Category: Blog

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Planetoid @ Brighton Music Hall 3.16.2012

So… It’s not entirely clear to me if Planetoid’s goal is to melt faces or enslave the human race.* If a heavy dose of funk-injected hard rock is the way to accomplish either of these ends, then they seem to be well on their way to whatever devious plot they choose.

* Mary Widow, who joined Planetoid for a rendition of “Helter Skelter”, made it very clear that she wants us all dead. No confusion there.

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Sidewalk Driver @ Brighton Music Hall 3.16.2012

The morning after Sidewalk Driver’s semi-final set at last year’s Rumble, I described the spectacle that took place to my then-4-year-old son. He listened in astonishment.

The morning after Sidewalk Driver’s recent show at Brighton Music Hall, I told my now-5-year-old boy that Tad made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on stage.* He laughed hysterically.

I’m not sure which reaction made me happier…

* Yes, this is real. It was one of the single greatest moments of my concert going life.

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Black Thai @ Brighton Music Hall 3.16.2012

This was my first time seeing Black Thai. I had been warned ahead of time about the pure volume that accompanies their particular brand of heavy. Truth be told, I was too distracted by their awesomeness to notice.

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John Powhida @ Moe’s Lounge 3.10.2012

John Powhida is a natural born entertainer. I don’t know which I enjoyed more: listening to the laid back solo version of “Daddy’s The Man” or learning the awful/hilarious story that inspired the song.* Win-win.

* Awfully hilarious?

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Tom Baker @ Moe’s Lounge 3.10.2012

Tom Baker is a pretty great songwriter. He knows rock n’ roll. It was cool to hear stripped-down takes on some of my favorite Dirty Truckers tunes.

Evan Shore also knows rock n’ roll. When he joined Baker for some choice covers (including kick-ass takes on Elvis Costello and The Knack), there was no way it wasn’t going to be fun.

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Tad Overbaugh @ Moe’s Lounge 3.10.2012

Tad Overbaugh is the mastermind behind the new Nights In The Round series at Moe’s Lounge. Tad’s songs work great in this stripped down format. Bruce Freisinger joined him, adding some sweet harmonies and fantastic Telecastering.

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Jay Allen @ Moe’s Lounge 3.10.2012

Jay Allen was another performer at Nights In The Round #1. Without the Archcriminals backing him up, Jay comes off as a kind of punk rock balladeer with a knack for self-deprecating humor.

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Scott Ricciuti @ Moe’s Lounge 3.10.2012

Scott Ricciuti and Jeff Burch (of Scott Ricciuti & Pistol Whipped) brought their roots music and murder ballads down into Radio’s basement for Nights In The Round #1. This new series finds a handful of performers trading off three song mini-sets all night. It’s going to be a recurring thing at Moe’s Lounge. Check it out.

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The Bynars @ T.T. The Bear’s Place 3.8.2012

The Bynars were the third band on this fantastic bill to be invited to participate in this year’s Rumble (the other two being Parlour Bells and Animal Talk). From the sound of things, it should be a good one. The Bynars will be bringing their synth-heavy power pop back to TT’s for Rumble preliminary night #5 on April 6th.

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Oranjuly @ T.T. The Bear’s Place 3.8.2012

Despite my love of their self-titled album, I’ve somehow never been able to catch Oranjuly live. My loss. Their set at TT’s was as good as I had imagined it would be.

Friday morning the world seemed a little more right…