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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, April 11, 2011

[Live MP3s] DAVID BAZAN Livingroom Show - Allston, MA (+ new album art)



There are precious few no-bullshit performers out there, but David Bazan is one of 'em - in his lyrics, interviews, and between-song Q&A sessions you'll get nothing but the unvarnished truth from the guy, truths I just happen to mostly agree with. Reviewers who have been following him since his Pedro The Lion days like to focus on his longtime struggle with (and eventual shunning of) a religious upbringing, but his songs deal with so much more - personal and romantic relationships, fatherhood, the music industry, and more recently the (sorry) cultural and political state this country has found itself in.

The latter is the theme at the heart of his upcoming full-length, "Strange Negotations" (out May 24th on Barsuk). It's an intense record, one that grabbed me on first listen and hasn't let go in the week I've been lucky enough to have it. His previous album, 2009's confessional "Curse Your Branches", took awhile to sink in, but this one is urgent and immediate - on many of the tracks, his electric guitar is at the forefront, keys are used more sparingly, and the production is a bit more raw (drumstick clicks, mid-track coughs, and studio banter are purposefully left in). Unlike CYB, this one was recorded with his band, and I think it's all the better for it. The rock songs makes the softer ones stand out even stronger - it might be the most dynamic record he's ever put out. Not sure a Bazan-made album has hit me this hard since 2002's "Control", and that's saying a hell of a lot.

First shared on the pedrothelion.org forum, here's a look at the appropriately striking album art...


Worth owning on vinyl? Um, yeah, think so. Here's the tracklist...
David Bazan | Strange Negotiations
Out May 24, 2011 on Barsuk Records

01. Wolves At The Door
02. Level With Yourself
03. Future Past
04. People
05. Virginia
06. Eating Paper
07. Messes
08. Don’t Change
09. Strange Negotiations
10. Won’t Let Go
If you squint at the fine print, you'll see tracks 6 and 7 ("Eating Paper" & "Messes") were co-written with Starflyer 59's Jason Martin. But enough about an album you won't be able to hear for another month and a half. Let's talk about the fact that Dave played a set in my freakin' livingroom just a week ago.


He's been doing house-show tours for awhile now, dates that usually sell out pretty quickly through word of mouth on his mailing list and forum. His in-progress road trip started out west near his Seattle home, headed East (stopping at my place in Allston), and he's currently on the southern stretch of the return trip before traveling back up the West Coast just as April ends.

I was wary of volunteering to host a house show of our own knowing we'd be cutting it very close to the requisite capacity of 50 people - but we took a shot and I'm so glad we did. The crowd of good friends and kind strangers couldn't have been more considerate and appreciative. Even without Dave's ultra-intimate performance, it would have been one great party - in fact, I wish I'd had more time to hang and chat with pals and unfamiliar faces.

I'm sharing just a few songs from his set, holding the new stuff until after the new record is released - I'm totally on board with Dave's belief that the album is best heard all at once and as a whole. He's consciously decided to shorten the window between LP completion, its announcement, and subsequent release - a practice that I'm glad is becoming more and more common. Doesn't mean you won't get something special below, though: An absolutely stunning cover of Gillian Welch's "April 14th, Part I"...
David Bazan | House Show Setlist
Sunday, April 3rd, 2011
Allston, MA

01. Strange Negotiations (the new album's title track)
02. Transcontinental (from PtL's "Achilles Heel")
03. Won't Let Go (new - on "Strange Negotiations")
04. Cold Beer and Cigarettes (from DB's "Fewer Moving Parts")
05. Priests and Paramedics (from PtL's "Control")
06. How I Remember (from "Fewer Moving Parts")
07. April 14th, Part I (Gillian Welch cover)
08. Virginia (new - on "Strange Negotiations")
09. Selling Advertising (from "Fewer Moving Parts")
10. Please Baby Please (from "Curse Your Branches")
11. Bearing Witness (from "Curse Your Branches")
After the album hits, David puts his band back together in June and does the country all over again for 6 summer weeks, including a stop at Cambridge's TT the Bears on 6/19. Tickets here, and you'd best jump on it. His shows are always well attended, but once the album arrives, a sell out shouldn't be far behind.




featured mp3 download
neil halstead
live in cambridge, ma
on november 14th, 2008
previously: joy formidable - boston 2011




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