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recommended boston area events

thursday, september 2nd

lou barlow + the missingmen

wye oak

the unfamiliars

@ the middle east upstairs


saturday, september 4th

mg lederman (ex-victory at sea)

cd release show with

the wrong reasons

the beat awfuls

brant deatley

@ the plough & stars


sunday, september 5th

sweet apple

(w/j mascis on drums)

black helicopter

zombie radio

@ the middle east downstairs


sunday, september 5th

the milling gowns

what time is it, mr. fox?

faux ox

jaggery

@ harper's ferry


monday, september 6th

wallcreeper

@ charlie's kitchen


monday, september 6th

shellac

helen money

@ the middle east downstairs


tuesday, september 7th

tortoise

greg davis

ben vidas

@ the paradise


tuesday, september 7th

someone still loves you boris yeltsin

telekinesis

golden bloom

@ tt the bears


tuesday, september 7th

kele (from bloc party)

does it offend you, yeah?

@ the royale boston


wednesday, september 8th

hot hot heat

22-20s

hey rosetta!

@ the middle east downstairs


wednesday, september 8th

airborne toxic event (acoustic)

with the calder string quartet

@ the somerville theatre


thursday, september 9th

apple betty

this blue heaven

the backup factor

apollo run

@ tt the bears


friday, september 10th

i, pistol

black fortress of opium

the crushing low

@ precinct


friday, september 10th

the charlatans uk

sherlock's daughter

@ the royale boston


saturday, september 11th

school of seven bells

active child

@ the middle east downstairs


saturday, september 11th

neutral uke hotel (nmh covers on ukelele)

the michael j. epstein memorial library

@ cafe 939, berklee


saturday, september 11th

28 degrees taurus

magic shoppe (record release!)

@ the rosebud


saturday, september 11th

jamie lidell

@ the royale boston


friday + saturday

september 11th + 12th

the life is good festival

lots of bands, raising money for kids

over 2 days in canton, ma


sunday, september 12th

jarrod gorbel

(of the honorary title)

air traffic controller

@ great scott


sunday, september 12th

blondie

@ the house of blues


sunday, september 12th

vampire weekend

beach house

dum dum girls

@ the boa pavilion


monday, september 13th

dirty projectors

owen pallett (final fantasy)

@ the wilbur theatre


monday, september 13th

isobel campbell

mark lanegan

willy mason

@ the middle east downstairs


tuesday, september 14th

rush

@ the td garden


wednesday, september 15th

laura veirs + the hall of flames

the watson twins

led to sea

@ tt the bears


thursday, september 16th

of montreal

janelle monae

@ the house of blues boston


friday, september 17th

one happy island

kevin dunn

cotton candy

7:30pm @ the lily pad, cambridge


friday, september 17th

broken social scene

@ the house of blues


friday & saturday

september 17th & 18th

the 5th annual

viva la vinal festival!

with live performances from

audrey ryan, kingsley flood,

this blue heaven, bridget + the squares,

the international string trio, & justin shorey

6-10pm on friday + 12-9 on saturday

@ somerville community growing center

on vinal ave. in somerville's union square


saturday, september 18th

pavement

jenny (lewis) + johnny (rice)

@ agganis arena


saturday, september 18th

wavves

@ brandeis university, waltham


sunday, september 19th

thee oh sees

the human tail

thick shakes

@ the magic room gallery, brighton


sunday, september 19th

caribou

holy fuck

emeralds

@ the paradise


monday, september 20th

girlfriends

carnivores

weekend dads

@ o'brien's


tuesday, september 21st

superchunk

versus

@ royale boston


tuesday, september 21st

basia bulat

the acorn

john shade

@ tt the bears


tuesday, september 21st

sea wolf (alex acoustic)

sera cahoone

patrick park

@ the middle east upstairs


wednesday, september 22nd

phantogram

railbird

@ the paradise


wednesday, september 22nd

david bazan

the mynabirds

@ tt the bears


wednesday, september 22nd

field music

@ great scott


thursday, september 23rd

aloud (album release party!)

st. claire

old jack

with special emcee

poet/author james caroline

@ church of boston


thursday, september 23rd

stars

wild nothing

@ the house of blues


thursday, september 23rd

!!! (chk chk chk)

fol chen

@ the royale boston


thursday, september 23rd

bettie serveert

meandjoancollins

the painted lights

@ tt the bears


friday, september 24th

eels

@ the royale boston


saturday, september 25th

teenage fanclub

@ the royale boston


saturday, september 25th

james

ed harcourt

@ the paradise


sunday, september 26th

come (reunited!)

wussy

@ tt the bears


sunday, september 26th

mr. sister (debut album release!)

coyote kolb

tallahassee

@ great scott


sunday, september 26th

mates of state

@ the paradise


monday, september 27th

rogue wave

midlake

peter wolf crier

@ royale boston


tuesday, september 28th

lcd soundsystem

sleigh bells

@ the orpheum


tuesday, september 28th

best coast

male bonding

@ the middle east downstairs


wednesday, september 29th

quilt

paper castles

toothache

@ the lilypad


wednesday, september 29th

foals

esben + the witch

@ the paradise


thursday, september 30th

mc frontalot

@ tt the bears


thursday, september 30th

menomena

suckers

@ the royale boston


thursday + friday

sept 30th + oct 1st

built to spill

revolt revolt

pretty & nice

@ the paradise


friday, october 1st

the tallest man on earth

s. carey (of bon iver's band)

@ the somerville theatre


friday, october 1st

ra ra riot

chikita violenta

we barbarians

@ the royale boston


saturday, october 2nd

gayngs

(with bon iver's justin vernon)

glasser

@ the paradise


saturday, october 2nd

film school

the depreciation guild

static of the gods

night fruit

@ tt the bears


sunday, october 3rd

the xx

@ the orpheum


sunday, october 3rd

tom tom club

caravan of thieves

tony castles

@ the paradise


sunday, october 3rd

lost in the trees

@ tt the bears


tuesday, october 5th

the vaselines

jeffrey lewis

@ the paradise


tuesday, october 5th

chapterhouse

ulrich schnauss

@ the middle east downstairs


tuesday, october 5th

ratatat

dom

@ the house of blues boston


wednesday, october 6th

gorillaz

@ agganis arena


wednesday, october 6th

the hold steady

wintersleep

@ the royale boston


thursday, october 7th

the walkmen

a.a. bondy

blood feathers

@ the royale boston


friday, october 8th

death

@ the middle east downstairs


friday, october 8th

fountains of wayne

marshall crenshaw (solo)

@ the paradise


friday, october 8th

bell x1 (acoustic)

@ the brattle theatre


saturday, october 9th

paul f. tompkins

@ the brattle theatre


sunday, october 10th

deerhoof

xiu xiu

father murphy

first show @ the paramount!


sunday, october 10th

miike snow

@ the house of blues


sunday, october 10th

primus

mucca pazza

@ the orpheum


tuesday, october 12th

ingrid michaelson

@ the house of blues


wednesday, october 13th

dead kennedys

@ the paradise


thursday, october 14th

the thermals

cymbals eat guitars

@ the paradise


thursday, october 14th

the morning after girls

the lovetones

the december sound

ghost box orchestra

@ tt the bears


friday, october 15th

nick lowe + his band

graham parker (solo acoustic)

@ the somerville theatre


friday, october 15th

jimmy eat world

@ the house of blues


friday, october 15th

bowerbirds

death vessel

@ tt the bears


friday, october 15th

belle + sebastian

@ the wang theatre / citi center


saturday, october 16th

deerhunter

real estate

casino vs. japan

@ royale boston


sunday, october 17th

the henry clay people

the dig

@ tt the bears


monday, october 18th

greg dulli

(afghan whigs/twilight singers)

first-ever solo tour

with opener craig wedren

(of shudder to think)

@ the brattle theatre


monday, october 18th

bad religion

the bouncing souls

@ the house of blues


monday, october 18th

the drums

the hairs

@ the paradise


monday, october 18th

phoenix

two door cinema club

wavves

@ agganis arena


tuesday, october 19th

massive attack

thievery corporation

@ the orpheum


wednesday, october 20th

the pains of being pure at heart

yuck

eternal summers

@ the paradise


wednesday, october 20th

helmet

@ the middle east downstairs


sunday, october 22nd

gary numan

rasputina

playing 'the pleasure principle'

@ the paradise


saturday, october 23rd

local natives

the ruby suns

union line

@ the house of blues


sunday, october 24th

woven bones

frankie rose & the outs

@ tt the bears


monday, october 25th

the corin tucker band

hungry ghost

darren hanlon

@ the paradise


wednesday, october 27th

a sunny day in glasgow

candy claws

@ great scott


wednesday, october 27th

black prairie

(members of the decemberists)

sarah jarosz

@ the middle east upstairs


thursday, october 28th

the tt's halloween bash

with members of mean creek + campaign

for real time (as talking heads)

john powhida (as todd rundgren)

preacher roe (as guided by voices)

@ tt the bears


friday, october 29th

frightened rabbit

plants and animals

the phantom band

@ the paradise


saturday, october 30th

hallelujah the hills

magic magic

boy without god

@ great scott


sunday, october 31st

florence and the machine

the smith westerns

@ the house of blues


monday, november 1st

blonde redhead

pantha du prince

@ the paradise


monday, november 1st

social distortion

lucero

frank turner

@ the house of blues boston


tuesday, november 2nd

junip (jose gonzales)

sharon van etten

@ the royale boston


tuesday, november 2nd

black mountain

the black angels

@ the paradise


wednesday, november 3rd

the dandy warhols

blue giant

@ tt the bears


wednesday, november 3rd

land of talk

suuns

little scream

@ tt the bears


thursday, november 4th

through sunday, november 7th

the international pop overthrow

4 nights @ pa's lounge


thursday, november 4th

matt + kim

javelin

@ the house of blues


thursday, november 4th

blitzen trapper

@ the paradise


friday, november 5th

guided by voices

blitzen trapper

@ the paradise


sunday, november 7th

drivin 'n cryin

@ tt the bears


monday, november 8th

clinic

the fresh & onlys

@ the paradise


tuesday, november 9th

the morning benders

@ the paradise


thursday + friday

november 11th + 12th

sufjan stevens

@ the orpheum


thursday, november 11th

shearwater

horse feathers

damien jurado

anais mitchell

@ the house of blues


thursday, november 11th

deer tick

@ the royale boston


thursday, november 11th

mumford & sons

cadillac sky

king charles

@ the house of blues


friday, november 12th

bottomless pit

black helicopter

chris brokaw

@ the middle east downstairs


saturday, november 13th

roky erickson

@ the royale boston


saturday, november 13th

grinderman

(nick cave, warren ellis, + more)

@ the house of blues


sunday, november 14th

elizabeth mitchell (of ida)

and friends

(a children's show!)

4:30pm @ club passim


sunday, november 14th

man or astro-man?

@ the middle east downstairs


monday, november 15th

la roux

@ the house of blues


tuesday, november 16th

a night of springsteen covers

with chris keene (mean creek),

corin ashley, dave aaronoff,

brendan little, hilken mancini,

the dirty truckers, drew o'doherty,

and more to be announced

marking the release of the new

6-disk 'darkness on the edge of town'

box set @ tt the bears


tuesday, november 16th

the posies

brendan benson

aqueduct

@ the royale boston


wednesday, november 17th

cornershop

@ the middle east downstairs


thursday, november 18th

kate nash

@ the paradise


thursday, november 18th

bear in heaven

@ the middle east downstairs


friday, november 19th

township

the lights out

the organ beats

@ tt the bears


saturday, november 20th

delorean

lemonade

@ the middle east downstairs


wednesday, november 24th

idlewild

happy hollows

@ the middle east downstairs


thursday, december 2nd

director/actor kevin smith

@ the house of blues


saturday, december 4th

peter hook + the light

play joy division's "unknown pleasures"

@ the royale boston


saturday, december 4th

killing joke

@ the paradise


visit tourfilter for more shows






Monday, June 09, 2008

Interview + Giveaway: Mission of Burma
The men from Mission of Burma are halfway through a hectic couple of weeks, as they've just returned from a short European tour with Shellac to treat Boston and New York fans to some very special performances. Over two nights in each city, the seminal Boston band will perform the entirety of their 1981 debut EP, "Signals, Calls, and Marches", along with their 1982 full-lengther, "vs.". Each set will be fleshed out with some rarities, and guitarist Roger Miller provides more details on that in the interview responses below, which he and bassist Clint Conley were kind enough to provide during a long drive through Spain a few days back.

Thanks to Fenway Recordings, I've got a pair of tickets for each Boston show (Thursday and Friday at the Paradise) to give away. Details after the interview...
Q: So how did the idea of running through each album over two nights come about? Obviously the recent Matador reissues played a part, but were you all into the idea initially, or was anyone resistant?

Clint Conley: The idea first arose when we were asked to do "vs" at the Pitchfork Fest. That seemed quite an honor, and an idea totally worth stealing and repeating. Seemed to me we were of like-mind on the matter.

Roger Miller: I can't recall exactly, but I think (MoB manager and Fenway Recordings head honcho) Mark Kates suggested it. It's that "Don't Look Back" idea that the ATP festival started, where bands perform their classic albums. It just kind of made sense given the reissues. We certainly would not have done this except that the reissues are coming out. Last fall we hardly performed any of the old stuff, because we were focusing on the new ideas.

Q: If you've had time to run through the seldom-played songs already, are there any that have surprised you (either in a 'Why weren't we playing this one all along?' sort of way, or a 'Uh oh, we're in trouble with this one' kind of way, or anywhere in between)?

CC: There were several songs that required some skullwork to reconstruct, and there are still some transitions, and odd corners, that I am not totally convinced we've got "right." Overall, the recall of songs from almost 30 years ago (!) has been eerily easy. And yes, some of the songs we haven't been playing seem pretty decent, if I say so myself.

RM: Mostly they fell into place pretty quickly. Some were surprising to find how they were structured - they were pretty much all fun to revisit. The most surprising one for me was "Train of Thought", which didn't do much for me "back in the day" but I find quite bracing now. We've run through twelve "resuscitates" (songs we haven't played since 1983), and we're hoping we'll have them together by the time of the shows! We're in Spain right now, and we go over them in soundchecks and incorporate a couple in every show, so we should be OK by the Paradise shows. We just listened to these songs in the van, and found that there were quite a number of little sections we didn't realize were there.

Q: With the albums being relatively short compared to the usual length of your live sets (and one actually being an EP), how are you planning to fill out the rest of each night? And do you plan on sticking to the original "Signals..." track order, or the remastered sequence with the two additional songs? (no worries if you're hoping to keep any of that a surprise, of course).

CC: We are still working out the details of how to present the records/shows. Suffice to say we will be expanding beyond , say, the 6 song "Signals," doing other songs from that period that may or may not have shown up on other releases, such on Taang or Horrible Truth. Same with 'vs'.

RM (from notes he wrote earlier): For the 'Signals...' show, we will play some songs from early on that are not on 'Signals...', but were of that era. We will then play the 4 songs from the Acad/Max session (including the 2 that were just released), then play 'Signals...' start to finish, then play encores, and make sure everyone is happy.

For the 'vs.' Show: We will play the 4 "bonus tracks", 'vs.' start to finish, then play encores, and make sure everyone is happy.

Q: You guys have been playing some new stuff recently, so what does the future hold for MoB? Back to the studio for a follow-up to "The Obliterati"? Any other special plans ahead?

CC: We almost never know what we are going to do. If there is a plan, no one's told me.

RM: We're not so good at planning. We do have new material, and once this reissues thing has passed, I'm sure we'll work on more new songs. The only truth to be told is that so far, whenever we've had enough new songs to make an album, we've made one. That may or may not hold true in the future.

Q: I believe you're answering these questions while driving around Europe on a short tour. So what exactly is helping pass the time while on the road? (what music, books, games, etc.?)

CC: We are at this moment following the luxurious Shellac tour van across the high, dry plains of Spain, on our way north to Gijon, a beach town on the Gulf of Vizcaya (Atlantic Ocean). Spain is beautiful to the point of flabbergasm. I was reading Oliver Sacks' "Musicophilia" until it got stolen yesterday along with my laptop in Madrid.

RM: Gazing at the scenery is quite nice. I was in Barcelona with Alloy Orchestra some years ago, but otherwise, this trip is all new stuff to me. Babbling to each other, occasionally listening to music. Listening to Public Enemy (who MoB will play with at P4K in July - ed) coming into Madrid was kind of interesting. I have my laptop with me and writing the Tour Blog for the Burma MySpace site is my little "side project" on this trip. It's hard to say what we do to keep amused - it just happens.
One thing's for sure: Roger's road blogging kept me amused (especially the Burma vs. Shellac scores). Damn shame about Clint's laptop, huh? Add MoB to the long list of victimized touring bands, but hey, at least it wasn't their instruments. Much thanks to Roger and Clint for taking the time to answer those questions.

As I said, I'm glad to be able to give away a pair of tickets to each show, so if you're game, send me an email at giveaways -at- bradleysalmanac -dot- com titled "MoB Thursday" or "MoB Friday", depending on which one you want to try for (no double-dippin'). Make sure I get it before 10AM on Wednesday, and I'll randomly pick one winner for each show who will end up on the guest list with a +1 spot for a friend.

And to get yourself in the mood, I should mention that I uploaded my January recording of MoB's amazing appearance at Great Scott to the Live Music Archive. Have at it.

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