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Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Yes, it may be an overly-obvious thematic choice, but in honor of the blessed end of a brutally long Boston winter, I've decided to share up a live recording of... The Long Winters. It's been exactly two years since John Roderick and his merry band visited our fair city, when they played to a packed house at Allston's Great Scott on a fantastic bill that included The Broken West (who coincidentally played here again just last night) and The Stars of Track and Field. While it does often take me a very long time to share up certain sets, hitting the two-year mark is flat-out embarrassing, and I surely deserve to be scolded. But look at it this way: perhaps this will help you endure the ongoing wait for the LW's next album. When I asked Mr. Roderick if it was cool to share up this set (which, of course, it is), he had this to say about progress on the follow-up to 2006's "Putting The Days To Bed"... "We're still plugging away at it daily, but no vocals have been recorded yet so there's nothing very interesting to share. It's going to suck if I'm killed in a plane crash, because they won't even be able to release the 'unfinished record' with the demo vocals. I mean, there's NO vocals of any kind."So let's hope that either John remains on the ground for awhile, or that the flying fates are kind. If his Twitter account falls silent for more than a day, someone will need to send out a search party.  The Long Winters Live at Great Scott in Allston, MA on Thursday, March 29th, 2007 01. Pushover 02. Stupid 03. Teaspoon 04. Carparts 05. Fire Island, AK 06. Hindsight 07. the coefficient of that joke... (banter) 08. Blue Diamonds 09. The Commander Thinks Aloud 10. Scared Straight 11. Cinnamon 12. hot request for teacher (banter) 13. Rich Wife 14. conventional band logic & kazoos (banter) encore (of a kind) 15. (It's A) Departure 16. When I Pretend To Fall (Muffin Mix) 17. Seven 18. Ultimatum 19. Prom Night at Hater High  Some Long Winters links...
 the fine print... Live sets recorded with a Sony ECM-719 mic and a Sony MZ-RH10 minidisc, converted to .wav and then edited to 192kbps Mp3s. Files are made available for a limited time, and are not reposted once removed. Labels: livemp3s  Saturday, March 28, 2009  Well, here it is at last, a brand new look for the Almanac. Nine years since I started this place and about three years since I got sick of the old design - solid proof of some serious procrastination. Since I'm but a novice web designer, and even less of an artist, I owe this fit of html-motivation to the new logo you see up above. It comes courtesy of my super-talented friend (and Smittens bass player) David Zacharis, who graciously took my request and made it real. And I can't thank him enough (seriously, he may get sick of me thanking him).I've made lots of little changes, many of which you may not even notice, but one of the most important is this: You should probably update your Almanac bookmark. I've finally removed the old, dusty blogger.html part of my url, so you can now get here by going straight to www.bradleysalmanac.com. Don't worry about the RSS feed, though... that remains the same. A fresh coat of paint is as good an excuse as any to re-share the Almanac's theme song, written well before the 'Nac was ever the 'Nac, by my old pals the Madelines... This new design, which is really only the second makeover the 'Nac has ever had, has gotten me extra-excited about the site again - the wheels are turning and the posts are being planned. Spring has sprung, a change has come, and good things are on the way... Wednesday, March 25, 2009
A few bits of film, music, and tv-related goodness to mark the mid-week... The 7th annual Independent Film Festival of Boston has just shared its initial list of films (narrative, documentary, and shorts), and unsurprisingly, it's packed with gems. Take a gander, put in for vacation days with your boss (April 22nd-28th), and come back here in a couple days when I hope to have a full list with links and other info on each selection. Festival passes are also on sale, so have a look at your options. To tempt you further, the starter list of celebs who will be attending this year includes Chris Cooper, Benjamin Bratt, Bobby and Peter Farrelly, Kevin Corrigan, and Red Sox pitching legend Luis "El Tiante" Tiant. Many more are sure to be added. Attention Joss Whedon fans, and more specifically, those of you who live in the Boston area: Joss is coming to town, and we're invited. On Friday night, April 10th, the creator of Buffy, Angel, Firefly, and Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog (and yes, Dollhouse) will stop by the Harvard campus to accept the "3rd Annual Lifetime Achievement Award in Cultural Humanism" (or as Salman Rushdie, the 1st recipient, referred to it: "Athiestmas"). He'll be speaking, playing clips from his work, taking questions (and, one assumes, providing amusing answers), and doing a signing as well. Everything but a hugging booth, although with Joss, you never know. While tickets have apparently been on sale for a few weeks, If you've been following director Edgar Wright's blog, you know that filming for his on-screen adaptation of Bryan Lee O'Malley's Scott Pilgrim comics is underway, and he's been teasing us daily with random images from the set. Well, Saturday's entry was for the music fans. Two columns of post-it notes with band initials on them: From the comic, we've got fictional bands "SBO" (Scott's band Sex Bob-Omb), "CATB" (Crash and the Boys), and "TCAD" (The Clash at Demonhead). The rest of the initials include "Bss", "KT", "MP", "DN", and the hard-to-guess "M" and "C". Since the entire affair is so Toronto-centric, I'm going to assume "Bss" is for Broken Social Scene, and since Metric has already been mentioned in association with the film, let's cross off the "M". The others? Guesses are welcome. But what does the grid mean? A simple list of all the music? Or does it match up fictional bands with the real bands that will be providing their sounds? In which case: BSS would be Crash and the Boys; Metric would be The Clash at Demonhead (which makes sense, given the matching female lead singer/keyboardist of those bands). Food/sounds for thought. Bring it on. Had enough time to digest that lots-to-swallow Battlestar Galactica finale yet? Given the near-instantaneous speed of view-review-analyze-criticize-recriticize that happens nowadays (thanks, internet!), you may have had enough reaction and reaction-to-the-reaction already, less than a week later. But if you haven't, here's a list of my favorite follow-ups to the two-hour conclusion of the sometimes-great-usually-good-occasionally bad sci-fi series...
TONIGHT! I'm heading to catch John Vanderslice vs. John Darnielle at the Somerville Theatre, for what I assume will be the polar opposite of a musical cage match. Expect shared songs, witty banter, and an overall air of mutual admiration. Will it be enough to fully exorcise any lingering pretension that Bono and his boys may have left behind on the theater's stage? Yes, I do believe it will. Friday, March 20, 2009
Chalk up another great Tourfilter night at River Gods, where I played a couple hours of songs by bands that are coming to town in the next month or two. I felt like I scrambled to pull this playlist together, didn't have as much time to work on sequencing as I'd hoped, but it ended up feeling just right. Lots of people asking "What band was that?" (or texting - you can request artist/song/show info via msgme while a song is playing), and that's really what it's all about. Especially well-received were the very first song (a new Say Hi track) and the Pomegranates' "Corriander", which sounded so, so good over the RG speakers. Also gave me great pleasure to play my favorite Now, Now Every Children track, "Have You Tried", for the gathered crowd, along with Let's Whisper's "Dylan's Song". Details on when and where all these bands are playing is right here... Bradley's Almanac Tourfilter DJ Night playlist Thursday, March 19th, 2009 @ River Gods, Cambridge, MA 01. Say Hi - "November Was White, December Was Gray" playing Monday, March 30th @ the Middle East Up 02. Damien Jurado - "Gillian Was A Horse" playing Thursday, April 16th @ TT the Bears 03. Crooked Fingers - "Your Control" playing Saturday, April 11th @ Berklee Performance Center 04. John Vanderslice - "The Minaret" playing Wednesday, March 25th @ the Somerville Theatre 05. Jennifer O'Connor - "Here With Me" playing Monday, April 13th@ the Paradise 06. Let's Whisper - "Dylan's Song" playing Friday, May 1st @ TT the Bears (presented by Bradley's Almanac) 07. Loney, Dear - "Airport Surroundings" playing Wednesday, May 6th @ Great Scott 08. Margot & the Nuclear So & So's - "As Tall As Cliffs" playing Tuesday, April 7th @ the Paradise 09. Longwave - "Sideways Sideways Rain" played last night, Thursday, March 19th @ the House of Blues 10. Mates of State - "Fraud In The 80s" playing Tuesday, April 7th @ the House of Blues 11. Dean & Britta (ex-Luna) - "Words You Used To Say" playing this Sat., March 21st @ the ICA Boston performing Songs for Andy Warhol's Screen Tests 12. Mountain Goats (John Darnielle) - "Autoclave" playing Wednesday, March 25th @ the Somerville Theatre 13. Neko Case - "The Tornado Loves You" playing Saturday, April 11th @ Berklee Performance Center 14. Now, Now Every Children - "Have You Tried" playing Friday, May 1st @ TT the Bears (presented by Bradley's Almanac) 15. Pomegranates - "Corriander" playing Thursday, May 14th @ TT the Bears 16. Robyn Hitchcock & the Venus 3 - "I'm Falling" playing Monday, April 13th @ the Paradise 17. Morrissey - "Interesting Drug" playing Sunday March 29th @ the House of Blues 18. The Hush Now - "Roleplay" playing Friday, May 1st @ TT the Bears (presented by Bradley's Almanac) 19. Six Finger Satellite - "Dark Companion" playing Saturday, April 4th @ Great Scott 20. The Faint - "Some Incriminating Photographs" playing Wednesday, April 8th @ the House of Blues 21. Superdrag - "Filthy & Afraid" playing Saturday, April 11th @ the Paradise 22. Tanya Donelly - "Kundalini Slide" playing Thursday, March 26th @ the Brattle Theatre as part of Wes & Eugene's Cabinet of Wonders 23. Telekinesis - "Coast of Carolina" playing Monday, March 30th @ the Middle East Up 24. The Thermals - "Now We Can See" playing Thursday, May 7th @ the Middle East Down 25. Wild Light - "California On My Mind" playing Wednesday, April 8th @ Great Scott 26. Faces on Film - "Beginners" playing Wednesday, April 8th @ Great Scott 27. Thalia Zedek - "Lower Allston" playing Saturday, April 18th @ TT the Bears 28. Age Rings - "Barthink" playing Friday, April 3rd @ Great Scott 29. The Wooden Birds - "False Alarm" playing Saturday, April 18th @ TT the Bears 30. Wye Oak - "Family Glue" playing Thursday, May 14th @ TT the Bears 31. You Can Be A Wesley - "Creatures" playing Friday, May 1st @ TT the Bears (presented by Bradley's Almanac) 32. Asobi Seksu - "Familiar Light" playing Monday, March 30th @ the Middle East Down 33. The Broken West - "Auctioneer" playing Monday, March 30th @ the Middle East Up 34. Bloc Party - "So Here We Are" played last night, Thursday, March 19th @ the House of Blues Wednesday, March 18, 2009  News of the Swirlies' reemergence from a lengthy hibernation for three strictly East Coast (sneaky flute) shows a few weeks back was a more than welcome surprise, and was instantly one of my most anticipated musical happenings of the new year. I'd seen the Boston-based band many times back in the day ("the day" being the early-90s), but somehow not once after the release of what would become my favorite Swirlies album - 1996's brilliant "They Spent their Wild Youthful Days in the Glittering World of the Salons". Considering how much I worshipped their earlier work, the fact that they could unexpectedly peak so many years after my first exposure in '92 impressed the hell outta me. Subsequent releases were sporadic and spotty... a remix album, some hard-to-find compilation appearances, a bit of slightly less-focused material under the Yes Girls banner, and eventually 2003's "Cats of the Wild: Volume Two" album on Bubblecore. Live shows followed that release, but since then, nary a word, until... a trio of late-February dates dubbed the "Scituate or Bust" tour.I had no expectations when I first heard about their return - I figured the lineup would include at least founders Damon Tutunjian and Andy Bernick, but beyond that who knew? They'd been through many personnel changes over the years, losing and gaining some great drummers, replacing the sadly-departed Seana Carmody (who went on to form the excellent Syrup USA, Shenzou 5, and do solo stuff) with the wonderful Christina Files (it was she who helped make "TSTWYDITGWOTS" so stellar), and shuffling through some ace second guitarists. So when I heard exactly who else the reconstituted Swirlies would include, I was pretty psyched: Longtime member (and former Wicked Farleys' guitarist) Rob Laasko, drummer Adam Pierce (from Mice Parade, who joined up post-"TSTWYDITGWOTS"), and the newest Swirlie, Deb Warfield (also ex-Shenzou 5 and current Broken River Prophet) on guitar/keys/and gorgeous vocals. All the pieces would be in place, great players all... but still, any Swirlies show is a gamble: You can witness either unerring precision, or a ramshackle, almost-off-the-rails affair (often both, at once). I'll say this, though - watching them perform, I've never had anything other than fun. So, despite that lack of expectations, I did hold out hope that finally, 13 years after the fact, I'd get a chance to maybe, just maaaaybe, hear some of the songs from "Wild Youthful Days..." played live on a stage in front of me. When I first mentioned the scheduled Middle East upstairs show on the 'Nac, I even threw my humble request for the song "Sunn" out into the void, certainly not expecting it to be heard, or to my total delight, actually honored. But yes, they re-learned it, and played it, along with an abundance of other tracks off that album. Oh, the joy.  Their 16-song set including many perfect moments, a few shaky bits, some serious rocking, some goofy meanderings, some ultra-tight action, and some wild, youthful transgressions. In other words, it a full-on Swirlies show. And most importantly, it was fun. Powerful classics like "Jeremy Parker" and "Bell" ("Tall Ships" was setlisted but skipped) alongside late-era songs like "Le Bag" and "Rare Moment". Just when you were worried the set was almost too cohesive, then came the encore - a request for a meandering "Jack Buckey's Theme" was granted, into the brief, stripped down oldie "His Life Of Academic Freedom", and finally an enthusiastic cover of Flipper's "Sex Bomb", with Bullpen Catchers/Kudgel singer/guitarist Mark Erdody (and random fans in the front row) on guest vocals. The full setlist... Swirlies Live at the Middle East Upstairs in Cambridge, MA on Saturday, February 28th, 2009 01. In Harmony Newfound Freedom 02. Vigilant Always 03. Le Bag 04. One Light Flashing I Love You 05. Jeremy Parker 06. Sounds of Sebring 07. Two Girls Kissing 08. You Can't Be Told It, You Must Behold It 09. Rare Moment 10. Sunn 11. Bell 12. The Vehicle Is Invisible 13. San Cristobal De Las Casas encore... 14. Jack Buckey's Theme 15. His Life Of Academic Freedom 16. Sex Bomb (Flipper cover)  For those keeping score, songs 1, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, & 13 were from "Salons"; 2, 5, 11, & 15 were on 1993's "Blonder Tongue Audio Baton"; 3 & 9 can be found on "Cats of the Wild: Volume Two"; and tracks 4 and 14 are Yes Girls numbers. A few Swirlies links... I can only hope these shows are signs of more activity to come, 'cuz I've got a couple more requests to make. Hey, I'm allowed to be a little greedy, aren't I? Friday, March 13, 2009
It's been all contests and little actual content here on the 'Nac lately, and for that I do apologize (well, I'm not sorry for giving away free stuff, but still). Hoping to fix that imbalance over the weekend, but the prospect of warm weather may dash those hopes. We shall see. Here's a quick few info fixes before I'm off... Firstly, congrats to Almanac reader Penny from Cambridge, who will freely attend tomorrow night's A.C. Newman show at the Paradise with a friend (and thanks to Matador for offering up the spots). Belated congrats are also due to Crystal, who attended the "Dark Was The Night" listening party I hosted last month at River Gods, and won herself a pair of tickets for tomorrow night's show as well. I really wish I could join them there, but... I'm more than slightly psyched for tomorrow night's now-sold-out Throwing Muses show at the Middle East in Cambridge, for a few reasons. Aside from seeing one of all-time favorite bands play some of my all-time favorite songs, we'll be treated to an opening set from Kristin Hersh's other band, 50 Foot Wave. The power trio (which also finds TM bassist Bernard Georges pulling double duty) plays first, followed by the highly-touted Screaming Females, and finally my beloved Muses. Fingers are forcefully crossed that 50FW will run through the entirety of their new EP, "Power+Light" (free download here, thanks to CASHmusic), which is one long, continuous, and majestic 7-part epic. Hopehopehope. I'm saving a chunk of that hope for the Muses, for the possibility that they'll perform their newly-learned cover of R.E.M.'s "Perfect Circle", which they played a couple nights ago at Carnegie Hall as part of "The Music Of R.E.M." tribute. Be a shame to learn a song and only perform it once, right? Right? Here, let's try another Twitter-based giveaway experiment - The first five people to send me a tweet (I will always feel icky typing that word) at the Almanac Twitter account will each be sent a unique code to download an entire 19-song Throwing Muses live set recorded in Sydney, Australia on January 16th. This gracious gift comes compliments of the crew at CASHmusic, and if you dig what you hear, or end up downloading any of the free stuff from the fine list of CASHmusic artists, considering dropping something in the tip jar. Oh, and another reason I'm so psyched for Saturday night? Well, Amie will be there with me, and since the day that Brendan arrived, having her join me for a show has become something of a rarity. But hey, it's the band that had a hand in our finding each other 9 years ago, so if ever there was a special reason to spring for a babysitter, this would be it. Here's some freakin' fantastic news, something I'm fortunate to be able to pass along on the semi-early tip so that any 'Nac surfers can get tickets quick: The Figgs are returning to Boston for two super-small shows at JP's Midway Cafe in late May. On Friday, May 29th, the trio will play with area super-groop the John Powhida International Airport, and the next night they'll team up with The In Out and the Boston Beat Machine. A mere 60 (yes, sixty) tickets will be sold for each show (and I've already got a couple of my own), so if you're even thinking about going, grab your tickets here or here. Oh, and plan ahead: After a fairly long break, I return to the DJ booth at River Gods next Thursday for another installment of Tourfilter DJ Night. I'll be perched up above the bar starting at 9pm on the 19th, playing songs by bands coming to town in the next couple months, and my rough playlist is already looking ace. So I've been trying to share up the full Swirlies live set that I recorded of their remarkable return to town a couple weeks back, but work, sleep deprivation, and general dad-ness have prevented me from following through. My promise to you now is Monday, this I do swear. Until then, I leave you with an aural tease, along with a live track from opener Gregory and the Hawk. For those who weren't there, GatH is the nom-du-perform of New Yorker Meredith Godreau, who was joined on guitar for her last few songs by Swirlies drummer (and Mice Parade member) Adam Pierce. Loved her voice, which struck me as part Tanya Donelly, part Mary Lou Lord, but even more delicate. She performed a brand new song, and with her permission, I'll share it here. I haven't been able to get its gorgeous melody out of my head since the show, and that's the exact opposite of a complaint... Monday, March 09, 2009  This Saturday night, March the 14th, A.C. Newman (aka Allan Carl Newman, aka Carl Newman, aka frontman of the New Pornographers and long-ago for the underappreciated Zumpano) will bring his particular brand of melodic guitar pop to the Paradise, with the help of a full band (one that includes Superchunk drummer Jon Wurster), and with opening assistance from Mr. Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele. This show finds the Canadian-via-NYC songwriter smack-dab in the middle of a 27 date tour in support of his latest solo effort, "Get Guilty", released by Matador in January. Here's a track...Wanna go? Send a quick email (subject: "Newman!") to me at giveaways [at] bradleysalmanac [dot] com. Include the city you live in, and make sure it hits my inbox by 10am this Friday the 13th. A random number generator will determine your fate, and the winner will be told that afternoon that they'll be on Saturday night's guest list (with a +1 for a friend) at the 'Dise. Unlucky souls can snag tickets of their very own right here. Labels: giveaways Wednesday, March 04, 2009  It's been five long years since Tindersticks have graced U.S. stages, and the intervening time brought the first-major shakeup to the Nottingham-based band's lineup since their formation in 1991. In 2006, a few years after the release of their sixth album ("Waiting For The Moon"), multi-instrumentalist and founding member Dickon Hinchliffe departed the sextet along with the rhythm section of Al Macaulay and Mark Colwill. Some fans suspected, with the release of solo albums from frontman/guitarist Stuart Staples', that the band had unofficially split, but last year those fears were squashed with the release of their seventh long-player, "The Hungry Saw". Original members Staples, guitarist Neil Fraser, and keyboardist David Boulter remained, welcoming a new rhythm section and a new European tour plans for 2008.And so 2009 brings them to our shores at last, but for a relatively short stretch of just nine shows, kicking off tonight in Philly (at World Cafe Live) and winding up in San Francisco on March 15th. Fortunately for us here in the Boston area, one of those dates is this Saturday night at the Somerville Theatre (with opener Dawn Landes), and thanks to WORLD MUSIC/CRASHarts, I have a two pairs of tickets to give away to a couple of Almanac readers. Hopefully you know the routine by now -- just drop an email (subject: "Tindersticks!") to me at giveaways [at] bradleysalmanac [dot] com. Include the city you live in, and get it to my before 2pm this Friday, when I'll fire up the ol' random number generator and pick two winners. Those fortunate souls will be emailed that afternoon and will each have a pair of tickets waiting for them at the Somerville Theatre box office on Saturday night. But I wouldn't leave your attendance in the hands of fate -- pick up tix of your own through the WORLD MUSIC/CRASHarts site, where you'll pay far less without those convenient Ticketb@st@rd fees. Stream some Tindersticks at their official MySpace page, or listen to three songs from "The Hungry Saw" on their website. |
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