Bradley’s Almanac

Tuesday Morning Miscellany

Posted on March 25, 2008 at 8:55 am | No Comments

Things mentioned and linked below include Swervedriver, Retribution Gospel Choir, Film School, The Night Marchers, Sea Wolf, The Jealous Girlfriends, Slowdive/Mojave 3‘s Neil Halstead, Rogue Wave, Nada Surf, Billy Bragg, Elbow, Sigur Ros, Ida, R.E.M., New Radiant Storm King, The Mountain Goats, Sebadoh, Silkworm, “The Wire”, and Kids in the Hall.

New Boston area shows of note, from ye olde left hand column…

  • HELL YES. The Swervedriver reunion tour is officially hitting Boston, on June 10th to be precise, at the Paradise. Tickets go on sale this Saturday, March 29th, at 10am.
  • Alan Sparhawk’s trio, Retribution Gospel Choir, plays the Middle East Upstairs on Thursday, June 19th. Their just-released debut full-length is a brilliant slab of crunchy Neil Young-inspired guitar goodness, letting the Low frontman get his rock on in the best way. The disc even has gritty reworkings of a couple Low songs, including “Breaker” (which sounds more like Low’s live version than Low’s own recording, and features Mimi on guest vocals) and a rhythmically transformed “Take Your Time“. Love it, and as if Sparhawk’s presence wasn’t enough to guarantee it, I’ll definitely be at the show. Tickets here. Don’t wait until it sells out.
  • Film School returns to TT the Bears on Monday, April 28th. Saw them there last October, up against the first night of the World Series. Fortunately, the Sox won that game 13-1, so it was easy for the crowd to abandon the TT’s TV in favor of some celebratory sonic goodness from the visiting West Coasters. Hopefully the competition will be less fierce this time around, and the crowd will be even bigger.
  • As I mentioned, The Night Marchers are making their Boston-area debut on Thursday, May 8th, also at the Middle East Upstairs, and I’m going to keep reminding you of this until it sells out. There are too many Rocket From the Crypt / Drive Like Jehu / Hot Snakes fans out there who haven’t caught on yet. When they do, so long tickets.
  • Sea Wolf is back in Boston on Friday, May 30th for a headlining show at the Paradise with The Jealous Girlfriends. For some reason I couldn’t make it to their last show, but a Friday night appearance makes my presence far more likely this time around.
  • While I’m glad to see that Slowdive/Mojave 3 frontman Neil Halstead is returning to the Boston area, it’s safe to say I won’t be seeing him when he does. Why not? No, I won’t be out of town. Or otherwise occupied, as far as I know. I’ll be abstaining due to the presence on the bill of headlining act Jack Johnson… not exactly a fan of his stuff, and his presence has driven the ticket prices outta my usual range. Not sure how Neil, or even Rogue Wave, teamed up with Mr. Johnson, but, um, good for them I guess? (update If you’ve got deep enough pockets, and enough Rogue Wave or Halstead love, to make the drive down to the Tweeter Center on August 8th, well, lemme know how it went.

    And while I’m mentioning Mr. Halstead, he shared the news last month (when he had to cancel a gig) that he and his wife were awaiting the imminent arrival of twins, so here’s hoping that all went well.

  • Nada Surf made an appearance on the Tonight Show last week to play “Weightless” (which, as Leno plugged, happens to appear on the “Heroes” soundtrack. Ah, sweet network synergy). The trio was augmented with an electric cello player and a keyboardist, filling out the sound nicely. Take a listen…

    Mp3: Nada Surf – “Weightless” (live on Leno)

    The band also did an acoustic performance and interview session for the newly-christened MySpace Transmissions recently as well.

    Another late night appearance last week was Billy Bragg‘s on Conan O’Brien, performing “I Keep Faith“, off his upcoming “Mr. Love & Justice” disc. The performance was unlike anything you’ll hear Bragg do again, as his backing band was Conan’s own (minus regular drummer Max Weinberg), including the horn section. Here ’tis…

    Mp3: Billy Bragg – “I Keep Faith” (live on Conan)

    In the wake of Billy’s recent opinion piece in the New York Times about internet royalties for musicians, he shares further thoughts in a dialogue with commenters at The Stalwart. Well worth a read.

    Also previewing tracks from an almost-out album was Elbow, who recorded a session at Maida Vale for BBC1, and stopped into Zane Lowe‘s show last week to share some of the results. Not sure how many songs they tracked in all, but two were played last Wednesday (stream here until tomorrow), and another Thursday (stream “One Day Like Thishere for two more days). In addition to first single “Grounds For Divorce“, they performed this one…

    Mp3: Elbow – “The Bones Of You” (live on BBC1)

    Elbow’s fourth album, “The Seldom Seen Kid”, is already out in the UK, and arrives on U.S. shores on April 22nd.

    Music Slut directs our attention to a YouTube video recording of a new Sigur Ros song that will likely/hopefully appear on their next album. Check out some new photos from the recording sessions of said album back in January here.

    Ida has shared a video for a song from their beautiful latest album, “Lovers Prayers”. Head here for the Megan Holmes-directed clip for the song “The Weight of the Straw“.

    I’m really enjoying “Accelerate”, the almost-out new R.E.M. album, now streaming at iLike. As I said awhile back, I’ve found something worthwhile in most of their late-era records, but haven’t been this instantly struck by one in many, many years, and I’m happily surprised. Whenever I hear the phrase “return to form”, I fear contrived emptiness, potential trying-too-hard insincerity, but this one really sounds like R.E.M. just being R.E.M.. The songs, the production, the brevity, it’s all working for me. And I’m very glad to be able to write that in 2008. Stream the entire thing here, and you don’t even have to register to do it.

    Thanks to Jay @ Clicky Clicky for the heads up that there’s going to be another New Radiant Storm King album later this year. Their last one, “The Steady Hand”, was one of my faves of 2006, so I’m fairly eager to hear what they follow it up with. The band plays as part of a promising line-up at PA’s Lounge on April 6th, with The Spanish Armada, Dr. Powerful (Ex-Polvo members within), and Bullpen Catcher (Ex-Kudgel within). Jay’s update also allowed me to notice that the band shared an outtake from the “Winter’s Kill” album on their MySpace page. Head there to hear “Doppelganger in Tow”, along with three from “The Steady Hand” if you’ve never had the pleasure.

    The Phoenix’s On The Download shares up three videos from the Mountain Goats appearance at Museum of Fine Arts Boston a couple weekends ago: The title track from “Heretic Pride“, a Rodney Crowell cover, and a brand new song called “Sign Of The Crow“. Again, I must warn you… turn your volume down before you head to that page, as all three videos auto-start at the same time with an advertisement.

    Back in August, Sebadoh‘s Lou Barlow said on his messageboard that the next reissue the band would be working on would be the excellent “Bubble & Scrape”. Well, looks like the work’s done, as a release date has been announced: The remastered and expanded “Bubble & Scrape” will arrive on May 5th via Sub Pop and Domino. Jason Loewenstein shared the full tracklisting here, and Barlow adds that the “Smash Your Head On The Punk Rock” reissue is planned, but that a reissue of “Weed Forestin'” is a bit up in the air.

    Fellow Silkworm fans should be keeping an eye on the production blog for the in-progress “Couldn’t You Wait” documentary, as new content is regularly added. Video clips and photos from the creator’s recent trip out to California was added last month, and earlier this month they shared interview video clips with Steve Albini, Jeff Tweedy, Stephen Malkmus, Henry Owings, and Brian Teasley. Great stuff, which you can also see here. In case you haven’t seen the 4-minute trailer yet, have a look here. Click here to help fund the thing, if you’ve got Silkworm love and some spare dollars.

    Non-musical, but demanding the attendance of fans of HBO’s now-ended, brilliant series “The Wire”: A Harvard-hosted lecture and panel discussion on Friday, April 4th titled “HBO’s ‘The Wire’: Racial Inequality and Urban Reality.” Panelists will include Wire creator David Simon, Boston Police deputy superintendent and liaison to the homeless community Nora Baston, Columbia University’s Sudhir Venkatesh, and Geoffrey Canada, the president of Harlem Children’s Zone; William Julius Wilson of Harvard University will moderate the discussion, which starts at 5pm on Friday, April 4th. No registration is necessary, just arrive early enough to get in at 79 JFK Street near Harvard Square, Cambridge.

    And in case you missed it, read this interesting article over at Time.com titled “The Wire’s War on the Drug War”, written by Wire series writers David Simon, Ed Burns, Dennis Lehane, George Pelecanos, and Richard Price.

    And on a completely different note, the no-longer-kids Kids in the Hall are touring again, and comedy saints be praised, one of their dates is in Boston. Yes, the Canadian quintet will be performing at the Citi Center (aka the Wang) on Thursday, April 17th, 2008, and I snagged myself 8th row tickets over the weekend. Get your own here, more details here.

    If your appreciation for Buffy the Vampire Slayer remains despite its absence (unless you’re reading the comics), you might want to have a listen to this recording of last week’s cast reunion at this year’s Paley Fest. You can also watch video interviews with the cast on the night of the reunion here. Links to more coverage can be found at Pop Candy, or Whedonesque, of course.

    And lastly, for any Boston area readers, a reminder: If you’re not doing anything tonight (aside from sleeping), I’ll be on stage with four friends at the Abbey Lounge, playing the drums in Stratford Projects. It’s the SP’s first performance ever, and my first time behind the drums in quite awhile. Night owl’s will appreciate that we hit the stage around 11:45pm, playing after St. Helena, who have been hosting a Tuesday night residency all month long.

    A little info on Stratford Projects — we’re led by current Sixth Great Lake and former Guppyboy / Essex Green member Michael Barrett on guitar and vocals, and along with my rusty drumming, Mike’s wife Anna will be playing keyboards, Neil Cleary plays guitar, and former Jumproper Adam Boc is on bass.

    Needless to say, after waking at 6AM to listen to the first Japan-hosted Red Sox game of the season, I’ll be taking a nice nap before hitting the stage almost 18 hours later…

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  • BOSTON-AREA LIVE SHOW ACTION
    Thursday, March 28th
    Thus Love
    Native Sun
    Robber Robber
    @ O'Brien's

    Thursday, March 28th
    Arlo Parks
    Chloe George
    @ the Royale

    Friday, March 29th
    Grouplove
    Bully
    @ Roadrunner

    Friday, March 29th
    The Rolling Stones
    @ Gillette

    Saturday, March 30th
    Ex-Hyena (release show!)
    The Shallows
    CMB (Casey Desmond/Jimmy Rossi Jr.)
    @ Deep Cuts

    Saturday, March 30th
    Guster
    Fruit Bats
    @ MGM Music Hall

    Saturday, March 30th
    The Cavedogs
    @ the Burren Back Room

    Monday, April 1st
    Adam Ant
    The English Beat
    @ the Wilbur

    Friday, April 5th
    Joe Pernice (solo)
    @ a Boston living room

    Friday, April 5th
    Richard Thompson
    @ the Cut, Gloucester

    Saturday, April 6th
    Choo Choo La Rouge
    Lupo Citta
    The Bret Tobias Set
    Jay Walsh
    @ the Midway Cafe

    Saturday, April 6th
    Land Of Talk
    @ Rockwood Music Hall

    Saturday, April 6th
    Destroyer (solo)
    Lightning Dust
    @ Brighton Music Hall

    Saturday, April 6th
    Choo Choo La Rouge
    Lupo Citta
    The Bret Tobias Set
    Jay Walsh (of the Douglas Fir)
    @ the Midway Cafe

    Saturday, April 6th
    Colin Hay (Men at Work)
    @ the Wilbur

    Monday, April 8th
    Swami & the Bed of Nails
    (John Reis of Hot Snakes/RFTC/etc)
    The Freqs
    @ Crystal Ballroom

    Tuesday, April 9th
    Moron's Morons
    Andy California
    Adult Learners
    G. Gordon Gritty
    @ O'Brien's

    Thursday, April 11th
    Trash Sun
    @ O'Brien's

    Thursday, April 11th
    Hotline TNT
    Cicada
    @ the Somerville Armory

    Saturday, April 13th
    Dead Gowns
    Kathy Snax
    Hannah Mohan
    Audrey & Karina
    @ the Loft, Somerville

    Saturday, April 13th
    DARK SPRING BOSTON FEST
    with Korine, House of Harm,
    Widow Rings, Allie Frost,
    Hemlock for Socrates,
    Midnight Psychic, the
    Spearmint Sea, and more
    @ the Middle East

    Sunday, April 14th
    Woods
    Avey Tare
    @ the Sinclair

    Monday, April 15th
    Matthew Sweet
    @ the Wilbur

    Wednesday, April 17th
    Metz
    @ the Crystal Ballroom

    Wednesday, April 17th
    Real Estate
    Marina Allen
    @ the Royale

    Friday, April 19th
    Quattracenta
    Thalia Zedek Band
    Rip Room
    @ the Midway Cafe

    Friday, April 19th
    Drop Nineteens
    Greg Mendez
    @ the Paradise

    Saturday, April 20th Doc Hopper
    "Aloha" LP 30th anniversary with
    Shades Apart,
    Matt Charrette & the Truer Sound,
    and The Keeper Class
    @ O'Brien's

    Wednesday, April 24th
    Teen Suicide
    awakebutstillinbed
    @ the Crystal Ballroom

    Friday, April 26th
    Waxahatchee
    Good Morning
    @ the Orpheum

    Friday & Saturday
    April 26th & 27th
    The Town & the City Festival
    @ various venues in Lowell, MA

    Saturday, April 27th
    Kal Marks
    Grocer
    Bedroom Eyes
    Main Era
    @ O'Brien's

    Saturday, April 27th
    Belle and Sebastian
    The Weather Station
    @ the Orpheum

    Sunday, April 28th
    Yot Club
    Boyscott
    @ Brighton Music Hall

    Tuesday, April 30th
    Adult Learners
    Perfectly Lethal
    Over Ends
    Free with food donation
    @ Notch Brewing Brighton

    Tuesday, April 30th
    Teenage Fanclub
    @ the Paradise

    Wednesday, May 1st
    Ty Segall
    @ the Royale

    Thursday, May 2nd
    Outer World
    @ Deep Cuts

    Thursday, May 2nd
    The Decemberists
    Ratboys
    @ Roadrunner

    Friday, May 3rd
    Ra Ra Riot
    @ the Royale

    Saturday, May 4th
    Slothrust
    Weakened Friends
    @ the Sinclair

    Saturday, May 4th
    Lisa Bastoni
    & Sean Staples
    @ the Rec Room, Belmont

    Saturday, May 4th
    The Lights Out
    Gretchen Shae & The Middle 8
    Brian K & The Parkway
    @ Faces Brewing

    Sunday, May 5th
    Sheer Mag
    Pile
    @ Crystal Ballroom

    Sunday, May 5th
    CSS
    @ the Sinclair

    Monday, May 6th
    Cloud Nothings
    Hurry
    @ the Crystal Ballroom

    Tuesday, May 7th
    Bad Religion
    Social Distortion
    (playing "Mommy's Little Monster")
    @ MGM Music Hall

    Wednesday, May 8th
    Todd Rundgren
    @ the Wilbur

    Wednesday, May 8th
    Chastity Belt
    @ the Sinclair

    Thursday, May 9th
    Cheekface
    Yungatita
    @ Brighton Music Hall

    Friday, May 10th
    Hot Water Music
    30 Year Anniversary Tour
    with Quicksand
    & Off With Their Heads
    @ the Royale

    Friday, May 10th
    Sarah Shook & the Disarmers
    @ the Cut, Gloucester

    Saturday, May 11th
    Bradley's Almanac (that's me) presents...
    SAVAK
    SAMUEL s.c.
    HEY I'M OUTSIDE
    PLAZA
    8pm @ O'Brien's

    Saturday, May 11th
    Ride
    @ Big Night Live

    Saturday, May 11th
    Hallelujah the Hills
    Colleen Green
    Mallcops
    @ Deep Cuts

    Sunday, May 12th
    Sunny Day Real Estate
    @ Big Night Live

    Monday, May 13th
    High On Fire
    Zeta
    High Command
    @ the Middle East
    Monday & Tuesday
    May 13th & May 14th
    Mannequin Pussy
    Soul Glo
    @ the Sinclair

    Tuesday, May 14th
    Swans
    @ the Paradise

    Wednesday, May 15th
    Wussy (duo show)
    @ an Allston living room

    Thursday, May 16th
    Helmet
    Cro-Mags
    @ the Middle East Downstairs

    Thursday, Friday, & Saturday
    May 16th, 17th, & 18th
    Jukebox the Ghost
    @ the Sinclair

    Friday, May 17th
    Lenny Kaye & Friends
    "A 50th Anniversary Celebration of
    Nuggets!: Classic Garage Rock Songs"
    featuring Jon Wurster, Bill Janovitz,
    Ted Leo, Josh Kantor, David Minehan,
    James Mastro, Ed Valauskas, Hugo Burnham,
    Clint Conley, Tanya Donelly, Duke Levine,
    Barrence Whitfield, Tony Goddess, Willie
    Alexander, and more to come
    @ the Cut, Gloucester

    Friday, May 17th
    Special Sapphic Pride Show
    Ruby Grove
    Galaxy Cake
    Miss Geo
    Linnea's Garden
    @ the Loft, Somerville

    Friday, May 17th
    Neil Young & Crazy Horse
    @ the Xfinity Center

    Friday, May 17th
    Buck Meek (of Big Thief)
    @ Crystal Ballroom

    Saturday, May 18th
    Eldridge Rodriguez
    @ Sonia

    Saturday, May 18th
    The Messthetics
    James Brandon Lewis
    @ the Crystal Ballroom

    Monday, May 20th
    Echo & the Bunnymen
    @ the House of Blues

    Tuesday, May 21st
    Another Michael
    Tenci
    @ the Rockwell

    Tuesday, May 28th
    Shannon & the Clams
    @ the Sinclair

    Tuesday, May 28th
    Brookline Booksmith presents...
    Kathleen Hanna
    "Rebel Girl" book tour
    @ the Wilbur

    Wednesday, May. 29th
    The Antlers &
    Okkervil River
    (solo & together tour)
    @ the Crystal Ballroom

    Wednesday, May 29th
    The Alarm
    Jay Aston's Gene Love Jezebel
    Belouis Some
    @ Brighton Music Hall

    Wednesday, May 29th
    Madness
    @ MGM Music Hall

    Thursday, May 30th
    Camera Obscura
    @ the Paradise

    Thursday, May 30th
    Nation Of Language
    @ the Royale

    Tuesday, June 4th
    Melt-Banana
    The Flying Luttenbachers
    babyaby_explores
    @ the Sinclair

    Tuesday, June 4th
    Joe Jackson
    @ the Wilbur

    Wednesday, June 5th
    Andy Summers (The Police)
    @ Cary Hall, Lexington

    Thursday, June 6th
    Jason Narducy & Alison Chesley
    duo/reunion show
    @ Q Division Studios, Cambridge

    Thursday, June 6th
    Reverend Horton Heat
    @ the Crystal Ballroom

    Friday, June 7th
    Joe Pera
    @ the Wilbur

    Monday, June 10th
    Dan Boeckner (Wolf Parade) @ Brighton Music Hall

    Monday, June 10th
    Bleachers
    Samia
    @ MGM Music Hall

    Thursday, June 13th
    Jon Langford & the Bright Shiners
    @ the Cut, Gloucester

    Thursday, June 13th
    Aaron West & the Roaring Twenties
    Future Teens
    Maura Weaver
    @ Brighton Music Hall

    Friday, June 14th
    Dylan Earl
    Tiger Saw
    Audrey & Karina
    & one more artist tba
    @ the Loft, Somerville

    Sunday, June 16th
    Pixies
    Modest Mouse
    Cat Power
    @ Xfinity Center

    Wednesday, June 19th
    Future Islands
    @ Roadrunner

    Thursday, June 20th
    Roger Daltrey
    KT Tunstall
    @ the Pavilion

    Friday, June 21st
    The Church
    The Afghan Whigs
    Ed Harcourt
    @ the Royale

    Friday, June 21st
    Blushing
    Airiel
    Bodywash
    @ Deep Cuts

    Saturday, June 22nd
    Ted Leo & the Pharmacists
    playing "Shake The Sheets"
    with guests
    Ekko Astral
    @ the Paradise

    Saturday, June 22nd
    Guided By Voices
    The Moles
    @ the Royale

    Tuesday, June 25th
    Jon Anderson (of Yes)
    playing “Yes Epics, Classics, and More”
    @ the Shubert Theatre

    Tuesday, June 25th
    Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit
    Courtney Marie Andrews
    @ Roadrunner

    Wednesday, June 26th
    Blue Oyster Cult
    @ the Lynn Auditorium

    Friday, June 28th
    Dry Cleaning
    @ the Paradise

    Friday, June 28th
    A Day To Remember
    The Story So Far
    Four Year Strong
    Pain of Truth
    @ Suffolk Downs

    Friday, June 28th
    Janet Jackson
    Nelly
    @ TD Garden

    Saturday, June 29th
    Buffalo Tom
    @ Boarding House Park, Lowell

    Sunday, June 30th
    Les Savy Fav
    @ Somerville Armory