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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



Sunday, April 08, 2007

Mp3s: Caspian in Allston, MA

It's a big week for the boys in the Beverly-based band Caspian, as their long-awaited first full-length, "The Four Trees", officially arrives this Tuesday. To mark the release, the guys will be on WFNX tonight, appearing on the weekly New England Product program at 10pm, and will be hanging out at River Gods in Cambridge tomorrow night for an album listening party (and playing some of their owns faves). The week peaks with a bound-to-be-great Friday night headlining show at the Paradise in Allston, which launches the band into a month-long national tour, delivering the sounds of "The Four Trees" to our west and south.

Having spent a solid week with my pre-order copy of the disc, I'm so glad to discover that it delivers on the promise of their lauded 2005 "You Are The Conductor" EP, and much more. They've expanded on the balanced sides of their sound, adding depth in both directions, from pure power to remarkable fragility. There are moments of massive near-metal (the good kind), and others that are too beautiful for words (so to speak). The effects-laden dual-guitar interplay is more intricate, aided even by the occasional acoustic lull, and the rhythm section is even more dynamic, two facts that set them above and apart from other like-minded instrumental artists.

Y'know, it almost seems a slight disservice to categorize Caspian as an "instrumental" band, although there's no denying that's what they are. Unfortunately some more passive music fans stick modern instrumental acts in a box, labeling them "post-rock", and moving on to others with lyrics and singers that serve 'em up (the same types might skip an amazing foreign film just because of subtitles). But the fact that Caspian offers no words, and therefore no easily-uncovered meanings behind their music, for me only adds to the emotional impact of what they create: it is what you make it, it brings to you what you bring to it. Critics will use easy words like "cinematic" to describe their sound, and the songs may find their way onto soundtracks (which has brought cash and exposure to some of their categorical peers), but it can't be dismissed as "background music". It demands your attention, and in fact, it's driving me to distraction as I'm trying to write this. I'm taking long breaks just listening, getting even more psyched for the Paradise show on Friday.

With the band's permission, here's a set they played back in January, just down the street at Great Scott. The night was a benefit for those impacted by the fire at the Pan9 art collective space in Allston (and despite the passage of time, I'm sure they could still use your help if you've got a little cash to spare). While the sound quality of this set is pretty good, it still doesn't do the band's live shows justice, doesn't recreate what it's like to stand in front of them with eyes closed and ears open...



Caspian

Live at Great Scott
in Allston, Massachusetts
on Tuesday, January 9th, 2007

01. Some Are White Light
02. Crawlspace
03. Quovis
04. Further Up / Further In
05. Last Rites
06. Moksha
07. Brombie


Buy Caspian's "The Four Trees" from Dopamine Records, for a mere $8 at Newbury Comics, or digitally via eMusic. You can also pick it up at Friday's show at the 'Dise, so grab tickets to that over here, or cheaper at their box office. Joining Caspian will be the excellent On Fire and Constants.

Some Caspian links...
  • Their own website, the band's MySpace page, and the Dopamine Records site.

  • Mp3s: "ASA" from "The Four Trees"; "Further In" from "You Are The Conductor; "Loft" from their May 2004 demo; Download a complete live Caspian set from Seattle in 2005 at the Live Music Archive; A live version of "Last Rites" recorded in December 2004 at Gordon College; other recordings can be found on Caspian's music page.

  • Video: Check out a short video of Caspian working on the new song "Some Are White Light" in their practice space, and a couple live clips as well.

  • As I mentioned, Caspian's month-long U.S. tour in support of new album kicks off on April 19th in NYC. For a full list of all the dates, check here.

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

  • the very fine print... 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.

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