Boston Rock Photos And Stuff
I can only assume that someone will be by shortly to take names. Asses were certainly kicked. Devil On Horseback fired off riff after riff into the Radio crowd. These guys are good.
Need a hard rock fix? The Full-Time Dreamers may be able to hook you up.
Every MixTape show needs one band to suck it up and play the hits. Don’t re-interpret the songs. Don’t play the songs only the cool kids were into. Take one for the team. It’s MixTape 1988. Someone has to play “Kokomo”. In this case, it’s six somebodies. Six somebodies dressed in Hawaiian shirts, Detroit Tigers hats, short shorts and mustaches. Magnum Force.*
When I saw Brendan Boogie sporting an honest to goodness mustache early in the evening, he informed me it was part of his costume for the show. I immediately hoped it was a Weekend At Bernie’s reference and that Brendan Boogie would just play dead on stage. I guess my internal movie database** was off by a year, as that landmark film was released in 1989. I was only mildly disappointed at the Magnum P.I. theme.
* This band was originally billed as Pour Somerville Sugar On Me. Halfway through their set they changed their name to Hungry Guys.
** Hmmm… IMDB. That’s catchy.
Bright Lights, Big Rod. Let that sink in for a minute.
MixTape 1988 brought us a super duper supergroup. A superdupergroup. Bright Lights, Big Rod featured some of the fine folks that brought you Brownboot, Sidewalk Driver, Boston Band Crush, Parlour Bells, Noble Rot*, Low Static Romance, Bang Camaro, Bikini Whale, Waste Management, Boston.com and who knows what else. They joined forces to dust off some of the hippest songs of 1988. Like “In Your Room” by The Bangles. Seriously, how great a song is that?!?!
As much fun as the whole night was, MixTape 1988 will be defined by one thing for me: Bright Lights, Big Rod’s “Robert P Medley”. It was a seamless blend of Robert Palmer’s “Simply Irresistible” and Robert Plant’s “Tall Cool One”. How could that not be awesome? It couldn’t not be awesome.
* Which I just mistyped as Noble Rod. I rule.
Jaggery surprised me at MixTape 1988 with amazing range. I knew they could pull off dark and moody takes on Enya, Def Leppard and Cocteau Twins. I expected that. It was busting out some dance pop numbers from Neneh Cherry and Rob Base that really brought the house down. Cool.
Who’s that all decked out like a scruffy Bret Michaels? Why, that’s Brian King of What Time Is It, Mr. Fox?
Backed at times by various members of The Brendan Burns Instrumental Heptad, Mr. King tore down the hits of 1988. His rendition of “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” prompted the first sing-along of the night, with Nate Rogers and Rod Van Stoli jumping in on the action.
Nate Rogers, king of the MixTape series, originally billed this ensemble as The Brendan Burns Instrumental Quartet. As it turned out, there were seven players involved. Quick thinker that he is, Nate re-dubbed them The Brendan Burns Instrumental Heptad. I probably would have gone with the more obvious Brendan Burns Instrumental Septet.* Whatever the name, this group of talented players gave their own unique twist to the songs of 1988.
* Upon further review, The Brendan Burns Instrumental Heptad is way cooler.
I always enjoy seeing Spirit Kid. I’m a sucker for a well crafted pop song, and these cats have ’em in spades.
After catching Sidewalk Driver opening for The B-52s* at the House Of Blues, I rushed over to the Kenmore Square T stop in an effort to get to The Middle East in time to catch The Russians. You’d be hard pressed to find a band in town with better songs than Scott Janovitz and his cohorts. It had been a long time since I’d had a chance to catch one of their sets. I needed a fix.
I walked into the Middle East Upstairs during the band’s second song. It was dark. Really dark. A couple of those fake candles they put on the tables in restaurants would have provided more light than the club’s red stage lights. It fit the music, I suppose. The songs came off a little darker and heavier tonight. “Not So Loud” packed a particular punch. The Russians covering Elliott’s Smith’s “Bottle Up And Explode” is certainly something I wouldn’t mind hearing more often. The band even debuted a new song, which is the best thing Scott Janovitz has ever written. At least I hope so. He threatened to break up the band if it wasn’t. So, it was. This world needs The Russians.
* Bikini Whale was better.
A couple of months back, Sidewalk Driver opened for The B-52s up at Hampton Beach.* When I heard about that show, two things crossed my mind:
Alas, it wasn’t in the cards. Fast forward to the announcement that Sidewalk Driver would be opening for The B-52s as part of Epilepsy Therapy Project’s fundraiser at the House Of Blues. Two things crossed my mind:
Oh, House Of Blues. You’re usually not too keen on people bringing cameras to take pictures of your innards. I was pretty sure this wasn’t going to happen. Then fate Kate smiled upon me and got me a photo pass. So happy. So very happy.**
Come showtime, Sidewalk Driver did what they do best: worked their glorious confetti and power chord magic to make the audience swoon.*** Isn’t that what they always do? Hell yes, it is. This band lives to entertain.
…
A couple of days later I was looking through the photos on my computer.
“Who’s that?”
My five year old had just wandered into the office with his little brother close behind.
“That’s Tad from Sidewalk Driver.” I replied.
“Side-walk-dri-ver?” questioned my curios 2 and a half year old.
“That’s the band that sings ‘Tornado’!” exclaimed his older brother.
I couldn’t have been more proud. For the next ten minutes we scrolled through the photos, the boys quickly learning to identify each band member. So happy. So very happy.
* I’d like to point out that when I started this blog, the thought never crossed my mind that it would have any references to The B-52s. Live and learn, I guess.
** Have I mentioned how happy I was? Seriously, it’s a little embarrassing. When I got word that Kate had secured the photo pass the combination of sheer joy and the sudden realization that “Golly, I better take some good pictures at this thing or I’m a complete jerk” nearly incapacitated me. I was a wreck. Still… so very very happy.
*** Did I mention showtime was 30 minutes before the stated start time on the House Of Blues website? Surprise! No matter. Sidewalk Driver still kicked ass. No surprise there.