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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



Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Mp3s: Camera Obscura live in Allston

Scottish sextet Camera Obscura are at the tail end of a North American tour that brought them to Allston's Great Scott a couple weeks back, and the packed room was more than happy to have 'em. Reviewers can't seem to resist referencing Belle & Sebastian when they write about them, thanks to their shared homeland, similar instrumentation, and gentle-pop stylings, but that didn't really occur to me until I read it somewhere (and I lost my B&S love long ago). I get a 'slightly more somber Heavenly'-vibe from Tracyanne Campbell's songwriting, and appreciate the way they're easily able to incorporate varied styles (motown, country) into their work. Their latest disc, "Let's Get Out Of This Country", is their best yet, both production and song-wise, and they did an excellent job of bringing the new stuff to the stage. Here's their Boston set...



Tracyanne relays this story in the banter above, but it's worth a retelling here: When the band pulled into town, they noticed a couple of teenagers hanging around outside the doors to Great Scott. Too young to get into the show, they actually had a note from their mom, in hopes that would be enough for the staff to let their ages slide. Unfortunately, thanks to Boston's ultra-strict liquor-laws, that was a no go. Their mom was still in the area, so she came by to try and chaperone them inside... but no luck there either.

But here's the thing: It was Lloyd Cole's family. Yes, that Lloyd Cole. The Scottsman who wrote 1984's "Are You Ready To Be Heartbroken?" with his band The Commotions. The song that Camera Obscura's "Lloyd, I'm Ready To Be Heartbroken" was written in response to. Mrs. Cole & kids had driven 90 miles to see the band play it, and they were sadly shut out. Some band t-shirts, and perhaps a muffled listen outside the fire door, were all they got. But hopefully the kids will surf by here and get a listen to the song they drove all that way to hear.

Something else you'll hear between songs: The band dedicates a number to my pals Jesse & Keira (aka The Flarsons), who were celebrating their wedding anniversary that night. A nicer couple you will never meet, and it was super-cool to hear the crowd share in the congratulations (and to hear Keira's 'thank you!' on the recording).

Some Camera Obscura-related links for you...
  • Chromewaves writes up the first show of the tour in Toronto, and provides us with some beeeeyooootiful pictures. His shots get better and better. For the Records wrote up that show as well.

  • The band has a tour blog, but it's very much in need of an update.

  • Openers Georgie James were quite good, prompting me to dig deeper into their stuff. Exitfare profiled them recently.

  • The band gets a write-up, and Tracyanne gets interviewed, at Rolling Stone online. Can't remember the last time I had a reason to link to, or even think about, Rolling Stone.

  • Have a look or listen to their appearance on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic from last week. Eight songs live in the studio, including a Sheena Easton (!) cover.

  • Check out the video for "Lloyd, I'm Ready To Be Heartbroken" over at YouTube. Lots more CamOb video to be found there, too, including a newly-recorded live clip of that song from the Troubadour in Los Angeles.

  • The Village Voice reviews the new album.
  • Camera Obscura's North American tour finishes up this week with just a few more dates, so don't miss 'em if they happen to be near you...
    Thursday, July 27th - Varsity Theatre - Minneapolis, MN
    Friday, July 28th - Logan Square - Chicago, IL
    Saturday, July 29th - Grog Shop - Cleveland, OH
    Sunday, July 20th - Southgate House - Newport, KY

    as always... If anyone has an issue with this live set being made available, just say the word (email link on left). Recorded with a Sony ECM-719 mic and a Sony MZ-RH10 minidisc, converted to .wav and then edited to 192kbps mp3s. Mp3s are made available for a limited time, and are not reposted once removed.


    I'll end this with a chance for kindness: Gabe over at Audiocrush (one of my favorite indie podcasts) has a 10-month old kitty named Gertie, and she fell three stories to the ground last week. She's doing ok now, but not after a painful $3000 in vet bills. If you're feeling generous, help Gabe & Gertie out with a little donation. It'll do your heart, and Gabe's wallet, a whole lot of good.

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