bradley's almanac - a boston-based music blog

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wednesday, march 17th

joanna newsom

@ the sanders theatre, harvard

wednesday, march 17th

henry rollins (spoken word)

@ the somerville theatre

thursday, march 18th

TOURFILTER DJ NIGHT!

when tourfilter's chris +

the almanac's brad (aka, me)

spin songs by bands coming to

the boston area sometime soon

9pm sharp @ river gods

thursday, march 18th

apollo sunshine

drug rug

@ the paradise

friday, march 19th

i, pistol

mascara

planetoid

forgetful jones

@ tt the bears

saturday, march 20th

the whitehaus family blastfest

needy visions, manners,

morgan shaker, avi jacob,

and many more

@ cambridge ymca theatre

saturday, march 20th

air

@ berklee performance center

sunday, march 21st

the clientele

field music

@ great scott

wednesday, march 24th

extraneous noise presents...

golden spurs

spirit kid

some say fire

the novel ideas

@ the middle east upstairs

thursday, march 25th

"thursday night alright!" with

the beatings

aloud

action camp

hello ninja

@ great scott

thursday, march 25th

the donnas

@ the paradise

friday, march 26th

eldridge rodriguez (the beatings)

ryan lee crosby

ted billings (age rings/hot protestants)

@ the somerville armory

friday, march 26th

basia bulat

marissa nadler

lady lamb the beekeeper

@ tt the bears

saturday, march 27th

your say party! we say die!

the new collisions

static of the gods (cd release)

@ tt the bears

saturday, march 27th

the big pink

a place to bury strangers

magic magic

@ the paradise

saturday, march 27th

spoon

deerhunter

@ the house of blues

sunday, march 28th

beach house

bachelorette

@ the paradise

monday, march 29th

the soft pack

nodzzz

beaters

@ great scott

tuesday, march 30th

shearwater

wye oak

hospital ships

@ tt the bears

tuesday, march 30th

manchester orchestra

the features

biffy clyro

o'brother

@ the paradise

wednesday, march 31st

japandroids

love is all

girlfriends

@ the middle east downstairs

wednesday, march 31st

miike snow

delorean

@ the paradise

wednesday, march 31st

a sunny day in glasgow

pants yell!

bearstronaut

@ great scott

thursday, april 1st

girls

dum dum girls

@ the paradise

friday, april 2nd

the xx

jj (late show only)

two shows @ the paradise

friday, april 2nd

drive-by truckers

lucero

langhorne slim

@ the house of blues

saturday, april 3rd

cassavettes

the grownup noise

kingsley flood (cd release)

spouse

@ the middle east upstairs

saturday, april 3rd

black rebel motorcycle club

alberta cross

@ the house of blues

saturday, april 3rd

nada surf

dawn landes & the hounds

@ the paradise

sunday, april 4th

serena maneesh

depreciation guild

black fortress of opium

@ tt the bears

tuesday, april 6th

wilco

@ the orpheum

tuesday, april 6th

ben folds & a piano

kate miller-heidke

@ the house of blues

wednesday, april 7th

florence & the machine

@ the paradise

wednesday, april 7th

rocky votolato

brooke waggoner

@ great scott

thursday, april 8th

faces on film

hands & knees

st. claire (cd release!)

mr. sister

@ tt the bears

thursday, april 8th

thom yorke + atoms for peace

flying lotus

@ the citi/wang theatre

friday, april 9th

midlake

@ the paradise

saturday, april 10th

xiu xiu

tune-yards

@ the middle east downstairs

saturday, april 10th

ted leo & the pharmacists

obits

screaming females

@ the paradise

saturday, april 10th

pissed jeans

confines

sqrm

@ great scott

sunday, april 11th

fanfarlo

lawrence arabia

robert francis

@ the paradise

monday, april 12th

the wedding present

play their 1989 lp 'bizarro'

with openers girl in a coma

@ the middle east downstairs

monday, april 12th

titus andronicus

the babies

@ great scott

thursday, april 15th

jakob dylan with guests

neko case + kelly hogan

@ the wilbur theatre

thursday, april 15th

red sparowes

doomriders

@ the middle east downstairs

friday, april 16th

guillermo sexo

freddie t and the people

(ex-june of 44 / hoover)

travels

ghost box orchestra

@ pa's lounge

friday, april 16th

have nots (vinyl release!)

the appreciation post

razors in the night

wicked whiskey

the swaggerin growlers

@ tt the bears

saturday, april 17th

kaki king

an horse

@ the middle east downstairs

saturday, april 17th

the morning benders

miniature tigers

@ tt the bears

sunday, april 18th

heavy trash (w/jon spencer)

the konks

the cobra-matics

@ tt the bears

sunday, april 18th

the thermals

past lives

@ the middle east downstairs

monday, april 19th

trans am

@ the middle east downstairs

tuesday, april 20th

owen pallett (aka final fantasy)

@ the ica boston

tuesday, april 20th

elvis costello & the sugarcanes

@ the orpheum

tuesday, april 20th

the low anthem

timber timbre

@ the paradise

tuesday, april 20th

quasi

let's wrestle

@ the middle east downstairs

wednesday, april 21st

the church

special 30th anniversary

acoustic career retrospective

@ the somerville armory

wednesday, april 21st through

wednesday, april 28th

the 8th annual independent

film festival of boston

@ various boston area theatres

including the somerville + brattle

thursday, april 22nd

the mary onettes

@ great scott

saturday, april 24th

graham parker with

the figgs

@ johnny d's, somerville

saturday, april 24th

los campesinos!

here we go magic

@ the paradise

sunday, april 25th

harlem

@ great scott

monday, april 26th

echo + the bunneymen

hatcham social

@ the paradise

wednesday, april 28th

gogol bordello

devotchka

jesse malin

st. mark's social

@ the house of blues

thursday, april 29th

frightened rabbit

@ the paradise

friday, april 30th

the everyday visuals

the lights out

the flying machines

aloud

@ tt the bears

friday, april 30th

corinne bailey ray

@ the house of blues

friday, april 30th

the album leaf

sea wolf

@ the paradise

wednesday, april 28th

little boots

dragonette

fan death

@ the middle east downstairs

saturday, may 1st

white rabbits

here we go magic

@ the paradise

monday, may 3rd

yeasayer

sleigh bells

@ the paradise

tuesday, may 4th

gregory & the hawk

lady lamb the beekeeper

@ tt the bears

tuesday & wednesday

may 4th & 5th

public image ltd.

@ the royale (formerly the roxy)

wednesday, may 5th

minus the bear

@ the wilbur theatre

wednesday & thursday

may 5th & 6th

jonsi (from sigur ros)

@ the house of blues

thursday, may 6th

shout out louds

@ the paradise

friday, may 7th

ok go

earl greyhound

robert francis

@ the paradise

saturday, may 8th

local natives

@ great scott

tuesday & wednesday

may 11th & 12th

dr. dog

deer tick

@ the paradise

thursday, may 13th

small brown bike

bridge and tunnel

your skull my closet

wallcreeper

@ great scott

saturday, may 22nd

killing joke

@ the paradise

tuesday, may 18th

spectrum (featuring sonic boom

from spacemen 3 + e.a.r.)

with the broken river prophet

@ the middle east upstairs

tuesday, may 25th

the smittens

allo darlin'

one happy island

hearts!attack

a smile and a ribbon

horowitz

@ the lizard lounge

wednesday, may 26th

reverend horton heat

cracker

miss derringer

@ the house of blues

friday, may 28th

mono

the twilight sad

@ the middle east downstairs

wednesday, june 2nd

kings of convenience

franklin for short

@ the paradise

wednesday, june 2nd

ryan bingham & the dead horses

@ tt the bears

wednesday & thursday

june 2nd & 3rd

the national

@ the house of blues

friday, june 4th

brian jonestown massacre

@ the paradise

friday, june 18th

reigning sound

movers & shakers

triplethick

@ tt the bears

saturday, june 19th

james taylor

carole king

@ the garden

sunday + monday

june 20th + 21st

isis

melvins

totimoshi

@ the paradise

thursday + saturday

august 19th + 21st

tom petty + the heartbreakers

my morning jacket

@ the comcast center

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 | rss (1 :2) |