[Almanac Overseas!] Let’s Whisper 2011 UK Tour / Boston on Monday
Posted on September 23, 2011 at 11:47 am | 1 Comment
United Kingdom, here I come. Oh, I’ve seen your shores before, but never like this.
On Tuesday I’ll be crossing the Atlantic for an 7-date tour of the UK with my friends Colin & Dana, who combine their awesome powers to form the wonderful Burlington, Vermont-based indie-pop twosome Let’s Whisper (when they’re not busy being Smittens). They’ve foolishly graciously invited me along for the trip to hit some drums behind them, temporarily making their duo a trio. While I’ve been to London a few times, it was mostly for work (1993’s amazing “13 Year Itch” 4AD Records fest excepted), and certainly never to play music in front of people. I’m honored, nervous, and overly-excited. Took about two decades for this particular pipe-dream of mine to get real, well after I figured the window for such a thing was closed. Life is pretty weird. In case you didn’t know.
Dana & Colin are Let’s Whisper
Before we jet off to jolly olde England (and yes, a house show finale in Scotland!), we’ll play a stateside send-off gig here in Boston at Great Scott this Monday night, Sept. 26th. My favorite Allston venue has generously allowed us to jump on an already-great bill with Viva Voce and their tourmates The Parson Red Heads, so please do come and wish us well, or at least make fun of us as we work out any pre-tour kinks on stage. We’re going on first and playing a short set, so arrive early if you can. We won’t promise perfection, but we will guarantee enthusiasm.
We’ll bookend the tour with a little homecoming show up in Winooski, Vermont at the Monkey House on Friday night, October 7th. See below for details.
Part of the reason I’m overly-excited, aside from the simple fact that this is actually happening? Well, we’re playing most of the UK shows with one of my favorite bands, Standard Fare. Love them. If that wasn’t cool enough, our October 3rd show in Cambridge is opening for… wait for it… Tender Trap. Which includes Amelia and Rob from personal pop faves Heavenly & Tallulah Gosh. Pinch me, ‘cuz I’ve gotta be dreaming.
Here’s the full itinerary, along with a couple of LW mp3s for your listening pleasure, and the duo’s brand spankin’ new video for “All Happy Endings“, track two from “The Shortest Days” (their charming debut full-length on London-based WeePop! Records). I’m game for meeting up with any UK readers out there while I’m traveling, so get in touch if you’re near these venues and up for such a thing…
Let’s Whisper 2011 International Tour
26th September: Allston, MA, USA at Great Scott with Viva Voce and the Parson Red Heads [Tickets / Facebook event] 27th September: Over the ocean 28th September: Chelmsford at the Bassment Club with Standard Fare [Tickets] 29th September: York at City Screen Basement with Standard Fare & The Louche F.C. [Tickets / Last.fm event] 30th September: Sheffield at The Rutland Arms with Standard Fare and David Leach (special acoustic show!) [Facebook event] 1st October: The Nottingham All-Dayer at The Chameleon with Milky Wimpshake, Standard Fare, Help Stamp Out Loneliness, The Blanche Hudson Weekend, Ace Bushy Striptease, Ste McCabe, Pale Man Made, A Fine Day for Sailing, and The Whatevers [Facebook event / Last.fm event] 2nd October: London at The Underbelly with Standard Fare and Owl + Mouse [Tickets / Facebook event] 3rd October: Cambridge at The Corner House with Tender Trap and Plantman [Tickets / Info] 4th October: Glasgow, Scotland – a special secret livingroom show [email band @ letswhisper . com if you want to go] 7th October: Winooski, Vermont, USA – a welcome home show at the Monkey House with Osage Orange and Walker Lukens [Info]
Some Let’s Whisper sights and sounds for you…
Like I said, do get in touch if we’re coming anywhere near you. Check out the Let’s Whisper shows page, this WeePop! Records news post, or this Anorak Forum thread for possible updates. And follow along here on the Almanac or on my Twitter, where I’ll hopefully be updating from the (wrong side of the) road. Cheers!
[Boston Ticket Giveaway / Preview] This weekend’s LIFE IS GOOD FEST
Posted on September 19, 2011 at 10:07 am | No Comments
Looking at the lineup alone, this year’s second-ever Life Is Good Festival (taking place this coming weekend in Canton, MA) isn’t exactly in my musical wheelhouse. Sure, I like to pretend I have pretty diverse listening habits, but let’s be honest… it’s not too often that I break out of the so-called indie rock/pop box I hang out in. So on the face of it, the roots/folk/rock-centric 2-day gathering doesn’t scream “Must! Go!” at me.
Fortunately, the Life Is Good Fest is about much more than an objectively well-curated list of 22 accomplished acts – it’s about a wide-open, welcoming vibe, a meticulous attention to environmentally-friendly detail, and foremost, it’s about collecting a ton of money for kids. It’s a fundraiser first of all.
My family and I had a blast hanging out just south of Boston at Prowse Farm for last year’s initial installment, despite a lineup that was low on personal faves. In the end, that didn’t matter at all – in fact, I relished the chance to step outside my regular rotation and soak in so many varied performances. Mavis Staples was unsurprisingly amazing, Will Dailey & the Rivals rocked, Eli “Paperboy” Reed and his band impressed. And yeah, of course I loved seeing They Might Be Giants in the completely packed kids tent. Maybe even more than my then-3-year-old son did.
And that’s another reason this fest stands above the rest – it really couldn’t be more kid-friendly. The children’s tent is surrounded by games and activities, so as dad to a little one, that’s pretty key. If he gets tired of watching a band, it’s back to the ball toss. If things get a little too loud, it’s over to the parachute. Made bringing our boy that much more enjoyable, for sure. Plus, out of nowhere… Jim Rice sitting and signing at a table. Bonus!
Ok, so about this year’s lineup: While light on the ol’ indie rock (The Hold Steady plugs that hole, though I’m not a fan), there’s no lack of genre-crossing heavy hitters. The legendary Levon Helm rambles over from his place in upstate NY for a Sunday evening set that will feature an assist from members of the Boston Pops (they’ll play earlier Sunday with Brandi Carlile as well). There’s no way that won’t be great. Other notables from the full list include The Avett Brothers, Ingrid Michaelson, Michael Franti, and Martin Sexton on Saturday, and Sunday brings Raphael Saadig and Maceo Parker before Ray LaMontagne closes things out. Representing Boston locals on Sunday afternoon (aside from former Harvard Square busker Sexton on Saturday) are Jenny Dee and the Deelinquents, and that’ll actually be Jenny’s second time up on that stage, after a surprise appearance last year alongside Will Dailey for a killer take on the Stones’ “Gimme Shelter“.
Headlining the kids stage this year are Disney Junior TV faves Imagination Movers (our kid is so psyched), along with the Laurie Berkner Band, Keller Williams, and Ben Rudnick & friends. All four acts will play sets on both days starting at 11:45am.
Wanna go? Well, thanks to the Life Is Good crew, I have a pair of Sunday tickets to hand out. That’s mighty generous of them, given the cost, and the winner has my permission not to feel guilty about getting into a charity event for free. Just buy some merch or drop a little in a donation box when you’re there, we’ll call it even. Do it for the kids, man.
To enter, send an email to giveaways [at] bradleysalmanac [dot] com, make sure it hits my inbox before this Thursday morning (9/22) at 9am, and put “Life is good because…” in the subject line. Continue that thought in the body of the email, and tell me one reason that, well, life is good. If you can’t come up with a single reason, well, then you maybe have more important things to worry about than winning a ticket giveaway. Or perhaps that would help. So make something up if you have to. I’ll pick a random email from the batch on Thursday morning and let the winner know straight away.
To grab your own tickets to the 2011 Life Is Good Festival, go here. To find out how to contribute more to the cause than just your ticket price, check this out. For the full lineup, including links to bios and streamable songs, here you go. And for some tips about attending, check out my live-from-the-fest post from last year.