Tag: Brendan Boogie

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Parlour Bells @ T.T. The Bear’s Place 3.8.2012

Hey, look! Corsets aren’t just for Jane’s Addiction tribute nights anymore! Glenn DiBenedetto dusted his off for the Parlour Bells set at TT’s.* Was this a Rumble preview set? Maybe. It was certainly Rumble-worthy. Parlour Bells return to TT’s for their preliminary night on April 5th.

* Do corsets get dusty?

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Parlour Bells @ Radio 1.28.2012

It’s Groundhog Day and I feel like I’ve written this post before. You know, the one where I tell you I that think Parlour Bells are pretty great.

Somehow my previous posts singing the band’s praises don’t adequately describe just how good this outfit is getting. Their set at Radio for the Winter Rock Formal was incredible. It was at times dramatic, joyous, haunting and seductive. I wouldn’t mind reliving this one over and over again.

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Magnum Force @ Radio 12.10.2011

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.

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Corvette Somerville @ The Rosebud Bar 9.10.2011

The hot one is coming!

The MixTape series has a history of turning out one-off groups. Corvette Somerville is one such band. This band was as tricked out as the vehicle in the movie they punned their name from.

Oh yeah, any event that ends with Cheap Trick’s “Surrender” is OK by me.*

* Like my wedding.

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Brendan Boogie @ Bloc 11 8.31.2011

Unsure of what time (or day*) he was going on, I left my house bound for Union Square hoping to catch Brendan Boogie’s set at Bloc 11. I only managed to catch his last two songs. One of them was a fantastic rendition of “I Hate New York”. I was happy.

* Brendan was originally promoting this show as happening on August 30th. It wasn’t until he showed up at Bloc 11 on Tuesday instead of Wednesday that he realized he had written down the wrong date for the show.

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Brendan Boogie – I Hate New York (2011)


Brendan Boogie
I Hate New York
2011

It took me 2 minutes and 42 seconds to take a liking to Brendan Boogie’s I Hate New York EP. You see, at exactly that moment in the title track there is a killer multi-part harmony that completely surrounds you. It’s mesmerizing. The song has a Simon & Garfunkel feel to it, with an arrangement that reminds me of “The Boxer” at times.

Brendan Boogie continues the shaking off of his bubblegum pop persona with this release. His originals have taken on a darker tone. Songs titles like “I Want To Be Rented” and “Empty” are reflective of their lyrical content. I Hate New York closes with a well arranged cover of Dire Straits’ “So Far Away” that finds Mr. Boogie accompanied by acoustic guitar, viola, harmonium and glockenspiel.

Where to get it:

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Brendan Boogie And The Best Intentions @ The Rosebud Bar 7.9.2011

Brendan Boogie is a man with a plan. His plan was to release six EPs in the first half of 2011 with a celebratory shindig thrown every month. He just successfully completed* this cycle with another fun night at The Rosebud in honor of Songs From The Armory Vol. 3.

The opening featured Brendan Boogie and his latest co-conspirators playing the songs from the new EP. It was loose and fun for just about everyone involved.**

The second part of the set had Brendan and The Best Intentions ripping through some of their finest material. I know there was a lot of (probably well-deserved) hype about a certain catch-us-before-our-reunion event elsewhere in town, but Brendan and his gang were putting on a memorable show of their own. No regrets here. It was a blast.

* Well, he did take April off, so the sixth EP didn’t come out until July. For some reason I feel the need to mention this (again). I don’t know if this is because I don’t want people to think I don’t know how to count or if I just like giving Brendan a hard time. It’s most likely the latter, but the former gives me a plausible out.

** Seriously, almost everyone had fun with this part. Almost…

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Brendan Boogie – Songs From The Armory Vol. 3 (2011)


Brendan Boogie
Songs From The Armory Vol. 3
2011

Brendan Boogie is back with the last EP of his ambitious project to release new music every month for the first half of 2011.* This time around, Brendan presents us with a third installment of songs co-written with like-minded pop aficionados.

First up is “Attraction Fades”, one of two collaborations with Oranjuly’s Brian King (who has so far managed to avoid the dragons that are no doubt pursuing him). Mr. King’s retro pop stamp is all over this song. This is one of my favorite songs to come out of Brendan Boogie’s EP experiment. I love it.

Naked On Roller Skates’ Leesa Coyne takes over lead vocal duties on the melancholic “Using Me Using You”. The song has a beautiful sadness to it. Brendan’s duet with Abbie Barrett on “Love Is For Losers” lightens the mood as much as a song that references clubbing baby seals can lighten a mood (which, it turns out, is quite a bit).

Brendan Boogie and Brian King reunite for the closing number, a timeless piano ballad titled “With A Single Motion”. The stark instrumentation allows the layered vocals to shine. Fantastic.

Where to get it:

* Much like the mid week hiatus of The Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble’s preliminary round, Mr. Boogie took April off. Slacker.