Boston Rock Photos And Stuff
Bella Birds were a last minute fill-in for Uke-Arist II after two acts fell ill and were unable to perform. Their enjoyable set was full of beautiful harmonies and more whistling than I can remember ever hearing at a show.
Craig Robertson entertains and makes you think. During his set at The Uke-Arist II, Craig played a nice mix of originals and timeless covers accompanied by an upright bass.
Space Balloons
Hugs And Hovercrafts
2011
Big Little Guy woke up sick the other morning. He had a nasty fever, wouldn’t eat, and seemed bored out of his skull.
I picked him up, plunked him on my lap, and pulled up the Space Balloons website. He loves Welcome to Balloononia. Maybe their new Hugs And Hovercrafts double single would cheer him up.
I press play and the ukulele strums of “Hug War” start in. He listens intently to the song. He seems to be perking up a little.
“I want to hear the rest.”
“Hovercraft Full Of Eels” has the same sense of whimsy as “The Tale Of The Space Balloons”, a song that Big Bittle Guy likes quite a bit. As we’re listening I explain to him what a hovercraft is.
“Can it go on water, too?”
“Yes it can. It can go over land and water.”
He goes back to listening. When the song ends, Big Little Guy asks me to play it again. Space Balloons have once again enchanted him. He quickly learns how to play the song over and over again.
Mom comes home.
“Mom! A hovercraft is like a car, but it doesn’t have wheels! And it can go on land and water!”
Later that night, as I was emptying the dishwasher, a familiar tune popped into my head. I start to sing. Big Little Guy and Mom join me.
Floating in our hovercraft full of eels
Flying through the air ’cause it has no wheels
Really, really happy is how we feel
Floating in our hovercraft…
Where to get it:
There’s this movie called I Get Off. It stars a white 1974 Pontiac Trans AM driven by Sheila, played by an otherwise unknown actress who now makes her meager living charging people $20 a pop to have their picture taken with her and a replica of said car at comic conventions. In this cinematic masterpiece there are bar fights, mustaches, a Columbo knock-off police detective, bricks and bricks of an unspecified narcotic and a guy in a banana suit.
In the climactic scene, the Trans Am races head-on toward a tanker truck in the desert. The windows are down. Sheila’s hair is blowing in the wind. She lifts her sunglasses. Her eyes are focused. There’s a shotgun on the passenger seat. Her hand reaches down to turn up the radio.
Mellow Bravo blares from the speakers as a sly smile comes across Sheila’s face.
Then it gets messy.
It’s becoming old (tiny) hat for me to heap praise upon Sidewalk Driver. Lest you think I’m blowing smoke up their asses, lets get straight to the facts:
So there you have it.
* Video by the tireless Sophia Cacciola for Sophia’s Rock Beat.
** No video. Sorry.
*** Fact.
Walter Sickert And The Army Of Broken Toys describe their music SteamCrunk. This is what that looks like…
Well, this certainly got my attention.
After falling hard for their song “Everyone Is Syncopated” earlier in the week, I was prepared for good things from Streight Angular at the big Boston Band Crush summer blowout. What I was not ready for was the party bomb the band set off in the Middle East. Crazy good.
Parlour Bells
“Speak Up”
2011
Parlour Bells are making me look good. Ever since I caught their set at Brighton Music Hall back in March, I’ve been blabbering on about what a great band they are to see live.
Now along comes their new single, “Speak Up”. Drummer Brandon Erdos immediately make his presence know with the clock-steady beat that anchors the song. Glenn DiBenedetto pulls you along as his voice weaves a melody through the thumping bass and strummed guitars. There’s a simplicity to the song that draws you in before Nate Leavitt’s harmonized guitars carry you out. Well played.
Where to get it:
Miskatonic played in the dark. Cameras don’t like the dark. I like this song, though.
This Blue Heaven is the killer ’80s soundtrack to your modern day dreams.
