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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

'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...

posted by brad at 3:46 PM | direct link |