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boston area shows of note:


thursday, august 21st

yndi halda

caspian

irepress

@ tt the bears


friday, august 22nd

varsity drag

lump

charcoal lavage

jake and the jakes

@ o'briens


friday, august 22nd

obits (ex-hot snakes/rftc)

viva viva

dead cats dead rats

sunday morning music

@ the middle east


saturday, august 23rd

the soft drugs

higgins

the toothaches

drama queens

@ pa's lounge


saturday, august 23rd

amo joy!

franklin bruno

(from nothing painted blue)

one happy island (ep release!)

@ the lily pad


saturday, august 23rd

newbury comics / unnatural axe

30th anniversary bash

the meatmen, queers, nasties,

unnatural axe, sleazies

@ the middle east down


sunday, august 24th

don cabellero

ponytail

irepress

@ harper's ferry


tuesday, august 26th

the final installment of...

neil cleary's 'doozy'

a guest-packed august residency

@ the lizard lounge


wednesday, august 27th

liz phair performing

'exile in guyville'

@ the paradise


wednesday, august 27th

xiu xiu

prurient

@ the paradise


friday, august 29th

liz phair performs

'exile in guyville'

@ the paradise


monday, september 1st

the juan maclean

@ the middle east downstairs


wednesday, september 3rd

ryan's smashing life presents...

justice of the unicorns

tigers & monkeys

spanish armada

wild business

@ the middle east


friday, september 5th

silver jews

hallelujah the hills

who shot hollywood

@ the middle east downstairs


saturday, september 6th

my morning jacket

@ the bank of america pavilion


saturday, september 6th

matt pryor (get up kids)

kevin devine

mike fiore (faces on film)

@ harper's ferry


sunday, september 7th

ryan adams & the cardinals

@ the bank of america pavilion


tuesday, september 9th

paul weller

@ the berklee performance center


friday, september 12th

mission of burma

in-store performance

7pm @ newbury comics, newbury st.


friday, september 12th

buffalo tom

as part of the boston arts festival

@ christopher columbus park


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

lymbyc systym

this will destroy you

arms and sleepers

@ harper's ferry


monday, september 15th

lagwagon, mxpx,

only crime, & tat

@ harper's ferry


monday, september 15th

sunset rubdown

@ the middle east


monday, september 15th

james

@ the paradise


tuesday, september 16th

a place to bury strangers

@ the paradise


thursday, september 18th

the walkmen

@ the middle east downstairs


friday, september 19th

sigur ros

@ the bank of america pavilion


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

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


saturday, september 27th

mike viola (solo)

(2nd of 3 weekly residencies)

@ the lizard lounge


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

@ the paradise


thursday, september 30th

boston spaceships

(gbv's robert pollard)

big dipper

@ the paradise


thursday, september 30th

say hi

jukebox the ghost

@ the middle east


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

@ the paradise


monday, october 6th

the wedding present

the jealous girlfriends

@ the middle east downstairs


monday, october 6th

fleet foxes

@ the somerville theatre


monday, october 6th

stereolab

monade

@ the paradise


tuesday, october 7th

liam finn

the veils

@ the paradise


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

the feelies

@ the roxy


sunday, october 12th

the residents

@ showcase live, foxboro


sunday, october 12th

the notwist

@ the roxy


sunday, october 12th

jamie lidell

@ 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

@ tt the bears


friday, october 17th

jonathan richman

with drummer tommy larkin

@ the somerville theatre


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

@ 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

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

coldplay

@ the td banknorth garden


sunday, november 9th

the hold steady

drive-by truckers

@ the orpheum


tuesday, november 11th

deerhunter

times new viking

the vivian girls

@ the paradise


wedneseday, november 12th

kings of leon

we are scientists

the whigs

@ the orpheum


tuesday, november 18th

m83

school of seven bells

@ the middle east down


thursday, november 20th

bishop allen

@ the middle east


saturday, december 13th

neil young

wilco

@ the dcu center, worcester


visit tourfilter for more shows




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Monday, April 02, 2007

Monday Miscellany

Well, that was a week right there. Sorry about the relative silence, but I was too busy living life to write anything about it. Before I share a few mp3s below, here's a quick run down...
  • Last Sunday night was a special screening of the upcoming (and, yes, freakin' hilarious) film Hot Fuzz, from the creators of Spaced and Shaun of the Dead, at the Brattle. Director Edgar Wright, co-writer and star Simon Pegg, and co-star Nick Frost were all in attendance. Photos here. And I have one word of advice for anyone planning on seeing this film: If you happen upon a trailer for Hot Fuzz, for the sake of pete, AVERT THINE EYES. Seriously. It kills a few of the movie's great moments, not that there aren't many more to be had. I'll actually be seeing it again when it opens on April 20th, because much of the dialog was drowned in laughter (or in heavy Brit accents).

  • Monday I stopped by the first official Tourfilter DJ Night at River Gods, hosted by creator Chris Marstall with some assistance from writer Matt Shaer. The guys spent two hours each playing music from bands coming to the area in the next few weeks, and I hope that night was just the first of many Chris gets to program. Some good songs, good company, good fries, good times. (Without the songs, that sentence sounded frighteningly like a Mickey D's commercial. "Food, friends, and fun!".)

  • Tuesday brought a special reception for one of my favorite mystery writers, Boston-based Robert B. Parker, held at the B.U. student union. After a brief speech, Parker took many questions from the audience and later sat down to autograph copies of his work, including his new Jesse Stone hardcover, "High Profile". I'll hopefully be writing up the appearance in a future post, along with audio of his Q&A.

  • Wednesday night was Bloc Party and Albert Hammond Jr. at the Orpheum. Much more on that in a later post.

  • Thursday, another rock show, at a far cozier venue: Stars of Track and Field, the Broken West, and the Long Winters at Great Scott. I'll write that up soon as well.

  • Friday, consecutive rock show #3: The glorious return of Sebadoh. Yes, words and sounds to follow.

    As great and unmissable as the Sebadoh show was, it absolutely killed me to know I wasn't seeing Robyn Hitchcock at TTs that night. Did anyone out there reading check it out? How was it? No, wait, don't tell me. Watching the new documentary "Robyn Hitchcock: Sex, Food, Death ... & Insects" Saturday on the Sundance Channel made the missing that much more painful. If you're even a minor Robyn fan, the doc is essential viewing.

  • Saturday: Sorry to say, I crashed. Hard. My big plans to see Chris Pearson at PA's and Wheat at TTs fell apart as I fell into a deep weekend sleep. Fortunately, I have little doubt both of 'em will be playing around here again.
  • And with all that, my personal March went out like a over-active lion. This first April week isn't nearly as hectic, but there's some potential quality ahead: A Northern Chorus with the Twilight Sad on Wednesday night (gentle reminder: enter my ticket giveaway for that one), and Low with Loney, Dear on Saturday (for which I'm sadly missing the return of Shearwater).


    I'm giving Low another chance to win me back, as my disappointment remains from the last time I saw them a couple years ago. I actually bought the tickets well before I'd heard their new album, and I'm sad to say I may have held off otherwise. I'm coming to terms with the fact that the Low I once loved dearly may be gone for good, with only their voices remaining to keep me connected. While I appreciate their studio experimentation in theory, I do long for shades of the Low of olde, the one that used organic instrumentation and actual guitar chords. There's a tad too much technology in "Drums and Guns", making it sound more like a Low remix album than a proper follow-up to "The Great Destroyer". I miss Mimi's tasteful drum-tapping, and Alan's reverberating strums. That said, I'm still fairly curious to see how these songs come across live, and hope they leave the sequencer at home. Come Saturday, I'll be sitting in the Somerville Theater with an open mind.

    Here's a little game of compare and contrast, Low-style...

    Mp3: Low - "Breaker"
    (album version from "Drums & Guns")

    Mp3: Low - "Breaker" (Dub Plate)
    (remix from the bonus pre-order 7")

    Mp3: Retribution Gospel Choir - "Breaker"
    (from the out-of-print RGC tour EP)

    Retribution Gospel Choir, for the unaware, is Low's Alan Sparhawk and bassist Matt Livingston with drummer Eric Pollard, who are joined occasionally by Red House Painter / Sun Kil Moon man Mark Kozelek. That vastly different (and for me, far better) version of "Breaker" comes from their 2005 tour EP (on which their version of Low's "Hatchet" also appears), and they've recently made their second tour EP available on Low's merch page. Grab it before it's gone as well. Hear some songs on their MySpace page. Could be that Low's new(er) direction is related to Alan getting his guitar fix with RGC on the side.


    Next Monday, a week from tonight, may just bring me back to River Gods in Cambridge for a listening party that will celebrate Caspian's breathtaking new full-length, "The Four Trees". Even though my pre-order arrived over the weekend (and made my weekend just that much better), I'd be happy to spend an evening among like-minded listeners and the Caspian crew as they play a few of their own selected faves. According to the band: "We'll be spinning the new record plus all our favorite post-rock, indie-rock, sad-sap singer/songwriter, and anything else we feel like." Sounds good to me.

    Again, that's on Monday, April 9th, 9pm at River Gods near Central Square. And if you missed the mp3 I recently shared from "The Four Trees", here it is again...


    Order up the album, which officially arrives on Tuesday, April 10th, from Dopamine Records, or grab it at the release party on Friday, April 13th at the Paradise, where Caspian will be supported by On Fire and Constants. Tickets here.


    Former Catherine Wheel frontman and current solo guy Rob Dickinson has been candidly answering fan questions on his MySpace blog. In response to a question I asked about reissues or b-sides collections, he said...
    "... there should be some "re-presentation" of Wheel material in the not-too-distant future. Too many people, myself and the band included, have questioned why we haven't had a best-of or compilation record...or a live record.... or a further collection of our extensive, unreleased material. There's so much to dive into as it to be almost bewildering. There is much to revisit and revisiting will be done..."
    Good news indeed.


    Progress on "Cinnamon Girl", the upcoming girl-flavored Neil Young tribute record that American Laundromat Records is putting together, is coming along, with a new twist: a contest for a female-fronted act to contribute their version of Neil's "Only Love Can Break Your Heart". The winner would find themselves alongside artists like Blake Hazard, Britta Phillips, Kristin Hersh, Tanya Donelly, and The Watson Twins. Submissions are due by May 15th (details here), and the completed compilation is due out on October 3rd of this year.

    While an official tracklisting may be a way off, word from the Throwing Music forum is that Kristin Hersh's contribution will be a cover of "Like a Hurricane" with her rock trio 50 Foot Wave. Hearing their version can't come soon enough. And the mere possibility of Tanya Donelly doing "Heart of Gold"? Takei says "Oh My".


    Margot & the Nuclear So and So's are hard at work on "Animal!", the follow-up record to last year's "The Dust of Retreat", and have been sharing in-studio progress reports via their MySpace blog. Among the studio updates is word that they'll be offering up a new EP in June and doing some touring to keep us satisfied until the album's ready for release. Mighty kind of 'em.


    So I've ignored the conventional wisdom that music bloggers are better read than seen or heard, and made a quick guest audio appearance in the latest installment of something called Blog Fresh Radio. It's a recently-launched music podcast that has various mp3 bloggers (including the proprietors of Ear Farm, Obscure Sound, and Lost In Your Inbox) introduce tracks by bands they dig and have featured on their sites. I intro'd Shearwater's excellent "Seventy Four, Seventy Five", and sure as hell hope I pronounced "Okkervil" and "Meiberg" correctly.


    Alright, time to get this week's live music post together. No rest for the wicked busy.





    random mp3s of the moment
    week of august 4th, 2008

    swervedriver
    live at the paradise
    in boston, ma
    on june 10th, 2008

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