Boston Rock Photos And Stuff
Earthquake Party! exploded onto the Great Scott stage during the first night of the Boston Accents Funeral Party. Whoa…
Cask Mouse
Cambridge Sessions
2011
So no no don’t you worry
Someday I’ll settle down
But this fire in my belly
Is burning hot right now
Cask Mouse profess their wanderlust on “Astronaut,” the opening track of 2011’s Cambridge Sessions. It’s a feeling that will pop up again and again throughout the EP. This is a stomp-and-clap-along number filled with hope. It sucks me in. The drawl. The hook. The positivity. Cask Mouse are masters of emotional manipulation.
All of that optimism quickly turns into sentimentality. “Brick On Brick” is a slow, reflective number featuring some of the gorgeous vocal harmonies that have become one of Cask Mouse’s trademarks. Everyone in the band can sing with conviction. Bonnie Parks takes her turn on “Time To Breathe.” It’s a devastating number that revisits the theme of locational restlessness.
The places I’ll go
The things that I’ll see
Never really mattered that much to me
I’m leaving home
I won’t come back
I won’t come back
I won’t come back
That songs gets me every time. It’s brutal. I crash. “Smokin'” is the big hangover. This ode to hard living settles in with the slow burn of resignation before kicking up some dust. Cambridge Sessions closes with “Radio,” which pleads Cask Mouse’s case for displacement one last time.
Baby, turn off the radio
The sun is coming up
And I feel I have to go
Where to get it:
Well, we’ve reached the end of WFNX’s long, slow goodbye. What started with the We Want The Airwaves: A WFNX Tribute at the Paradise closes out at a venue down the street. Michael Marotta organized this three-night Boston Accents Funeral Party at Great Scott to send the station’s Boston-centric show out with a bang. Night #1 started with an angelic set of garage pop by Fat Creeps.
Allston DIY Fest dragged a whole lot of bands out of the dark spaces they frequent and into sunny Ringer Park. Some bands, like Holiday Mountain, felt right at home in the open air. Others seemed gloriously out of place. Such was the case with Zip-Tie Handcuffs. Theirs is a sound meant to rattle around a dank, claustrophobic room. Freed from its confines, the wall of distortion and close-spaced vocal harmonies whipped through the crowd melting faces like the spirits at the end of Raiders Of The Lost Ark. It was awesome.
Holiday Mountain’s vibrant and eclectic set at Allston DIY Fest felt right at home under sunny afternoon skies.
After grabbing a quick bite to eat, I made my way back to Ringer Park with a six-year old in tow. We hit up the Allston DIY Fest’s electric stage as The Cultured were pumping out some funk-heavy indie rock. My son and I found a spot on the grass to hang out and enjoy the music. I love daytime rock shows.
Kirsten Lamb played up on acoustic hill to open up this year’s Allston DIY Fest. Her fluid bass lines and easy vocal delivery made for a nice start to the festivities.
Black Thai are out to move mountains. At least it feels that way when you’re in front of the stage being pummeled by one awesome riff after another.
Hey, it could be worse. You could be Jeremy Hemond’s drums.*
* Seriously, Jeremy Hemond is a beast. A couple of days after this show I learned that he was sick with flu-like symptoms the night of this performance. The dude is unstoppable.
Muy Cansado
“Predisposed”
2012
Muy Cansado are on a roll. Hot on the heels of the fantastic “Not For Nothing” single, the band recently debuted “Predisposed.” It’s another gem. This one opens with call-and-response vocals filling the gaps between sparse guitar chords. The tension builds into some tight harmonies before busting into a laid back indie-meets-disco groove. Muy Cansado have a knack for marrying disparate musical styles into unique, cohesive songs. “Predisposed” is no exception.
Where to get it:
If global thermonuclear war ever plays out like it threatened to in countless ’80s flicks, The Humanoids will be the last band remaining to rock us through the atomic winter.
