Le Roxy Pro are cooler than cool. One listen to their debut album will convince you of that. The band crosses The Dandy Warhols with The Beach Boys to wonderful effect. Give “Get It Out” a spin and you’ll see what I mean. “Coral Coralles” basks in a summer glow. “Bushkill” is a study in tension and release. “The Green Path To Nowhere” calls Teenage Fanclub to mind. They got me. Sometimes, straight. Sometimes spacey. Always compelling. What a sound.
The physical product is an eye catching, 12″ slab of blueish/greenish vinyl that comes in a full color outer sleeve and black & white inner sleeve. Lovely.
Anngelle curated a Rumble that saw bands as diverse as Eternals and Zip-Tie Handcuffs win nights.
So long, 2015 Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble. You were something else. Nine nights of Rock ‘N’ Roll that solidified your reputation for helping local music fans find their new favorite bands. Anngelle Wood put together your wonderfully diverse lineup, but you took on a life of your own. You always do. We’re lucky you’re still around and you’ve got people like Anngelle looking after you.
Congratulations to Zip-Tie Handcuffs! You’re the 2015 Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble Champs! You played every night like you were fending off a swarm of bullet ants, armed only with tortured guitars, thrashing drums and tight harmonies. You are the stuff of legends.
I guess that’s it. Another Rumble come and gone. All I have left now are these photos. Hopefully they bring back good memories…
Zip-Tie Handcuffs rule. They’re your 2015 Rumble Champs.
Anngelle is ready to Rumble again tonight. Are you?
Three down. Three to go. The 2015 Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble has been pretty great so far. After the much needed Day of Rest, things get going again tonight at TT’s. Here’s the schedule. Come join us for some rock ‘n’ roll, won’t you? In the meantime, here are a few random thoughts on the first three nights of the preliminary round.
Old Favorites Salita needs a bigger stage.
Checking out bands I’ve seen before shows how The Rumble brings out some great performances. Band Without Hands played like their lives depended on it, bouyed by an amazing crowd. Salita made TT’s feel tiny, which is probably just the way they like it. They fed off of the energy of the room. I’ve seen Drab a few times now. They were at their Rumble best, with some perfect, dry introductory zingers to set up their well crafted songs. Nemes faced stiff competition on Night #1 and walked away with a hard fought win. They could go far.
New Faces
I thought I was prepared for Raw Blow. I was wrong. They blew me away. Their set was so intense I became oblivious to the world around me. I thank them for that. I’m glad I finally got to catch Duck & Cover. That’s a good punk rock band right there. Psychic Dog was a hoot. Eternals, Le Roxy Pro and The Rare Occasions caught me off guard in the best possible way. Loved them all.
Hats Everywhere Eternals, featuring the only hat to advance in the Rumble (so far).
Look, I don’t know how my brain works. It’s always looking for patterns and outliers. Sometimes it’s looking for hats. There have been a bunch of hats so far in this year’s event. We’ve had trucker hats and winter hats. There have been all kinds of other hats I don’t know the names of. How do hats affect your chances of moving on? Well, of the six bands that had behattted members, one has punched a ticket to the next round (Eternals). That’s a 17% advancement rate. That’s down from the 33% success rate for bands without hats (not to be confused with Band Without Hands). A wild card pickup for Raw Blow, Duck & Cover, Drab, Salita or Mister Vertigo will even out those odds. Do with this info what you will.
Fun With Numbers Le Roxy Pro: Gibsons AND Fenders.
Six Is The Loneliest Number: There have been 2 trios, 5 quartets and 4 quintets so far, but only 1 sextet. That distinction goes to the grandiose Mister Vertigo.
Conspiracy Of The Sevens: 7 bands had performers who played Gibson instruments. 7 bands had performers who played Fender instruments. Coincidence? I think not. Wait, I mean probably.
I Can’t Count That High: The number of times my mind changed about who was going to win any given night.
Play Me Out
The Static Dynamic were victorious on Prelim Night #3. When you take a tight, technical band and add a passion for playing and a song like “Relentless,” good things will happen. These are a few of the songs that have stuck with me after the first few nights. See you at TT’s tonight!
Le Roxy Pro just had the absolute perfect opening for Rumble Prelim Night #3. It started in low… then it started to grow. Their sound is more roll than rock. The guitars hum. The vocals ride the wave. The slow, steady burn draws you in. Le Roxy Pro is confident. Le Roxy Pro is cool. Le Roxy Pro has got it together.
Here are 7(ish) reasons I’m excited to attend the 6 Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble Prelimary Round nights that kick off in 5 days. Just like the title says. Night #1 is Sunday the 12th. Wednesday is the Day of Rest. It all goes down at TT’s. Let’s go…
Opening night is always fun. There’s excitement in the air and the inevitable Rumble Plague is still a few photo booth sessions way. I trust Mister Vertigo, The Rare Occasions, Band Without Hands and Nemes will get us off on the right foot.
Prelim Night #2 provides some good reasons to head out on a Monday night. Drab mine ’90s indie rock nuggets. Eternals just released this fantastic track. Raw Blow have the best name in the Rumble/city/world and sound ready take on all comers. Duck & Cover have a punk rock lineage that has made me anxious to see them. Thanks to The Rumble I finally will.
The Tuesday night of Rumble Prelim week can be tough. Fatigue is setting in and the Day of Rest is just out of reach. Thankfully, Night #3 is cooking up a chill-surf-heavy-progressive-post-hardcore-punk-rock-n-roll stew to get you through. Le Roxy Pro, Salita, The Static Dynamic and Psychic Dog are on the bill.
Adventure time! I always look forward to Rumble nights where I haven’t seen any of the bands before. Thursday’s Prelim Night #4 provides the action this year. Adding to the excitement is that this night could prove to be one of the most diverse, with Mercury On Mars, Dan Webb And The Spiders, Dirty Bangs and Protean Collective taking the stage.
Nate Leavitt’s “Taking the Long Way Home” is one of the most underrated, understated songs to ever come out of the city. He opens Prelim Night #5 on Friday before The Dirty Looks, Murcielago and Zip-Tie Handcuffs blow the roof off the joint. That’s gonna be fun.
The Rumble Prelims will draw to a close with another one of the event’s signature eclectic line-ups. New City Ghost, Yale, Massachusetts, Soft Pyramids and The Warning Shots will put a bow on the whole shebang with a wonderfully varied bill on Saturday the 18th.
“Favorite” was a huge local radio hit during my formative years in the Boston rock community. Now, The Gravel Pit are back with a new album and Special Guest status in The Finals. Yes, there’s a lot of rock to roll before then, but I’ll take any opportunity to watch Ed Valauskas play the four string Fender bass. The guy’s a one man wrecking crew.
Found a bunch of new favorite bands in the 2011 Rumble. Hoping for a repeat this year.
Last week we met the Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble Class of 2015. Last night we learned what the Preliminary Round lineups look like. Now it’s time to present The Rumble with this year’s Look How Awesomely Diverse These Bills Are Award. You can hear this perennial winner’s acceptance speech at TT’s the week of April 12th.
Raise your hands if you’re ready for the 2015 Rock ‘n’ Roll Rumble. OK, Kenny’s ready.
Rumble!
RUMBLE!
R U M B L E !
Here we go again, ladies and gentlemen. Anngelle Wood has done that thing she does and the Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble Class of 2015 has been announced. One of these 24 bands will be the champ and don the Rumble Tiara. Which one? Your guess is as good as mine. Probably better. That’s the fun of the whole thing; it doesn’t matter! A good chunk of these bands will play the best sets they’ve ever played in front of large, appreciative audiences. If you’re shopping for a new favorite band, this would be a pretty good place to start.
The whole shin-dig kicks off April 12th. TT’s will once again play host. You can grab a full boat pass starting at noon todayright now over at the club’s website. Individual show lineups will be drawn from a hat live on the air Sunday night on Boston Emissions. Exciting. To tide you over, here are some handy links to get you jazzed. Jazzed!
