Boston Rock Photos And Stuff
Kitschenettes served up a variety of retro modern pop sounds during their set at TT’s.
Boston Band Crush, my favorite music blog of all time, just closed up shop. I’m devastated.* Do yourself a favor and read Ashley Willard’s closing announcement and Richard Bouchard’s Farewell Crush. If it wasn’t for BBC, Daykamp Music probably wouldn’t exist. I’d still be out there taking pictures, but they’d just be piling up on my hard drive. Their enthusiasm was contagious.
I’ve had the honor of working with the Boston Band Crush folks on a few occasions. Helping Ashley out with One Night Band photos has been an amazing experience. It’s such a special event to be a part of. I’m thankful for the opportunity. This past July, Daykamp Music worked with Richard to present our first show together. A few months later, when a good friend of mine needed help, Richard stepped up to the plate again. He did everything he could to help make the Bands For Babs benefit the success it was.
I will forever be grateful to everyone that contributed to Boston Band Crush. I’ll miss you terribly. How will I get over it? For starters, I’ll be hitting up one last Boston Band Crush show! Friday night is the big Boston Band Crush Holiday Spectacular at Brighton Music Hall! You’ve got the synth-pop stylings of Freezepop topping the bill. Sidewalk Driver will have Glam-ta in tow. Confetti is sure to fall like snow all set long. The Field Effect covered Wham! for Christmas. Come see if Doug Orey is sporting some George Michael stubble as they release their new album, Cartography. Opening the night will be Emily Peal and The Band of Skinny Men. They’ve got a new Christmas cover of their own. Just don’t expect it to be merry or bright. Anngelle Wood of Boston Emissions will be organizing a toy drive for the Division of Children and Families of Cambridge/Somerville/Allston/Brighton at the show. Bring a toy when you come out to celebrate with Boston Band Crush one last time.
Merry Crushmas!
Facebook event page
9pm/21+
* I bet you thought I was gonna say “crushed.”
Well, that was fun.
I’ll try to keep this brief. I’ve been posting up a bunch of One Night Band 4 pictures, but I wanted to tie up a few loose ends.
First of all, One Night Band 4 raised more than $3000 for Zumix and Girls Rock Campaign Boston. That rules.
I was honored to shoot some of the promo photos for these new bands. Working with Mary Flatley on this was super fun.
Lastly, all of this would not have been possible without Ashley Willard, Richard Bouchard and Kerri-Ann Richard working together like they do. There are so many moving pieces. Keeping them all moving in the same direction is no easy task, but this crew makes it look effortless.
OK, here are links to all of the bands that performed at One Night Band 4:
SNUGGLZ
Big Head Big Ears
Lesbian Frankenstein
The Walls
Impossible Stairs
Sir Vix-A-Lot
Caress
Grandfather Time Bomb
Mötörböat (One Night Band 3 alumni)
The Mosquitoes In Tuxedos (Zumix band)
See you next year!
Last year, One Night Band 2 alumni Bedss came out to shut down One Night Band 3 with a drunken rousing rendition of “Cum On Feel The Noize.” This year, the drunken rowdy sing-along tradition continued. Mötörböat rocked the hell out at last year’s event. They returned to the scene of the crime to close out the 4th edition of this treasured Boston institution. Mötörböat tore through a couple of their original tunes like they had firecrackers in their pants. Then a cast of thousands* got up on stage to end the night with a drunken spirited cover of “You Shook Me All Night Long.”
* OK, a cast of tens. This included One Night Band participants past and present, organizers and, well, just about anyone else who wanted to jump on stage.
The last of the year’s new crop of one night bands was Grandfather Time Bomb. Annie Hoffman, Caroline Toth, Evelyn Pope, Jared Egan and Walter Sickert formed a group with a sinister undercurrent. It was a flash of dark rock on a bright night for Boston rock. One Night Band 4 birthed eight new bands, raised more than $3000 for good causes* and still had one more surprise to come…
* Zumix and Girls Rock Campaign Boston!
More than just a celebration of Boston rock’s finest shuffling the deck for the night, One Night Band is also about raising money for good causes. This year, one of those good causes was Girls Rock Campaign Boston.* When the cards were dealt, One Night Band 4 fittingly gave us our first all-female outfit. Chris Toppin, Elena Siegman, Melanie Bernier, Nazli Green and Theresa Polk formed Sir Vix-A-Lot, a band that provided one of the night’s most memorable songs. I won’t spoil it for you. Just go watch this video.
* This year’s event raised more than $3,000, which goes to Girls Rock Campaign Boston and Zumix.
One Night Band is always full of surprises. At some point in the night a band may take the stage that has you feeling like you’ve been tricked. A band that just sounds like a band, with no further description needed. A band that plays you their tunes and closes their set with a Cheap Trick cover. Why? Because it rocks. We had one of those bands at One Night Band 4 courtesy of Abram Taber, Eric Ramsley, Josh Pickering, Sharon Crumrine and Ted Billings. Impossible Stairs…
People were excited about The Walls for a lot of reasons. For me it was one: guitarmony.
You see, Thin Lizzy came on the radio during my morning car ride into Central Square (to shoot some of the One Night Band promo photos). With “Cowboy Song” stuck in my head, I struck up a conversation with Adam Andersen about my hope that one of the bands about to be formed would try to pull off harmonized guitar lines during One Night Band 4. Lucky me, The Walls did just that. Now, I’m not trying to take credit for this joyous turn of events,* but this was my favorite part of their stellar set. It was either that or Aaron Perrino and Mariam Saleh’s awesome vocals. Or maybe Kyle Rasmussen’s kinetic drumming. Or the way Aaron, Adam, Mariam and the ever-versatile Rafi Sofer wove their stringed instruments into a textured sonic fabric.
Hmmm. It was one of those things, anyway.
* I totally am.
They may look adorable, but SNUGGLZ* (Alison Murray, Bob Maloney, Crystal “Smokie” Rose, Keith Pierce and Kristina Johnson Parish) packed a punch. The first One Night Band of 2012 had a name inspired by the image they used to find their creative partners for the day. No cuddle music from this cast of characters, though. SNUGGLZ was ready to rock.
* All caps with a Z, please.
One Night Band! One of my favorite nights of the year. The 4th installment of this event kicked off with a tight and enthusiastic performance from Zumix band The Mosquitoes In Tuxedos. Did we just meet some future One Night Band participants? Don’t count it out.
