Bulkhead reunited for a set of edgy, angular indie rock to help celebrate Pipeline! at 25. They even threw in a cover of “Academy Fight Song” for good measure.
Birdsongs Of The Mesozoic @ The Middle East Downstairs 10.4.2014
After being pummeled by Crazy Alice, Quintaine Americana and Kudgel*, Bob Dubrow slated a respite from the onslaught palette cleanser for the evening in the form of Birdsongs Of The Mesozoic. The group’s arrangements are diverse and ambitious. The same could be said about the Pipeline! at 25 celebration as a whole.
* And before being rocked by Bulkhead, Orangutang and The Clamdiggers.
Kudgel @ The Middle East Downstairs 10.4.2014
Sometimes you need to get weird. And loud. For those times, I humbly suggest a Kudgel show. You’d be hard pressed to find a better weird/loud combo. The band reunited at The Middle East Downstairs for the Pipeline! at 25 celebration.
Brace yourself, Boston. There’s gonna be rock ‘n’ roll all over you Friday night.
There’s a show I’d like to go to just about every night somewhere in this town. Some nights it can be tough to choose just one. Friday night is going to be impossible. Fourteen lovable Daykamp Music alumni will be taking the stage at five different area venues on October 17th. My brain is melting. What to do? Let’s see if we can figure this out together.
Let’s start at The Middle East Upstairs for a very good cause. Township, White Dynomite, The Field Effect and Triple Thick will be there for Crash Safely along with Animal Hospital. That’s alotta rock, with the money raised going to support The National MS Society. (FB Event)
Maybe you want to do good with your show-going dollars, but that show isn’t your thing? You could always head next door to TT’s for the latest installment of the Boston Does Boston benefit for the Animal Rescue League Of Boston. Cask Mouse, The Rationales, The Daily Pravda, Muy Cansado and The Fatal Flaw will be joined by Dave Crespo’s After Party at that one. (FB Event)
If you’re caught up in the Boston Music Awards buzz and want to check out New Artist Of The Year nominee The Color And The Sound, then Church is the place for you. Bonus time! Doom Lover are on that bill, too. Daykamp Music loves them, but we secretly worry they’re plotting our demise. At least they’ll write a creepy-cool song about it. (FB Event)
How about Answerman and Barricades at PA’s with Go Blank and Emergency Exit? Couldn’t fault you for that one, either. (FB Event)
If you can’t find something to like in one of those shows, there’s nothing I can do for you. Oh wait! Yes there is! You can go see Gondoliers at Cuisine en Locale with Shepherdess and Planet Of Adventure. This show is being filmed. I can’t even image what Gondoliers have up their sleeves. I can’t wait to see. (FB Event)
Quintaine Americana @ The Middle East Downstairs 10.4.2014
It’s been 10 long years since I last crossed paths with the baddest band in the land. The Pipeline! at 25 shows dredged them up, kicking and clawing the whole way. We now stand face to face at The Middle East Downstairs. This is gonna be good.
Ladies and gentlemen, I give to you the greatest rock ‘n’ roll band ever to come out of Massissippetts… Quintaine Americana!
Crazy Alice @ The Middle East Downstairs 10.4.2014
When the Pipeline! at 25 shows were announced, I kinda freaked out over some of the reunions that were scheduled. Orangutang? Quintaine Americana? Kudgel? Must see. Oh, they’re all on the same night? Mind blown. Right near the tippy-top of my Bands-I-Will-Not-Miss list was Night #9 opener Crazy Alice. Their brand of off-the-rails Superchunk meets The Replacements meets Hüsker Dü nonsense is right up my alley. I’ve loved these guys from the first time I saw them shortly before they disbanded. Thanks to Bob Dubrow and his crazy idea to get every band in Boston to reunite, I got another chance to see one of my favorites.
They were the best damn chickens in the fair.
Fuzzy @ The Middle East Downstairs 10.3.2014
Fuzzy! Fuzzy! Fuzzy! Fuzzy! Fuzzy! Fuzzy! Fuzzy! Fuzzy! Fuzzy! Fuzzy! Fuzzy! Fuzzy! Fuzzy! Fuzzy! Fuzzy! Fuzzy! Fuzzy! Fuzzy! Fuzzy! Fuzzy! Fuzzy! Fuzzy! Fuzzy! Fuzzy! Fuzzy! Fuzzy! Fuzzy! Fuzzy! Fuzzy! Fuzzy! Fuzzy! Fuzzy! Fuzzy! Fuzzy! Fuzzy! Fuzzy! Fuzzy! Fuzzy! Fuzzy! Fuzzy! Fuzzy! Fuzzy! Fuzzy! Fuzzy! Fuzzy! Fuzzy! Fuzzy! Fuzzy!
OK. I think I’ve got that out of my system. Fuzzy is just one of those bands that will make me do stuff like that. I’m a sucker for their perfectly succinct indie rock nuggets. The band played The Middle East Downstairs as part of the Pipeline! at 25 shows and I smiled the whole time.
Maybe only knowing half of the Boston Music Awards nominees is a good thing.
It’s Boston Music Awards season. Time for some spirited online banter!
Discussions about who deserves to win a Boston Music Award are generally conducted with a modicum of civility. It’s usually not until after the winners are announced when things get really ugly. Talk of overlooked acts is touchier. Reactions range from understandable disappointment to vitriol revolving around conspiracy theories, systematic corruption, sacrificial rituals and secret handshakes. And they would have gotten away with it too, if it weren’t for those meddling kids! Wait, what? Forget I said anything.
I’ll leave reporting on the above topics, including valid concerns and potential solutions, to the professionals. There’s something else that worries me. A common criticism of the Boston Music Awards goes something like this:
I’m actively involved in the Boston music scene and I’ve only heard of half of these bands.
Look, I want all of my favorite bands to get recognized, too, but you’ve got to be kidding me with this. Is this really a problem? Let’s look at it another way:
Congratulations! You know half of the Boston Music Awards nominees!
How great is that? Our music scene is so vibrant and so prolific that you, a person with a finger on the pulse and a ear to the ground, are only familiar with half of the acts. That’s incredible! What a wonderful opportunity to discover new music this is for you. Why not check out some of those artists that you’ve never heard of. Maybe you’ll even like one or two of them.
Going into the Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble the past couple of years, I’ve know about half of the bands before hand. I’ve written in the past about what an exciting prospect that is. I feel the same way about the Boston Music Awards. Doing a quick tally, it turns out I’m familiar with 45 of the 90 or so musical acts that earned nominations. Lucky me. I’ve got some listening to do.
Daykamp Music is proud and maybe a little lucky to be a 2014 Boston Music Award nominee. A vote for Daykamp Music is a vote for more Scooby Doo references in blog posts.
Blood Oranges @ The Middle East Downstairs 10.3.2014
Blood Oranges had their own Americana melting pot going on at The Middle East for their Pipeline! at 25 reunion show.
Robin Lane And The Chartbusters @ The Middle East Downstairs 10.3.2014
Robin Lane And The Chartbusters are legends in this town. If you need a refresher on why, this video explains it much better than I could. The band reunited for the Pipeline! at 25 shows.