maggie Grace in that? I helped her get an abortion!". Another gasp from the crowd, until she revealed it was when they were co-starring together on an episode of 'Cold Case'.
Benson loves reading Dostoyevsky ("Those Russians sure can do tragedy."), although Golden has never read him and has no interest in doing so. He's read the classics, but would rather stick forks in his eyes than read 'Moby Dick'. He reads comic books, has for years, and prefers Dennis Lehane's detective novels over 'Mystic River'.

And I apologize for the 'z' at the end of 'skillz' up there. I'm probably too old to pull that off.

You may have also seen the photographic evidence of our evening with Sarah Silverman, which was such a freakin' good time. Her new stand-up film, 'Jesus Is Magic', is just as offensive, bold, and funny as I'd hoped, and her absolute cuteness is even more apparent in person than it is on screen. Go see the film when and if it opens near you (release dates here). Might not want to bring your uptight and easily offended friends, though... no stone gets left unthrown.

Alas, there's no way I can make it over to London for the 4AD Records 25th Anniversary thing in a couple weeks, I'll have to sit here and be satisfied that I was able to make it to their even-better 13th Anniversary back in, um, 1993? (Hey, look, basic math!). I will, however, get to vicariously experience some of the fun as BBC 6 Music will be, and I quote, "will be digging through the BBC archives and broadcasting classic 4AD band performances". They'll also be featuring live in-session performances from 4AD artists throughout the week. While the schedule isn't finished, here's what it looks like so far:

Monday, 11/21: TV On The Radio & Wolf and Cub in session

Tuesday, 11/22: Kristin Hersh & Celebration in session

Wednesday, 11/23: The Mountain Goats in session

Thursday, 11/24: Mojave 3 in session / Robbie Grey from Modern English interview / Emma Pollock in session

Friday, 11/25: Mark Kozelek in session

According to the site, even more performers will be announced. Sounds great already.

Final Fantasy is Owen Pallett, Owen Pallet is Final Fantasy. Violinist extraordinaire, he's an Arcade Fire collaborator and frequent solo performer. I've been on a serious Bloc Party kick lately (yes, again), so I was pretty jazzed to find this video of Pallett and his drummer performing a cover of BP's 'This Modern Love' a couple weeks back. Love it.

(video found over at More Cowbell, who found it at The Smudge of Ashen Fluff, who got it from Blog Party. whew. You can grab an mp3 over at Smudge, but the video it where it's at, just to see Owen's mad looping skills. With an 's'.)

I don't know much about the Magic Numbers, but I do know I like the song 'Forever Lost' and its animated video. I dig it enough to be interested in their upcoming appearance at Allston's Great Scott as part of digArts III, which is being pulled together by Honeypump, the Weekly Dig, and Fenway Recordings. Fine organizations all. It's on Tuesday, November 29th, and from 7 to 9pm you can check out lots of art on display from Dig cover artists while you listen to Honeypump main-man Ben Sisto on the turntables. That part is free, but when the Magic Numbers play after 9, you'll need a ticket, which can be purchased right here.

Monday night show alert: In a mere four days, and also at Great Scott, the Tiny Amps officially celebrate the release of their new cd, 'Trill and Swagger' on Redder Records. That's Monday night, November 14th, with guests Reports and Mad Man Films. Head over here for an mp3 of the Tiny Amps song 'Dance on a Crowded Floor'.

Yeah, yeah, I sure do talk about The Wire a lot, especially for a show that's not even on the air again until sometime late next year. But it's worth mentioning that the second "A Night at the Wire" will be happening on March 25th, 2006 from 7-11 p.m. in Columbia, Maryland. Not many details yet, but the one that happened earlier this year looks like it was a blast. Hob knob with the cast & creators for charity as you bid on open-auction items and get a tour of the Wire's set. It's pricey at $75, but very cool if you're a big fan and have money to burn on a good time and a good cause.

It's a banner month for fans of comics writer Brian Wood: His brand new Vertigo series with Italian artist Riccardo Burchielli, entitled 'DMZ', launched yesterday with the official release of issue #1. I just grabbed it at lunch, and it's killer. Manhattan as war zone. All you need to know. Check out the DMZ workblog for more.

And next week brings the first issue of Local, his 12 issue Oni Press series. Here, have a look at the Local workblog, too.

My pal Miss Mary redesigned her wonderful little Hollypopshop site, where you can get your hands on her handmade crafty things, including totes, bags, wallets, & more. Holiday gifts galore.

It's good news / bad news for this Ester Drang fan. First, the bad news: They were originally scheduled to play with Styrofoam at the Middle East upstairs on November 23rd, but are no longer listed. According to their myspace page, it looks like they opted to head overseas for the month. Now, the good news: That same myspace page has a brand new preview track called 'Come Back Alive', which you can also download at their PureVolume page. It's off their upcoming Jade Tree album entitled 'Rocinate', which will be out in January. That good news easily trumps the bad.

Tonight: The Chris Brokaw Rock Band at the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge. They're supposedly on at 9:30, at least according to the LL site, so don't be (re)tardy. I'll see ya there.

Ok, that's enough mouth outta me for today. As you were then...

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