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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



Thursday, August 21, 2008

Preview Mp3: new New Radiant Storm King

If you've been reading this site long enough, you're likely aware of my firm belief that New Radiant Storm King released one of the finest albums of 2006 in "The Steady Hand". That thoughtfully energetic collection of dual-guitar rock songs kept the best aspects of what made this born-in-89 quartet so good throughout the 90s, while at the same time showing enough growth to not sound like a retread. Unlike some of their peers, age hadn't split them apart and put acoustic guitars in their hands, or pushed them towards milking their rich catalog for nostalgia's sake -- their hook-filled creativity was still fully on display, along with a measured dose of songwriting maturity.

We got a healthy taste of their next record when NRSK opened up for reunited old friends Polvo at the Middle East a couple months back -- only 3 songs of their 9-song set were familiar (the excellent "Montague Terrace" from 2002's "Winter's Kill", and two set bookends from "The Steady Hand"), so I assumed the rest would be found on their autumn-scheduled album. Well, I assumed correctly, and thanks to Darla Records, I've been spending lots of time with New Radiant Storm King's upcoming eighth (!) full-lengther, "Drinking In The Moonlight".

The thirteen songs add slightly more intricate production to the mix, and while the band's energy remains (opener "Soporific Slump", "Eraser"), the new album relies a bit more on their cleaner, sparkling guitar lines over a bed of acoustic (yes, I said it) strumming, eschewing heavy distortion in favor of more instrumental depth. Hell, album closer "Fall Prey", with its gorgeous piano line and heavily-panned drum fills, sounds more like the Beatles than anything NRSK has ever recorded, and contains an actual guitar solo, a musical trope the band has rarely, if ever, fallen back on. Fortunately, they have the good taste to pull it off, and even the songs that stretch the band's own boundaries still sound undeniably NRSK. Not sure I can think of another non-twee act who can work "Ooooo la-la-la" backing vox into a song (see "Midnight Comes") and have it sound wholly appropriate. Yes, the hooks are there in spades, maybe less overtly propulsive but no less catchy, resulting in a little more pop in their rock. Lyrically, the band continues to grow, weaving in weighty subjects like religion, the consequences of violence, and of course, the unavoidable passage of time. Fortunately for us, that passage of time hasn't included retiring their band, and it'll be nice to see founding members Peyton Pinkerton and Matt Hunter celebrate their 20th anniversary as songwriting partners next year.

Through the kindness of their record label, I've got what might be the premiere of the first downloadable song from the upcoming album for ya. Here's track number three...


New Radiant Storm King's "Drinking In The Moonlight" arrives on October 7th, 2008 courtesy of Darla Records. You can stream five other songs from the album on MySpace. For the full track list and the band's (very) brief words on each song, head here, and to pre-order, click here. They play tomorrow night in Philly at the M Room and Saturday at Piano's in NYC, both shows with Photon Band. More tour dates are sure to follow later on this year, so keep an eye out.











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the wooden birds
a few songs live at tt's
on saturday, april 18th, 2009

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