bradley's almanac - a boston music blog

boston area shows of note:

monday, october 6th

catfish haven

dead confederate

mean creek

the motion sick

@ tt the bears

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

friday, october 10th

kirsten a. malone

scholarship fundraiser

ho-ag

bone zone

tinsel teeth

cathy cathodic

@ the milky way

friday, october 10th

writer sarah vowell

7pm @ brookline booksmith

saturday, october 11th

the new year

dirty on purpose

tre orsi

@ the middle east upstairs

saturday, october 11th

les savy fav

passion pit

phil and the osophers

@ the middle east downstairs

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

TOURFILTER DJ NIGHT

with dj's chris tourfilter

and bradley almanac

featuring only songs by bands

playing soon in the boston area

9pm @ river gods, cambridge

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

@ tt the bears

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

annuals

live in-store performance

7pm @ newbury comics, newbury st.

tuesday, october 21st

minus the bear

annuals

sylvie

@ the wilbur theatre

tuesday & wednesday

october 21st & 22nd

billy bragg

@ the somerville theatre

wednesday, october 22nd

writer/expert john hodgman

6pm @ the coolidge corner theatre

wednesday, october 22nd

yeasayer

@ the paradise

wednesday, october 22nd

lyle lovett & john hiatt

(acoustic, on stage together)

@ the orpheum

thursday, october 23rd

robert fisher

(of willard grant conspiracy)

chris brokaw

drew o'doherty

@ the lily pad

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

@ the kendall square cinema

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

friday & saturday

november 14th & 15th

smashing pumpkins

@ the citi wang theatre

saturday, november 15th

scarce (cd release!)

wheat

triplethick

@ tt the bears

sunday, november 16th

centro-matic

@ the middle east

monday, november 17th

margot & the nuclear so and so's

@ 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, november 22nd

sondre lerche

@ the paradise

sunday, november 30th

18th dye

devon williams

@ tt the bears

tuesday, december 2nd

nada surf

delta spirit

jealous girlfriends

@ the paradise

friday, december 5th

mercury rev

dean & britta

@ the paradise

saturday, december 13th

neil young

wilco

everest

@ the dcu center, worcester

sunday, december 14th

bon iver

@ the wilbur theatre

monday, january 5th, 2009

glasvegas

rails to russia

@ great scott

sunday, january 18th

frightened rabbit

@ great scott

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...

Camera Obscura

Live at Great Scott
Allston, MA
Thursday, July 6th, 2006

01. Come Back Margaret
02. I Love My Jean
03. The False Contender
04. Teenager
05. Tears For Affairs
06. Lloyd, I'm Ready To Be Heartbroken
07. banter 1
08. Dory Previn
09. banter 2
10. Let's Get Out Of This Country
11. If Looks Could Kill
12. banter 3
13. Country Mile
14. banter 4
15. Eighties Fan
16. banter 5
17. Razzle Dazzle Rose
18. I Need All The Friends I Can Get
19. banter 6
20. Suspended From Class

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.

Labels: livemp3s