Boston Rock Photos And Stuff
In case David Mirabella and his bandmates in The Rationales didn’t know it already, a large contingent of their fans sang along to remind them that they have some of the best songs in town. When the band plays them with the fire and passion that they did in the Rumble Semifinal, it’s going to be a good night. Last night was a good night.
Semifinal Night #2 Winner: Garvy J. And The Secret Pockets Of Hope And Resistance
Sherman Burns’ blistering riff assault earned them a spot in the Semifinals as one of the wildcards. These guy weren’t about to blow the opportunity. They unleashed another barrage of high intensity, high volume fretboard acrobatics on the TT’s crowd. Anyone who missed their prelim set is probably still wondering what just hit them. These guys were one of the big Rumble surprises for me. I’m a fan.
Semifinal Night #2 Winner: Garvy J. And The Secret Pockets Of Hope And Resistance
Motherboar did the same thing in their Rumble Semifinal set as they did in the preliminary round: lay waste to TT’s. Would you want it any other way? Expecting something different probably would have left you disappointed Thursday night. I didn’t see too many disappointed faces during Motherboar’s set. Then again, it was hard to see much of anything through all of the flying beers and pumping fists.
Semifinal Night #1 Winner: Bow Thayer And Perfect Trainwreck
Boy, oh boy, do I love Cask Mouse. Every time I see them I fall further under their spell. It’s comfort food for your soul. Their Rumble Semifinal set went from whisper quiet to full on hootenany without ever rushing to get from one place to the other. All in due time. You’ll know when you’ve arrived. Just listen for the clapping and stomping.
Semifinal Night #1 Winner: Bow Thayer And Perfect Trainwreck
Thick Shakes got Rumble Semifinal Night #1 started with a bang. This outfit is a garage rock firecracker ready to take off some fingers. Pop! The songs came rapid fire, drenched in Farfisa and fuzz. The remnants of “Go Back To New York” and “Banned From The Laundromat” are still ringing in my head….
Semifinal Night #1 Winner: Bow Thayer And Perfect Trainwreck
Well, the Preliminary Round of the 2012 Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble has drawn to a close. Congratulations to The Rationals, Garvy J. And The Secret Pockets Of Hope And Resistance, Ghosts Of Jupiter, Cask Mouse, Bow Thayer And Perfect Trainwreck and Motherboar for taking their nights. Thick Shakes and Sherman Burns earned themselves a chance to continue on in the event by snagging the wildcard selections. With that, the Semifinal round is set:
Semifinal Night #1 / Thursday, April 12
9:30 – Thick Shakes (Wildcard)
10:15 – Bow Thayer and Perfect Trainwreck
11:00 – Cask Mouse
11:45 – Motherboar
Semifinal Night #2 / Friday, April 13
9:30 – Sherman Burns (Wildcard)
10:15 – Ghosts of Jupiter
11:00 – The Rationales
11:45 – Garvy J.
Both shows are at TT’s. Doors at 8:30pm. Tickets are available at the TT’s website: www.ttthebears.com
In case you missed any of the action, here are links to the photos and recaps of each Preliminary round set. I was lucky enough to catch all of the bands. Thanks to Anngelle Wood for putting the whole thing together and to all of the bands for making it a blast.
Sunday, April 1
The Grownup Noise (withdrew due to injury)
Endless Wave
The Rationales took Night #1.
Cooling Towers
Monday, April 2
Thick Shakes took the wildcard.
Animal Talk
Garvy J. And The Secret Pockets Of Hope And Resistance took Night #2.
Grey Valley Ghost
Tuesday, April 3
The Susan Constant
The Tin Thistles
Ghosts of Jupiter took Night #3.
Letterday
Thursday, April 5
Cask Mouse took Night #4.
Never Got Caught
Parlour Bells
The Fagettes
Friday, April 6
Pray For Polanski
BrownBoot
Bow Thayer and Perfect Trainwreck took Night #5.
The Bynars
Saturday, April 7
The Grinds
Sherman Burns took the wildcard.
Motherboar took Night #6.
Streight Angular
I’m going to keep this one short. Motherboar took Prelim Night #6 with the most ferocious Rumble set I’ve ever seen. Awesome.
I don’t know what I was expecting from Sherman Burns on Preliminary Night #6 of The Rumble, but it certainly wasn’t this. This was a full on sonic assault delivered with deadly precision. It was impressive. I kept watching bassist Andrew Mildenberg wondering what would happen first, him flubbing a note or his head flying off. Thankfully, I don’t think either happened.
Preliminary Night #6 Winner: Motherboar
Bow Thayer And Perfect Trainwreck won over the Rumble judges with some amazing musicianship. These guys play to the song so well. They gather ’round Bow’s gritty tales, pick them up and carry them along to wherever they need to go.
Bow Thayer And Perfect Trainwreck take Preliminary Night #5.
Brownboot slayed. The band’s Rumble set had the feeling of a huge rock n’ roll band playing a secret show in a small club as a treat to their die hard fans. The guitars were loud, the songs brought the house down and everyone got sweaty. Talk about a band rising to the occasion. This was Brownboot’s finest moment. That was one hell of a show.
Preliminary Night #5 Winner: Bow Thayer And Perfect Trainwreck
