bradley's almanac - a boston-based music blog

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tuesday, march 16th

bacchus king

croquet

cathy cathodic

the ugly fucklings

@ the middle east upstairs

wednesday, march 17th

joanna newsom

@ the sanders theatre, harvard

wednesday, march 17th

henry rollins (spoken word)

@ the somerville theatre

thursday, march 18th

TOURFILTER DJ NIGHT!

when tourfilter's chris +

the almanac's brad (aka, me)

spin songs by bands coming to

the boston area sometime soon

9pm sharp @ river gods

thursday, march 18th

apollo sunshine

drug rug

@ the paradise

friday, march 19th

i, pistol

mascara

planetoid

forgetful jones

@ tt the bears

saturday, march 20th

the whitehaus family blastfest

needy visions, manners,

morgan shaker, avi jacob,

and many more

@ cambridge ymca theatre

saturday, march 20th

air

@ berklee performance center

sunday, march 21st

the clientele

field music

@ great scott

wednesday, march 24th

extraneous noise presents...

golden spurs

spirit kid

some say fire

the novel ideas

@ the middle east upstairs

thursday, march 25th

"thursday night alright!" with

the beatings

aloud

action camp

hello ninja

@ great scott

thursday, march 25th

the donnas

@ the paradise

friday, march 26th

eldridge rodriguez (the beatings)

ryan lee crosby

ted billings (age rings/hot protestants)

@ the somerville armory

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

magic magic

@ 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

cassavettes

the grownup noise

kingsley flood (cd release)

spouse

@ the middle east upstairs

saturday, april 3rd

black rebel motorcycle club

alberta cross

@ the house of blues

saturday, april 3rd

nada surf

dawn landes & the hounds

@ the paradise

sunday, april 4th

serena maneesh

depreciation guild

black fortress of opium

@ tt the bears

tuesday, april 6th

wilco

@ the orpheum

tuesday, april 6th

ben fold & a piano

kate miller-heidke

@ the house of blues

wednesday, april 7th

florence & the machine

@ the paradise

wednesday, april 7th

rocky votolato

brooke waggoner

@ great scott

thursday, april 8th

faces on film

hands & knees

st. claire (cd release!)

mr. sister

@ tt the bears

thursday, april 8th

thom yorke + atoms for peace

flying lotus

@ the citi/wang theatre

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

screaming females

@ the paradise

saturday, april 10th

pissed jeans

confines

sqrm

@ great scott

sunday, april 11th

fanfarlo

lawrence arabia

robert francis

@ the paradise

monday, april 12th

the wedding present

play their 1989 lp 'bizarro'

with openers girl in a coma

@ the middle east downstairs

monday, april 12th

titus andronicus

the babies

@ great scott

thursday, april 15th

jakob dylan with guests

neko case + kelly hogan

@ the wilbur theatre

thursday, april 15th

red sparowes

doomriders

@ the middle east downstairs

friday, april 16th

guillermo sexo

freddie t and the people

(ex-june of 44 / hoover)

travels

ghost box orchestra

@ pa's lounge

friday, april 16th

have nots (vinyl release!)

the appreciation post

razors in the night

wicked whiskey

the swaggerin growlers

@ tt the bears

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

heavy trash (w/jon spencer)

the konks

the cobra-matics

@ 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

timber timbre

@ the paradise

tuesday, april 20th

quasi

let's wrestle

@ the middle east downstairs

wednesday, april 21st

the church

special 30th anniversary

acoustic career retrospective

@ the somerville armory

wednesday, april 21st through

wednesday, april 28th

the 8th annual independent

film festival of boston

@ various boston area theatres

including the somerville + brattle

thursday, april 22nd

the mary onettes

@ great scott

saturday, april 24th

graham parker with

the figgs

@ johnny d's, somerville

saturday, april 24th

los campesinos!

here we go magic

@ the paradise

sunday, april 25th

harlem

@ the great scott

monday, april 26th

echo + the bunneymen

hatcham social

@ 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

the everyday visuals

the lights out

the flying machines

aloud

@ tt the bears

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

saturday, may 1st

white rabbits

here we go magic

@ the paradise

monday, may 3rd

yeasayer

sleigh bells

@ the paradise

tuesday, may 4th

gregory & the hawk

lady lamb the beekeeper

@ tt the bears

tuesday & wednesday

may 4th & 5th

public image ltd.

@ the royale (formerly the roxy)

wednesday & thursday

may 5th & 6th

jonsi (from sigur ros)

@ the house of blues

thursday, may 6th

shout out louds

@ the paradise

friday, may 7th

ok go

earl greyhound

robert francis

@ the paradise

saturday, may 8th

local natives

@ great scott

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

saturday, may 22nd

killing joke

@ the paradise

tuesday, may 18th

spectrum (featuring sonic boom

from spacemen 3 + e.a.r.)

with the broken river prophet

@ the middle east upstairs

tuesday, may 25th

the smittens

allo darlin'

one happy island

hearts!attack

a smile and a ribbon

horowitz

@ the lizard lounge

wednesday, may 26th

reverend horton heat

cracker

miss derringer

@ the house of blues

friday, may 28th

mono

the twilight sad

@ the middle east downstairs

wednesday, june 2nd

kings of convenience

franklin for short

@ the paradise

wednesday, june 2nd

ryan bingham & the dead horses

@ tt the bears

wednesday & thursday

june 2nd & 3rd

the national

@ the house of blues

friday, june 4th

brian jonestown massacre

@ the paradise

friday, june 18th

reigning sound

movers & shakers

triplethick

@ tt the bears

saturday, june 19th

james taylor

carole king

@ the garden

sunday + monday

june 20th + 21st

isis

melvins

totimoshi

@ the paradise

thursday + saturday

august 19th + 21st

tom petty + the heartbreakers

my morning jacket

@ the comcast center

visit tourfilter for more shows

Below, a veritable wellspring of news, music, and performances from a bunch of great Boston area musicians. Subjects covered below includes The New Collisions (playing tomorrow), Greg Hawkes, Hallelujah the Hills, Wheat, Miranda Warning (playing tomorrow), Charlene, The Broken River Prophet, Heat From A DeadStar, Saturday's "SPLIT / SIGNAL" show in Somerville, Norway's I Was A King (also playing Saturday), and Walter Schreifels. Please do dive in...

There is no shortage of shows to choose from in the Boston-area tomorrow (Friday) night, but one stands out from the crowded schedule: The New Collisions will welcome their debut EP into the world with a set at TT the Bears, and they've smartly surrounded themselves with some of Boston finest: Township, Televandals, The Lights Out, and Logan 5 & The Runners. As if that wasn't enough Boston goodness for you, word is that The New Collisions will be joined on stage by the esteemed Greg Hawkes, keyboardist and co-founder of The Cars, who contributed his easily-recognizable playing to the band's new recordings. As an old school Cars fan, who as a 10-year old listened incessantly to his dad's vinyl copy of "Candy-O" (and blushed at its Vargas cover), this linking of new wave Boston rock to newer wave Boston rock gives me a little thrill.

Here's the second track from The New Collisions EP, which they've graciously sent along as a high-quality 256kbps Mp3...

[Mp3] The New Collisions - "The Beautiful and Numb"

I have heard my new favorite Hallelujah the Hills song, and it is "Blank Passports". The track will be the fourth on their upcoming second album, "Colonial Drones", out this fall on Misra. The label has used it (oh so effectively) to tease us by including it as part of their new freely-downloadable Misra/Absolutely Kosher Records "Soon" Mp3 sampler, which also includes songs from Buttonhead, Emily Rodgers, Chet, 60 Watt Kid, The Rollercoaster Project, Chris Garneau, and a track from Monahans just-released (and excellent) new record, "Dim The Aurora". Even though I'm only sharing the HtH track here, don't let that stop you from grabbing the rest of the "Soon EP" here.

[Mp3] Hallelujah the Hills - "Blank Passports"

Another celebration of some new music, this one taking place a little further down the road: On Saturday night, August 1st, Wheat, the pride of Taunton, will mark the July 21st release of their next full-lengther, the long-awaited "White Ink, Black Ink", with a show at Allston's own Great Scott. Openers are Bon Savants and The XYZ Affair. For the impatient (like yours truly), the album can be pre-ordered now, which will allow you to download the whole thing while you wait for your physical copy to arrive. To wet your Wheat-deprived whistle, here's the preview track...

[Mp3] Wheat - "Half Of The Time"

This name should ring a fairly loud bell for any longtime followers of the Boston music scene: Miranda Warning. The power pop combo (who spent time as both a trio and a quartet between the years '87 and '95) is making a one-time-only return to the stage tomorrow night, Friday the 29th, when they play a reunion show at The Rabbit Hole book/music/comic shop in Fitchburg. The reunited band includes longtime members singer/guitarist Ad Boc and drummer Tom Evans, who later went on to form Jumprope. Random fact: Their original lineup actually included Shellac/Volcano Suns/Mission of Burma member Bob Weston in their first incarnation (which was news to me). As M.R. makes a brief return, another band called The Bones makes their debut as the opener. The totally free show kicks off at 7pm, so find your way out to Fitchburg if you can.

Here's the first track of Miranda Warning's third album, 1993's "Twelve Speed Pop Blender". Another random fact: This song features lyrics by Rob Galgano, who later went on to play with Ad in The Fond Farewells, and is the man behind the All Over The Place podcast.

[Mp3] Miranda Warning - "Not Our Place"

It's been a very long time coming, but finally, Charlene is back - in recorded form, at least. The Newton-based band is on the verge of releasing a follow-up to their excellent 2002 debut full-lengther, and to get us ready for its arrival later this summer, they've offered up the new digital "Oh Hey" EP (along with a mere 100 handmade physical copies). Recorded over the course of several years at their own Dented Head Studios, it's got three songs: "Oh Hey" along with "Before The Comet Hits" and "Big Winds". All three songs can be streamed at their Myspace page and TheSixtyOne, and you can make them your own through Other Music, Amazon MP3, or iTunes. If you've been reading the 'Nac for awhile, you know I've shared up the title track before, and here it is again...

[Mp3] Charlene - "Oh Hey"

(Full disclosure: I was honored to play drums in Charlene for a time, but don't hold that against them.)

And as long as we're on the subject of songs recorded at Dented Head, how about new/old songs from The Broken River Prophet? (yes, another band who allowed me to sit on the drum stool and play along with them). The musical collective, who has stuck with a relatively stable lineup over the past couple years, has just finished a pair of songs that had their basic tracks laid down 4 or 5 years ago. Yes, the current crew completed songs recorded by younger versions of themselves (and even former members, including violinist Taro Hatanaka), and according to head prophet Adam Brilla, "Some sort of H.G. Wellian/DeLorean type shit went down." The results? "New York City Director's Cut Blues" and "Chemical Solitaire", which has always been one of my fave BRP songs. You can stream both at their MySpace page, and here's one of 'em to download...

[Mp3] The Broken River Prophet - "Chemical Solitaire (101 Version)"

Now this next song is from a band that is most certainly not Boston-centric (London/France, in fact), but it's record label most certainly is. In fact, I challenge you to find a label more thoroughly Boston than Rick Harte's Ace Of Hearts Records, the imprint responsible for releasing seminal albums from the likes of Mission of Burma, the Neighborhoods, and the Neats more than a couple decades ago. Just last year Rick worked on those fantastic MoB remasters for Matador records, and even now he's remastering the Neats' stuff.

But enough about the past, this is about the now: A few months back Ace of Hearts put out a new record from UK trio Heat From A DeadStar, and while the local connection got me to listen, the songs made me a fan. The 13-track "Seven Rays Of The Sun" pulls from the dark, angular aspects of Unwound and some Fugazi, but throws in a little more melody and overt beauty. It's right up my alley, and Ace of Hearts has allowed me to share the song that got me hooked. And get this: Mission of Burma's Roger Miller plays piano on it (more about him below)...

[Mp3] Heat From A DeadStar - "Seahorse Seafish"

And lastly, I have your Saturday evening plans for you, so pay attention -- You'll be at the Center for the Arts at the Armory in Somerville for what promises to be a truly special night: It's called "SPLIT / SIGNAL", and it will marry together music and film in a way that is not often done, by having eight unique acts play original scores to original, exclusive short films. The musicians? The Books, Cul De Sac, Roger Miller, Caspian (oh yes), Black Yodel, Arms and Sleepers, Devil Music, and Mike Dunkley with Todd Brozman. The creators behind the corresponding visuals? Rich Remsberg, VJ Dziga, Handcranked Productions, Bryan Deblasio, Michael Maraden, Dado Ramadani, Barrett Films, and Jon Cianfrani. As if that long list wasn't enough, there's a bit of a bonus: The ticket price includes beverages from the Pretty Things Beer and Ale Project, the Cambridge Brewing Company, and the Mayflower Brewing Company. Doors are at 6pm, the action starts at 7pm, and I'm hoping I'll be able to see all of it before I head over to the now-sold-out Figgs / In Out / Boston Beat Machine show at the Midway. Oh man, Davis Square to JP? That's going to be a haul. Kindly clear the way, willya?

Ok, I lied, a couple more quick weekend things I must mention: Try to catch Norwegian band I Was A King at Harpers Ferry on Friday night. They're playing second of four, they've traveled far, and they definitely deserve your ears. I shared one of their songs recently, so grab it and you'll hear why. There's a reason that members of Danielson, The Ladybug Transistor, Serena Maneesh, and Sufjan Stevens contributed to their album.

And finish off your weekend be seeing Mr. Walter Schreifels (Quicksand/Rival Schools/Gorilla Biscuits) at Great Scott on Sunday night, with Steven Brodsky (Cave In) and Clouds opening up. It's just $10, and I'm pretty surprised tickets are still available. Play it safe and grab yours here, or swing by Great Scott to skip the extra charges.

posted by brad at 10:28 PM | direct link | rss (1 :2) |