Category: Photos

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Space Ballons @ The Rosebud Bar 8.13.2011

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 **).

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The Bella Birds @ The Rosebud Bar 8.13.2011

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.

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Craig Robertson @ The Rosebud Bar 8.13.2011

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.

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Mellow Bravo @ The Middle East Downstairs 7.29.2011

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.

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Sidewalk Driver @ The Middle East Downstairs 7.29.2011

It’s becoming old (tiny) hat for me to heap praise upon Sidewalk Driver. Lest you think I’m blowing smoke up their asses, lets get straight to the facts:

  • July 29th was the big Boston Band Crush show at The Middle East.
  • Sidewalk Driver played.
  • The crowd clapped and cheered.
  • The band covered Queen’s “Keep Yourself Alive”.*
  • Tad crowd surfed.**
  • Sidewalk Driver was awesome.***

So there you have it.

* Video by the tireless Sophia Cacciola for Sophia’s Rock Beat.
** No video. Sorry.
*** Fact.

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Streight Angular @ The Middle East Downstairs 7.29.2011

Well, this certainly got my attention.

After falling hard for their song “Everyone Is Syncopated” earlier in the week, I was prepared for good things from Streight Angular at the big Boston Band Crush summer blowout. What I was not ready for was the party bomb the band set off in the Middle East. Crazy good.

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The Invisible Rays @ The Rosebud Bar 7.27.2011

Counting, creativity, projections, synchronization, pop culture, musicality and a touch of humanity.

As it turns out, The Invisible Rays were actually visible. It was just really dark.