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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






Thursday, May 28, 2009

Listen Up Boston: Some Local Mp3s & 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...



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.



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...



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.



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...


(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...



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)...



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.











featured mp3 download
arcade fire
live at the boa pavilion
in boston, mass.
on sunday, august 1st, 2010

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