Boston Rock Photos And Stuff
Need a hard rock fix? The Full-Time Dreamers may be able to hook you up.
Walter Sickert And The Army Of Broken Toys
Anticlause Superstar
2011
Walter Sickert And The Army Of Broken Toys have unleashed a dark and twisted holiday EP with some nifty cover art. Anticlause Superstar opens with the environmentally/socially conscious “Hole In The North Pole”. The message rises clearly above the gypsy din. “SlitWrist For Christmas” features graphic lyrics written by Walter Sickert when he was a morbid teenager. Teen angst wrapped in a flowing, eclectic sonic blanket. There’s a third, very cool bonus track when you download the EP. I’m not going to spoil the surprise, though. You’ll have to download this to find out what it is.
Where to get it:
Every MixTape show needs one band to suck it up and play the hits. Don’t re-interpret the songs. Don’t play the songs only the cool kids were into. Take one for the team. It’s MixTape 1988. Someone has to play “Kokomo”. In this case, it’s six somebodies. Six somebodies dressed in Hawaiian shirts, Detroit Tigers hats, short shorts and mustaches. Magnum Force.*
When I saw Brendan Boogie sporting an honest to goodness mustache early in the evening, he informed me it was part of his costume for the show. I immediately hoped it was a Weekend At Bernie’s reference and that Brendan Boogie would just play dead on stage. I guess my internal movie database** was off by a year, as that landmark film was released in 1989. I was only mildly disappointed at the Magnum P.I. theme.
* This band was originally billed as Pour Somerville Sugar On Me. Halfway through their set they changed their name to Hungry Guys.
** Hmmm… IMDB. That’s catchy.
Bright Lights, Big Rod. Let that sink in for a minute.
MixTape 1988 brought us a super duper supergroup. A superdupergroup. Bright Lights, Big Rod featured some of the fine folks that brought you Brownboot, Sidewalk Driver, Boston Band Crush, Parlour Bells, Noble Rot*, Low Static Romance, Bang Camaro, Bikini Whale, Waste Management, Boston.com and who knows what else. They joined forces to dust off some of the hippest songs of 1988. Like “In Your Room” by The Bangles. Seriously, how great a song is that?!?!
As much fun as the whole night was, MixTape 1988 will be defined by one thing for me: Bright Lights, Big Rod’s “Robert P Medley”. It was a seamless blend of Robert Palmer’s “Simply Irresistible” and Robert Plant’s “Tall Cool One”. How could that not be awesome? It couldn’t not be awesome.
* Which I just mistyped as Noble Rod. I rule.
Streight Angular
“It’s Christmas”
2011
When I first heard the opening synthesizer line of “It’s Christmas”, Streight Angular’s new holiday song, I feared the worst. Thoughts of Paul McCartney’s “Simply Having A Wonderful Christmas Time” flashed through my mind. I blacked out.
Thankfully, when I came to, what I heard was a Beach Boys inspired Christmas song with a classic holiday message. Streight Angular stick with the tried and true: kids, Christmas magic and big group vocals. The result is a joyous celebration of the season.
Where to get it:
Jaggery surprised me at MixTape 1988 with amazing range. I knew they could pull off dark and moody takes on Enya, Def Leppard and Cocteau Twins. I expected that. It was busting out some dance pop numbers from Neneh Cherry and Rob Base that really brought the house down. Cool.
Who’s that all decked out like a scruffy Bret Michaels? Why, that’s Brian King of What Time Is It, Mr. Fox?
Backed at times by various members of The Brendan Burns Instrumental Heptad, Mr. King tore down the hits of 1988. His rendition of “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” prompted the first sing-along of the night, with Nate Rogers and Rod Van Stoli jumping in on the action.
Nate Rogers, king of the MixTape series, originally billed this ensemble as The Brendan Burns Instrumental Quartet. As it turned out, there were seven players involved. Quick thinker that he is, Nate re-dubbed them The Brendan Burns Instrumental Heptad. I probably would have gone with the more obvious Brendan Burns Instrumental Septet.* Whatever the name, this group of talented players gave their own unique twist to the songs of 1988.
* Upon further review, The Brendan Burns Instrumental Heptad is way cooler.
Christians & Lions
More Songs for Dreamsleepers and The Very Awake
2006
In 2006, Christians & Lions returned with More Songs for Dreamsleepers and The Very Awake. Sound familiar? It should. It’s the same title as their previous effort, with many of the same songs. The original version was created by the band’s original duo in preparation for a tour. This updated version gets the full band treatment.
The songs are as good as ever. The intimate recordings of the past have given way to fully polished indie folk pop gems. Songs as good as “Bones,” “Longboy,” “Tender Sparks (October & Over)” and “Stay Warm” would sound good sung into one of those micro cassette dictation recorders. The fact that they happen to beautifully recorded by Jack Younger certainly isn’t going to hurt.
While comparisons to The Shins and Iron & Wine are still somewhat relevant, the band branches out this time around. These recordings play up the influence of The Kinks and The Beatles on the band. You can even hear some Jack White in the distorted guitar sounds. It’s hard to pin Christians & Lions down, other than to say they know what they’re doing and they do it well.
Where to get it:
I always enjoy seeing Spirit Kid. I’m a sucker for a well crafted pop song, and these cats have ’em in spades.
