Author: johnny

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The Bedss @ The Middle East Downstairs 9.24.2011

File this one under: But wait, there’s more!

Just when you thought One Night Band 3 had come to an end, Ashley Willard* came out to inform us there was one more act. Get ready for “Cum On Feel The Noize”** as performed by The Bedss, One Night Band class of 2010. Well, most of The Bedss. And some other folks. A whole stage full of One Night Banders. Some of them may have been drinking.

* VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: Ashley Willard, Richard Bouchard and the whole crew at Boston Band Crush did an amazing job putting this thing together and raising $2,700 for Zumix. If I was wearing Richard Bouchard’s hat I would tip it to them all.

** I think. This is open to interpretation.

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Makeitso @ The Middle East Downstairs 9.24.2011

Makeitso was the final (new) band of One Night Band 3. Brendan Haley, Andrew Doherty, Dave Mirabella, Ken Marcou and Jim Gerdermen certainly rose to occasion. Three cool originals and a spot on rendition of Loverboy’s “Workin’ For The Weekend”, you know, except for the tight red pants.

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Artful Dodgers @ The Middle East Downstairs 9.24.2011

The Artful Dodgers (Josh Buckley, Jim Healey, Amy Griffin, Luke Sullivan and Carolyn Castellano) made it look easy. It may have been One Night Band. They may have only had a few hours to write some songs. They may have never played together before, but they remembered one thing. It’s only rock n’ roll. I like it.

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Flying Blue Squirrels @ The Middle East Downstairs 9.24.2011

This is One Night Band, right? Because there’s no way this band formed a mere few hours ago. Had I not been there earlier in the day I’d have thought they were ringers.

More than any other band that participated in this year’s event, Flying Blue Squirrels (Eric Baird, Mary Bichner, Randy Creasi, Jessica Sun Lee and Cathy Capozzi) all seemed to draw inspiration from the same well. The song they chose for their cover, Radiohead’s “Creep”, should give you and idea of their general sound. Powerful, angular and melodic with just a hint of noise. Outstanding.

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Walk Of Shame @ The Middle East Downstairs 9.24.2011

Let’s start with the band name. Walk Of Shame. Has there ever been a more fitting name for a One Night Band?

I got to take the band’s official promo photo. I had high hopes for this group. Al Polk, A.J. Locke, Ben Morse, Mike Connolly and Rick Taylor were so relaxed and excited to be taking part in the event.  I was not disappointed. Walk of Shame had a solid performance with just the right amount of crazy.

I don’t know if I should stay or go.

You’re gone now, Walk Of Shame, but feel free to come back and visit any time.

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Wagon Battle @ The Middle East Downstairs 9.24.2011

Wagon Battle. One Night Band. Pioneercore.

We saw John Brookhouse, Chrissy Vaccaro, Danny McNair, T.J.Horn and Mary Flatley circling the wagons. They were tight. They were aggressive. They covered The Misfits (sort of). They took no prisoners. To top it all off, John Brookhouse let loose with an absolutely jaw dropping solo on their final song. No one was left standing. Wagon Battle killed.

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Mötörböat @ The Middle East Downstairs 9.24.2011

Mötörböat. I took one look at this lineup (Dave Jarvis, Leesa Coyne, Rodrigo Van Stoli, Meff and Wayne Whittaker) and I knew what was going to happen. A lot of One Night Bands go for a theme. I imagine this would make the day’s daunting task ever so slightly more manageable. Near as I can tell, Mötörböat’s theme was rocking the hell out…

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Golden Owl @ The Middle East Downstairs 9.24.2011

Golden Owl (Aaron Rosenthal, Even Shore, John Sheeran, Lou Paniccia and Ryan Schmidt) was another band I got to photograph for their official One Night Band posters. The band had a loose Star Trek theme for their set. Shatner tie-in or not, “Name Your Own Price” is now one of my favorite songs.  I don’t even mean “favorite songs by guys that had only formed a band a few hours earlier”.  I mean “favorite songs to sing around the house because I just can’t help myself”.

I won’t pay full price for your love…

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BatmanHalen @ The Middle East Downstairs 9.24.2011

BatmanHalen. The first act of One Night Band 3, the annual musician melting pot event put on by Boston Band Crush. The first band to make me truly wonder what may have been going on between Batman and Robin.

I had the honor of taking the band’s official press photo earlier in the day. Seeing John Colvert, Davina Yannetty, LoWreck, Jesse Sherman and Sarah Rabdau return that evening with three brand new songs (and a cover, of course) was pretty cool…

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Fit To Be Tied @ The Rosebud Bar 9.23.2011

Fit To Be Tied closed out the fantastic Joan Jett tribute night at The Rosebud with a set that included two Barbusters songs from Light Of Day.* I went into the night expecting Tom Baker and gang to play the title track (Mr. Baker’s regular outfit, The Dirty Truckers, covered this song at a Springsteen tribute show last year), but “This Means War” was a real treat. Close out the night with an drunken all-hands-on-deck version of “I Love Rock N’ Roll” and I’d say Nicole Tammaro did a bang up job putting this show together.

* Unfortunately, no one covered The Hunzz classic “Rabbit’s Got The Gun”. New mission for me: Orchestrate a Fit To Be Tied reunion just so I can convince them to play that song.