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recommended boston area events

saturday, march 13th

butch walker & the black widows

will dailey

@ the paradise


sunday, march 14th

a special screening of the

white stripes tour documentary

"under the great white northern lights"

free admission / prize pack drawing

10pm @ the otherside cafe


sunday, march 14th

carbon leaf

@ the paradise


monday, march 15th

one happy island

standard fare

summer cats

@ great scott


monday, march 15th

letting up despite great faults

the brother kite

plumerai

singing bridges

@ the middle east upstairs


tuesday, march 16th

bacchus king

croquet

cathy cathodic

the ugly fucklings

@ the middle east upstairs


wednesday, march 17th

joanna newsom

@ the sanders theatre, harvard


wednesday, march 17th

henry rollins (spoken word)

@ the somerville theatre


thursday, march 18th

apollo sunshine

drug rug

@ the paradise


friday, march 19th

i, pistol

mascara

planetoid

forgetful jones

@ tt the bears


saturday, march 20th

the whitehaus family blastfest

needy visions, manners,

morgan shaker, avi jacob,

and many more

@ cambridge ymca theatre


saturday, march 20th

air

am

@ berklee performance center


sunday, march 21st

the clientele

field music

@ great scott


thursday, march 25th

"thursday night alright!" with

the beatings

aloud

action camp

hello ninja

@ great scott


thursday, march 25th

the donnas

@ the paradise


friday, march 26th

eldridge rodriguez (the beatings)

ryan lee crosby

ted billings (age rings/hot protestants)

@ the somerville armory


friday, march 26th

basia bulat

marissa nadler

lady lamb the beekeeper

@ tt the bears


saturday, march 27th

your say party! we say die!

the new collisions

static of the gods (cd release)

@ tt the bears


saturday, march 27th

the big pink

a place to bury strangers

magic magic

@ the paradise


saturday, march 27th

spoon

deerhunter

@ the house of blues


sunday, march 28th

beach house

bachelorette

@ the paradise


monday, march 29th

the soft pack

nodzzz

beaters

@ great scott


tuesday, march 30th

shearwater

wye oak

hospital ships

@ tt the bears


tuesday, march 30th

manchester orchestra

the features

biffy clyro

o'brother

@ the paradise


wednesday, march 31st

japandroids

love is all

girlfriends

@ the middle east downstairs


wednesday, march 31st

miike snow

delorean

@ the paradise


wednesday, march 31st

a sunny day in glasgow

pants yell!

bearstronaut

@ great scott


thursday, april 1st

girls

dum dum girls

@ the paradise


friday, april 2nd

the xx

jj (late show only)

two shows @ the paradise


friday, april 2nd

drive-by truckers

lucero

langhorne slim

@ the house of blues


saturday, april 3rd

cassavettes

the grownup noise

kingsley flood (cd release)

spouse

@ the middle east upstairs


saturday, april 3rd

black rebel motorcycle club

alberta cross

@ the house of blues


saturday, april 3rd

nada surf

dawn landes & the hounds

@ the paradise


sunday, april 4th

serena maneesh

depreciation guild

black fortress of opium

@ tt the bears


tuesday, april 6th

wilco

@ the orpheum


tuesday, april 6th

ben fold & a piano

kate miller-heidke

@ the house of blues


wednesday, april 7th

florence & the machine

@ the paradise


wednesday, april 7th

rocky votolato

brooke waggoner

@ great scott


thursday, april 8th

faces on film

hands & knees

st. claire (cd release!)

mr. sister

@ tt the bears


thursday, april 8th

thom yorke + atoms for peace

flying lotus

@ the citi/wang theatre


friday, april 9th

midlake

@ the paradise


saturday, april 10th

xiu xiu

tune-yards

@ the middle east downstairs


saturday, april 10th

ted leo & the pharmacists

obits

screaming females

@ the paradise


saturday, april 10th

pissed jeans

confines

sqrm

@ great scott


sunday, april 11th

fanfarlo

lawrence arabia

robert francis

@ the paradise


monday, april 12th

the wedding present

play their 1989 lp 'bizarro'

with openers girl in a coma

@ the middle east downstairs


monday, april 12th

titus andronicus

the babies

@ great scott


thursday, april 15th

jakob dylan with guests

neko case + kelly hogan

@ the wilbur theatre


thursday, april 15th

red sparowes

doomriders

@ the middle east downstairs


friday, april 16th

have nots (vinyl release!)

the appreciation post

razors in the night

wicked whiskey

the swaggerin growlers

@ tt the bears


saturday, april 17th

kaki king

an horse

@ the middle east downstairs


saturday, april 17th

the morning benders

miniature tigers

@ tt the bears


sunday, april 18th

heavy trash (w/jon spencer)

the konks

the cobra-matics

@ tt the bears


sunday, april 18th

the thermals

past lives

@ the middle east downstairs


monday, april 19th

trans am

@ the middle east downstairs


tuesday, april 20th

owen pallett (aka final fantasy)

@ the ica boston


tuesday, april 20th

elvis costello & the sugarcanes

@ the orpheum


tuesday, april 20th

the low anthem

timber timbre

@ the paradise


tuesday, april 20th

quasi

let's wrestle

@ the middle east downstairs


wednesday, april 21st

the church

special 30th anniversary

acoustic career retrospective

@ the somerville armory


wednesday, april 21st through

wednesday, april 28th

the 8th annual independent

film festival of boston

@ various boston area theatres

including the somerville + brattle


thursday, april 22nd

the mary onettes

@ great scott


saturday, april 24th

los campesinos!

here we go magic

@ the paradise


sunday, april 25th

harlem

@ the great scott


monday, april 26th

echo + the bunneymen

hatcham social

@ the paradise


wednesday, april 28th

gogol bordello

devotchka

jesse malin

st. mark's social

@ the house of blues


thursday, april 29th

frightened rabbit

@ the paradise


friday, april 30th

the everyday visuals

the lights out

the flying machines

aloud

@ tt the bears


friday, april 30th

corinne bailey ray

@ the house of blues


friday, april 30th

the album leaf

sea wolf

@ the paradise


wednesday, april 28th

little boots

dragonette

fan death

@ the middle east downstairs


saturday, may 1st

white rabbits

here we go magic

@ the paradise


monday, may 3rd

yeasayer

sleigh bells

@ the paradise


tuesday, may 4th

gregory & the hawk

lady lamb the beekeeper

@ tt the bears


tuesday & wednesday

may 4th & 5th

public image ltd.

@ the royale (formerly the roxy)


wednesday & thursday

may 5th & 6th

jonsi (from sigur ros)

@ the house of blues


thursday, may 6th

shout out louds

@ the paradise


friday, may 7th

ok go

earl greyhound

robert francis

@ the paradise


saturday, may 8th

local natives

@ great scott


tuesday & wednesday

may 11th & 12th

dr. dog

deer tick

@ the paradise


thursday, may 13th

small brown bike

bridge and tunnel

your skull my closet

wallcreeper

@ great scott


saturday, may 22nd

killing joke

@ the paradise


tuesday, may 18th

spectrum (featuring sonic boom

from spacemen 3 + e.a.r.)

with the broken river prophet

@ the middle east upstairs


tuesday, may 25th

the smittens

allo darlin'

one happy island

hearts!attack

a smile and a ribbon

horowitz

@ the lizard lounge


wednesday, may 26th

reverend horton heat

cracker

miss derringer

@ the house of blues


friday, may 28th

mono

the twilight sad

@ the middle east downstairs


wednesday, june 2nd

kings of convenience

franklin for short

@ the paradise


wednesday, june 2nd

ryan bingham & the dead horses

@ tt the bears


wednesday & thursday

june 2nd & 3rd

the national

@ the house of blues


friday, june 4th

brian jonestown massacre

@ the paradise


friday, june 18th

reigning sound

movers & shakers

triplethick

@ tt the bears


saturday, june 19th

james taylor

carole king

@ the garden


sunday + monday

june 20th + 21st

isis

melvins

totimoshi

@ the paradise


thursday + saturday

august 19th + 21st

tom petty + the heartbreakers

my morning jacket

@ the comcast center


visit tourfilter for more shows



Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Mp3s: Rob Crow in Cambridge, MA

I didn't know exactly what to expect from a visit by Rob Crow (he of Pinback, Goblin Cock, and a slew of other bands), as I hadn't read anything about the first part of the tour that brought him to our TT the Bears in Cambridge a couple weeks back. Would it be just the man and his guitar, or had he'd thrown together a backing band to rock the songs from "Living Well", his latest solo album? What I sure didn't expect was any kind of Heavy Vegetable reunion, and that's a big part of what we got.

Admittedly, I didn't recognize any of the four players that Rob brought on stage with him that night, but just a few quick songs into the set and I knew they must have some serious history. They were just so damn tight. Way tighter than a band who was 12 dates into their first tour had a right to be. Rob hinted at that history when he said "I haven't played with Travis or Manolo in 13 years", and when the band barreled through a special mini-set at the end of the main one, I realized what he meant. Yup, on stage was three out of four Heavy Veggies: Rob, drummer Manolo Turner, and Travis Nelson (who switched from guitar on Rob's solo songs to bass on the rest), along with non-Veggies (but frequent Rob collaborators) Kenseth Thibideau on bass/guitar and Donny Van Zandt on keys. Just after a cover of Brian Eno's "Here Come The Warm Jets" (or "Here Come the Hot Pockets", as Rob dubbed it), a 75%-reunited H.V. served up "Song For Wesley", "Intro", "Couch", "Bully", and "Junior" from their mid-nineties Headhunter albums. It was something to behold.

But it was Rob Crow's solo work (and the sonic similarity to the parts of Pinback I love so much) that got me there in the first place, and the band honestly improved on the songs I'd been already liking from "Living Well". I'd only heard its predecessor, 2003's "My Room Is A Mess", a couple of times, but those songs fit right in with the newer stuff, and we even got a mini-medley of some far older solo material. Without Pinback to seemingly rope him in, Rob cuts loose with rapid-fire short, sharp, shocks of songs; brief blasts on subjects both trival and grand. Twenty-five songs in under an hour, in fact. And there's not much that could amuse my inner geek more than seeing a full band rocking through an ode to World of Warcraft ("Leveling"), or a polarizing comic book artist ("Liefeld"). Speaking of geeking, there's nothing quite like seeing someone trying to dance to Rob's jaunty, sharp-turning songs. I felt like I owed part of the ticket price to the goofy guy in front of me.

For an encore, just Rob and his guitar gave us the gift of two covers: one Misfits and one Minor Threat. It was an obvious display of his early influences, on a tour that incorporated his own personal musical history. Two songs to demonstrate why he started playing music, and longtime bandmates who showed part of how he did.

Here's the set in Mp3 form. Buy "Living Well" from Temporary Residence, and keep an ear out for news of a new Pinback record, which Touch & Go Records says should be out this fall.



Rob Crow

Live at TT the Bears
in Cambridge, Mass.
on Wednesday, February 28th, 2007

Rob songs with the band...
01. Focus
02. Helicopter
03. Leveling
04. Some Things
05. Bam Bam
06. Subtle
07. If Wade Would Call
08. I Hate You, Rob Crow
09. Taste
10. Medley
11. Over Your Heart
12. No Sun
13. Liefeld
14. Catching The Trap
15. Up
16. Some Secret History
17. Over The Summer
18. Here Come The Warm Jets (Brian Eno cover)

Heavy Vegetable songs...
19. Song For Wesley
20. Intro
21. Couch
22. Bully
23. Junior
24. encore applause

Rob and his guitar...
25. Astro Zombies (Misfits cover)
26. Minor Threat (Minor Threat cover)


Some Rob Crow links...
  • The very thorough Rob Crow fan site, Rob's MySpace page, his Wikipedia entry, Temporary Residence label page, and his Absolutely Kosher label page.

  • Mp3s: "I Hate You, Rob Crow" (Single Version), from "Living Well", which is actually longer than the album version. "Some Things" from "My Room Is A Mess". Pinback's "Fortress" from "Summer In Abaddon".

  • Video: The official clip for "I Hate You, Rob Crow" from "Living Well", directed by Matt Hoyt. Live footage of Rob's 7-minute solo encore at the Empty Bottle in Chicago on February 23. The video for Pinback's "AFK" (mov). And here's a link to a Rob Crow YouTube search, where you can find a few more live clips.

  • Sid from Too Much Rock was also at TTs, and offers up his own review right here. As always, he's got some great photos from the show, including shots of openers Glorytellers and Genghis Tron. He also shares his own video of part of Rob's solo encore (mp4).

  • More of my own pictures from the TTs show can be found here.

  • As always, you can listen to all 'Nac-hosted tracks on the Hype Machine.

  • After the set, Rob mentioned how horrified he was by his performance when Pinback played the Touch & Go 25th Anniversary fest in Chicago last fall. I begged to differ, having been in the crowd and dug it, but he swears he's dreading that eventual Monday morning when the Pinback clip appears on the T&G website. Whatever song they choose to share, I hope it'll prove he's being far too hard on himself.

  • Catch one of the two remaining Rob Crow (& friends) solo dates, either as part of South By Southwest in Austin tomorrow night, or the final show of the tour at Brick By Brick in San Diego on March 21st.

  • postscript action... If anyone has any issues whatsoever with this live set being made available, just say the word (contact info in the 'nac faq). I am but a fan trying to share and spread the word. Recorded with a Sony ECM-719 mic and a Sony MZ-RH10 minidisc, converted to .wav and then edited to 192kbps mp3s. Tracks are made available for a limited time, and are not reposted once removed.

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