Bradley’s Almanac

Monday Miscellany

Posted on April 2, 2007 at 12:19 pm | No Comments

Well, that was a week right there. Sorry about the relative silence, but I was too busy living life to write anything about it. Before I share a few mp3s below, here’s a quick run down…

  • Last Sunday night was a special screening of the upcoming (and, yes, freakin’ hilarious) film Hot Fuzz, from the creators of Spaced and Shaun of the Dead, at the Brattle. Director Edgar Wright, co-writer and star Simon Pegg, and co-star Nick Frost were all in attendance. Photos here. And I have one word of advice for anyone planning on seeing this film: If you happen upon a trailer for Hot Fuzz, for the sake of pete, AVERT THINE EYES. Seriously. It kills a few of the movie’s great moments, not that there aren’t many more to be had. I’ll actually be seeing it again when it opens on April 20th, because much of the dialog was drowned in laughter (or in heavy Brit accents).
  • Monday I stopped by the first official Tourfilter DJ Night at River Gods, hosted by creator Chris Marstall with some assistance from writer Matt Shaer. The guys spent two hours each playing music from bands coming to the area in the next few weeks, and I hope that night was just the first of many Chris gets to program. Some good songs, good company, good fries, good times. (Without the songs, that sentence sounded frighteningly like a Mickey D’s commercial. “Food, friends, and fun!”.)
  • Tuesday brought a special reception for one of my favorite mystery writers, Boston-based Robert B. Parker, held at the B.U. student union. After a brief speech, Parker took many questions from the audience and later sat down to autograph copies of his work, including his new Jesse Stone hardcover, “High Profile“. I’ll hopefully be writing up the appearance in a future post, along with audio of his Q&A.
  • Wednesday night was Bloc Party and Albert Hammond Jr. at the Orpheum. Much more on that in a later post.
  • Thursday, another rock show, at a far cozier venue: Stars of Track and Field, the Broken West, and the Long Winters at Great Scott. I’ll write that up soon as well.
  • Friday, consecutive rock show #3: The glorious return of Sebadoh. Yes, words and sounds to follow.

    As great and unmissable as the Sebadoh show was, it absolutely killed me to know I wasn’t seeing Robyn Hitchcock at TTs that night. Did anyone out there reading check it out? How was it? No, wait, don’t tell me. Watching the new documentary “Robyn Hitchcock: Sex, Food, Death … & Insects” Saturday on the Sundance Channel made the missing that much more painful. If you’re even a minor Robyn fan, the doc is essential viewing.

  • Saturday: Sorry to say, I crashed. Hard. My big plans to see Chris Pearson at PA’s and Wheat at TTs fell apart as I fell into a deep weekend sleep. Fortunately, I have little doubt both of ’em will be playing around here again.
  • And with all that, my personal March went out like a over-active lion. This first April week isn’t nearly as hectic, but there’s some potential quality ahead: A Northern Chorus with the Twilight Sad on Wednesday night (gentle reminder: enter my ticket giveaway for that one), and Low with Loney, Dear on Saturday (for which I’m sadly missing the return of Shearwater).

    I’m giving Low another chance to win me back, as my disappointment remains from the last time I saw them a couple years ago. I actually bought the tickets well before I’d heard their new album, and I’m sad to say I may have held off otherwise. I’m coming to terms with the fact that the Low I once loved dearly may be gone for good, with only their voices remaining to keep me connected. While I appreciate their studio experimentation in theory, I do long for shades of the Low of olde, the one that used organic instrumentation and actual guitar chords. There’s a tad too much technology in “Drums and Guns“, making it sound more like a Low remix album than a proper follow-up to “The Great Destroyer“. I miss Mimi’s tasteful drum-tapping, and Alan’s reverberating strums. That said, I’m still fairly curious to see how these songs come across live, and hope they leave the sequencer at home. Come Saturday, I’ll be sitting in the Somerville Theater with an open mind.

    Here’s a little game of compare and contrast, Low-style…

    Mp3: Low – “Breaker
    (album version from “Drums & Guns”)

    Mp3: Low – “Breaker” (Dub Plate)
    (remix from the bonus pre-order 7″)

    Mp3: Retribution Gospel Choir – “Breaker
    (from the out-of-print RGC tour EP)

    Retribution Gospel Choir, for the unaware, is Low’s Alan Sparhawk and bassist Matt Livingston with drummer Eric Pollard, who are joined occasionally by Red House Painter / Sun Kil Moon man Mark Kozelek. That vastly different (and for me, far better) version of “Breaker” comes from their 2005 tour EP (on which their version of Low’s “Hatchet” also appears), and they’ve recently made their second tour EP available on Low’s merch page. Grab it before it’s gone as well. Hear some songs on their MySpace page. Could be that Low’s new(er) direction is related to Alan getting his guitar fix with RGC on the side.

    Next Monday, a week from tonight, may just bring me back to River Gods in Cambridge for a listening party that will celebrate Caspian’s breathtaking new full-length, “The Four Trees”. Even though my pre-order arrived over the weekend (and made my weekend just that much better), I’d be happy to spend an evening among like-minded listeners and the Caspian crew as they play a few of their own selected faves. According to the band: “We’ll be spinning the new record plus all our favorite post-rock, indie-rock, sad-sap singer/songwriter, and anything else we feel like.” Sounds good to me.

    Again, that’s on Monday, April 9th, 9pm at River Gods near Central Square. And if you missed the mp3 I recently shared from “The Four Trees”, here it is again…

    Mp3: Caspian – “ASA

    Order up the album, which officially arrives on Tuesday, April 10th, from Dopamine Records, or grab it at the release party on Friday, April 13th at the Paradise, where Caspian will be supported by On Fire and Constants. Tickets here.

    Former Catherine Wheel frontman and current solo guy Rob Dickinson has been candidly answering fan questions on his MySpace blog. In response to a question I asked about reissues or b-sides collections, he said…

    … there should be some “re-presentation” of Wheel material in the not-too-distant future. Too many people, myself and the band included, have questioned why we haven’t had a best-of or compilation record…or a live record…. or a further collection of our extensive, unreleased material. There’s so much to dive into as it to be almost bewildering. There is much to revisit and revisiting will be done…

    Good news indeed.

    Progress on “Cinnamon Girl”, the upcoming girl-flavored Neil Young tribute record that American Laundromat Records is putting together, is coming along, with a new twist: a contest for a female-fronted act to contribute their version of Neil’s “Only Love Can Break Your Heart“. The winner would find themselves alongside artists like Blake Hazard, Britta Phillips, Kristin Hersh, Tanya Donelly, and The Watson Twins. Submissions are due by May 15th (details here), and the completed compilation is due out on October 3rd of this year.

    While an official tracklisting may be a way off, word from the Throwing Music forum is that Kristin Hersh’s contribution will be a cover of “Like a Hurricane” with her rock trio 50 Foot Wave. Hearing their version can’t come soon enough. And the mere possibility of Tanya Donelly doing “Heart of Gold“? Takei says “Oh My“.

    Margot & the Nuclear So and So’s are hard at work on “Animal!”, the follow-up record to last year’s “The Dust of Retreat”, and have been sharing in-studio progress reports via their MySpace blog. Among the studio updates is word that they’ll be offering up a new EP in June and doing some touring to keep us satisfied until the album’s ready for release. Mighty kind of ’em.

    So I’ve ignored the conventional wisdom that music bloggers are better read than seen or heard, and made a quick guest audio appearance in the latest installment of something called Blog Fresh Radio. It’s a recently-launched music podcast that has various mp3 bloggers (including the proprietors of Ear Farm, Obscure Sound, and Lost In Your Inbox) introduce tracks by bands they dig and have featured on their sites. I intro’d Shearwater’s excellent “Seventy Four, Seventy Five“, and sure as hell hope I pronounced “Okkervil” and “Meiberg” correctly.

    Alright, time to get this week’s live music post together. No rest for the wicked busy.

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  • BOSTON-AREA LIVE SHOW ACTION
    Friday, November 22nd
    The Smithereens
    featuring vocalist Robin Wilson
    @ City Winery

    Friday, November 22nd
    Dawes
    Winnetka Bowling League
    @ Roadrunner

    Friday, November 22nd
    Amy Helm
    (full band show)
    @ the Cut

    Saturday, November 23rd
    Zion Rodman
    Hey I'm Outside
    Sunburned Sharks
    @ the Burren

    Friday, November 22nd
    Yoke Lore
    Runnner
    @ the Royale

    Monday, November 25th
    Tyler + the Names
    Lupo Citta
    The Spatulas
    @ the Silhouette

    Tuesday & Wednesday
    November 26th & 27th
    The English Beat
    @ City Winery

    Friday, November 29th
    Caspian
    @ the Cabot, Beverly

    Saturday, November 30th
    Honoring Steve Morse
    All ages @ the Middle East

    Sunday, December 1st
    Interpol
    Cave In
    @ Roadrunner

    Sunday, December 1st
    Gillian Welch &
    David Rawlings
    @ the Wilbur

    Tuesday, December 3rd
    The Collect Pond
    Astral Bitch
    Sly Fang
    @ Notch, Brighton

    Wednesday, December 4th
    The Ladybug Transistor
    Lightheaded
    Mark Robinson (Unrest/Air Miami)
    @ Deep Cuts

    Thursday, December 5th
    Shawn Colvin
    @ the Cabot, Beverly

    Thursday, December 5th
    The 8th Annual Allman-Betts
    Family Revival featuring...
    Devon Allman, Duane Betts,
    Sierra Hull, Luther Dickinson,
    Cody Dickinson, Jimmy Hall,
    Anders Osborne, Larry McCray,
    Lindsay Lou, Jackie Greene, G. Love,
    Lamar Williams, Jr., Alex Orbison,
    Robert Randolph, & Sierra Green
    @ the Orpheum

    Friday, December 6th
    Jason Narducy
    @ an Allston living room

    Friday, December 6th
    BASIC
    (Chris Forsyth, Douglas McCombs,
    & Mikel Patrick Avery)
    Chris Brokaw Rock Band
    @ the Middle East Upstairs

    Friday, December 6th
    Mike Viola
    The Figgs
    @ the Somerville Armory

    Friday, December 6th
    Past Life Crisis
    The Zip-Ups
    Lonely Leesa & the Lost Cowboys
    Looking For Rocks
    @ the Jungle

    Friday, December 6th
    BEAT plays the music
    of 80s King Crimson
    featuring Adrian Belew, Steve Vai,
    Tony Levin, & Danny Carey
    @ the Lynn Auditorium

    Saturday, December 7th
    Ted Leo & Aimee Mann's
    The Christmas Show!
    with Paul F. Tompkins,
    Nellie McKay, Josh Gondelman,
    & "other fun stuff"
    @ the Cabot, Beverly, MA

    Sunday, December 8th
    Footballhead
    New Age Thief
    @ Warehouse XI

    Monday, December 9th
    Joyce Manor celebrating
    10 years of 'Never Hungover Again'
    with Algnernon Cadwallader
    & the Ergs
    @ the Royale

    Tuesday, November 10th
    EARFULL
    Writers reading. Songwriters singing.
    with authors
    Phuc Tran &
    Michael Patrick MacDonald
    and performers
    Carissa Johnson & Joe Gittleman
    with Amy Griffin & Richie Parson
    @ the Burren Back Room

    Thursday, December 12th
    Squirrel Nut Zipper
    @ the Cabot, Beverly, MA

    Thursday, December 12th
    Wednesday (solo)
    Cryogeyser (solo)
    @ the Somerville Armory

    Thursday, December 12th
    The Jesus Lizard
    Pile
    @ Roadrunner

    Friday, December 13th
    Suki Waterhouse
    Bully
    @ Roadrunner

    Saturday & Sunday
    December 14th & 15th
    They Might Be Giants
    @ the Orpheum

    Sunday, December 15th
    Tiny Moving Parts
    Action/Adventure
    Greywind
    @ the Crystal Ballroom

    Friday, December 20th
    Arto Vaun (record release show!)
    MK Naomi
    Sun Urchins
    @ Deep Cuts

    Saturday, December 21st
    The Del Fuegos
    Holiday Shows!
    2 shows @ City Winery

    Friday, December 27th
    Will Dailey
    full album performance
    @ the Burren

    Tuesday, December 31st
    Aerosmith (farewell tour)
    with the Black Crowes
    @ TD Garden

    Saturday, January 4th
    The Sheila Divine
    Baabes
    Teardrops
    @ the Sinclair

    Friday, January 17th
    Speedy Ortiz
    Grass Is Green
    & a surprise guest
    @ the Somerville Armory

    Saturday, January 18th
    Tugboat Annie
    Arto Vaun
    Drew O'Doherty
    @ Faces Brewing

    Sunday, January 19th
    Cracker
    @ the Middle East

    Sunday, Monday, & Tuesday
    January 19th, 20th, & 21st
    Robert Glasper
    two shows each day
    @ City Winery

    Tuesday, January 21st
    This Is Lorelei
    Youbet
    @ the Rockwell

    Saturday, January 25th
    Stereo MC's
    @ the Sinclair

    Wednesday, January 29th
    Matt Pond PA
    Anya Marina
    Bathtub Cig
    @ the Rockwell

    Friday, January 31st
    Half Waif
    See You At The Maypole
    @ the Somerville Armory

    Friday, January 31st
    Jamie XX
    @ Roadrunner

    Friday, January 31st
    Frank Black & his band
    play "Teenager of the Year"
    @ the House of Blues

    Saturday, February 1st
    Stuart Murdoch
    (Belle & Sebastian)
    "Nobody's Empire" book tour
    @ the Rockwell

    Saturday & Sunday
    February 1st & 2nd
    The Bowery Presents &
    Run For Cover Records
    present "Something In The Way"
    with
    Slowdive, Balance & Composure,
    Soccer Mommy, American Football,
    Fiddlehead, Mannequin Pussy,
    Militarie Gun, Sweet Pill, Anxious,
    One Step Closer, Ovlov, Glare,
    Enumclaw, Sadurn, Gouge Away,
    Mini Trees, Great Grandpa, Dazy,
    Wishy, My Fictions, Women in Peril,
    & more TBA
    @ Roadrunner

    Tuesday, February 4th
    Jerry Cantrell (Alice In Chains)
    Filter
    @ the House of Blues

    Friday, February 7th
    Rubblebucket
    Hannah Mohan
    @ Big Night Live

    Monday, February 10th
    Tim Heidecker
    DJ Douggpound
    @ the Royale

    Tuesday, February 11th
    Lauren Mayberry (Chvrches)
    @ the Royale

    Wednesday, February 12th
    Tobin Sprout & Bevel Web
    with the Moles/Richard Davies
    @ the Somerville Armory

    Thursday, February 13th
    Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top)
    @ the Cabot, Beverly

    Thursday, February 13th
    J Mascis
    @ the Sinclair

    Saturday, February 15th
    Travis
    @ the Royale

    Monday & Tuesday
    February 17th & 18th
    Jack White
    @ Roadrunner

    Saturday, February 22nd
    Father John Misty
    Destroyer
    @ MGM Music Hall

    Sunday, February 23rd
    Jenny Owens Young
    @ Club Passim

    Thursday, February 27th
    Pom Pom Squad
    Caroline Kingsbury
    @ the Sinclair

    Friday, February 28th
    The Bevis Frond
    @ the Crystal Ballroom

    Saturday, March 1st
    Elvis Costello & Steve Nieve
    @ the Cabot, Beverly

    Friday, March 7th
    Michael Shannon, Jason Narducy,
    & friends mark the 40th anniversary of
    R.E.M.'s "Fables of the Reconstruction"
    (and more) with opener Dave Hill
    @ the Royale

    Monday, March 10th
    Kim Deal
    @ the Wilbur

    Friday, March 14th
    Dropkick Murphys
    Menzingers
    Kilograms

    Saturday, March 15th
    Hovvdy
    Video Age
    @ the Middle East Downstairs

    Saturday, March 15th
    Dream Theater
    40th Anniversary Tour
    @ the Wang

    Saturday, March 15th
    Dropkick Murphys
    Menzingers
    Teenage Bottlerocket
    @ MGM Music Hall

    Sunday, March 16th
    Dropkick Murphys
    Bouncing Souls
    Hot Water Music
    Rebuilder
    @ MGM Music Hall

    Monday, March 17th
    Dropkick Murphys
    Bouncing Souls
    Hot Water Music
    Cody Nilson
    @ House of Blues

    Wednesday, March 19th
    Quicksand
    @ the Paradise

    Thursday, March 20th
    Neil Degrasse Tyson
    @ the Wilbur

    Sunday, March 23rd
    Ida & Tsunami!
    the Coin-Flip tour!
    @ Crystal Ballroom

    Thursday, March 27th
    Horsegirl
    Free Range
    @ the Somerville Armory

    Thursday, March 27th
    José González
    @ the Cabot in Beverly

    Friday, March 28th
    The Weather Station
    @ the Sinclair

    Saturday, March 29th
    Maya Hawke
    Katy Kirby
    @ Roadrunner

    Sunday, March 30th
    The Hard Quartet
    Sharp Pins
    @ the Paradise

    Saturday, April 5th
    Snow Patrol
    @ MGM Music Hall

    Saturday, April 5th
    Franz Ferdinand
    @ the Orpheum

    Tuesday, April 8th
    Deftones
    The Mars Volta
    Fleshwater
    @ TD Garden

    Wednesday, April 9th
    Kylie Minogue
    @ the Garden

    Thursday, April 10th
    FACS
    @ Deep Cuts

    Friday, April 11th
    Mogwai
    @ the Paradise

    Saturday, April 12th
    Franz Ferdinand
    @ the Orpheum

    Sunday, April 13th
    EXTC
    (Terry Chambers & friends)
    @ City Winery

    Sunday, April 13th
    Heart
    @ Agganis Arena

    Tuesday, April 15th
    Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds
    St. Vincent
    @ Agganis Arena

    Thursday, April 17th
    Mercury Rev
    @ Brighton Music Hall

    Friday, April 18th
    Mount Eerie
    Hana Stretton
    @ the Sinclair

    Friday, April 18th
    Bright Eyes
    Cursive
    @ House of Blues

    Sunday, April 20th
    Gang of Four
    "The Long Goodbye" farewell tour
    playing "Entertainment!" & more
    @ the Crystal Ballroom

    Wednesday, April 23rd
    Dweezil Zappa
    @ the Cabot, Beverly, MA

    Wednesday, April 23rd
    The Linda Lindas
    Pinkshift
    @ the Paradise

    Friday & Saturday
    April 25th & 26th
    The Town and the City Festival!
    @ various venues in Lowell

    Thursday, May 8th
    Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
    @ the Crystal Ballroom

    Saturday, May 17th
    Amyl & the Sniffers
    Sheer Mag
    @ Roadrunner

    Saturday, May 24th
    The Wedding Present
    "Bizarro" 35th Anniversary Tour
    with The Tubs
    @ the Sinclair

    Friday, May 30th
    Teddy Swims
    @ Suffolk Downs

    Friday, June 6th
    The Ocean Blue
    playing their self-titled LP
    and their "Cerulean" LP
    @ the Somerville Armory

    Tuesday & Wednesday
    June 10th & 11th
    Queens of the Stone Age
    @ MGM Music Hall

    Monday, July 7th
    OMD
    @ House of Blues

    Tuesday, July 15th
    Weird Al Yankovic
    @ the Wang

    Wednesday, July 16th
    Mekons
    Johnny Dowd
    @ City Winery

    Friday, July 18th
    Samantha Crain
    @ Warehouse XI

    Friday & Saturday
    July 18th & 19th
    PIXIES
    performing "Bossanova"
    & "Trompe Le Monde" (18th)
    and a set of classics (19th)
    with Kurt Vile & the Violators
    @ MGM Music Hall

    Monday, July 21st
    Ghost
    @ TD Garden

    Saturday, July 26th
    Rod Stewart
    Cheap Trick
    @ the Xfinity Center

    Tuesday, July 29th
    Goo Goo Dolls
    Dashboard Confessional
    @ the Pavilion

    Sunday, September 7th
    My Chemical Romance
    Idles
    @ Fenway Park