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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, October 23, 2006

Mp3s: Broken Social Scene at Brandeis

Since so much of my waking life (and some of my sleeping) is spent looking forward to the next live show I'll be at, last Monday was a major anomaly. When I woke that morning I'd never have imagined that in a few short hours I'd be in front of one of the bands that had long been on my 'must see' list: Canada's Broken Social Scene. No time for growing impatience, no build up, no pre-show listening binges... I learn about the show and next thing ya know, I'm right there.

I'd been out of town when BSS played Boston's Avalon last year, so when their current two-week tour was announced without an area date, I was more than a bit bummed. Seeing them became even more vital upon learning that this could be their last tour for a long, long while, at least in the current (ever-rotating) incarnation. Recent interviews aren't clear on what kind of band will emerge from the hiatus cocoon they're about to enter.

So last Monday, when an upcoming.org notification said that, waitaminute, Broken Social Scene would be playing just a few miles west at Brandeis University that very night?, I trusted but verified: Nope, no mention on the BSS site. Nope, not even on their label's tour listings. Hmmm. Check the Brandeis site. Ahhh, there we go. Hot diggity damn.

And so it was that me, Ashley, Susanne, and Ryan ended up out in Waltham for the first night of their tour, surrounded by students and suffering through a painful dub-reggae DJ opener. Do Make Say Think was scheduled to play first, but for some reason couldn't make it... better silence than what we got instead. But it made the eventual on-stage appearance of a stripped-down BSS even more fulfilling (only with this Canadian collective can seven members be considered "stripped-down"). Kevin Drew (vocals/guitar/keys), Brendan Canning (bass), Amy Millan (vocals), Andrew Whiteman (guitar), Charlie Spearin (guitar/horn), Justin Peroff (drums), and, uh, another guy (David?) on horns & percussion, straight off their big honkin' Canadian tour bus.

Here's the set...



While there were some first-night kinks, a few between-song technical glitches, it never impacted the band's enthusiasm or performance... they pushed through some funky monitor mixes and reverby vocal weirdness to give a great set full of dynamic ups and downs, beautiful lulls between powerfully moving moments. It lived up to all I'd read and then some (and hey, bonus Dinosaur Jr. cover). And while I can cross them off the ol' must-see list, a drive down to Providence on November 8th is looking likely...

Some BSS links...
  • Check out some more of my photos from the show over here.

  • Visit their official site, Myspace page, Wikipedia page, or the Broken Social Scene forum.

  • Ryan and Ashley both wrote up their BSS experience as well (and I nearly titled this post "Broken Social Scene at Brown Dice", but Ryan beat me to it).

  • A couple SueTube live clips from the show here and here.

  • The recently released tour-footage video for the BSS song "Major Label Debut".

  • Recent articles in Creative Loafing and the Post-Gazette discuss BSS's upcoming hiatus. (via cw via lhb)

  • Shortly after the BSS tour ends, singer and Stars member Amy Millan heads out on a tour of her own to support her solo release "Honey From The Tombs". The 10-date trip begins at the Paradise here in Boston on November 15th. Tickets here or cheaper at the 'dise box office.

  • the fine print... If anyone has an issue with this live set being made available, just say the word (contact info in the 'nac faq). 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.


    A couple of asides, as long as I'm posting today...

    It's a slightly notable time in the blog-centric world, in that my Boston blogging neighbor rbally just decided to fold up the tent at his live-music sharing site. Apparantly Jennings has a real life to live (do I ever relate), but hey, so long and thanks for all the songs, and best of luck.

    Another not-as-drastic decision was made by Frank over at Chromewaves, who remarkably hit consecutive post number 1,001 today, and will from here on out post more like a normal person instead of a obsessive freak (meaning not every damn day of the year). My heart skipped a beat when he wrote the words "I quit" in today's commemorative post, but thankfully it's just the grueling schedule he's leaving behind... I'd get the shakes if he ever abandoned my favorite blog for good. Congrats on the streak, sir.


    And finally, on such a somber note... this past Saturday, October 21st, marked three years since the day the world lost Elliott Smith. His death hit me harder than the loss of any artist I've ever loved, and I still find it tough to listen to him without imagining what he'd be writing if he was still around. I'll always wonder. Sigh.

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