I, Pistol as Nirvana @ Church 10.27.2012

Bands pretending to be other bands: Sometimes good, sometimes bad, sometimes uncanny. Throw I, Pistol covering Nirvana in the third bucket.

I had a feeling this would be pretty good. I had never seen I, Pistol before, but I seem to recall Rick Taylor doing a Nirvana cover with Walk Of Shame when he participated in One Night Band.* I was not let down. These guys stuck mostly** to songs from Nevermind, Bleach and Incesticide. They obviously love the material and they delivered it convincingly. This was a pretty cool way to kick off the night.

* Dave Stoops did One Night Band the following year with Lesbian Frankenstein.

** Entirely? I can’t recall. I didn’t realize there would be a quiz. Back off.

Spectre Hawk @ Radio 10.19.2012

Looking for a rowdy rockin’ good time? Maybe you should hit up a Spectre Hawk show, like this one at Radio…

The Grinds @ Radio 10.19.2012

This was Chrissy Vaccaro’s last show with The Grinds. It may have been a bittersweet moment for the band, but that didn’t stop them from kicking out some serious punk ‘n’ roll.

Cask Mouse @ Radio 10.19.2012

I saw many of my favorite bands over the course of three nights at Radio during Bands For Babs and the club’s first anniversary show. It started me wondering which of my favorites I hadn’t seen in October. Then I noticed Cask Mouse on a bill the following weekend. Back to Radio I went…

Flatt Rabbit @ Radio 10.19.2012

Flatt Rabbit and a chili cook-off? That works. Flatt Rabbit did some fine bluegrass pickin’ and thumpin’ for the Radio crowd.

Brownboot @ Radio 10.13.2012

If you’re going to throw a big birthday bash for your club with 14 bands over 12 hours, you better make sure whoever plays last can bring it. Richard Bouchard, who did an amazing job putting together One Year Of Radio*, wisely tapped Brownboot for the task of closing out the night. Their killer rhythm section and a double dose of guitar and vocal pyrotechnics made them a natural choice to close out a night that celebrated all that Aimee McGrath and the whole crew over at Radio have done for this community.

* Richard also happens to run the supermegafantastic Boston Band Crush, which was recently nominated for a Boston Music Award. Go vote for Boston Band Crush and then come back and look at these pictures.

Sidewalk Driver @ Radio 10.13.2012

By this point in the Radio first anniversary show, any pretense of civility had long since been abandoned. We were now in the spray champagne and jump onstage to provide “backing vocals” part of the evening. If only there had been a band to come along and blast shimmering confetti all over the place while cranking out some glammed-out-pop-rock hooks the night would have been perfect…

The Field Effect @ Radio 10.13.2012

By the time The Field Effect took the stage at Radio for the club’s big anniversary show, the wheels had already come off the bus. Back-to-back sets by Mellow Bravo and OldJack had seen to that.* The Field Effect took the if-you-can’t-beat-’em-join-’em mentality and delivered a rousing set that kept the crowd wrapped up in the revelry.

* Not to mention the nine acts that played before them…

Mellow Bravo @ Radio 10.13.2012

Mellow Bravo had the crowd in the palm of their hand during Radio’s first anniversary. Most of the time The Hand was tossing you wildly around the room with their soulfully electric hard rock. Every once in a while The Hand took pity on you and gave you a sobering number to take in. The rest of the time The Hand Of Mellow Bravo was passing you a beer.

OldJack @ Radio 10.13.2012

If you’re looking for the tipping point of the One Year Of Radio show where the event went from dignified celebration to rock ‘n’ roll debauchery, look no further than OldJack’s set. There would be plenty of time for things to get really out of hand, but this band of merrymakers certainly played a role in the decline of local civilization. They brought the songs. They brought the show. OldJack helped us find our way to the place we knew we had to go.