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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




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Tuesday, May 09, 2006

It's Gonna Take Some Time...

I swear I've written the introduction to this post about five different times over the past few weeks, but whenever I'm near the end, it keeps growing until the intro is totally irrelevant. Yeah, this one's been a loooong time in the making, and it could be a long time in the reading.

Going to cover a fair amount of musical ground here, and I'll spend the first bit on some friends & acquaintances...


The Essex Green's new album, "Cannibal Sea", came out a bunch of weeks back on Merge, and it's another hook-filled gem. Chris, Jeff, Sasha, & friends have improved upon 2003's "The Long Goodbye" by a catchy, country-tinged mile. And I liked that one lots, too. The production's so good, Jeff's stand-out guitar-licks so perfectly placed, Chris & Sasha's layered harmonies just fantastic... their voices have never sounded better together. I'm listening to it as I write this, and it's an ideal Sunday morning soundtrack...

They finished a little German jaunt last month, cruising the Autobahn with the Shout Out Louds, and now they're in the middle of a three week stateside stretch. I'm a bit bummed they're skipping Boston this time, especially since I'm so much more familiar with the new songs they played us last time around, but lots of you will get the chance to see 'em.

If you missed it, check out a high-falutin' feature story over at MSNBC, a recent EG post at You Ain't No Picasso, and another at Villains Always Blink. See some YouTube footage of their SxSW visit, some shared Flickr photos, and recent radio sessions for Minnesota Public Radio, where they performed three songs from the new disc, and NPR, who played a couple album tracks. (Speaking of the radio, I've been hearing the leadoff track from Cannibal Sea, 'This Isn't Farm Life', on Sirius Radio's Left of Center channel quite a bit lately.)

For a little history lesson, head over to Latitude 44.2N. They've got a couple of chapters of exploration into the Green's past, starting with one about Guppyboy (the best band to come outta Burlington, VT), and another about the Green themselves.


Long as we're talking about my old home state, it was nice to see Neil Cleary's name in a post title over at False 45th a little while back. Neil is responsible for one of my favorite Burlington-spawned pop albums, 1997's "Made To Feel", under the moniker of Stupid Club. Many, many good songs on that sucker, and you'd can still grab it here.


Could we really be nearing the release of the long lost My Own Sweet studio sessions? I've been in possession of roughly-mixed mp3s for ages, but I'd love to hear 'em higher-fi. For now, let's be content that they've actually got a myspace page. You can hear a few songs there, and many more have been mixed 'n mastered. Good news all around.


Tim Lauben (a member of My Own Sweet, Huffy, and most recently, The Red & The Black), has also jumped on myspace, and he's sharing up some of his solo stuff. I'm a longtime fan of his songs, so I'm glad he's doing that.


Too many years went by without my old friend and bandmate Shawn F. having any recordings to show off, but his latest outfit, the Burlington, VT-based Fire the Cannons! has a few from last year's demo up at myspace. Shawn & singer/guitarist Marie have found a new drummer since those songs were put down, and I'm hoping they record again soon; a couple live songs from their TTs show a few months back have really stuck with me.


And even though Shawn's not on their recordings (yet), he should be psyched to also be playing bass in a band called The Hero Cycle. False 45th tipped me to them a few weeks ago, and I was more than immediately impressed by the three songs they've got at (where else?) myspace, especially 'Breathing In'. I'll have to find out if the (at least) 7-piece project is planning on recording again soon, but until then, these songs will stay solidly in my playlist.


Another old friend sharing new music via myspace is Sean L., recording under the name seanpaultragedy. Four songs to either stream or download, including a new-ish acoustic one.


It's been a couple years since Jay Cox left both his old band (The Ivory Coast), and his old home (the East Coast) behind, settling in Seattle and putting together a project-turned-band called The Sea Navy. Jay's in the studio finishing up some new songs, working with drummer Andrew Rudd (ex-Aqueduct) and Mr. TW Walsh, who's adding bass, keys, and also sitting behind the board. While we wait to hear that new stuff, grab some mp3s from the first album, 'Breathing in the Old World', on the Sea Navy songs page, and read a recent Sea Navy post over at rbally.


Speaking of TW Walsh, the ex-Pedro the Lion & Headphones guy is readying a new EP under the name The Soft Drugs. Titled 'The Soft Drugs in Moderation', it was made with the help of some familiar names, including members of the Crystal Skulls, Sufjan Stevens' band, and PTL's David Bazan. It's officially out June 6th, and you can now pre-order it now at the Undertow Music store. It's being released on Walsh's own label, Tower of Song, and while you're waiting for it to arrive, check out a couple tracks from it at myspace, or grab TW's monthly free mp3s over at the Soft Drugs site, including an early version of the eventual Pedro the Lion song, 'Start Without Me'.


Which brings us to ex-Pedro guy David Bazan, who will also be releasing a solo EP of his own June 13th on Jade Tree, his first since leaving the PTL moniker behind late last year. It's titled 'Fewer Moving Pieces', and as of yesterday you can order it through the Undertow Music store as well. It's a five-song but ten-track affair, with each number getting both an acoustic and electric treatment. The tracklisting, which gives each song two titles depending on the version, is...
  • Holy War (Making It, Faking It, Breaking It)
  • How I Remember (Don't Cry, I'm Not Gonna Hurt You)
  • Backwoods Nation (Here We Go Again)
  • Fewer Broken Pieces (Precious, Please Make Up Your Mind)
  • Cold Beer and Cigarettes (The Devil Is Beating His Wife)
  • A couple of those song title may look familiar to Pedro the Lion followers: Two demo versions of 'The Devil Is Beating His Wife' have been available at PureVolume for awhile, and Bazan performed it as part of the recent Undertow Orchestra tour. 'Backwoods Nation' was released as a PTL song on the 2002 Jade Tree sampler 'Location Is Everything Vol 1'. Not sure if we'll get re-recorded versions of those songs, but here's hoping.

    Super fun fact: Ex-Low bassist and indie-comic publisher extraordinaire Zak Sally did the artwork for the EP. Actually, we can now officially refer to him as "the Eisner-nominated Zak Sally". Because this year, he is.

    Indie Interviews posted an excellent David Bazan chat awhile back as part of its podcast series, in which he discussed leaving the Pedro the Lion name behind, the use of profanity in his music, and much, much more. I.I.'s Garrison Reid was kind enough to send me an unused five-minute chunk of the interview, so I'm sharing it up right here for a little while. In the excerpt, David talks about the absurdity of the Christian 'club' mentality, and his frustration with freaks like James Dobson who use faith to preach intolerance. Definitely worth a listen for Bazan/PTL fans, along with the rest of it.

    For Boston-area readers, David will be playing with the also-excellent Drew O'Doherty at TT the Bears on Monday, June 19th. Might want to grab tickets early for that one.


    I simply cannot get enough of Rose Melberg's new solo cd on Double Agent, 'Cast Away the Clouds'. I ordered it pretty early from Darla, and was very psyched to see it arrive well before the official late-April release date. I shouldn't be surprised that her beautiful voice, perfect harmonies, soft strumming, and light piano touches have become my spring soundtrack... I don't think she's been involved in anything I haven't liked, whether it was Tiger Trap, the Softies, or Go Sailor.

    Order up the album direct from Double Agent, and listen to some songs over at Rose's myspace page, including a cover of an old Anne Briggs folk song called "The Time Has Come", which you can also download here. For some other Rose-colored coverage, BrooklynVegan wrote about a recent live appearance, and For the 'Records' wrote something (and stole my intended title for this post :-)) on the eve of the album's release.


    Norway's Serena Maneesh are offering up a free mp3, a remixed version of 'Sapphire Eyes' that has so far only appeared on the b-side of a 7". The mix itself is a bit of an aural train-wreck, and you have to sign up for their mailing list to get it, but it's worth a listen if you love the original. Go get it here.


    Lots of great shows here in Boston this month, including last Saturday's Pinback show, this coming Sunday's Mogwai show, and others including Film School, Metal Hearts, Rachel's, Mark Kozelek, and Twilight Singers. Also really looking forward to seeing Mary Timony on June 1st, since the addition of bass player Chad Molter has made the guitar-and-drums duo a full-on trio. Can't wait to see how it helps fills out her live set, especially since they'll be playing some new stuff in preparation for the imminent recording of Mary's next album.

    (I was kinda looking forward to seeing Radiohead, until I got completely shut out when I attempted to get tickets last Saturday morning. My click-fu was not strong. Anyone got an extra? I'd letcha ravage my tradelist. :))

    Other announced shows that I'm really looking foward to: Boston's own Buffalo Tom at the Paradise, that Bazan / O'Doherty double-bill at TTs, and Head Like A Kite at the Paradise, all in June.

    July brings us A Silver Mount Zion (a GYBE offshoot) at the Middle East and a few great shows at the Paradise: The Futureheads on the 1st, Mission of Burma on the 13th, and Editors on the 30th. While tickets for that Editors show don't officially go on sale until May 15th, you can already grab pre-sale tix right over here (username: editors, password: munich). Going there would be most wise, as there's no doubt about a sell-out.

    Edited to add: Mission of Burma is doing a pre-sale for their tour as well, including stops in DC, Philly, Toronto, Cleveland, and Detroit, in addition to the two shows in Massaschusetts. Head over to MusicToday to grab your early tix, which have just gone on sale.

    And looking waaaaay too far ahead to September, we'll be treated to Bottomless Pit at the Middle East. 'Bottomless Pit?', you may be asking. That's former Silkworm guys Tim Midgett and Andy Cohen's new band, with ex-Seam drummer Chris Manfrin and .22 singer/guitarist Brian Orchard on bass. They're playing with Shearwater and Magnolia Electric Co., and I cannot freakin' wait. Tickets go on sale this Friday, and I'm guessing that date is part of a larger tour, so keep an eye out in other cities as well.


    Was going to write about a whole lot more, but this chunk has taken long enough as it is. Time to click the 'Publish' button...


    Pssst... hey, Bostonians: Wanna see a free preview screening of the new Terry Zwigoff / Daniel Clowes flick 'Art School Confidential' tomorrow night? Then go here and print out the pass. See ya there.





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