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Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Been too long since I've done a random, non-mp3 music post. So here's a quick one...   The summer touring season, which is traditionally a quiet one this college-crammed area that is Boston (at least for bands I give a damn about), has been surprisingly chock-full of greatness this time around. Can't remember the last time I was this backlogged with songs, thoughts, and links to share. And as it nears its end (I know, say it ain't so... but it is August after all), there's been tons of very cool fall dates announced. Some of the personal faves coming in September...9/3 - Sonic Youth @ AvalonWhew. And that doesn't include October visits from Mojave 3, Built to Spill, Portastatic, Ida, and Tara Jane O'Neil. For more, check out my ever-growing list to the left. Show of the summer so far? Ted Leo's not-solo show this past Sunday at the Middle East Upstairs. Billed as just Ted and his guitar, he surprised us by inviting his two Pharmacists on stage with him, and was joined on a bunch of songs by ex-Pharmacist (and ace show opener) Drew O'Doherty. So much energy, and the new stuff? Wow. There's a track called 'The Lost Brigade' that is bound to be the highlight of his next album. But more on that show when I share up the mp3s (all but the new stuff... promised TL I'd keep those on the DL.) Go ahead, call me a tease. Two, count 'em two, other potential contenders for show of the summer are happening this Friday, and it pains me that I have to choose between them: Throwing Muses with 50 Foot Wave at the Middle East Downstairs, and The New Year with Nina Nastasia and Kahoots at the Middle East Upstairs. Two of my top ten bands (The Muses & The New Year/Bedhead) playing mere yards away from each other at the exact same time. Curses! As rare as an appearance by either band has become, I bought my Muses tickets first, and I'll be seeing The New Year next month at the Touch & Go 25th Anniversary Celebration thing. Even so, I'm very tempted to head down to Brooklyn on Saturday to catch the Kadanes & Co. at North Six the next night. Speaking of head-Muse Kristin Hersh and her latest band, 50 Foot Wave, there's something special over on their My Space page. They took Kristin's 1994 solo acoustic number 'Your Ghost' (which I enjoyed enough when it first came out, but wasn't too jazzed by Mr. Stipes' guest vocals) and rocked it up a notch or ten. The song has been utterly reborn as a dark guitar dirge, and nearly knocked my headphones off. I'm going to have a hard time not requesting it when I see them this Friday. Some notes about the track from their newsletter: "This is a rare recording. The band was short on songs to perform live during their first year in existence, so once in a while, they would play this song. The band found themselves with a little extra time in the studio one afternoon and decided to record it -- as close to 'live' as a studio recording gets. Download it. Dig it."Yes, go do so. Right about now. Banner day for merch, bad day for my wallet. A lunchtime trip downtown scored me a couple of those newly-remastered Cure discs (just 'Kiss Me'x3 / 'Head on the Door' for now), the reissued Sebadoh III cd, and Sealab 2021's fourth season on DVD. Also ended up winning myself a copy of the new fan-shot Beastie Boys concert DVD from the Kendall Cinema, so I'm gonna be checking that out. Might even re-gift it here on the Almanac when I'm done. In any case, I've got some good audio-visual times ahead. Hey, Bostonians... got any plans tonight? No? Well, why don'tcha join Amie and I at the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge for a free set of music by my old friend Sean Toohey at 8pm. I've known him since his old band Spray 9 played tons of shows with my first band, Hover, back in the early 90s in Burlington, Vermont. He went on to start Envy, then moved to Boston to form The Red Telephone, and now he's doing the solo thing. If Sean's last name is familiar to you, it might be because his also-talented sister, Meghan Toohey, fronted Boston band The So and So's before heading out to LA. So yeah, Sean's set is at 8 o'clock, and shortly after he's done we get the second 'Every Wednesday In August' residency show from Buffalo Tom's Bill Janovitz and his other band Crown Victoria. Their set's not free, so bring more than just beer money. For a taste of what you're in for, hit up Sean Toohey's MySpace page, and grab a brand new Crown Vic song called 'Look After Me' right here. How 'bout tomorrow evening? More free music: TV on the Radio and Yeah Yeah Yeahs at 6pm in front of Boston's City Hall. I've yet to see either band live, so I'll be there a little early to claim my piece of the plaza. Congrats to Canadian visitor Nicole, who won the 5 first issues of Brian Wood's excellent DMZ series. And finally, I'd like to share a recent email I got from another 'Nac reader, this one in the UK. It pretty much encapsulates the main reason I maintain my humble little piece of the web here... Hi Brad,Now that's the stuff.  |
 neil halstead live in cambridge, ma on november 14th, 2008 previously: joy formidable - boston 2011 recent posts on the 'nac...
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