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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






Thursday, June 05, 2008

Thursday Music Miscellany

Life is blurring by lately... if you've glanced at my Flickr pics you may have noticed I've recently seen the Thalia Zedek Band, Glorytellers, Drew O'Doherty, Ida, Michael Hurley, and a lecture with writer Neil Gaiman honoring Julie Schwartz at MIT, traveled up to Vermont for some family time where I caught James Kochalka Superstar, Missy Bly, and some Koolaoke, and headed out to Newburyport for some Memorial Day in-town exploration and Plum Island beach time. Good memories all, and more ahead: This evening is the Breeders at the 'Dise (congrats to reader Courtney, who won those tickets to tonight's sold out show), next week brings the Tullycraft show with my VT-pop pals the Smittens and Pants Yell!, along with that REM / Modest Mouse / The National team-up at Great Woods, I mean The Tweeter Center, no wait it's the Comcast Center now (a show I'm still surprised to be checking out, but looking forward to). As Lili Von Shtupp sang: I'm tie-uhd. So vewwy tie-uhd.


Gonna start this short random post off with some songs I've really been digging lately...
  • My long drive back from Vermont on Sunday afternoon meant I barely had time to make that Ida / Michael Hurley show in Somerville, and also left me too wiped out to catch Atlanta's All The Saints at TTs afterwards. Damn shame, too, because the title track from their just-released debut album is truly great stuff. Hopefully they'll be back this way soon...


  • Soon after this Great Bloomers song started up, my first thought was 'what a really nice piece of melancholic piano-based pop'... until that extended intro ended, and the drums and irresistible guitar hook kicked in. 'Really nice' instantly elevated to 'great', and even higher as a layer of guitar squelch wandered in and out of focus underneath the ultra-catchy top layer (think certain Yo La Tengo songs, or early Idaho). And as someone who's not a huge harmonica fan (beyond, say, Neil Young), the GBs use it perfectly. This one's been on repeat...


  • I'm a sucker for well-used violin in my pop songs (hellooooo Dambuilders), and Baskervilles' "A Little More Time" does it just right. Add some piano and guy/girl trade-off vocals to a short-but-sweet story of waitstaff flirtation, and I'm so in. Two minutes of bouncy bliss, available as part of the just-out "Twilight", a 14-song collection (produced in part by Mitch Easter) of songs they released monthly via their website.


  • Another show I hope to catch this weekend is Somerville's own Travels, who make just their second local appearance ever on Saturday night at PA's Lounge (tough choices that night, though, what with Pela at the Middle East and Jennifer O'Connor at TTs). If you're a 'Nac regular, you know well of my Travels love, so I was glad to discover this fine footage from their trip to Vienna, where they performed a couple acoustic songs: Debut album track "There Is Movement" on an abandoned outdoor stage, and new one called "The Forgotten" on a street median. Go watch, and check out their MySpace page for new demos, including one for "The Forgotten".


    Keeping it local, there's a new Dylan In The Movies song up on MySpace featuring some backup vocals from the wonderful Watson Twins. Check out the rough mix of "Truro" here, and read about its creation here. While that one's a stream, a rough mix of "Josephine If You Only Knew" can be downloaded as an mp3. Such a good song, with some gorgeous guitar work, and hey, hand claps! Fine ingredients all. Read the background on that one here, along with a mention of DitM working with Tanya Donelly on a cover of "Love Cats" for an American Laundromat tribute to the Cure that will also feature The Wedding Present, Dean & Britta, The Raveonettes, The Rosebuds, and many others.


    Still talkin' local: Another show I had to miss due to an out of town trip: Big Dipper's reunited return to an area stage back in late April. Truly painful. But I experienced the build up thanks to "Big Dipper Week" at Things I'd Rather Be Doing, and basked in the afterglow thanks to an excellent recording of the band's Southpaw show over at NYCTaper. I shouldn't have to even say this, but: Download and listen.


    And lastly, congrats to my longtime friend (and occasional bandmate) Mike Barrett, as he and his wife Anna welcomed new son Jasper to the world a couple weeks ago. He joins his sister Leila in completing the eventual rhythm section that will back Mike on guitar and Anna on keyboards. Just give 'em a couple years...

    Mike recently shared up a live set from his band The Sixth Great Lake (featuring friends from Guppyboy and The Essex Green) over at the Tup Keewah Recordings blog, recorded back in 2001 at Amsterdam's Crossing Border Festival. Not sure when we'll see new offerings on the blog, or the in-progress next Sixth Great Lake album, but hopefully Mike will find some time in between his newly-increased dadly duties. Maybe we'll even get a second appearance from Stratford Projects? Anything's possible...


    See? I told you this one would be short. Sometimes I'm actually capable of self-control.



    current almanac giveaways
    some favorite vinyl
    camp radio's "campista socialista"
    & idaho's "you were a dick"
    copies of each lp on vinyl
    running until noon on monday 2/6

    featured mp3 download
    fugazi
    live in burlington, vermont
    in early spring 1991
    previously: david bazan - solo in allston 2011

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