Boston Rock Photos And Stuff
When I posted up the pictures from this show, I commented on the enthusiasm and wit with which Davina Yannetty performs both her original material and cover songs. Here is an example of the latter. An example of the former can be found here.
The Fagettes
The Fagettes, Vol. 2
2011
I can’t get enough of The Fagettes. They’re a blast of stale, musty air in an oxygen tent. This is a band that makes you realize just how sterile things have become.
The Fagettes, Vol. 2 picks up right where their first EP left off. The band delivers four more garage rock nuggets with reckless abandon. It’s a crackin’ mix of Tommy James & The Shondells, The Velvet Underground, The Kinks, X and The Troggs.
Wanna feel good? Listen to The Fagettes.
Where to get it:
You know all of those photos I’ve been posting all week of Space Balloons, The Bella Birds and Craig Robertson? None of them would be up here without the hard work of Davina Yannetty.
Davina is the woman behind the Uke-Arist series. She’s a powerhouse vocalist and a ukulele assassin (oh, and a killer piano player). She performs covers and her own material with equal passion and wit. She’s impossible to ignore. Thankfully, you’d never want to do that.
On Balloononia, arguments are settled differently than they are here on earth. In this video, Space Balloons tell you how it’s done where they come from.
Kids music played at 11pm in a bar? Must be Space Balloons.
I have to admit I was quite excited that Space Balloons were performing as part of Uke-Arist II. I wanted to see what kind of nonsense this trio could stir up. I was not disappointed. There were songs about reading to mustaches, square grapes, hovercrafts full of eels, hug wars, balloons in lagoons, life on Balloononia and dessert for breakfast.
I laughed.* I cried.** I watched Richard Bouchard chase Navigator Joe around the bar with a giraffacrockasomethingorother.*** I took some pictures. I had a good time.
* I did.
** I did not.
*** This almost made me laugh so hard that I cried. Alas, I did not (see **).
Nate Leavitt
Inference
2011
Nate Leavitt’s new solo EP is a somber affair. The four songs that make up Inference are built around Nate’s acoustic guitar and intimate vocals. “My End” is nicely augmented by tremolo and slide guitars. “Alone Together” and “Won’t You Be Mine” both feature a touch of piano to go with their feelings of longing and vulnerability. The songs are heartfelt and personal in both their nature and delivery.
“The World Today” stands out as a beautiful contradiction. The song’s sunny melody and major chord progression are tempered by its world-weary sentiment. It’s a work of profound simplicity. This is the sound of innocence lost.
Where to get it:
Bella Birds were a last minute fill-in for Uke-Arist II after two acts fell ill and were unable to perform. Their enjoyable set was full of beautiful harmonies and more whistling than I can remember ever hearing at a show.
Craig Robertson entertains and makes you think. During his set at The Uke-Arist II, Craig played a nice mix of originals and timeless covers accompanied by an upright bass.
Space Balloons
Hugs And Hovercrafts
2011
Big Little Guy woke up sick the other morning. He had a nasty fever, wouldn’t eat, and seemed bored out of his skull.
I picked him up, plunked him on my lap, and pulled up the Space Balloons website. He loves Welcome to Balloononia. Maybe their new Hugs And Hovercrafts double single would cheer him up.
I press play and the ukulele strums of “Hug War” start in. He listens intently to the song. He seems to be perking up a little.
“I want to hear the rest.”
“Hovercraft Full Of Eels” has the same sense of whimsy as “The Tale Of The Space Balloons”, a song that Big Bittle Guy likes quite a bit. As we’re listening I explain to him what a hovercraft is.
“Can it go on water, too?”
“Yes it can. It can go over land and water.”
He goes back to listening. When the song ends, Big Little Guy asks me to play it again. Space Balloons have once again enchanted him. He quickly learns how to play the song over and over again.
Mom comes home.
“Mom! A hovercraft is like a car, but it doesn’t have wheels! And it can go on land and water!”
Later that night, as I was emptying the dishwasher, a familiar tune popped into my head. I start to sing. Big Little Guy and Mom join me.
Floating in our hovercraft full of eels
Flying through the air ’cause it has no wheels
Really, really happy is how we feel
Floating in our hovercraft…
Where to get it:
There’s this movie called I Get Off. It stars a white 1974 Pontiac Trans AM driven by Sheila, played by an otherwise unknown actress who now makes her meager living charging people $20 a pop to have their picture taken with her and a replica of said car at comic conventions. In this cinematic masterpiece there are bar fights, mustaches, a Columbo knock-off police detective, bricks and bricks of an unspecified narcotic and a guy in a banana suit.
In the climactic scene, the Trans Am races head-on toward a tanker truck in the desert. The windows are down. Sheila’s hair is blowing in the wind. She lifts her sunglasses. Her eyes are focused. There’s a shotgun on the passenger seat. Her hand reaches down to turn up the radio.
Mellow Bravo blares from the speakers as a sly smile comes across Sheila’s face.
Then it gets messy.
