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Wednesday, April 22, 2009
This Friday night, the very first day of May, I'm genuinely proud to have pulled together a pretty amazing four-band lineup at TT the Bears in Cambridge, Mass. -- From Minneapolis, and making their Boston-area debut, the wonderful Now, Now Every Children. One of Boston's best new bands, The Hush Now. Truly great local quartet You Can Be A Wesley. And opening the evening, from the northern confines of Burlington, Vermont, gentle-pop duo Let's Whisper. If you live in the Boston area, and you've ever downloaded anything from the 'Nac, your presence at this party is  Y'see, I don't do these "Bradley's Almanac presents..." rock shows very often, because of the simple reason that I can only sincerely put my time & effort behind a show if I'm a genuine fan of all the bands involved. In fact, I've only done one of these before, when Film School, the Broken River Prophet, and the Douglas Fir played TTs almost a year ago. It was a total blast, but a severe lack of free time and the right alignment of (rock) stars has kept me from doing another, until now. And the reason behind it is pretty straightforward -- I just want to see these bands play their songs for me. And for you.  I fell in love with Now, Now Every Children almost instantaneously upon hearing their debut disc, "Cars" a couple months back. Just a few songs in and I was utterly and completely hooked, and hard. The pairing of guitarist/keyboard player Cacie Dalager's mesmerizing voice with the sounds that she and drummer Brad Hale put together hit me in that sweet spot that so rarely happens... it didn't need time to sink in or grow on me -- I just adored them from the get go. So much so that I immediately searched online for any prospect of a Boston-area date. Nope, nothing. Instead of resigning myself to missing out, or just waiting impatiently, I did something that still surprises me: I made it happen. A couple weeks planning and a couple dozen emails later, and they're coming. How 'bout that? Sometimes this little website sure comes in handy. I cannot adequately explain my compulsion to see them perform "Have You Tried" in person. Here's the second single from "Cars", which gets a national re-release in July (and which the duo, who tour as a trio, will have with them when the come to town next week)... Filling out the rest of the bill was pretty easy... I had a very short list and they all accepted the invite. After being rightly blown away by The Hush Now's meticulously crafted, hook-filled debut full-length (available for free), and catching their very first show at the disc's release party in February, I knew I wanted to see them again soon. Here's one of my faves from the album... [Mp3]: The Hush Now - "Roleplay" I happened upon You Can Be A Wesley last summer when they opened for Grand Archives at Allston's Great Scott, and have been patiently awaiting the release of their first album ever since. A taste of it arrived a few weeks back with new Mp3 and video for the catchy-as-hell "Creatures"... A finally, to round out this special lineup, I thought I'd ask an out-of-town opener who could ease us gently into the evening, someone worth arriving early for, and the answer was obvious -- my northern friends Colin and Dana, performing as Let's Whisper. These two songwriters, who both alternate and share vocals, have played here many times as 2/5ths of the Smittens, but this will mark their first trip for their bedroom pop duo, and I'm so very psyched. They've got a brand new track on an Eardrums compilation, so go grab that, and check out this one from their out-of-print "Make Me Smile" EP on London's WeePOP! Records... I'm a bit humbled that TTs has entrusted me with booking an entire Friday night, so I'm on a mission to pack the place, and I'm looking at this thing more as a party with some great bands than your regular rock show. With friends and free stuff (I've been collecting cool giveaway items and have tons of promos piling up), and my own between-band playlists of my favorite songs of the year so far. You may even spot me behind some drums at some point, alongside some other special on-stage guests. Tickets for the Friday night, May 1st show at TT the Bears can be purchased at the club in the evenings, or right here on Ticketweb. Doors are at 8:30pm, and Let's Whisper will start shortly after (no fashionable lateness allowed!). Have I done my job to convince you? Then add your name to the Facebook event page, and if you're a regular reader that I've never met (hell, even if we have), feel free to track me down at the show and say hello. I'll be the guy with the biggest smile on his face.  |
 neil halstead live in cambridge, ma on november 14th, 2008 previously: joy formidable - boston 2011 recent posts on the 'nac...
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