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recommended boston area events

thursday, july 2nd

the church

adam franklin (swervedriver)

@ showcase live, foxborough


sunday, july 5th

city breathing

deep sea diver

adam rich

steve pardo & lindley cameron

@ the middle east upstairs


saturday, july 11th

the luxury

the click five

midatlantic

aloud

@ the paradise


sunday, july 12th

the dead weather

screaming females

@ the house of blues


saturday, july 18th

butterflies

travels

@ pa's lounge


sunday, july 19th

grand duchy (w/frank black)

the bunnies

van elk (w/valerie mistle thrush)

@ the middle east downstairs


sunday, july 19th

lymbyc systym

coralcola

the cush

the pandas

@ the middle east upstairs


monday, july 20th

you can be a wesley (cd release!)

casper & the cookies

everything, now!

magic magic

@ the middle east upstairs


monday, july 20th

green day

the bravery

@ the garden


tuesday, july 21st

mark eitzel & marc capelle

performing american music club songs

@ the lizard lounge


friday, july 24th

varsity drag (cd release!)

the grownup noise

winterpills

brendan boogie & the best intentions

@ the middle east upstairs


sunday, july 26th

pete yorn

@ the house of blues


tuesday, july 28th

cass mccombs

jennifer o'connor & band

mike bones

@ tt the bears


wednesday, july 29th

foreign born

the veils

faces on film

@ tt the bears


thursday, july 30th

justin ripley & his band

@ pa's lounge


friday, july 31st

destroyer (dan bejar)

iran

wooden wand

@ the paradise


friday, july 31st

depeche mode

peter bjorn & john

@ great woods


saturday, august 1st

alasdair roberts

@ lorem ipsum books, inman square


saturday, august 1st

wheat (cd release show!)

the xyz affair

@ great scott


sunday, august 2nd

soft power (featuring mary timony)

gramercy arms (featuring dave derby)

@ tt the bears


monday, august 3rd

billy bragg

@ the berklee performance center


monday, august 3rd

tinted windows

(james iha, adam schlesinger,

taylor hanson, & bun e. carlos)

@ the paradise


monday, august 3rd

coldplay

elbow

kitty daisy & lewis

@ the comcast center


wednesday, august 5th

the rural alberta advantage

joshua english (ex-six going on seven)

with lisa molinaro

baby teeth

@ the middle east upstairs


wednesday, august 5th

arctic monkeys

modey lemon

@ the paradise


wednesday, august 5th

joe pernice (solo show & book tour)

@ the brattle theatre (2 shows)


wednesday and thursday

august 5th and 6th

paul mccartney

@ fenway park


friday, august 7th

the electric prunes

love

sky saxon (of the seeds)

@ the middle east downstairs


saturday, august 8th

blondie

pat benatar

@ the b.o.a. pavilion


wednesday, august 12th

the warlocks

@ great scott


wednesday, august 12th

the pretenders

cat power

juliette lewis

@ the bank of american pavilion


thursday, august 13th

bat for lashes

@ the paradise


friday, august 14th

six finger satellite

@ tt the bears


sunday, august 16th

the decemberists

heartless bastards

@ mountain park, holyoke


sunday, august 16th

trashcan sinatras

@ tt the bears


monday, august 17th

the breeders

@ the paradise


friday, august 21st

choo choo la rouge (cd release!)

the big disappointments

impossible hair

the operators

@ pa's lounge


saturday & sunday

august 22nd & 23rd

bruce springsteen & the e street band

@ the comcast center / great woods


saturday, august 29th

caspain

actors & actresses

irepress

arms & sleepers

@ tt the bears


sunday, august 30th

the flaming lips

explosions in the sky

stardeath and white dwarfs

@ the boa pavilion


thursday, september 3rd

kay hanley (letters to cleo)

antisocialites

ingenue

@ tt the bears


saturday, september 5th

the pains of being pure at heart

cymbals eat guitars

depreciation guild

@ the middle east downstairs


saturday, september 5th

pet shop boys

@ the house of blues


thursday, september 10th

autolux

sleepy sun

@ the paradise


thursday, september 10th

dirty three

@ the i.c.a. boston


friday, september 11th

kings of leon

glasvegas

@ the comcast center / great woods


saturday, september 12th

the cult

performing 'love' in its entirety

@ the house of blues


sunday, september 13th

down

melvins

@ the house of blues


tuesday, september 15th

the horrors

@ the paradise


saturday & sunday

september 19th & 20th

boston lebowski fest

with movie screening & bowling

@ the house of blues & kings


sunday, september 20th

u2

snow patrol

@ gillette stadium


tuesday, september 22nd

son volt

@ the paradise


friday, september 25th

township

the lights out (cd release!)

reverse

gravehaven

@ tt the bears


friday, september 25th

charlatans uk

hatcham social

@ the paradise


saturday, september 26th

kmfdm

@ the house of blues


sunday, september 20th

maximo park

@ the paradise


monday, september 28th

sunny day real estate

@ the house of blues


wednesday, september 30th

mono

maserati

@ the middle east downstairs


sunday, october 4th

the "loud & rich" tour

richard thompson &

loudon wainwright iii

performing solo & together

@ the sanders theatre, harvard


wednesday, october 7th

bob mould

@ the paradise


saturday, october 10th

the psychedelic furs

happy monday

@ the house of blues


wednesday, october 14th

loney dear

asobi seksu

@ great scott


wednesday, october 21st

mum

@ the somerville theatre


saturday, october 31st

pinback

@ the paradise


friday, november 13th

janeane garofalo

rob riggle

two shows @ the wilbur theatre


visit tourfilter for more shows



Monday, December 05, 2005

Mp3s: Ride's Mark Gardener live in Boston

Last night, while waiting for Dinosaur Jr. to take the stage at the Middle East Downstairs, just after enduring the crapfest that was the opening band, I was kinda conflicted. The crammed-in crowd, the $25 t-shirts, the terrible openers, the milking of (gimme) indie rock nostalgia... I just wasn't feeling it. Sure, I'd seen Dinosaur at Avalon back in July (with an even more terrible opening band), and it was pretty great... but there was another show going on across the river, and I was struck by the feeling that it was over there I really belonged.

So I text-messaged my bandmate Randy, who was at the Paradise Lounge waiting for ex-Ride singer/guitarist Mark Gardener to take the stage with touring partners Goldrush backing him up. There was still time to make the quick drive, so I cruised over, found a perfect parking spot and joined a couple dozen fans for Mark's great set of Ride songs and solid new solo material.

It was a truly memorable evening, as the too-small crowd put Mark & Co. in a conversational mood, chatting between songs, joking around... it felt more like a livingroom show than a club gig. He spoke of the tour so far, of electrical shocks, of dwarf tossing, of taking up a collection so that the Paradise could buy an extra 'R' for their marquee out front (He was "Mark Gardenep" on the sign that night). He kept tabs on another fan's smoking habits, as it was impossible not to notice when she stepped out for a cigarette. "Nasty habit, that..." said Mark, and later on, "She's back! Was it good?". His concern seemed far less parental when he grabbed a quick smoke himself after the show.

It struck me as Mark and the band broke into 'Taste', the first of four Ride songs they'd play, that it was probably a dozen or so years ago that I saw him on stage in this very same building, when Ride played with the Pale Saints in the much larger main room of the 'Dise. A brilliant night, but then again, every time I saw Ride was. A lot of that came rushing back when the 'Taste' bass intro started up... more than a little bit of bliss.

So while I have no doubt that Dinosaur Jr. was very good (and I'll get to see for myself when the DVD they were filming eventually arrives), I know I made the right decision to flee the masses and head for the intimacy. Sitting there, relaxing with other Mark fans, drinking a beer with Jerad Driveblind, watching a guy from one of my favorite bands ever play songs from their best album... it was pretty near perfect.

And here, for you, is the set...


A couple of songs after Mark had joked "So, none of you could get tickets to Dinosaur Jr., huh?", I approached the stage and handed him my used Dinosaur ticket stub. "Waitaminute, you went!? How was it?" Mark asked. "Yeah, I was there, but I left before they came on." was my reply.

"Man, you just made my fucking night," he said.

Nah, Mark... you made mine.


Some links for ya: Mark's official site, his MySpace page, Piero's Mark microsite, and the official Ride site. Buy Mark's excellent new solo album from United For Opportunity right here, and check out a new interview with him in the Toronto Star.

Mark's tour with Goldrush and Hopewell crosses the border into Canada today, with Montreal tomorrow night and Toronto on Wednesday. From there it's on to Detroit, Chicago, and eventually the West Coast for the final six shows. Do go and see 'em.


(the fine print: live songs are recorded with a sony minidisc recorder, converted from .wav to 192kbps mp3s, and are made available for a few weeks. if the artist or anyone involved with making the music has an issue with them being shared here, just say the word... my email address is on the left.)

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