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Wednesday, July 29, 2009  This Saturday, August 1st, the pride of Taunton, Mass. celebrates the release of their brand new album with a show at Allston's Great Scott. Yes, Wheat has returned. Their "White Ink Black Ink" hit the streets last week thanks to The Rebel Group label, and they've invited locals Bon Savants and Brooklyn's The XYZ Affair to help mark the occasion with this weekend's Massconcerts-presented bash.A taste of what you're in for, with two freely available songs and a video from "White Ink Black Ink"... [Mp3]: Wheat - "H.O.T.T." [Mp3]: Wheat - "Changes Is" [Video]: Wheat - "Changes Is" (in .mov format / youtube here) I've got a pair of tickets to Saturday's show, along with an extra copy of the new album, to give out to one fortunate Almanac reader. If you're up for it, send along an email to giveaways [at] bradleysalmanac [dot] com by high Noon this Friday, July 31st, entitle it "Gimme Wheat!", and let me know which town you live in (obviously, make sure it's close enough to actually go to the show, doy). I'll pick a random soul from the emails, letting them know right away that their name will be on Saturday night's guest list with a +1. I'll also get in touch to get your mailing address so I can send the disc along. For some insightful words on the band and the new album (along with another track from it), check out Chromewaves recent write-up, to own a copy of it as your very own, go here, and for tickets of your own to the show, click on over here. Labels: giveaways  Saturday, July 25, 2009  Greetings from below the Mason-Dixon line, y'all. In case you haven't been following me on Twitter, I'm down in the Chapel Hill, North Carolina area for XX Merge - the 5-day 20th anniversary blowout celebrating the magic made by Merge Records. They're one of my favorite labels, perhaps the fave, and when this thing was announced earlier this year I was compelled to make the journey down south from Boston. Actually, the Boston area is well-represented here at XX Merge, with at least a dozen attending fans I could name off the top of my head, and likely many more I haven't met. Warms the heart, it does.  As I write this, we've hit the festival's halfway point - it kicked off on Wednesday at the Cat's Cradle in Carrboro (the event's main venue), and what followed were three consecutive nights of massively varied, rarely disappointing, passionately delivered sets by artists who are clearly grateful to be here, and to be part of the Merge family. 17 bands so far, with at least 16 more to go: a free outdoor show this afternoon in the parking lot behind the wonderful Orange County Social Club, then one more Cat's Cradle show tonight, and a grand finale at UNC's Memorial Hall tomorrow evening. Then home, where I will clearly require a post-vacation vacation.  One of the best parts of this shindig is the lack of a mapped-out lineup for all four of the Cat's Cradle shows - you only know what time the first band's on, but you don't know who they'll be, or who will follow them, unless you're looking for clues on the merch table or the equipment setup. It's added a lot of extra fun to this thing, and has also helped keep the crowds solid for just about every act. I'm planning (ok, more like hoping) to write up a post on each day, but for now I'll just share a few links for you to experience XX Merge vicariously, through my eyes and others... By the way, I can feel your envy from here... best not to bottle that up. You can take comfort in the fact that this party is being very well-documented, with at least five-camera video being shot, participating bands being interviewed, and from what I hear, special acoustic take-away performances being laid down. Esteemed director Jem Cohen is involved, so there's little doubt the footage will see the light of day, somehow, somewhere, somewhen. And hopefully sometime before XXV Merge. Which, given the absolute blast I've been having, I'll be at as well. More later... back onto the humid Carrboro streets I go... Labels: xxmerge Saturday, July 18, 2009  There's not a weak spot to be found in the three-headed lineup that will pack Cambridge's TT the Bears on Wednesday, July 29th: An ace local opener in Faces on Film, followed by the one-two punch of their tourmates from divergent yet nearly equidistant locales: LA's Foreign Born and London's The Veils.Any of these three bands would be worth shining a spotlight on, but it's UK quartet The Veils who get the blog-post-title-and-picture treatment this time around, thanks to a generous giveaway provided by their label: Two randomly chosen entrants will not only get guest listed (with a +1) at the TT's show, but will each get sent a vinyl copy (with download codes) of the band's third full-lengther, "Sun Gangs", released back in April on Rough Trade. Here's a taste... [Mp3] The Veils - "The Letter" Want in? Of course you do. Only one requirement - that you live close enough to Boston attend the show. If you do, send along an email to giveaways [at] bradleysalmanac [dot] com by 9am next Monday the 27th, entitle it "Veiled Interest", and let me know which town you live in. I'll pick two random winners from all entries, letting them know that day that their names will be on Wednesday's guest list, and each with a +1, and I'll arrange to have the vinyl sent along post-haste. If you're not feeling fortunate, pick up tickets of your own to the show over here. After the TTs gig, only four stops remain on The Veils co-headlining tour with Foreign Born, on which Faces on Film share all shows: NYC, Philly, DC, & Brooklyn. Listen to some more tracks from The Veils at MySpace, have a look at this "Sun Gangs" short film on YouTube, and check out a story and songs courtesy of NPR's All Things Considered. Labels: giveaways Thursday, July 16, 2009
If you need to put a smile on your face, or at least widen your already-existing one, there's no surefire way to do that than to see Tullycraft play live. There's an exuberance to their shows and songs, a sincerity of sweetness and light that could knock over even the most jaded hipster. So it was with no slight sadness that I read their MySpace update back in March that said the following... "Each of us has had a wonderful time, but over the years it's become increasingly difficult to balance our personal lives (i.e. Chris' goat farm, Cori's adult bookstore, etc...) with our time in the band. While we're excited to continue to write and record music together, we've decided to take a step back from playing live shows".To say goodbye, at least for now, the band played two more (west coast, unfortunately) shows in the spring, including a May appearance at the SF Popfest (setlist), then packed their tour cases away. Being a Seattle-based band, we didn't get a ton of Tullycraft visits here in Boston, but when they did come, it was a guaranteed good time. The world needs more of those, not less, but we can take comfort in knowing that the band hasn't clearly not called it quits (more on that below). To mark their live hiatus, I figured it was time to (finally!) share up this set I recorded last summer at PA's lounge, with the kind permission of TC's Sean Tollefson. Even though he claims this wasn't the best performance of the tour, and the fact that the sound at PA's is rarely perfect, he gratefully gave his consent anyway (and I quote: "Tullycraft has never been a band that has been known for being tight or our playing ability, so I'm cool with [it]."). Thanks, Sean. Here it is, a rough and ready 12-song set from Somerville, MA last summer. Be sure to scroll down below for some info and links...  Tullycraft Live at PA's Lounge in Somerville, MA on Thursday, June 12th, 2008 01. Superboy Supergirl 02. Wild Bikini 03. Georgette Plays A Goth 04. Stowaway 05. Every Little Thing 06. Godspeed 07. Josie 08. banter 09. The Secret History Of Devil's Paw 10. Our Days In Kansas 11. banter 12. Bored To Hear Your Heart Still Breaks 13. banter 14. If You Take Away The Make-Up (Then The Vampires They Will Die) 15. The Punks Are Writing Love Songs  As regular readers of the 'Nac know (or at least those that read the fine print below), I capture all the shows I go to on a little Minidisc recorder, a little machine that never really caught on, but still has a few loyalists. Was nice to find out from Sean that Tullycraft guitarist Chris is a fellow MD fan. Sean also let me know that while things are now quieter in band-land, they're not completely quiet: Sean is working on new song demos and Chris is rebuilding their recording studio, which includes setting up a new 16-track analog machine (their last four albums were recorded on 8 tracks). So fans take heart that more music is on the way. Some Tullycraft links...
 ye olde fine print... If anyone has an issue with these Mp3s being made available, just let me know (my contact info in the 'nac faq). 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 Friday, July 10, 2009
A quick note about a couple shows happening over the weekend that deserve your attention and attendance, although it requires you to pick just one. Here's the info so you can choose wisely....  Less than an hour drive northwest of Boston sits Lowell, MA, where Wilco will be playing tomorrow evening with openers Connor "Bright Eyes" Oberst and his Mystic Valley Band. The forecast looks fantastic, and the venue is unique, to say the least - they'll be playing in the middle of Red Sox minor league affiliate Lowell Spinners' ballfield, LeLacheur Park. Tickets are still available, if a tad pricey (and they get pricier if you wait until tomorrow), but the setting, weather, and those two bands together make it worth it. While you're at the show, be sure you stop by the Labels Are For Jars table, where the local anti-hunger organization will be raising awareness and funds by raffling off t-shirts and showing off other cool specially-designed merch (including a limited edition show-specific poster, which Wilco will have on sale.). For more on Labels Are For Jars' mission and message, visit their website, or hit up yesterday's post on Boston Band Crush.  Also happening tomorrow night, but a bit closer to home - The Luxury headline their album release show at the Paradise. Frontman Jason Dunn and I go way back to our early-90s Burlington, Vermont days when we were both playing in bands and sharing bills, and I've loved watching him and his band step into the local spotlight recently after plugging away for awhile. With his previous band, The Halogens, and now with The Luxury, Jason has always written well-crafted, hook-filled, anglophilish songs - seems it just took awhile for some in this town to catch up to what he and his bandmates have been doing. While in general I'm no fan of music-as-competition, I'll admit I took no small amount of joy seeing them pull out a win in this year's WBCN Rumble (especially since this latest edition, by all accounts, was one of the best ones in years).  And so tomorrow The Luxury celebrates the release of their second full-length, "In The Wake Of What Won't Change", with a party at the Paradise, and they've invited some area friends: The Click Five, MidAtlantic, and one of my recent faves, Aloud. Tickets are available here or at the Paradise box office. According to Jason's twitter account, the CDs have arrived just in time, so grab your copy at the show or keep an eye on the band's online store, where I'm sure it'll be added soon. Hit up their Facebook page and the FB event page, where you'll find a list of recent press and a little on what you can expect tomorrow night. At the very least, one hell of a party, and more than likely, a spectacle. So there you go, your Saturday night is all set. Y'know, if you've got a lead foot and a radar detector, I'm betting you could catch the Lowell show and make it back to the city in time for the set or two at the 'Dise. |
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