Boston Rock Photos And Stuff
Guilty Party closed out a night of noisy, stripped-down rock ‘n’ roll at PA’s. This crew brought a little extra fuzz and agitation to the festivities.
With sets by Fat Creeps and Royal Wedding still reverberating through the room, Headband kept the rock ‘n’ roll racket going at P.A.’s last Friday night. These guys rattled off a mix of Pavement-style slacker rock, garage grittiness and fuzzed out noise pop.
Royal Wedding is garage rock turned inside out. Acoustic drums trigger electronic drums feeding a pair of upended Roland Jazz Chorus amps. Guitars and vocals echo while the bass rumbles along. These guys sound like the house band in my imaginary post-apocalyptic rock ‘n’ roll film.
The engagingly indifferent indie pop of Fat Creeps reverberated through PA’s on Friday night.
The Michael J. Epstein Memorial Library at the Somerville Public Library? I’m in.
I’m always looking for opportunities to take the boys to see some live music. Big Little One has been into taking pictures lately, so I thought this would be a good opportunity for him to do his first live shoot. I grabbed his camera (and mine of course) and we headed out for the Somerville Library.
We got there a little late. The band was already playing. The PA wasn’t working properly, but this may have been a blessing in disguise. Michael and his bandmates were able to deftly balance their levels with good old fashioned playing dynamics. It made for a folksy performance that suited the songs well. A song like “Lymph Nodes” is made all the more rousing by voices moving air without any amplified assistance.
As for the boy, he had a blast. After the first song he ditched his kiddie camera and convinced me to hand over my iPhone. He spent the rest of the set snapping away. So, what kinds of photos does a five-year-old take?* The most amazing live music photos ever.** See for yourself. The Instagram photos at the end of this set are some of his shots from the day. He even chose the black-and-white filter all by himself.
* To be fair, he’s almost six.
** Full disclosure: I may not be entirely impartial.
The band that was supposed to play first in the 2012 Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble has just played last. In a classy move by Anngelle Wood,* The Grownup Noise closed out this year’s festivities as the non-competing guest band. The eclectic indie rock outfit was supposed to open Preliminary Night #1 before Paul Hansen slipped a disc in his back a couple of days before the show, forcing the band to reluctantly withdraw. Thankfully, he’s feeling much better now. The band took to the TT’s stage and played a great set to wrap things up. What a fitting end to a wonderful three week run.
* Anngelle is full of classy moves when it come to The Rumble.
Bow Thayer And Perfect Trainwreck’s modern Americana took the 2012 Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble tiara* on Friday night. It was certainly no easy task. The band faced tough competition on all of their nights. Through it all they won over judges with well crafted songs and an astonishing display of musicianship, both individually and collectively. Swampy, dirty, twangy and heartfelt, these guys can flat out play.
Congratulations to Bow Thayer And Perfect Trainwreck!
* In reality the Rumble tiara is more of an actual crown now.
Garvy J. And The Secret Pockets Of Hope And Resistance’s 2012 Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble run was dazzling. Dueling EBows, distorted twelve-strings, a massive rhythm section, psych-tinged tunes and a smooth vocal croon all sparkled under the TT’s lights. It was simultaneously joyous, achingly gorgeous and slightly mind bending. Spectacular.
2012 Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble Winner: Bow Thayer And Perfect Trainwreck
Brutal. Devastating. Unrelenting. Throw all of those terms at Motherboar’s 2012 Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble Run. They were the heaviest band in this year’s competition and they didn’t shy away from that distinction. They pummeled the TT’s crowd with three sets of punishing metal. More importantly, they were also a blast to watch. The may not have donned the Rumble tiara (what a sight that would have been), but their Finals set proved why they got the wildcard. Motherboar is one of the best bands in town.
2012 Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble Winner: Bow Thayer And Perfect Trainwreck
Anngelle Wood is introducing the band, but I’m not really paying attention.* Behind her, Garvy J. And The Secret Pockets Of Hope And Resistance are already stealing the show. Once they have the stage to themselves there will be no stopping them. Garvy J. is in full command of the situation, manipulating the crowd with guitar swells, a cool confidence and sonic bombast.
Garvy J. And The Secret Pockets Of Hope And Resistance take Rumble Semifinal #2.
* During their preliminary round set, Garvy J. And The Secret Pockets Of Hope And Resistance launched into their set before Anngelle could introduce them.