bradley's almanac - a boston music blog

boston area shows of note:

friday, july 25th

comedian joel mchale

(from the soup)

@ the wilbur theatre

saturday, july 26th

bon iver

bowerbirds

@ the museum of fine arts

sunday, july 27th

the new collisions (debut)

red quiet

melt

@ tt the bears

sunday, july 27th

sunfold

antiques

@ the middle east upstairs

wednesday, july 30th

we are scientists

@ the middle east downstairs

wednesday, july 30th

earlimart

@ the middle east upstairs

wednesday, july 30th

spiritualized

the dirtbombs

@ the wilbur theatre

thursday, july 31st

the police

elvis costello & the impersonators

@ the tweeter center

friday & saturday

august 1st & 2nd

eddie vedder

liam finn

solo @ the opera house

saturday, august 2nd

wolf parade

@ the paradise

monday, august 4th

coldplay

@ the garden

tuesday, august 5th

(and every tuesday this month)

neil cleary's 'doozy'

a guest-packed 4-show residency

@ the lizard lounge

wednesday, august 6th

neil halstead (slowdive/mojave 3)

rogue wave

jack johnson

@ the tweeter center

saturday, august 9th

margot & the nuclear so and so's

@ the middle east

saturday, august 9th

melvins

@ the paradise

sunday, august 10th

ho-ag

six finger satellite

the in-out

certainly, sir

@ great scott

tuesday, august 12th

thao nguyen with

the get down stay down

david schultz & the skyline

pepi ginsberg

@ tt the bears

tuesday, august 12th

(and every tuesday this month)

neil cleary's 'doozy'

a guest-packed 4-show residency

@ the lizard lounge

wednesday, august 13th

radiohead

grizzly bear

@ the tweeter center

thursday, august 14th

grizzly bear

violens

outside in the courtyard

@ the museum of fine arts

friday, august 15th

the ex

getachew mekuria

debo band

@ the middle east downstairs

saturday, august 16th

+/- (plus minus)

broken river prophet (cd release!)

animal hospital

ba-na-nas

free kickass cupcakes from 9-10pm!

@ the middle east upstairs

tuesday, august 19th

(and every tuesday this month)

neil cleary's 'doozy'

a guest-packed 4-show residency

@ the lizard lounge

wednesday, august 20th

human league, belinda carlisle, abc,

flock of seagulls, naked eyes

@ the bank of america pavilion

thursday, august 21st

yndi halda

caspian

irepress

@ tt the bears

friday, august 22nd

obits (ex-hot snakes/rftc)

@ the middle east

saturday, august 23rd

amo joy!

franklin bruno

(from nothing painted blue)

one happy island (ep release!)

@ the lily pad

saturday, august 23rd

newbury comics / unnatural axe

30th anniversary bash

the meatmen, queers, nasties,

unnatural axe, sleazies

@ the middle east down

tuesday, august 26th

the final installment of...

neil cleary's 'doozy'

a guest-packed august residency

@ the lizard lounge

wednesday, august 27th

liz phair performing

'exile in guyville'

@ the paradise

wednesday, august 27th

xiu xiu

prurient

@ the paradise

monday, september 1st

the juan maclean

@ the middle east downstairs

friday, september 5th

silver jews

@ the middle east downstairs

saturday, september 6th

my morning jacket

@ the bank of america pavilion

sunday, september 7th

ryan adams & the cardinals

@ the bank of america pavilion

tuesday, september 9th

paul weller

@ the berklee performance center

saturday, september 13th

wfnx disorientation 2008

the kooks, flogging molly,

alkaline trio, rogue wave,

and more to be announced

@ bank of america pavilion

monday, september 15th

james

@ the paradise

tuesday, september 16th

a place to bury strangers

@ the paradise

thursday, september 18th

the walkmen

@ the middle east downstairs

friday, september 19th

sigur ros

@ the bank of america pavilion

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

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

wednesday, september 24th

low

@ the museum of fine arts boston

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

thursday, september 30th

boston spaceships

(gbv's robert pollard)

big dipper

@ the paradise

sunday, october 5th

pinback

@ the paradise

monday, october 6th

the wedding present

@ the middle east downstairs

monday, october 6th

stereolab

monade

@ the paradise

wednesday, october 8th

wire

@ the middle east downstairs

sunday, october 12th

the residents

@ showcase live, foxboro

sunday, october 12th

the notwist

@ the roxy

tuesday, october 14th

cold war kids

@ the paradise

friday, october 17th

jonathan richman

with drummer tommy larkin

@ the somerville theatre

saturday, october 18th

ra ra riot

walter meego

the morning benders

@ the middle east

tuesday & wednesday

october 21st & 22nd

billy bragg

@ the somerville theatre

wednesday, october 22nd

lyle lovett & john hiatt

(acoustic, on stage together)

@ the orpheum

thursday, october 30th

of montreal

@ the orpheum

saturday, november 1st

henry rollins (spoken word)

@ the orpheum

monday, november 3rd

coldplay

@ the td banknorth garden

visit tourfilter for more shows

Monday, February 20, 2006

Mp3s: Undertow Orchestra in Boston

When I first read about the talented men who'd be touring together as The Undertow Orchestra, my first thought was 'I sure as hell hope they come to Boston.', while my second was 'How cool would it be if they played at the Museum of Fine Arts?' Well, both hopes were fulfilled, and on Valentine's Day, no less. From the get-go I figured it could be a perfect night, and it was.

'All-Star Lineup' sounds a bit silly, but these guys deserve the description if anyone does: songwriters David Bazan (Pedro the Lion / Headphones), Vic Chesnutt, Mark Eitzel (American Music Club), and Will Johnson (Centro-matic), joined by Centro-matic's Scott Danbom on keys and violin. There wasn't an empty seat in the Remis Auditorium as the band was introduced, and they came out holding a long string of valentine hearts, wishing us all a happy v-day as they manned their instruments. For most of the set, it was Eitzel and Johnson on guitar, Bazan on drums, Chesnutt on bass, and Danbom on the keyboard, but whenever Bazan came out from behind the kit to sing and strum his own songs, Johnson always swapped with him. Being the seventh night of the tour, they had the switches down, and the whole evening went smoothly.

Three songs fronted by Johnson, followed by three from Bazan, Chesnutt, and finally Eitzel. When the rotation was done, they started from the top and we got three more from each, with Chesnutt batting cleanup, unfortunately skipping one of his songs due to time. While they sang lead on six each, it was the backing vocals that made the night that much more special. Hearing Mark Eitzel sing harmonies on Pedro the Lion song, or having Will Johnson backup a Vic Chesnutt tune, or even better, when all five of guys sang together... just magic.

The between-song banter (which I've included below) was pretty amusing as well; the atmosphere was relaxed enough for Bazan to make a fairly unusual request from the crowd on Chesnutt's behalf (which was eventually fulfilled, I believe).

Here, for your genuine listening pleasure, is was the entire set...

The Undertow Orchestra

Live at the Museum of Fine Arts
Boston, MA
Tuesday, February 14th, 2006

(note: files removed on 6/5/2006)

1. intro
2. Tent Of Total Mystery *
3. Vultures Await *
4. interlude 1
5. Just To Know What You've Been Dreaming *
6. interlude 2
7. Bands With Managers#
8. interlude 3
9. Priests And Paramedics #
10. Slow Car Crash #
11. interlude 4
12. Stupid Preoccupations ^
13. I'm Through ^
14. interlude 5
15. Iraq ^
16. Sleeping Beauty +
17. St. Michael My Pet Rat+
18. Home +
19. interlude 6
20. Just Some Silence *
21. Closing Down My House *
22. I See Through You *
23. interlude 7
24. Criticism As Inspiration #
25. interlude 8
26. The Devil Is Beating His Wife #
27. I Do #
28. Ladies And Gentlemen +
29. interlude 9
30. Patriot's Heart +
31. interlude 10
32. Johnny Mathis' Feet +
33. The Pool ^
34. interlude 11
35. In My Way, Yes ^

* - Will Johnson
# - David Bazan
^ - Vic Chesnutt
+ - Mark Eitzel

While I've been a Pedro the Lion, American Music Club, and Vic Chesnutt fan for many years, Will Johnson was a revelation for me. I'd completely missed out on Centro-matic's during their 10 year career, so I picked up their 'Triggers and Trash Heaps' EP after the show. Their next full length, Fort Recovery, arrives on March 7th, but you can stream the whole thing right now over at Misra Records.

Coincidentally, rbally made a Centro-matic-centric post on Valentines Day. Aquarium Drunkard treats us to a Vic Chesnutt post just yesterday.

On Monday, April 3rd, Will Johnson and Scott Danbom return to Boston with Centro-matic for a night at Great Scott with the Great Lake Swimmers and Mr. Drew O'Doherty. Mark that show 'not-to-be-missed'.

The Undertow Orchestra tour continues tonight with a stop in Ames, Iowa, after which they head to Kansas, Texas, Tennessee, and they wind up in Georgia on March 1st. Don't miss it, if it's anywhere near you.

Labels: livemp3s