Boston Rock Photos And Stuff
Cropduster have a groove. It’s a dark groove. It’s The Stones at their most stoned. It’s early Pink Floyd on a bad trip. It’s Sleep without the sludge. Cream without the bombast. Damn.
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.
One of the cool things about Joan Jett is that she’s equal parts punk and rock. The Joan Jett tribute show that Nicole Tammaro put together at The Rosebud had gobs of each. A good chunk of the punk flavor came from The Acro-brats… er… I mean… Leather Snatch! These guys tore through Jett’s catalog with attitude to spare. Oh, and when they invited Chrissy Vaccaro and Erin Wikens up on stage… crazy fun!
And now we say goodbye to Ad Frank And The Fast Easy Women. Their farewell set will forever stay in the memories of all the jilted lovers and hopeless romantics that packed the room. It truly was a thing of beauty.
I sit here tonight editing photos of Sidewalk Driver at TT’s and Massachusetts is in the middle of some crazy weather. It’s mainly a lightning event here, but the storms out in western and central Mass are horrific. Tornadoes? Seriously? While I’m editing photos of Sidewalk Driver? This is just too weird.
As for the show, Sidewalk Driver is real. Sidewalk Driver is amazing.
Oh, I almost forgot. I’ve still got some video of Sidewalk Driver performing “Tornado” to edit. You might not want to get out of the basement just yet.
The sound reverberates for a moment within the walls of TT’s before being absorbed by the mass of people huddled before the stage. Can they feel it? The sound? The moment?
This is a celebration for the release of Static Of The God’s new EP, The Midnight Fires. There are a full range of emotions on display tonight. There is certainly the mutual appreciation between band and audience, but there’s something heavy in the air, as well. It all comes out in the performance. Music as therapy. A weight lifted. Beat beat beat.
I’m sitting here trying to describe how I felt during OldJack’s set at the underground den known as Lizard Lounge this past weekend. I write and rewrite, my words always coming up short. It’s frustrating, because I want to find some concise way to convey how wonderful it is seeing OldJack play. If you haven’t had a chance to see them, I want to tell you that there’s a good chance you are missing out on something that may bring you great joy. Did you see them in The Rumble? Unreal. OldJack breathes life into whatever room they inhabit. There is something special about the moments when Dan Nicklin, Kelly Davis, Christie Beaulieu and Emily Belastock all sing together. I want to grab you by the scruff of your neck and drag you to an OldJack show so you can see what I’ve been fortunate enough to see.
Oh, I guess I feel lucky.
What does a Rumble winning set sound like in the year 2011?
Well, during John Powhida International Airport’s Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble Finals set someone from Boston Band Crush posted the following Facebook update:
“Does anyone else think John Powhida is from another planet?”
Now, most of my alien rock music experience comes from Gwar. Locally we’ve got Planetoid living among us. What about Mr. Powhida? Could J-Po be from another planet?
I think the BBC folks may be onto something. There’s just too much crazy goodness going on in a John Powhida International Airport set for it to be of human origin. J-Po’s previous outfit, The Rudds, was a pretty kick-ass rock band. Here, the kick-assity remains, but it’s infused with synthesizers, danceable grooves and a healthy dose of insanity. It sounds crazy. It is crazy. But it works. It works beautifully.
Now that we’ve got that out of the way, you may be wondering what a Rumble winning set looks like in the year 2011. See below…
The morning after Semi-Final Night #1 of the 2011 Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble I found myself in my kitchen trying to describe the night to my son. He’s 4 years old. For several minutes I told him about platform boots, confetti cannons, playing guitar behind your head, layers of outrageous costumes, facial adornments, winged shirts and glitter. I told my wife about the witty and outrageously infectious songs.
“The singer, Tad, wore a little hat… and he shot confetti out of the hat!” I explained excitedly.
There was a brief pause while my son took it all in.
“Tell me again.” he implored.
“About the hat? Sure, he had this little hat…”
“No.” He took a break from eating his waffle to clarify. “The whole thing. The part about the shoes and the shirt. Tell me the whole thing again.”
I patiently described everything I had witnessed the night before for a second time.
I waited for some kind of reaction. His nearly five year old brain was working hard, trying to formulate some kind of response. Finally it came.
“Is this real?”
Yup. It’s real. It’s called Sidewalk Driver.
Spirit Kid was the one band in the 2011 Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble that I managed to catch in each round. Their performance on Semi-Final Night #1 was easily their best. The band seemed both at ease and full of energy. It was urgent and effortless. This was the set that turned Spirit Kid from the band I like into the band I can’t wait to see again.
Spirit Kid won the night.
