So, you’re headed to the sold out Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble Finals tonight and you’re wondering what to expect. Look, these things are pretty unpredictable. No one ever really knows what’s going to happen. Petty Morals, Await Rescue and Goddamn Draculas have been on point the whole Rumble. There’s no reason to expect anything less tonight. However, if you think you know what tricks the bands have up their sleeves or who’s going home in a tiara, you may be in for a surprise. We’ll find out soon enough when we pack into TT’s to watch in all unfold. Then we’ll catch a set from The Information before they announce the winner and spray the champagne. In the end, we’ll have our memories. Maybe we’ll have some pictures. Here are a few of mine from the last 3 Rumble Finals. See you tonight!
The Dogmatics – 2013 Rumble Special Guest BandEddie Japan – 2013 Rumble ChampionsGlenn Yoder And The Western States – 2013 Rumble FinalsTwin Berlin – 2013 Rumble FinalsThe Grownup Noise – 2012 Rumble Special Guest BandBow Thayer And Perfect Trainwreck – 2012 Rumble ChampionsGarvy J. And The Secret Pockets Of Hope And Resistance – 2012 Rumble FinalsMotherboar – 2012 Rumble FinalsThe Shods – 2011 Rumble Special Guest BandSpirit Kid – 2011 Rumble FinalsJohn Powhida International Airport – 2011 Rumble ChampionsOldJack – 2011 Rumble Finals
Anngelle: Loves the Rumble. Does not love water
The 2014 Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble has been a doozy. The 35th installment of this storied event has seen incredible sets, meticulous preparation, substitute wildcards, misunderstood lyrics and riffs galore. Friday night will find Goddamn Draculas, Petty Morals and Await Rescue (wildcard) squaring off on the friendship stage to see who goes home with the Rumble tiara. It all happens at T.T. The Bear’s Place. The Information are in The Rumble.* Until then, chew on this…
Second Chances At First Impressions Goddamn Draculas want to give you a big ol’ friendship hug.
If you want to talk about first impressions, you can’t do better than the second Rumble sets from Tigerman Woah and Goddamn Draculas. Tigerman Woah began their semifinal set singin’ and stompin’ among the TT’s crowd. Not to be outdone, Bice Nathan and Chris Duggan from Goddamn Draculas stood side by side, backs to the crowd, in total darkness to start their set. When the word “DRAX” was projected onto the stage, it revealed the rallying cry printed on the back of their shirts: WE CAME TO SUCK.
Tight and Outta Sight Petty Morals are in a Rumble state of mind.
“Tight and Outta Sight” may be a Petty Morals song, but it also represents a Rumble state of mind. You’ve got to have your act together to do well in this competition. Petty Morals put on a real rock ‘n’ roll show to take the first semifinal night, but they weren’t alone in the preparation game. Await Rescue** and Barricades closed out their nights with precise and energetic sets that kept the outcomes in question to the very end.
Wild Wild Card Yellabird was ready, willing, and able to be wild.
Aw man. I hate when stuff like this happens. Feints earned a spot as the Friday night wildcard, only to be silenced by doctor’s orders.*** Such a bummer. The plus side? Rumble-goers got another chance to witness Yellabird riff it up on the TT’s stage. Well done, gentlemen.
Fun With Numbers When Particles Collide were one of two duos.
Two out of three ain’t bad: Both of the Semifinal winners came from the 3rd slot of their respective nights (Petty Morals and Goddamn Draculas).
Deuces are wild: There were 2 duos in this year’s Rumble. When Particles Collide and Yellabird both made it to the semifinal round as wildcards.
One way tie: After a strong showing for formal neckwear in the preliminary round, only Greg Alexandropoulos of Western Education wore a tie in the semifinals.
Play Me Out
The semifinal round was chock full o’tunes. Here are some of the ones that had me wired.
Can’t get enough of the Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble? Have I got a treat for you! Here’s a word search featuring the twenty-four participants in this year’s event. Pretty great, right? Print one out for yourself. It’s fun! Share it with a friend. Give it to your kids. Maybe they’ll ask you who Airport is and you can play them “Knot Again.”* Maybe they’ll ask you what goddamn means because they already know Dracula is awesome. Or give it to a friend’s kid. When they ask who Gondoliers are you can show them these pictures.
This is Anngelle. She’s pretty good at this whole Rumble thing.
We’re half way through Rumble prelims week. I hope you enjoyed your Day of Rest. Things get going again tonight. Here’s the schedule for the rest of the week. In the meantime, these are some thing I’ve been chewing on…
Old Favorites GD Drax attack! Airport continues to amaze me. Based on the crowd response, I wasn’t the only one in awe. Sinnet played “Year of the Whale” like it was the last song on earth. So good. After catching the band a couple of times minus a member, I finally got the full Doom Lover experience. It was everything I hoped it would be. Arena-rockers-in-training The Life Electric played like TT’s was The Centrum. How good were Goddamn Draculas? You knew it was their night by half way through the first song.
New Faces Z*L has a sound inspired by the man who inspired the naming of The Rumble. Did you follow all that?
Lots of good stuff from new-to-me bands in the first half of the week. Z*L was a visceral experience. Their guitar reverb is still decaying. Tigerman Woah and Guillermo Sexo came highly recommended and delivered inspired sets. Rebuilder were the first band of this year’s event. They set the bar high.
Bubbles Vs. Feathers Vs. Confetti Barricade blasts bubbles. Sidewalk Driver sent confetti flying when they played The Rumble. White Dynomite famously filled the air with feathers as part of their pillow sacrifice to the Rumble gods. This year, it was bubbles floating by. Barricades broke out the bubble gun during their Tuesday night win.
Fun With Numbers Airport: Six Guys In Ties
The Fightin’ Fifty-Four: 54 performers have taken the stage to Rumble this year. Seven were part of quintets. There were also a pair of quartets, one trio and one duo. Airport trumped ’em all as a sextet.
Ties On The Rise: Two years ago, 5 different performers wore ties during The Rumble. Last year it was 8. We’re half way through the preliminary round and 10 performers have already donned ties (2 of the bow variety) in the 2014 Rumble.
I Can’t Count That High: How many notes did Emma Ate The Lion play during their set? Heck, how many notes did they play during a single song? Wowza.
Play Me Out When Particles Collide were having a pretty good set Monday night. Then they played “Constant Disaster” and the place went bonkers. Below are a few of the songs that have stuck with me so far. Now get thee to TT’s!
The illegitimate spawn of Journey and AC/DC just mainlined some punk rock and descended upon TT’s with a vengeance. Sweet, sweet harmonies wrap their black wings around you as their power chords go for the kill. Goddamn Draculas take Rumble Prelim Night #2.
The 2014 Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble starts Sunday night. Here are 13 things about the 24 bands playing this year’s shindig…
Airport, Slowdim, Butterknife and Sinnet are all in The Rumble. That means you can catch four of the bands writing the best songs in the city at TT’s next week. Sinnet plays Sunday, Airport on Tuesday. Butterknife and Slowdim go head to head on Thursday. We’re a lucky bunch.
I’ve seen Doom Lover twice, bothtimes without Nikki Dessingue. I still haven’t had the full Doom Lover experience. I’m sure this is my loss. The Rumble will see this remedied on Monday night.
Riffs, riffs, riffs. I gotta have riffs. Color me excited to hear what Summoner and Yellabird are laying down. Summoner is up Friday. Yellabird is the last band of the whole Rumble on Saturday.
Harmonies, harmonies, harmonies. Goddamn Draculas (Monday) and Airport have some of the best I’ve ever heard.
Z*L(Tuesday) and Petty Morals(Friday) are two bands I’ve been dying to see. I really dig what the folks in these band have done in the past. I’m excited to (finally) see what they’re doing now.
The Color And Sound played one of the most energetic sets I’ve ever seen. They’re going to impress a lot of people on Saturday.
What will Gondoliers do on Thursday night? Seriously, what are they gonna do? You never know with these guys. They’re masters. Definitely one of my most anticipated Rumble sets.
It seems like there’s been a big surge of prog-influenced rock in this town. Emma Ate The Lion will be repping the movement on Monday night.
Getting through the early part of Rumble prelims week can be tough. With three bands-I’ve-never-seen-much-to-the-dismay-of-friends-who-have-seen-them in the first two nights, I think I’ll make it through okay. Tigerman Woah and Guillermo Sexo are on Sunday. When Particles Collide follow on Monday.
Rebuilder is the pop-punkiest pop punk band to play The Rumble in a while. They’ll get the whole thing started on Sunday night.
I always enjoy seeing a band for the second time (for an explanation, see reason #18 here). In addition to the previously mentioned Sinnet and The Color And Sound, I’ll be catching second sets from Feints(Friday), Vary Lumar(Friday) and Await Rescue(Saturday).
Between The Life Electric(Tuesday), Barricades(Tuesday) and Western Education(Thursday) there’s a pretty impressive variety of highly polished modern indie rock on tap for this year’s Rumble.
Harris Hawk will be kicking off the final night of the Rumble prelims, thus ensuring that any Rumble hangover from nights 1-5 will be quickly smashed to bits. Pay attention Saturday night. They don’t mess around.
That’s all I’ve got. The full 2014 Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble schedule can be found here. Maybe you should go to one or all of the shows.
Who will advance in the 2014 Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble? Go ahead, guess…
OK, here we go. This is where it gets real. We already knew the bands participating in the 35th edition of the Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble. Now the preliminary round schedule is set. Now we’re reminded why The Rumble is so special. Now we get to see the types of bills you just don’t see every day. Now we get to pretend to know who the favorite is to win each night, only to realize such a task is but a fun and foolish game. Ready?
Thirteen is a lucky number, right? I hope so. You see, it’s Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble season again. Last night on Boston Emissions, Anngelle Wood announced the 24 participants in this year’s competition event. For the first time since I can remember (probably ever), I actually managed to catch live shows from more than half of the bands vying for the tiara. Thirteen of ’em. I don’t know if more excited because I know these acts can deliver the goods or that there are still 11 bands that I get to check out for the first time. At their best. In The Rumble. Awesome.
Oh, did I mention that it’s the 35th edition of this storied franchise? Well, it is. That’s pretty amazing.
The nine night pass is still available (for now). The individual show lineups will be announced Sunday night on Boston Emissions. In the meantime, here are some handy links to get you ready for the 35th installment of the Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble…
Even being aware of the band’s penchant for killer harmonies after seeing them open for Imperial State Electric, I was still taken aback by the way Goddamn Draculas can blend a vocal smoothie. Toss in some big guitars and you’ve got a recipe for… ugh, this is so silly. Forget I said any of that. Wait, don’t forget the part about the killer harmonies. That part was important. Anyway, here are some pics of Goddamn Draculas at The Middle East Downstairs…
