Boston Rock Photos And Stuff
By this point in the Radio first anniversary show, any pretense of civility had long since been abandoned. We were now in the spray champagne and jump onstage to provide “backing vocals” part of the evening. If only there had been a band to come along and blast shimmering confetti all over the place while cranking out some glammed-out-pop-rock hooks the night would have been perfect…
Mellow Bravo had the crowd in the palm of their hand during Radio’s first anniversary. Most of the time The Hand was tossing you wildly around the room with their soulfully electric hard rock. Every once in a while The Hand took pity on you and gave you a sobering number to take in. The rest of the time The Hand Of Mellow Bravo was passing you a beer.
Things are starting to get rowdy down in Moe’s Lounge. Adam McGrath is getting the patrons riled up with a great mix of tunes. To go along with some quality self-penned material, Adam is busting out covers of The Rolling Stones, The Smiths and a whole lot more. This is fun.
By the time Johnny Northrup took the stage, you could sense a change coming. The introspection of the previous sets was yielding to a more outspoken aesthetic. It was getting later. Johnny fit right in.
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.
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.
Mellow Bravo is firing on all cylinders right now. They’re loud, raucous, soulful, heavy and wildly entertaining. Their new material is flat-out devastating. With the added depth these songs bring to their set, Mellow Bravo can manipulate the pacing for maximum impact. That’s exactly what they did at TT’s.
I’m down with Mellow Bravo, The Dirty Truckers, Cropduster and Murcielago playing every Independence Eve. Let’s make it a tradition.
There’s a fire here. There’s a genuine desire to play the hell out of their songs. Aloud wants your attention. Once they have it, they won’t let go.
Remember all that stuff I said about Mellow Bravo’s Radio set having a different vibe? Yeah, not on this tune.
There was a very special episode of the Mellow Bravo show on Saturday night. The band set their “party band” image aside for the night and played nothing but sensitive ballads. OK, that’s a lie. No set that includes “Freshman Prom Queen” will ever be tagged as sensitive, but there was a bit of a different dynamic on display at this Radio gig. Mellow Bravo dug deep into some of their more textured material, showcasing the strength of the songs and their ability to play to them. This is one tight outfit.
