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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






Friday, June 26, 2009

Boston: So Many Good Shows Ahead (Part 1)
If you're anywhere near Boston, and you've been following me on Twitter, you've probably been pleased with my recent flood of fairly exciting Boston-area rock show announcements. If you're elsewhere, well then, I'm assuming you're a bit jealous. Rather than relegate all that good info to 140-char info-blasts, I figured it was time to neatly pull it all together so you can get your tickets and mark your calendars.

So, in chronological order, here's some upcoming area events that have given me high hopes for the weeks and months ahead...


Tomorrow night, Saturday, June 27th, brings the second half of the celebration marking WMBR DJ Jon Bernhardt's incredible 25-year run on morning slot "Breakfast Of Champions". Both nights are, appropriately, fundraisers for the station, each featuring some of the artists that Jon has played most frequently over his many years on the air. Last weekend brought Yo La Tengo (playing as the Condo F*cks), The Bevis Frond, and Sleepyhead to TTs, and as fantastic as that lineup sounds, this weekend's show at Church is personally more thrilling: The return of Versus with Buffalo Tom and Rebecca Gates of the Spinanes. I mean, wow. Details are here, and tickets can (surprisingly) still be had here.


Next Thursday, July 2nd, I'll be making my first-ever trip down to Showcase Live in Foxborough to catch The Church, who happen to be touring with Adam Franklin and his backing band Bolts of Melody. I was a Church completist back in the day, but have lost track of them over the past several years. In fact, I think the last time I caught them was a decade ago at (the now defunct) Mama Kin on Lansdowne. It was a good show, although it didn't necessarily reignite my completism. The fact that they're playing this time around at a place I've never been to (always a plus), and with Swervedriver frontman Franklin, well, that was enough to get me to grab a ticket. If anyone's been to Showcase Live and has any tips to share, drop a comment below. I've been meaning to pick up The Church's latest album, which bears the non-name of "Untitled #23" (yes, it's their 23rd release), but I think I'll wait until the show to put more cash in their own hands.


Last year I shared up a pretty great song by NYC trio City Breathing off their debut full-lengther. And then, for inexplicable reasons, I neglected to spend time with the rest of the album, and the band's name got washed away in the never-ending flood of promo emails I get. Well, shame on me. Because earlier this week I discovered their newly-released follow-up EP, entitled "My Apple IIe Is Singing Sad Songs To Me", and was quite rightly blown away. Four beautiful songs repeated all day long, prompting me to throw some money in their paypal account, then head back and listen closely to that debut, "Look How It's Snowing Upwards, Look How They Move Towards Heaven". Wow. And here's the thing: You can download all of their stuff for free, using the links above. Just toss a little cash in their tip jar if you love it as much as I do. And lucky me/us, they're hitting the Middle East Upstairs on Sunday, July 5th, as the last band on a four band bill. Now, that's not exactly prime-time - it's going to be rough getting myself out for it - but I think I've fallen hard enough to make that happen.

Here's the first track from City Breathing's new EP...



Another band it took me far too long to fall for: Boston's own Aloud. I'd heard and liked their song "Sometimes I Feel Like A Vampire", but recently dug into their sophomore full-length ("Fan The Fury", released last year) and found a whole lot more to love. Catchy, melodic guitar work that rocks without being overly indulgent, some fantastic boy/girl harmonies (I'm struck by singer Jen de la Osa vocal similarities to Concrete Blonde's Johnette Napolitano, and that's some praise), all contributing to memorably dynamic songs that each have their own specific identities. While it took me far too long to connect with this band, it was just in time to make sure I arrive early to the Paradise on Saturday, July 11th when they open up The Luxury's CD release party (The Click 5 and Midatlantic round out the lineup). Tickets for that show can be had here. Listen to some Aloud at MySpace, or better yet, stream their entire latest full-length...

[Album Stream] Aloud - "Fan The Fury"


If you haven't already got tickets to see American Music Club's Mark Eitzel (with AMC's Marc Capelle on keys) at the Lizard Lounge on Tuesday, July 21, well... you'd best get on that. 'Cuz the place ain't that big, and opener Rick Berlin is bound to bring in his share of loyal followers. Eitzel & Capelle will be playing a whole bunch of AMC songs along with, word is, some choice covers, and to see them in this intimate setting will be a total treat (especially after that last AMC gig at the relatively cavernous Harpers Ferry). The show takes place as part of a 12-date tour surrounding their appearance at the Merge Records 20th anniversary shindig down in North Carolina the following week. Which I'll be at. Oh yes I will.


On Wednesday, July 29th, London-based combo The Veils comes to TT the Bears as part of a 3-week North American tour to deliver songs from their recently-released third album, "Sun Gangs". Rather than headlining outright, they're alternating the closing spot with tourmates Foreign Born, who released a new record of their own ("Person To Person") earlier this week. I'll be giving out a pair of tickets to the show as it gets closer, but if you can't wait until then (and given the pairing, along with openers Faces On Film, I wouldn't), pick up tickets here.

A track from The Veils latest...



The first night of August brings the official release party for Wheat's latest album, "White Ink Black Ink", at Great Scott, though if you pre-ordered it as I did, you've already got it in your hands (and headphones). Openers are locals Bon Savants with Brooklynites The XYZ Affair, and tickets can be purchased right here. I'm hoping to have a few live tracks from their last Great Scott gig shared up before the show (including a cover of Daft Punk's "One More Time"), but I still need to check with the band to make sure that's cool.

Here's a track from Wheat's "White Ink Black Ink"...



Alright, I'm going to make myself stop here for now... I swear I've got twice as many shows to write about, but I'll leave you with two quick and timely things...

  • The internet pre-sale for the just-announced reunion of Sunny Day Real Estate at Boston's House of Blues on September 28th started this morning (presale password: SUNNYDAY), so head over here to get in on that, or try again tomorrow morning for the regular public on-sale.

  • And the show that will end our summer in sonic style: On Sunday, August 30th, Austin's Explosions In The Sky will play with The Flaming Lips on the Boston waterfront at the BoA Pavilion. Uh, Wow. Tickets go on sale tomorrow morning at 10am, and I'll be one of the many clicking refresh as the hour approaches. I'm infinitely more excited to see EiS than Coyne & Co., but that doesn't mean I'll won't be staying for the whole shebang. And a bonus: Seems a new Flaming Lips EP will be made available to those who purchase tickets to the show, which will include 3 tracks from their upcoming double album and 3 b-sides. I'm down. But the only bonus I really want is this: While Explosions in the Sky are playing, how about some actual waterfront fireworks? Ah, a boy can dream.

    And with that, here come the thunderstorms... have a good weekend, all. Maybe I'll see you at Church tomorrow night for Versus, Buffalo Tom, and Rebecca Gates? So damn excited...











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

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