Nina
EMMA
Filed under: Emma, Nina | Tags: boston counter cultural compass, concerts, march, upcoming concerts in boston
Guys, March is here already, and as John McCauley sings in the title track from Middle Brother, “My days are numbered but I’m bad at math.” That’s right – counting is out, good music is in, and before you can say “Fat Tuesday,” we’ve rounded up enough worthwhile shows to drag you out of your hibernaculum nearly every day of the month. How’s that for March Madness? Our overjoyed and overwhelmed restless legs are hopping over to Austin for SXSW to see lots of shows, discover new music, worship the sun gods, binge on barbecue and beer, and, if the stars are aligned, get served tequila by Bill Murray. (Rest assured, updates to come.) Considering this, we thought we’d maybe take it easy this month, but this calendar is so good looks like it’s high season for all music all the time. Tut tut now shake ya butt!
3/2 – Smith Westerns @ Great Scott
3/3 – Middle Brother @ Paradise
One fine day somewhere in America, Deer Tick’s John McCauley, Dawes’s Taylor Goldsmith, and Delta Spirit’s Matt Vasquez formed a group called Middle Brother. Middle Brother brings together and amplifies each member’s strengths – Deer Tick’s raw songwriting skills, Dawes’ melodic sensibilities, and Delta Spirit’s warm soulfulness – into a stylistically varied but consistently great album which gets better with every listen. Country-fried folky goodness, ya’ll.
3/3 – Aviary opening – “Sound on Sight”
Read about this in the Phoenix, it’s an editor’s pick for the week! Reception today, but the exhibit will be open all month.
3/4 – Low Anthem @ Old South Church
3/6 – Get Up Kids @ Paradise
If “Overdue” and “Let the Reigns go Loose” figure prominently in my memory montages of being young and vulnerable I’m not alone – the Get Up Kids were one of the most influential bands in the late-90s Midwestern emo movement in the good old days when “emo” meant emotionally honest punk-influenced music instead of angsty teenagers with swoopy hair and fetishes for wrist-slitting imagery and tear-streaked eyeliner.
3/6 – Say Hi @ Middle East Downstairs
3/7 – Oh Land (opening for OMD) @ Paradise
Electro-glitter winter wonderful.
3/8 – Pete Yorn @ House of Blues
Yeah, yeah, yeah, his hair is too shaggy, he’s all over simplified pop rock and old news, something you listened to on the Dawson’s Creek soundtrack in 2001 (No? Just me?), but I refuse to let go of my Musicforthemorningafter memories from before I even knew what a “morning after” felt like. A strange condition, indeed. Plus, on Enjoy Every Sandwich, the stellar Warren Zevon tribute album released after he died, Yorn covers “Splendid Isolation” wonderfully.
3/9 – Rural Alberta Advantage @ Middle East Downstairs
I have these guys on near-constant rotation these days, and for good reason. Before Japandroids realized “The Boys Are Leaving Town” and Arcade Fire were missing The Suburbs, Rural Alberta Advantage tapped into the nostalgia felt by itinerant twentysomethings with Hometowns - a gorgeous album that picks up the aforementioned Get Up Kid emo legacy and updates it with Jeff Magnum-esque vocals, occasional horns, and dislocated heartfluttery synths reminiscent of the Postal Service. Now they’re touring for their follow-up, Departing. Check it.
3/10 – Bright Eyes @ House of Blues
No conversation about Midwestern emo can go for long before hitting on infamous emo posterboy Conor Oberst. Whether you loved him for writing transparent lyrics that spoke to the confusion and pain of growing up or hated him for making grotesque self-pity worn on your sleeve not only acceptable but fashionable, seems like everyone had an opinion on the depressive wunderkind. Eleven years and tons of projects after Fevers and Mirrors, Oberst is finally hanging up the Bright Eyes moniker, so if you’re looking for a cathartic occasion to shed a public tear to “A Perfect Sonnet,” this could be your last chance.
3/11 & 3/12 – Zoe Keating & Walter Sickert and the Army of Broken Toys @ Cafe 939
Zoe Keating: one-woman orchestra/cello extravaganza with a hardworking DIY ethic, collaboration history with the likes of Amanda Palmer, John Vanderslice, and The Secret Life of Bees, and seriously badass dreads. Walter Sickert and the Army of Broken Toys: 15-piece orchestra with baroque sea shanties, neocircus postapocalyptic folk waltzes, and a seriously badass steam-crunk aesthetic. Bored of the same old musical fare? Get at this. (Note: the Friday show is SOLD OUT but Saturday tickets are still available!)
3/11 & 3/12 – The Pogues & Titus Andronicus – House of Blues
3/16 – Mark Kozelek of Sun Kil Moon @ First Church Congregational
3/20 – Blast Forth @ Cambridge YMCA
Whitehaus Family Record presents the fourth annual Blastfest, and it’s loaded with enough DIY New England goodness to melt your heart and melt your face off. The Cambridge installment of the tour features Welcome Home; Peace, Loving; Gracious Calamity; Jimmy Ambulance; Casey Rocheteau; Shai Erlichman; Brian S. Ellis; B. Law; The Needy Visions; Manners; Shira E.; Emma N. Young; Chris North Dream Quartet; Morgan Shaker; Free Pizza; Avi Jacob; and Gobby It’s going to be epic.
3/21 – Simian Mobile Disco @ Paradise
Get your dance on.
3/24 – Sebadoh & Steven Brodsky @ Paradise
3/26 – DeVotchKa @ Paradise
I am told time and again by a certain Russian co-writer that I mispronounce their name, but this Boulder/Denver four piece band plays awesome Eastern world, gypsy-folk music in the vain of Beirut and Andrew Bird’s Bowl of Fire. Perhaps you heard them in the background of Little Miss Sunshine, which featured arguably two of their best songs, “You Love Me” and “How It Ends.” Unusual instruments (sousaphone, theremin) and Nick Urata’s vocal bravado make DeVotchKa unmissable. I saw them live once in Colorado, and between the hometown spirit and the circus-punk, rock ‘n’ roll accordion, I was hooked. They’ve got a new album just out the last day of February, too, which I have yet to check out.
3/26 – Hallelujah the Hills & Parts and Labor @ Great Scott
3/28 – Klaxons @ Paradise
3/29 – Joy Formidable @ Brighton Music Hall
3/30 – Bodega Girls record release party @ Middlesex Lounge
3/30 – The Dears @ Brighton Music Hall
3/30 – JEFF the Brotherhood & Juiceboxxx @ Great Scott
We saw JEFF the Brotherhood at Homegrown, back when the Temple in JP was still kickin’. Revisit those good times here.
3/31 – Viva Viva & Doomstar @ Brighton Music Hall
Annnnd, as always, we encourage you pick up/find online the Boston Counter Cultural Compass and go to any shows/events listed there. They are always a good time, and even if the music isn’t your thing, the hangings out will be. COMMUNITY, PEOPLE!
Filed under: Nina, Uncategorized | Tags: concerts, james murphy, lcd soundsystem, summer of the midlife crisis, the orpheum, this is happening
wait guyz you mean this isn't the daft punk show?
This was originally going to be a post full of sweet photos of LCD Soundsystem rocking out. I was so ready. I was so ready with two low-light lenses and too-cool press photographer hubris (I’ve shot for blogs, guys, I got this!) that when I got to the Orpheum last Tuesday and the hawk-eyed matronly ushers informed us that we could only shoot halfway back through the crowd, I was completely stupefied. I was oh so ready except I had nothing even resembling a zoom lens, so really I was shit out of luck. Failball.
Fumbled through some shots of pretty lights for the requisite three songs and disappeared into the crowd out of sight of Crabby McLazer-Eyes, who was fit to eject me for not having a real ticket. Nothing left to do but watch James Murphy do his thang.
On more than one occasion I’ve jokingly referred to the musical state of 2010 as the Summer of the Midlife Crisis, and LCD Soundsystem’s This Is Happening is pretty emblematic of this phenomenon. The first thing I catch onto in a song is lyrics and I guess I’m always skeptical when such overtly morose songs tack on dancey beats and inspire thousands of glazed-eye Urban Outfitters poster kids to fist pump like there’s no tomorrow. It took seeing LCD Soundsystem play live to understand the zen-like brilliance of Murphy’s musical philosophy. As Thao Nguyen once murmured in the opening to a song, “Sad people dance too.” It’s as good a cure as any.
Someone great is gone? Might as well dance.
You’re getting old and your rock star life is overwhelming and you miss your friends? Just dance.
Losing your edge to the art-school Brooklynites in little jackets and borrowed nostalgia for the unremembered eighties? Dance yourself young.
Talking like a jerk except you are an actual jerk? Dance yourself clean.
Didn’t accept a job writing for Seinfeld in your 20s? Well there’s really not much you can do about that, but I’m sure dancing will take your mind off of it.
So I danced. And so did everyone else. My most frequent criticism of large Boston concerts is that the crowds tend to be completely sober and immobilized even during the bounciest of sets. But the crowd at the Orpheum was definitely on their A-game that night. They were dancing standing up in their seats because schoolmarmy women patrolled the aisles with iron fists and horn-rimmed glasses. They were dancing and waving glowsticks and cell phones and arms. They danced and the ridiculously ornate 104-year old theater clouded up with dry ice and body heat and human sweat, partially because the air conditioner seemed to be broken, but mostly because bodies were actually moving.
this dude knows what i'm talking about
Sure, some of these bodies were on drugs. In fact, my hiding place in the crowd was directly beside a jumping writhing soaking wet couple that kept whisper-yelling sweet nothings like “Baby I love you. Baby I love drugs. Baby I’m so glad we have drugs.” Even better, immediately ahead was a foot-stomping fist-pumping chant-yelling bro who was getting down with his back to the stage so that he could give passersby in the aisle high-fives and spontaneous massages. (Dude won my respect when he managed to get a diminutive Betty White-esque usher to give him a pound.)
Let’s be honest, the whole scenario was several kinds of absurd. But beyond the thick layers of cognitive dissonance, it was a damn good show. Stumbling out of the Orpheum into a world without strobe lights I could pick out people from the show all the way down to the 57 bus in Allston by how sweaty they were. And that’s what it’s all about, right? Gold stars for Boston, and James Murphy is still in the running for world’s hippest dad. Yeah.
Filed under: Nina | Tags: beantown jazz festival, boston, broken social scene, concerts, cups, japanther, kath bloom, manners, mighty tiny, phantogram, points north, prince rama, sleigh bells, wavves
image credit: D.L. Polonsky
Hey there, Boston! I’d like to apologize for the delay in posts – late-August American adventures, moving back to Boston, accumulating and moving furniture, choosing and re-choosing classes, and generally getting things together has made the past couple of weeks more than a bit frantic. But rest assured, the Restless Legs are alive and kicking, getting down in Allston-town and ready for more musical goodness.
We’re hoping to get some sort of nifty calendar up before long, but until then, here’s a good old-fashioned list of great shows in Boston that are on our radar for the rest of this month. (For all you newly settled college kids, get out your Crackberry/meticulously organized planner/enormous stack of Post-Its and take notes – these are worth scheduling your study circles and keg stands around.)
9/14 – Prince Rama opens for Deakin (of Animal Collective) @ Middle East Downstairs
Brooklyn/Boston- based deep psych tribal freakout trio Prince Rama puts on an awesome show that just might double as a religious experience. Heavy with chanting and the chimes, moshing and auditory hallucinations, this show promises to blow minds and speakers alike. (Plus, that one guy from Animal Collective, so that’s cool.)
9/15 – Manners, The Points North, The Cups @ Gay Gardens
So, you didn’t hear it from us, but Manners and the Points North just might be coming to a house show near you. Both are Massachusetts natives and both play lovely, heartfelt folk music. Come out to support local artists and enjoy an intimate show that’ll warm even the most frazzled souls. (Hyperactive fun by The Cups also included.)
9/17 – Broken Social Scene @ House of Blues
Bombastic Canadian powerhouse ensemble comes to Boston! Forgiveness Rock Record was awesome, and will be ten times more awesome live! This is pretty exciting!
9/18 & 9/19 – Sleigh Bells & Wavves at Brandeis University
Snaps to WBRS for booking two sweet shows back to back. Noise pop thrashfest Sleigh Bells are this year’s answer to the Crystal Castles and have caught the attention of heavyweights MIA and LCD Soundsystem alike. Self-proclaimed King of the Beach, Wavves is like a one-man fuzzy 2010 take on the easygoing pop-punk sound of the 90s and besides that one notorious Primavera Fest meltdown he’s been doing pretty well for himself. Unfortunately for the masses, Brandeis ID is required for entry, but for Deis kids and outsiders crafty enough to finagle their way in, this is going to be one hell of a weekend.
9/22 – Phantogram @ Paradise Rock Club
Haunting vocals swirl over synths and danceable beats to make beautiful, captivating, trippy pop that’s reminiscent of Portishead and School of Seven Bells. Their debut album, Eyelid Movies is aptly named, but if you’re willing to put those closed-eye visuals on hold for a night, these guys should be worth seeing.
9/23 – Mighty Tiny opens for Electric Six @ Middle East Downstairs
We caught Boston-based circus-rock ensemble Mighty Tiny at Great Scott this Thursday and their deft mixture of blues, punk, accordion, sweet Venetian masks, and enthusiastic cabaret-esque showmanship gets the full RLS endorsement. These guys are one of the more original bands to come out of Boston as of late and their live show is a party and a half not to be missed. (Electric Six are those guys that did “Danger! High Voltage!” and “Gay Bar” – both severely WTF-inducing, and hilarious.)
9/25 - Beantown Jazz Festival
Berklee’s annual jazz festival will be bringing impressive jazz heavyweights (such as Kurt Rosenwinkel, The Bad Plus, that lady who sang “Where Have All the Cowboys Gone” and the Dawson’s Creek theme song…) to Boston all week, but the jazz-illiterate and/or seriously broke among us should look to the 25th for a free all-day festival. If the weather’s cooperative, there are few better ways to spend a Saturday than by enjoying good music and quality people-watching while lounging around on grass and eating an unhealthy amount of fried festival food.
9/ 25 – Japanther @ The Temple
There’s also no better way to follow up a classy day of jazz than with a sweaty night dancing and throwing fists and beer cans at a punk rock show! (Note: RLS does not endorse violence but we do endorse dancing and mosh pits and sometimes things just happen.) Japanther are a Brooklyn-based punk-tastic funfest whose shows get the crowd bouncing off the wall with more hyperactive energy than your caffeine-addicted roommate mid-finals week after she just got a new prescription for Adderall. Seriously. Awesome.
9/26 – Kath Bloom @ Whitehaus
Remember this? Nuff said.
9/30 – Menomena & Suckers @ Royale
Menomena is the ultimate sleeper band. For all their dense structures and instrumental intricacies, their subtle songs rarely grab you on the first listen, but after a couple of spins their brilliance creeps up on you and is suddenly irresistible. Suckers, on the other hand, make incredibly catchy songs that get in your head and stay there for days and weeks and months. That dynamic plus the obvious talent and odd charisma of both bands make this a show not to be missed.
There you go, those are about all the extracurricular activities you need. Go play. We’ll see you there.
