Boston Rock Photos And Stuff
The Rudds’ rockin’ power pop closed out the first night of the Abbey Lounge Reunion at Sally O’Brien’s. Oh, and bubbles!
John Powhida has a gift. His solo set at The Midway for the Fireking vinyl release show was 40 of the most entertaining minutes of my 2015. J-Po’s keen life observations and his ability to make the mundane musical is unrivaled in this town.
I managed to catch a couple of songs by the always-entertaining John Powhida International Airport during the 2014 Boston Music Awards celebration. That was fun.
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.
John Powhida is a natural born entertainer. I don’t know which I enjoyed more: listening to the laid back solo version of “Daddy’s The Man” or learning the awful/hilarious story that inspired the song.* Win-win.
* Awfully hilarious?
John Powhida International Airport closed out opening night at Radio. J-Po brought along an entirely different flight crew since the last time I saw him.* One thing remains constant**; you can’t swing a funny bunny on stage at a JPX show without hitting a talented musician.
Also worth noting: Radio is awesome! Congrats to everyone who helped get the place off the ground (including owners Aimee McGrath and Josh Banville and booking agent Ashley Willard).
* Come to think of it, both Rudds shows I’ve seen this year had entirely different line-ups.
** You know, besides Mr. Powhida himself. So I guess two things. Oh, and the songs. Three things. Everything else changed, though. I think. I’m not so sure anymore.
John Powhida International Airport
“Daddy’s The Man” b/w “Surrender To The Disco Knightz”
2010
There’s something wrong with John Powhida. Songs about junkie dads and disco decadence should not be this fun. In fact, those things don’t sound fun at all. Here’s the thing; junkie dads and disco decadence are fun. I just didn’t realize this until J Po and gang pressed these tunes on cool blue vinyl.
You’ll still be thinking “that’s just not right” if you listen a little too closely. Luckily, like most good music that is meant to make you move, you’ll probably be too caught up in the party to worry about the clean up. If you do happen to find yourself contemplating the stark contrast between what J Po is saying and how he’s playing it, then you’ll come to the same realization I did.
There’s something right with John Powhida.
Where to get it:
What does a Rumble winning set sound like in the year 2011?
Well, during John Powhida International Airport’s Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble Finals set someone from Boston Band Crush posted the following Facebook update:
“Does anyone else think John Powhida is from another planet?”
Now, most of my alien rock music experience comes from Gwar. Locally we’ve got Planetoid living among us. What about Mr. Powhida? Could J-Po be from another planet?
I think the BBC folks may be onto something. There’s just too much crazy goodness going on in a John Powhida International Airport set for it to be of human origin. J-Po’s previous outfit, The Rudds, was a pretty kick-ass rock band. Here, the kick-assity remains, but it’s infused with synthesizers, danceable grooves and a healthy dose of insanity. It sounds crazy. It is crazy. But it works. It works beautifully.
Now that we’ve got that out of the way, you may be wondering what a Rumble winning set looks like in the year 2011. See below…
By now we all know that John Powhida International Airport took the tiara in the 2011 Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble. Congratulations to J-Po and his flight crew on their well earned victory.
Here are some photos from the night that started it all for them. The band rocked, rolled, shook and shimmied their way to a Preliminary Night #3 victory. Good times.
What do you get when you take 1/2 of the original incarnation of The Rudds and mix it with 3/4 of the latest version of The Dirty Truckers? The Ruddy Truckers? The Dirty Rudders? Son Of The Rudds, as the posters advertising the show suggested?
Whatever the name, it rocks in a very entertaining way. Here are some pictures of John, John, John and Jamie from The Rosebud.
