Boston Rock Photos And Stuff
Mellow Bravo is the band you should be begging to play at your basement kegger. Sure, the cops are gonna come and bust the thing up, but it’ll be awesome until then…
There’s this movie called I Get Off. It stars a white 1974 Pontiac Trans AM driven by Sheila, played by an otherwise unknown actress who now makes her meager living charging people $20 a pop to have their picture taken with her and a replica of said car at comic conventions. In this cinematic masterpiece there are bar fights, mustaches, a Columbo knock-off police detective, bricks and bricks of an unspecified narcotic and a guy in a banana suit.
In the climactic scene, the Trans Am races head-on toward a tanker truck in the desert. The windows are down. Sheila’s hair is blowing in the wind. She lifts her sunglasses. Her eyes are focused. There’s a shotgun on the passenger seat. Her hand reaches down to turn up the radio.
Mellow Bravo blares from the speakers as a sly smile comes across Sheila’s face.
Then it gets messy.
Mellow Bravo
Strut
2010
Do you like your ’70s inspired hard rock with a healthy dose of bombast? I thought so.
Mellow Bravo deliver the goods on Strut. They hook you out of the gate with the heavy groove of “Highs And Lows” and the blistering “I Get Off”. Mellow Bravo makes you feel good. Just try to not sing along to the “ooo ooo” parts in “Must Be My Woman” or “I Wanted A Girl”. You can’t help yourself. “Freshman Prom Queen” is wildly inappropriate and unbelievably awesome. “Hard Timin'” has a swinging guitar riff that sounds too good not to have been played before.
Just when you think you’ve got Mellow Bravo pegged as the ultimate party band, they hit you up with “Just Like Water Would” and “My Head And Heart”. Keith Pierce and Jess Collins carry these songs with their well paired vocals. Oh wait, did I just imply that Mellow Bravo aren’t the ultimate party band? No, no, no. They are the ultimate party band. They just happen to be able to go a little deeper as well.
It would be impossible to capture all of Mellow Bravo’s live energy in a studio setting, but Strut comes about as close as you could hope for. For one last hurrah, they close out the record with a live version of “Light Up My Little Love”. Mellow Bravo rules.
Where to get it:
Mellow Bravo played their Rumble semi-final set as if it was their last ever. I suspect they play all of their shows this way.
What a fun band. I wouldn’t doubt that Mellow Bravo fans think the band has a middle name. I, for one, found myself muttering “Mellow F’n Bravo” underneath my breath more than once throughout their supercharged set. The band was firing on all cylinders, and singer Keith Pierce was their spark plug. Jeffery Fultz and Andrew Doherty channeled every classic rock guitar riff they’ve ever heard. Dave Jarvis on drums and Seager Tennis on bass kept things moving along with reckless abandon. Jess Collins helped make the whole thing gel on keys. She also happened to explode when they put a microphone in her hand and gave her center stage.
Semi-Final Night #1 of the 2011 Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble was one of the best shows I’ve seen in a long time. Spirit Kid won the night, but any of the bands could have moved on given a different set of judges or a groundhog seeing his shadow or what have you. Mellow Bravo, Sidewalk Driver, and Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling (and Spirit Kid, of course) were just that good. What an awesome night.
So, we’re just over a month into this whole blogging thing. What do you think? I think it’s going pretty OK.
Hey, here’s an idea. Why not head on over to Facebook and ‘Like’ the Daykamp Music page? That’s a fantastic idea, me! I don’t know why you didn’t think of it sooner.
Next week we’ll finish up our Rumble coverage. We’ve got Mellow Bravo Semi-Final pics, as well as Finals photos of OldJack, Spirit Kid, John Powhida International Airport and special guest band The Shods. Join us, won’t you?
So, here we are on the eve of the 2011 Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble Finals. Head on down to T.T. The Bear’s Place tomorrow night and check out John Powhida International Airport, Spirit Kid and Old Jack as they vie for the coveted Rumble Tiara.
Anngelle Wood has done a remarkable job with this institution. The Rumble is a crash course in Boston’s awesomeness. The 2011 edition has been a celebration of our fantastically eclectic music scene. I haven’t been able to attend all of the shows, but I’ve enjoyed myself immensely on the nights I’ve made my way down to Central Square.
Over the next several days I’ll be posting up some pictures from this year’s festivities. The Autumn Hollow Band are already on display. Watch for photos of John Powhida International Airport, Spirit Kid, Sidewalk Driver, Mellow Bravo, Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling and Cult 45.
Tomorrow night should be a lot of fun.
