Bradley’s Almanac

Sunday Music Miscellany

Posted on October 5, 2008 at 11:47 am | No Comments

Check, check… is this thing on? Anyone out there? If you’re reading this, it means I’ve successfully overcome a severe case of blogger’s block. Not that I haven’t had anything to share – the opposite is true, actually – just that I’ve been stuck in a simple catch-22: When I’m in the mood to write, I lack the time, and when I find some time, I lack the mood. Wanting to spend all my non-work moments with A & B means my priorities are properly in order, but it sure keeps the ‘Nac quiet.

My trip to ATP NY is partially to blame, as the time away and overwhelming amount of music through my brain (along with a demanding job schedule since my return) turned me into a homebody for a couple weeks there. But I’ve recovered, so I’ll be sharing some words, and more importantly some sounds, from that incredible experience in the days to come. In the meantime, there are many ATPictures. And for now, a quick Sunday afternoon post. Check back tomorrow morning for a new live recording that I’m very, very psyched to be sharing up.

Also coming tomorrow is the first of two painful live music conflicts this week: While the Wedding Present will be downstairs at the Middle East, Stereolab are across the river at the Paradise. As much as I love the ‘Lab and their best-in-awhile new album, my loyalty lies with with the Weddoes. Gedge and co. are well aware of the dueling shows, as they acknowledged it with a MySpace bulletin saying that Stereolab’s set should be over before they start. But given that the doors to the Middle East open early at 7:30, and there’s only one opening band (The Jealous Girlfriends), I have a tough time swallowing that one. Either way, I won’t be risking the double-dip, so please refrain from telling me how great the Stereolab show was, k? I can’t heeeaaaar yoooouuuu…

(and I can take some comfort in NYCtaper‘s wonderful recording of the band’s NYC stop last Thursday).

There are now two Tim Middlewick-directed videos from the Wedding Present’s “El Rey” album, so have a look…

Video: The Wedding Present –
The Thing I Like Best About Him Is His Girlfriend

Video: The Wedding Present –
Don’t Take Me Home Until I’m Drunk

Know what I love? The perfectly judicious use of tambourine in the above “The Thing I Like Best…“. I don’t think they’re able to do that live, though. Maybe they’ll let me handle that part tomorrow? I can both shake it and not break it.

And look what’s going on just before the show, pretty nearby the club… Elephant Parade! With added zebra action. I’m so there.

Here, have some songs, all from albums that will be arriving in the coming weeks…

  • Eric Bachmann’s Crooked Fingers gives us “Forfeit / Fortune” this week, and the preview track is…

    Mp3: Crooked Fingers – “Phony Revolutions

    My own fingers are crossed in hopes that my pre-order of the album and accompanying DVD arrive in the next day or two. And by the way, Mr. Bachmann, the lack of a Boston-area date on your current tour schedule saddens me.

    (an update – My deluxe edition of Crooked Fingers’ “Forfeit / Fortune” arrived on Monday, a day ahead of the official date. Let’s hear it for self-released shipping punctuality! Now that’s service.)

  • +/- {Plus/Minus} releases “X’s On Your Eyes” on October 21st thanks to Absolutely Kosher, and I’ve been fortunate to spend some serious time with it over the past couple weeks. Enough time to know it’s my favorite +/- record yet, hands down. The preview cut is…

    Mp3: +/- {Plus/Minus} – “Snowblind

    … and it’s one of many, many great songs to be found within. I’m especially loving “Unsung“, which I’m told I can share up in a couple weeks.

  • Here’s a happy surprise that just arrived in my inbox: News from Planting Seeds Records of tomorrow’s (digital) release of the debut EP from International Jetsetters. Why the happiness? Well, check this pedigree:

    International Jetsetters is an Oxford-based five piece. The band was formed in March 2007 by singer and guitarist Mark Crozer (The Jesus And Mary Chain) and bass player Bert Audubert. The line-up also features drummer Loz Colbert (The Jesus And Mary Chain, Ride), lead guitarist Paul Crozer, and vocalist Fi McFall.

    Hey, it’s Loz! Even without the added JAMC connection, that would rate instant addition to my playlist, and yours, too…

    Mp3: International Jetsetters – “Inside Yourself

    International Jetsetters’ six-song “Heart Is Black” EP arrives digitally tomorrow at Planting Seeds, and physically through the wonderful Darla Distribution on October 21st.

  • The Sea & Cake quickly follow up last year’s “Everybody” with a new Thrill Jockey disc on October 21st entitled “Car Alarm”, and with just a couple days of listening under my belt, I’m into it even more. It’s still smooth S&C, but with an added energy that I found lacking from the previous album. Here’s a preview, the title track…

    Mp3: The Sea & Cake – “Car Alarm

    The Sea & Cake plays downstairs at the Middle East in Central Square, Cambridge on November 21st. Tickets here or at the MidEast box office from 1-7pm daily.

  • And here’s a new song from the ever-transforming Labrador one-man band The Legends, who will release it as a single on November 5th…

    Mp3: The Legends – “Seconds Away

    It is, of course, a catchy little number, but rather than the early-Cure electronic sparsity of their last album, we get a song about tryptizol covered in a crunchy coating of Flying-Saucer-Attack style fuzz. The single will also include the song “Over and Over” and its remix, and can be preordered here.

    Well whaddya know, there’s a video for a song from New Radiant Storm King‘s excellent new one, “Drinking in the Moonlight”. Check out the Hollinsworth-directed clip right here…

    Video: New Radiant Storm King – “Clouds Cover Everything

    A higher-rez version is here, and I also discovered a fun-with-microfiche video for Quicksand Under Carpet off their previous record, which I didn’t even know existed. And here I thought I was a semi-knowledgeable NRSK fan. For shame.

    The disbanded Hot Snakes have given us two new bands, and while we got the recorded debut of John Reis’ Night Marchers last April (“See You In Magic” on Vagrant), we’ve only heard a couple live recordings from Rick Froberg’s Obits. Until now. Discriminating record label Comedy Minus One has just shared up a song from the band’s debut 7″ on their MySpace and Facebook pages. Just use the embedded players to stream Obit’s “One Cross Apiece“, which will accompany “Put It In Writing” on the out-in-December 7″. Another 7″ will follow in January 2009, along with the band’s debut full-lengther on Sub Pop shortly after.

    Former Juno frontman Arlie Carstens has shared up some new (well, new to the internet, at least) recordings under his Ghost Wars banner: a song called “The Conductor” and a 4-track cover of Husker Du’s “Divide & Conquer” (with Boston’s own Drew O’Doherty on guitar). They join four other previously-shared songs.

    Vermont band Farm‘s sophomore long player, titled “The Cave”, will be out officially next Saturday, October 11th. While the trio doesn’t have a Boston-area show scheduled yet, they’ll be in Northampton, MA this Thursday, October 9th, opening for Grace Potter & the Nocturnals at the Pearl Street Ballroom. Stream some Farm sounds at their MySpace page.

    Alright, little B is fast approaching the keyboard, so the time has come to post this sucker before he uea,djeioad014. Too late…

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  • BOSTON-AREA LIVE SHOW ACTION
    Friday, December 20th
    Arto Vaun (record release show!)
    MK Naomi
    Sun Urchins
    @ Deep Cuts

    Saturday, December 21st
    The Scrooges
    Silver Screams
    Gossip Collar
    Cryptophaser
    @ KOTO in Salem

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

    Sunday, December 22nd
    Pet Fox
    Dowsing Rod
    Exit 18
    @ State Park

    Friday & Saturday
    December 27th & 28th
    Will Dailey - "Boys Talking"
    full album performances
    @ the Burren

    Tuesday, December 31st
    Shaun Cassidy
    "Unwrapped"
    @ City Winery

    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
    Lake Saint Daniel
    Stefan Webster
    Noble Dust
    @ the Lizard Lounge

    Friday, January 17th
    Speedy Ortiz
    Grass Is Green
    Pile
    Mingko
    @ the Somerville Armory

    Saturday, January 18th
    Rebounder
    JW Francis
    @ the Rockwell

    Saturday, January 18th
    Thus Love
    The Vaccines
    @ the Royale

    Saturday, January 18th
    Bill Janovitz (Buffalo Tom)
    a benefit for the Trevor Project
    @ the Burren back room

    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
    The Meteors
    @ the Middle East

    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
    Fiddlehead
    Linda Claire
    Glare
    Prize Horse
    Pet Fox
    @ the Sinclair

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

    Saturday, February 1st
    Drop Nineteens
    Horse Jumper of Love
    Wishy
    @ the Sinclair

    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
    Lunar Vacation
    Tasha
    @ Brighton Music Hall

    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

    Tuesday, February 25th
    Howard Jones
    ABC
    @ the Shubert Theatre

    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

    Sunday, March 9th
    an acoustic evening with
    Trey Anastasio
    @ the Wang

    Monday, March 10th
    Kim Deal
    @ the Wilbur

    Tuesday, March 11th
    Kraftwerk
    @ the Wang

    Tuesday, March 11th
    Peter Wolf (J Geils Band)
    presents his new memoir
    "Waiting on the Moon"
    @ Cambridge Public Library

    Wednesday, March 12th
    The MC Taylor Goldsmith Show
    MC Taylor (Hiss Golden Messenger)
    and Taylor Goldsmith (Dawes)
    @ the Cut, Gloucester

    Friday & Saturday
    March 14th & 15th
    Dropkick Murphys
    Menzingers
    Teenage Bottlerocket

    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

    Tuesday, March 25th
    Of Montreal
    cumgirl8
    @ the Royale

    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

    Thursday, April 3rd
    Alan Sparhawk (Low)
    Circuit des Yeux
    @ the Sinclair

    Saturday, April 5th
    Snow Patrol
    @ MGM Music Hall

    Saturday, April 5th
    Franz Ferdinand
    @ the Orpheum

    Sunday, April 6th
    The War & Treaty
    @ the Sinclair

    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
    Dead Boys
    Richard Lloyd Group
    (of Television)
    @ Deep Cuts

    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

    Saturday, Sunday, & Tuesday
    April 19th, 20th, & 21st
    Ani DiFranco
    @ the Somerville Theatre

    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

    Saturday, April 26th
    Poison the Well
    Glassjaw
    Better Lovers
    Teenage Wrist
    @ Roadrunner

    Sunday, April 27th
    Indigo Girls
    Melissa Etheridge
    @ MGM Music Hall

    Thursday, May 1st
    Sharon Van Etten
    & the Attachment Theory
    Love Spells
    @ Roadrunner

    Saturday, May 3th
    Cheekface
    @ The Sinclair

    Sunday, May 4th
    AC/DC
    @ Gillette Stadium

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

    Monday, May 12th
    Kendrick Lamar
    SZA
    @ Gillette Stadium

    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
    Toto
    Christopher Cross
    Men At Work
    @ Leader Bank Pavilion

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

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

    Wednesday, July 30th
    The "Happy Together" Tour
    featuring The Turtles,
    Jay & the Americans,
    Little Anthony, Mark Lindsay
    (of Paul Revere & the Raiders),
    The Vogues, & the Cowsills
    @ Lynn Auditorium

    Friday, August 1st
    LOST 80's LIVE
    with A Flock of Seagulls,
    Big Country, General Public,
    The Vapors, Belouis Some,
    The Icicle Works, China Crisis,
    Josie Cotton, Polecats,
    and more
    @ the Wang

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

    Wednesday, September 17th
    Alison Krauss & Union Station
    Willie Watson
    @ the Pavilion

    Tuesday, September 23rd
    Viagra Boys
    @ Roadrunner