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recommended boston area events

friday, saturday, & sunday

february 3rd, 4th, & 5th

ladyfest boston!

more great bands than should

be legally allowed for one event

all weekend @ cambridge ymca


friday, february 3rd

jack's mannequin

jukebox the ghost

allen stone

@ the house of blues


saturday, february 4th

the sheila divine

@ the paradise


wednesday, february 8th

dum dum girls

widowspeak

@ the paradise


thursday, february 9th

tea leaf green

ha ha tonka

@ the paradise


sunday, february 12th

happy jawbone family band

bozmo

zebu!

trabants

@ great scott


wednesday, february 15th

yellowbirds

quilt

@ great scott


thursday, february 16th

slowdim

you won't (cd release!)

friendly people

the suitcase junket

@ tt the bears


friday, february 17th

o'brother

junius

@ brighton music hall


saturday, february 18th

cuffs

woollen kits

headband

@ the plough & stars


saturday, february 18th

the wandas

aloud

when particles collide

the bynars

@ radio, somerville


wednesday, february 22nd

the del fuegos (reunited)

@ the paradise


thursday, february 23rd

heartless bastards

@ the middle east downstairs


thursday, february 23rd

sharon van etten

shearwater

@ the paradise


sunday, february 26th

the twilight sad

micah p. hinson

forest fire

@ brighton music hall


thursday, march 1st

travels

eratok

the broken river prophet

l.r.a.d.

@ o'brien's


thursday, march 1st

jennifer o'connor

thalia zedek

choo choo la rouge

cotton candy

@ church of boston


friday, march 2nd

tennis

hospitality

@ brighton music hall


monday, march 5th

fanfarlo

young man

@ the paradise


tuesday, march 6th

kaiser chiefs

@ house of blues


thursday, march 8th

atlas sound

white rainbow

carnivores

@ the paradise


friday, march 9th

anti-flag

the flatliners

have nots

@ brighton music hall


friday, march 16th

obits

fists

plus guests

@ tt the bears


friday, march 16th

new multitudes

(woody guthrie tribute)

with will johnson (centro-matic),

jay farrar (son volt),

anders parker (varnaline),

& yim yames (my morning jacket)

bobby bare jr.

@ the paradise


monday, march 19th

music 2.0: tools + tech for

musicians, marketers, & managers

6-9pm @ microsoft n.e.r.d. center


tuesday, march 20th

the postelles

fort lean

@ great scott


friday, march 23rd

the wedding present

(performing 'seamonsters' & new songs!)

jet age

pinky piglet

@ brighton music hall


friday, march 23rd

ben kweller

sleeper agent

the dig

@ the paradise


saturday, march 24th

martin sexton

@ the house of blues


saturday, march 24th

bowerbirds

@ the paradise


monday, march 26th

chairlift

nite jewel

@ brighton music hall


monday, march 26th

bruce springsteen

& the e street band

@ td garden


tuesday, march 27th

delta spirit

waters

@ the paradise


tuesday, march 27th

kasabian

@ house of blues


thursday, march 29th

swervedriver

@ brighton music hall


friday, march 30th

young adults

soccer mom

autochrome

night fruit

@ tt the bears


friday, march 30th

the joy formidable

a place to bury strangers

exitmusic

@ the paradise


saturday, march 31st

wild flag

the labor pool

@ the paradise


sunday, april 1st

of montreal

loney dear

kishi bashi

@ the paradise


monday, april 2nd

cursive

cymbals eat guitars

@ the middle east downstairs


friday, april 6th

nada surf

an horse

@ the paradise


friday & saturday

april 6th & 7th

the magnetic fields

devotchka (acoustic)

@ the berklee performance center


monday, april 9th

the ting tings

mndr

@ the paradise


wednesday, april 11th

dinosaur feathers

grandchildren

onslo

@ church of boston


wednesday, april 11th

the horrors

small black

@ brighton music hall


thursday, april 12th

snow patrol

ed sheeran

@ the orpheum


thursday, april 12th

white denim

hundred visions

@ the paradise


saturday, april 14th

white rabbits

gull

@ the paradise


tuesday, april 17th

lambchop

@ the paradise


wednesday, april 18th

amy ray

kaia wilson (team dresch)

@ brighton music hall


saturday, april 21st

death cab for cutie

backed by the

magik*magik orchestra

with openers low

@ the wang theatre


sunday, april 22nd

portugal. the man

the lonely forest

@ the house of blues


monday, april 23rd

rodrigo y gabriela

@ the orpheum


tuesday, april 24th

we were promised jetpacks

breton

@ the paradise


friday & saturday

april 27th & april 28th

archers of loaf

@ the middle east downstairs


saturday, april 28th

wu lyf

@ brighton music hall


thursday, may 3rd

bear in heaven

@ brighton music hall


friday, may 4th

school of seven bells

@ brighton music hall


sunday, may 6th

andrew bird

patrick watson

@ the house of blues


monday, may 7th

feist

@ the house of blues


tuesday, may 8th

m. ward

lee ranaldo band

@ the house of blues


wednesday, may 9th

the dear hunter

performing 'the color spectrum'

in its entirety

@ the somerville theatre


wednesday, may 9th

m83

i break horses

@ the house of blues


wednesday, may 9th

spiritualized

@ the paradise


saturday, may 12th

the feelies

@ the paradise


friday, june 15th

foster the people

tokyo police club

@ boa pavilion


friday & saturday

june 15th & 16th

the figgs!

25th anniversary shows

@ church of boston


saturday, june 16th

mogwai

@ house of blues


tuesday, august 28th

beirut

@ house of blues


visit tourfilter for more shows






Sunday, November 18, 2007

Mp3s: The Soft Drugs in Cambridge, MA

Of all the shows I've captured and shared, I don't think I've ever been fortunate enough to record a band's official live debut. Not that you'd know by this recording that the four men who make up the Soft Drugs had never set foot on a stage together before the small one at TT the Bears in Cambridge last month... they were super-tight and totally smooth, which isn't so surprising given the collective experience of the players involved.

A bit of background: TW Walsh and his family left Seattle and moved to the Boston area earlier this year, and it didn't take him long to pull together some top-notch players to fill out a new version of his solo vehicle. Joining TW, who sings his songs from behind his drum kit, is Michael Murray on guitar, John Beck III on Wurlitzer, guitar, & percussion, and Ken Maiuri on bass (all three provide backing vocals as well). Drew O'Doherty, who played a solo set of his own to open the evening, also sat in on guitar for a couple of songs in the middle of the 8-song TT's set. It was a friend-filled night, as headlining was David Bazan, TW's former bandmate under the now-abandoned Pedro the Lion moniker (interesting that as DB decided to stop using PTL in favor of his own name early last year, TW decided to start delivering his own solo stuff under a band name... and so the universe remains in balance).

The Soft Drugs publicly came into being in the summer of '06, with the arrival of the five-song "In Moderation" EP, which soon became a free download under a Creative Commons license. A Seattle-based version of the band played a few shows before the Walsh clan relocated, but soon after TW settled back in Boston, like-minded Boston-area musicians and friends were brought in to help bring the Soft Drugs to life on East Coast stages. And so it was that on Saturday, October 27th, the quartet did just that in front of an appreciative crowd...



The Soft Drugs

Live at TT the Bears
in Cambridge, Massachusetts
on Saturday, October 27th, 2007

01. Defending The Paint
02. The Pitch
03. Pawn Shop Guns
04. Build Me A Ballpark
05. Badge
06. Don't Sweat It
07. Borrow My Vibe
08. Family of Four


As you'll notice, the song "Badge" remains unshared (at TW's request), but you'll likely be able to hear that one on the eventual release of the Soft Drugs' planned full-band debut full-lengther. Demos are in the works, and we'll hopefully stay updated via his blog or the SD MySpace page as recording sessions take place.

Some links, Soft Drugs style......
  • The official Soft Drugs site, MySpace page, Wikipedia entry, TW Walsh's blog, his own Wikipedia page, his Tower of Song records page, and his Bounce To Disk home recording blog. Speaking of his recording blog, TW has also started up his own mastering business, so check the details here.

  • Additional Audio: Pick up the "In Moderation" EP on iTunes, or download it under the CC license at the Soft Drugs site. Also available there is a non-EP track, on which TW plays all the instruments, and I'll link that here...
    Mp3: The Soft Drugs - "Family of Four"
    For the unaware, before becoming part of Pedro the Lion, TW put out a few releases under his own name between 1999 and 2002, including the fantastic "Blue Laws" album. They're worth hunting down if you can find 'em.

  • Photos: My Flickr-hosted shots are here.

  • Upcoming live dates:
    Tuesday, Nov. 27th - TW Walsh solo
    @ UMass Lowell in Lowell, Massachusetts

    Wednesday, Nov 28th - The Soft Drugs
    @ The Middle East in Cambridge, Massachusetts
    with Maritime & The One AM Radio
  • Listen to any and all 'Nac-hosted Mp3s at le Hype Machine 2.0.

  • the fine print... If anyone has an issue with these Mp3s being made available, just let me know (my contact info in the 'nac faq). Live sets recorded with a Sony ECM-719 mic and a Sony MZ-RH10 minidisc, converted to .wav and then edited to 192kbps Mp3s. Files are made available for a limited time, and are not reposted once removed.

    Labels:




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