Boston Rock Photos And Stuff
OK, technically Seabrook Power Plant are from Brooklyn. Normally I wouldn’t post about a Brooklyn band here, but I feel compelled to write this for a couple of reasons. First, I think the drummer lives around here. That sorta justifies it for me. The other reason is that this was one of the craziest things I’ve seen in a long time. I’m pretty sure that was the sound your brain hears right before you go for a naked tractor ride high on bath salts. It was bananas.
Well, that was fun.
I’ll try to keep this brief. I’ve been posting up a bunch of One Night Band 4 pictures, but I wanted to tie up a few loose ends.
First of all, One Night Band 4 raised more than $3000 for Zumix and Girls Rock Campaign Boston. That rules.
I was honored to shoot some of the promo photos for these new bands. Working with Mary Flatley on this was super fun.
Lastly, all of this would not have been possible without Ashley Willard, Richard Bouchard and Kerri-Ann Richard working together like they do. There are so many moving pieces. Keeping them all moving in the same direction is no easy task, but this crew makes it look effortless.
OK, here are links to all of the bands that performed at One Night Band 4:
SNUGGLZ
Big Head Big Ears
Lesbian Frankenstein
The Walls
Impossible Stairs
Sir Vix-A-Lot
Caress
Grandfather Time Bomb
Mötörböat (One Night Band 3 alumni)
The Mosquitoes In Tuxedos (Zumix band)
See you next year!
Last year, One Night Band 2 alumni Bedss came out to shut down One Night Band 3 with a drunken rousing rendition of “Cum On Feel The Noize.” This year, the drunken rowdy sing-along tradition continued. Mötörböat rocked the hell out at last year’s event. They returned to the scene of the crime to close out the 4th edition of this treasured Boston institution. Mötörböat tore through a couple of their original tunes like they had firecrackers in their pants. Then a cast of thousands* got up on stage to end the night with a drunken spirited cover of “You Shook Me All Night Long.”
* OK, a cast of tens. This included One Night Band participants past and present, organizers and, well, just about anyone else who wanted to jump on stage.
The last of the year’s new crop of one night bands was Grandfather Time Bomb. Annie Hoffman, Caroline Toth, Evelyn Pope, Jared Egan and Walter Sickert formed a group with a sinister undercurrent. It was a flash of dark rock on a bright night for Boston rock. One Night Band 4 birthed eight new bands, raised more than $3000 for good causes* and still had one more surprise to come…
* Zumix and Girls Rock Campaign Boston!
Sir Vix-A-Lot wasn’t the only gender-homogenous act of One Night Band 4. When the ladies were done, it was up to the gentlemen in Caress (Jay Allen, Matt Parish, Nate Rogers, Todd Sampson and Will Dailey) to pump up the volume. They made Christian Slater proud.
More than just a celebration of Boston rock’s finest shuffling the deck for the night, One Night Band is also about raising money for good causes. This year, one of those good causes was Girls Rock Campaign Boston.* When the cards were dealt, One Night Band 4 fittingly gave us our first all-female outfit. Chris Toppin, Elena Siegman, Melanie Bernier, Nazli Green and Theresa Polk formed Sir Vix-A-Lot, a band that provided one of the night’s most memorable songs. I won’t spoil it for you. Just go watch this video.
* This year’s event raised more than $3,000, which goes to Girls Rock Campaign Boston and Zumix.
One Night Band is always full of surprises. At some point in the night a band may take the stage that has you feeling like you’ve been tricked. A band that just sounds like a band, with no further description needed. A band that plays you their tunes and closes their set with a Cheap Trick cover. Why? Because it rocks. We had one of those bands at One Night Band 4 courtesy of Abram Taber, Eric Ramsley, Josh Pickering, Sharon Crumrine and Ted Billings. Impossible Stairs…
People were excited about The Walls for a lot of reasons. For me it was one: guitarmony.
You see, Thin Lizzy came on the radio during my morning car ride into Central Square (to shoot some of the One Night Band promo photos). With “Cowboy Song” stuck in my head, I struck up a conversation with Adam Andersen about my hope that one of the bands about to be formed would try to pull off harmonized guitar lines during One Night Band 4. Lucky me, The Walls did just that. Now, I’m not trying to take credit for this joyous turn of events,* but this was my favorite part of their stellar set. It was either that or Aaron Perrino and Mariam Saleh’s awesome vocals. Or maybe Kyle Rasmussen’s kinetic drumming. Or the way Aaron, Adam, Mariam and the ever-versatile Rafi Sofer wove their stringed instruments into a textured sonic fabric.
Hmmm. It was one of those things, anyway.
* I totally am.
Due to a work emergency, Lesbian Frankenstein (Bryan Hinkley, Dave Stoops, Molly Zenobia and Steven Lord) became the first One Night Band quartet. Rising to the challenge, this four-piece cooked up one of the most eclectic sets of the evening.
I’m just a cat!
I’m just a cat!
I’m just a cat and I like it like that!
Remember those lyrics. The crowd at The Middle East Downstairs for the 2012 edition of One Night Band certainly will. Big Head Big Ears* (Aaron Silverstein, Candace Clement, Nicholas Ward, Peter Moore and Rice Edmonston) put together a mini rock opera with an unexpected twist that made for one of my favorite moments of the night.
* Like SNUGGLZ, Big Head Big Ears named themselves after the kitty pic they used to find their band mates earlier in the day.