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recommended boston area events

tuesday, december 4th

kelly hogan

@ johnny d's


thursday, december 6th

conor oberst

@ converse hall, tremont st.


thursday, december 6th

jason isbell &

the 400 unit

@ the sinclair


friday, december 7th

the weisstronauts 14th

annual holiday jubilee

with guests tsunami of sound

preacher jack, & the derangers

@ the midway cafe, jp


friday, december 7th

caspian

moving mountains

o'brother

@ the sinclair


saturday, december 8th

patrick watson

@ the sinclair


saturday, december 8th

the faint perform

"danse macabre"

trust

icky blossoms

@ the paradise


sunday, december 9th

band of horses

@ house of blues


sunday, december 9th

japandroids

diiv

@ the paradise


wednesday, december 12th

concrete blonde

jim bianco

@ the sinclair


thursday, december 13th

annual boston christmas cavalcade

benefit for the homeless

featuring tons of artists

(see fb event for details)

@ johnny d's


thursday, december 13th

nada surf

eternal summers

@ the paradise


thursday, december 13th

mates of state

in the valley below

@ brighton music hall


friday, december 14th

forgetters (blake from

jawbreaker's band)

& more tba

@ democracy center, harvard square


sunday, december 30th

sufjan stevens

sheila saputo

@ the royale


monday, december 31st

my morning jacket

@ agganis arena


monday, december 31st

deer tick

two gallants

@ the sinclair


monday, january 7th

quicksand

@ the paradise


tuesday, january 8th

hospitality

@ great scott


saturday, january 19th

mission of burma

@ the sinclair


sunday, january 20th

camper van beethoven

cracker

@ the middle east down


sunday, january 20th

soundgarden

@ the orpheum


sunday, january 20th

ra ra riot

@ the paradise


sunday, january 27th

widowspeak

@ great scott


tuesday, january 29th

kathleen edwards

sera cahoone

@ brighton music hall


wednesday, february 13th

yo la tengo

@ the paradise


saturday, march 2nd

unknown mortal orchestra

@ brighton music hall


tuesday, march 12th

tame impala

@ house of blues


thursday, march 14th

jukebox the ghost

matt pond pa

lighthouse and the whaler

@ brighton music hall


tuesday, march 26th

yo la tengo

@ the paradise


wednesday & thursday

april 3rd & 4th

they might be giants

@ the paradise


visit tourfilter for more shows






Monday, October 02, 2006

Mp3s: Eric Bachmann in Cambridge, MA



Mr. Eric Bachmann returned to town for the first time since a triumphant full-band April, 2005 set with his Crooked Fingers at Central Square's Middle East. Both the setting and the setup were drastically different this time around, with Eric touring on his fine "To The Races" solo album, bringing along two sidewomen to assist rather than the full-Fingers. The trio squeezed onto the tiny stage of the generally folk-centric Club Passim, just one stop down the Red Line from Central in Harvard Square. An entirely dissimilar atmosphere, but no less magical.

It was our first time at Passim, and we were surprised to discover that our reserved 'dinner seats' put us right up against the stage, nearly in opener Richard Buckner's lap. Blame my ticket-purchasing punctuality for the prime spot, I suppose, but as someone who likes to snap a few photos, it was almost uncomfortably close... at times I felt like I was intruding. We were also only slightly bothered that the reservation had us eating with a couple of (fortunately friendly) strangers at the table. Not sure if this is standard for the club (every other table in the sold-out space had team-ups), or if the demand for tickets necessitated it (the small room required the scheduling of a second Bachmann/Buckner show later that night). Coupled with the crammed-in crowd, some early-fall humidity made the place super-stuffy, but Bachmann's set was beautiful enough to make me oblivious as he played. Here's his performance, featuring Kate O'Brien on cello & violin, and Miranda Brown on keyboards, guitar, and a bit of percussion. Both also contribute some gorgeous backing vocals throughout...


For those keeping score, that's eight songs from "To The Races", four from the latest Crooked Fingers disc, 2005's "Dignity and Shame", two from the previous one, 2003's "Red Devil Dawn", and a couple from the 2000 self-titled CF debut.

Some Bachmann-related links...
  • Purchase his solo album "To The Races" at Saddle Creek Records, or from his offical store. I believe he had the vinyl version with him on the road, so hopefully it'll show up there.

  • His MySpace page, and his official site.

  • If you're not already familiar, study up on your requisite Bachmann history at the Archers of Loaf wikipedia page.

  • Chromewaves wrote up the Bachmann/Buckner one-two punch after he caught them up in Toronto a couple weeks back. An excellent post (and a few accompanying mp3 links) from Frank as usual.

  • Is it just me, or is there a melody in "Sleep All Summer" that is straight outta Gordon Lightfoot's "If You Could Read My Mind"? Can't believe I never noticed that before. Oboy, do I ever digress.

  • This probably deserves a post all its own, but as long as I mentioned Crooked Fingers, it's worth noting that longtime CF guitarist Barton Carroll will release his second solo album, "Love & War", on October 17th, courtesy of Skybucket Records. Visit Barton's MySpace page, look here later on to order the album, and in the meantime, check out some mp3s...

    Mp3: Barton Carroll - "Scorched Earth"
    Mp3: Barton Carroll - "Cat On A Beach"
    Mp3: Barton Carroll - "Her Bright Smile Haunts Me Still"

  • Bachmann's tourmate, Richard Buckner, is keeping an interesting tour diary on the Merge Blog. Naturally, he got lost driving in and out of Boston, and according to that entry, he believes our fair city "overturns cars whether or not their team wins or loses". Actually, no... I think it's only when they win. And it ain't just overturned cars... young lives are lost. And as for his "scraps of LL Bean khakis and blue button-ups" comment... it was Harvard Square. What did you expect?
  • On a side note, hard to believe that 2005 Crooked Fingers show was the very first one I captured with my minidisc recorder after I ditched my old Archos... seems like far longer than 18 months ago. Glad I quickly got the hang of the thing after that initial semi-successful attempt...


    the fine print... If anyone has an issue with this live set being made available, just say the word (email link on left). Recorded with a Sony ECM-719 mic and a Sony MZ-RH10 minidisc, converted to .wav and then edited to 192kbps mp3s. Mp3s are made available for a limited time, and are not reposted once removed.

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    on november 14th, 2008
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