bradley's almanac - a boston-based music blog

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wednesday and thursday

february 10th and 11th

the magnetic fields

laura barrett

@ the wilbur theatre

thursday, february 11th

v66 reunion

with rod & cones, big city rock,

the fools, o positive, animotion,

right turn, digney fingus, ernie boch jr.,

lizzie borden and the axes, & more

@ house of blues

thursday, february 11th

found audio

the first annual

the rockefeller fortune

boone

@ oliver's / cask 'n flagon

friday, february 12th

kings of convenience

franklin for short

@ the paradise

saturday, february 13th

one happy island

human hearts (with franklin bruno)

boy genius

free! @ toad, cambridge

saturday, february 13th

a benefit for haiti

the okay win

new son rising

the elevators

@ copperfields

saturday, february 13th

tegan & sara

holly miranda

@ the orpheum

sunday, february 14th

we were promised jetpacks

bad veins

royal bangs

@ the middle east downstairs

monday, february 15th

a benefit for haiti

with big bear, ketman,

chris brokaw, monique ortiz,

art decade, & the dirty dishes

@ the middle east downstairs

tuesday, wednesday, & thursday

february 16th, 17th, & 18th

3 nights with jonathan richman

@ the middle east upstairs

thursday, february 18th

editors

the antlers

@ house of blues

friday, february 19th

28 degrees taurus

el jezel

the broken river prophet

metal feathers

@ o'briens, allston

friday, february 19th

taken by trees

el perro del mar

@ the cambridge ymca theatre

saturday, february 20th

dawes

corey chisel & the wandering sons

jason boesel (rilo kiley)

@ great scott

monday, february 22nd

boy without god

ryan lee crosby quartet

the wailing wall

sleepy very sleepy

@ tt the bears

wednesday, february 24th

wild beasts

still life still

dj carbo

@ great scott

saturday, february 27th

hadoken (cd release)

caspian

irepress

slowest runner

@ tt the bears

monday, march 1st

rogue wave

@ the paradise

tuesday, march 9th

jet

crash kings

@ 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

wednesday, march 17th

joanna newsom

@ the sanders theatre, harvard

wednesday, march 17th

henry rollins (spoken word)

@ the somerville theatre

sunday, march 21st

the clientele

field music

@ great scott

saturday, march 20th

air

@ berklee performance center

thursday, march 25th

aloud

action camp

hello ninja

@ great scott

thursday, march 25th

the donnas

@ the paradise

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

@ 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

nada surf

@ the paradise

sunday, april 4th

serena maneesh

depreciation guild

@ tt the bears

tuesday, april 6th

wilco

@ the orpheum

wednesday, april 7th

florence & the machine

@ the paradise

wednesday, april 7th

rocky votolato

brooke waggoner

@ great scott

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

@ the paradise

saturday, april 10th

pissed jeans

confines

sqrm

@ great scott

monday, april 12th

the wedding present

play their 1989 lp 'bizarro'

with openers girl in a coma

@ the middle east downstairs

thursday, april 15th

red sparowes

doomriders

@ the middle east downstairs

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

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

@ the paradise

tuesday, april 20th

quasi

let's wrestle

@ the middle east downstairs

saturday, april 24th

los campesinos!

here we go magic

@ 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

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

monday, may 3rd

yeasayer

sleigh bells

@ the paradise

thursday, may 6th

shout out louds

@ the paradise

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

tuesday, may 25th

smittens

allo darlin'

one happy island

horrowitz

@ toad

wednesday, may 26th

reverend horton heat

cracker

miss derringer

@ the house of blues

wednesday, june 2nd

the national

@ the house of blues

friday, june 4th

brian jonestown massacre

@ the paradise

saturday, june 19th

james taylor

carole king

@ the garden

visit tourfilter for more shows

Year-end lists used to be an annual tradition here on the 'Nac, up until 2005, when the overabundance (and gun-jumping) of online list-makers prompted me to keep quiet. For the first time, I just didn't feel like adding my signal to the overwhelming amount of noise, and the same held true at the end of '06, as the listers grew exponentially, and the earlier-than-thou mentality got out of hand.

But a two-year break is just long enough (and a bunch of this year's releases were just great enough) to get me to chime in again. One thing, though: I've decided I hate ranking my faves. Assigning a numerical order to the things I love is such an arbitrary exercise - things mean more to me depending on the day, week, or season - so what follows are my favorite albums and live shows of 2007, but with no numbers attached. Yeah, there are some of the usual suspects that you've seen on every other indie-slanted music blog, but hopefully a few surprises as well (though not too surprising if you visit here regularly). I've left off a few local Boston-area faves that filled my ears this year, as I'll be spotlighting them in another post soon.

First, I'll name the 20 albums released during the year that I listened to the most, with my favorite songs from each, and if there was one, an accompanying artist-approved or label-sanctioned Mp3 that was made available online. The label each album was released on also links to where you can purchase a copy of your own...

Arcade Fire - "Neon Bible"
(on Merge Records)
faves: "No Cars Go", "Keep The Car Running"
Mp3: "Keep The Car Running"

Band of Horses - "Cease To Begin"
(on Sub Pop Records)
faves: "Ode to LRC", "No One's Gonna Love You"
Mp3: "Is There A Ghost"

Blonde Redhead - "23"
(on 4AD Records)
faves: "Dr. Strangeluv", "23"
Mp3: "23"

Bottomless Pit - "Hammer of the Gods"
(on Comedy Minus One Records)
faves: "Human Out Of Me", "Dead Man's Blues"
Mp3: "The Cardinal Movements"

Buffalo Tom - "Three Easy Pieces"
(on New West Records)
faves: - "You'll Never Catch Him", "Hearts of Palm"
Mp3: "Three Easy Pieces"

Dinosaur Jr. - "Beyond"
(on Fat Possum Records)
faves: "Back To Your Heart", "Pick Me Up"
Mp3: "Almost Ready"

Fields - "Everything Last Winter"
(on Atlantic Records)
faves: "Song for The Fields", "You Don't Need This Song"
Mp3: "Song For The Fields"

Film School - "Hideout"
(on Beggars Banquet)
faves: "Two Kinds", "Compare"
Mp3: "Lectric"

Interpol - "Our Love To Admire"
(on Capitol Records)
faves: "Who Do You Think", "Rest My Chemistry"
Mp3: "The Heinrich Maneuver"

Kevin Drew - "Spirit If..."
(on Arts & Crafts Records)
faves: - "Safety Bricks", "Bodhi Sappy Weekend"
Mp3: "Tbtf"

Kristin Hersh - "Learn To Sing Like A Star"
(on Yep Roc Records)
faves: "Winter", "Under The Gun"
Mp3: "In Shock"

The National - "Boxer"
(on Beggars Banquet)
faves: "Mistaken For Strangers", "Brainy"
Mp3: "Fake Empire"

New Pornographers - "Challengers"
(on Matador Records)
faves: "Unguided", "Myriad Harbour"
Mp3: "Myriad Harbour"

Ola Podrida - "Ola Podrida"
(on Plug Research)
faves: "Cindy", "Pour Me Another"
Mp3: "Cindy"

Pinback - "Autumn of the Seraphs"
(on Touch & Go Records)
faves: "Good To Sea", "From Nothing To Nowhere"
Mp3: "From Nothing To Nowhere"

PJ Harvey - "White Chalk"
(on Island Records)
faves: "Grow Grow Grow", "The Piano"
Stream songs @ MySpace

Radiohead - "In Rainbows"
(self-released)
faves: "Videotape", "All I Need"
Stream songs @ MySpace

Shellac - "Excellent Italian Greyhound"
(on Touch & Go Records)
faves: "The End of Radio", "Kittypants"
no online audio available

Ted Leo & the Pharmacists - "Living With The Living"
(on Touch & Go Records)
faves: "La Costa Brava", "The Lost Brigade"
Mp3: "Sons Of Cain"

Wheat - "Everyday I Said A Prayer For Kathy
And Made A One Inch Square"
(on Empyrean Records)
faves: "Little White Dove", "I Had Angels Watching Over Me"
Mp3: "Move=Move"

I could've easily added another 10 or more on there, but that would've been a bit too self-indulgent. I should also mention that I shared some thoughts on a couple of the albums above on the year-end edition of Blog Fresh Radio, so if you feel like hearing me ramble, along with aural contributions from a bunch of ace fellow music bloggers, go here.

And here are the 20 Boston-area live shows I enjoyed the most this past year, in chronological order, with a link to my own write-up of each (many of which still have the live recordings available for download). There are a few that I'll hopefully be sharing up in the coming weeks...

Caspian
@ Great Scott in Allston, MA
On Tuesday, January 9th, 2007
write-up

Sparklehorse
@ the Paradise in Boston, MA
On Thursday, February 27th, 2007
write-up

Asobi Seksu
@ the Middle East Downstairs in Cambridge, MA
On Wednesday, February 28th, 2007
live set forthcoming

Rob Crow (of Pinback)
@ TT the Bears in Cambridge, MA
On Wednesday, February 28th, 2007
write-up

Sebadoh
@ the Paradise in Boston, MA
On Friday, March 30th, 2007
live set

Low
@ the Somerville Theater in Somerville, MA
On Saturday, April 7th, 2007
live set

John Vanderslice & friends
@ the Middle East Upstairs in Cambridge, MA
On Friday, April 20th, 2007
live set

Dinosaur Jr.
@ Urban Outfitters in Cambridge, MA
On Thursday, May 10th, 2007
live set

The Arcade Fire
@ the Orpheum in Boston, MA
On Thursday, May 10th, 2007
live set

Kristin Hersh & the McCarricks
@ Hi-N-Dry in Cambridge, MA
On Sunday, May 27th, 2007

The Cal Robbins Benefit Shows
@ PA's Lounge in Somerville, MA
with Ida, Secret Stars, Mark Robinson, Drew O'Doherty,
Geoff Farina, Chris Brokaw, Neptune, Helms, @ the Thalia Zedek Band
On Friday & Saturday, July 13th & 14th, 2007
live songs forthcoming

Darren Hanlon
@ the Lily Pad in Cambridge, MA
On Friday, August 17th, 2007
live set

Kevin Drew & Broken Social Scene
with Ryan Walsh (of Hallelujah the Hills)
@ TT the Bears in Cambridge, MA
On Tuesday, August 28th, 2007
Kevin's live set / Ryan's live set

The Lucksmiths
@ TT the Bears in Cambridge, MA
On Thursday, September 27th, 2007
live set

Kristin Hersh & Tanya Donelly
@ the Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, MA
On Saturday, October 6th, 2007
live sets shared soon

Film School
@ TT the Bears in Cambridge, MA
On Wednesday, October 24th, 2007
live set

The National
@ Paddy O's in Boston, MA
on Friday, October 26th, 2007
live set

Drew O'Doherty, The Soft Drugs,
All Smiles, & David Bazan
@ TT the Bears in Cambridge, MA
On Saturday, October 27th, 2007
David's live set / The Soft Drugs' live set

Yo La Tengo
@ the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, MA
on Thursday, November 15th, 2007
live set

Spiritualized
@ the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, MA
On Monday, November 19th, 2007
live set

and not exactly musical (unless you count a song from "Annie"), but definitely rating a mention...

Zach Galifianakis
@ the Berklee Performance Ctr. in Boston, MA
on Saturday, July 7th, 2007

As usual, a ton of great live music filled my year, which is no minor feat considering my new dadness, and the diminished amount of show-going free time (that's hardly a complaint, of course). It's been a real challenge balancing the fatherhood, the day job, and the blog, and more than a few times I've considered putting the Almanac on the back burner for awhile. But the compulsion remains, and I find myself heading into 2008 with a full head of steam.

So until that momentum fades, I'll keep on sharing live recordings, scattershot music-related info, and the occasional bit of tv/movie/books/comics randomness. I've got some cool posts planned, including a look at what a few Boston-area faves have in store for 2008, some amazing live stuff, and a pretty special giveaway. The comments and grateful emails you guys send really do keep me going, so thanks for those, and best wishes to all of you in the new year.

posted by brad at 12:01 AM | direct link | rss (1 :2) |