Mercury On Mars – Be The One (2014)

Mercury On Mars Be The One
Mercury On Mars
Be The One
2014

Let’s take a little listen to Be The One by Mercury On Mars. The title track of this EP is so shrouded in love for Hüsker Dü and The Replacements that I can’t help but want to hear what comes next. Thankfully, we get “So Happy,” which adds an injection of high octane Swedish rock ‘n’ roll to the band’s sound. “The Vapors” is in the third spot, with a nifty slide guitar part blurring and slurring its way through the mix. The EP closes with “X-Believer,” bringing things back around to that Twin Cities sound. Solid.

Where to get it:

36 Links To 512 Photos Of The 2015 Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble

Anngelle curated a Rumble that saw bands as diverse as Eternals and Zip-Tie Handcuffs win nights. Awesome.
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.
Zip-Tie Handcuffs rule. They’re your 2015 Rumble Champs.

Finals:
Zip-Tie Handcuffs (2015 Rumble Champs)
Nemes
The Static Dynamic
The Gravel Pit (Non-Competing Guest Band)

The Static Dynamic lit up the TT's stage and earned themselves the wildcard spot in The Finals.
The Static Dynamic lit up the TT’s stage and earned themselves the wildcard spot in The Finals.

Semifinals:
Dirty Bangs
Duck & Cover
Eternals
Murcielago
Nemes (Semifinal Night #1 Winner)
Soft Pyramids
The Static Dynamic (Wildcard)
Zip-Tie Handcuffs (Semifinal Night #2 Winner)

Dirty Bangs were mesmerizing. They took Prelim Night #4.
Dirty Bangs were mesmerizing. They took Prelim Night #4.

Preliminaries:

Band Without Hands
Dirty Bangs (Prelim Night #4 Winner)
The Dirty Looks
Drab
Duck & Cover (Wildcard)
Eternals (Prelim Night #2 Winner)
Le Roxy Pro
Nate Leavitt Band
Mercury On Mars
Mister Vertigo
Murcielago (Wildcard)
Nemes (Prelim Night #1 Winner)
New City Ghost
Protean Collective
Psychic Dog
The Rare Occasions
Raw Blow
Salita
Soft Pyramids (Prelim Night #6 Winner)
The Static Dynamic (Prelim Night #3 Winner)
The Warning Shots
Dan Webb And The Spiders
Yale, Massachusetts
Zip-Tie Handcuffs (Prelim Night #5 Winner)

Random Rumble Ramblings: 2015 (Part II)

Anngelle and Murcielago will be at The Semifinals.
Anngelle and Murcielago will be at The Semifinals.

The 2015 Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble Prelims are in the books. Even the wildcards have been revealed! Oh yeah, congrats to Murcielago and Duck & Cover. Now the stage is set for a pair of great Semifinal shows at TT’s this Thursday and Friday. Woo! Let’s take a look back at the second half of Prelims week.

Old Favorites

Zip-Tie Handcuffs cannot be restrained.
Zip-Tie Handcuffs cannot be restrained.

Talk about The Rumble bringing out the best in bands. Wow. Soft Pyramids and Zip-Tie Handcuffs both won their nights in vastly different ways. The former were masters of restraint and nuance. The latter were ferocious and wildly creative. Both were great fun to watch. Murcielago earned themselves a wildcard spot by being the heaviest and riffiest band of the whole event. The Nate Leavitt Band broke my heart into a million pieces. I don’t think I ever want it put back together the way it was. Simply gorgeous.

New Faces

Hello, Dirty Bangs. Nice to meet you.
Hello, Dirty Bangs. Nice to meet you.

Out of nowhere, Dirty Bangs just became one of my new favorite bands. What a set. I cannot wait to see what they do for a follow up on Thursday night. Yale, Massachusetts were fittingly rambunctious. I dig ’em. Mercury On Mars made me think of The Hellacopters. Mercury On Mars made me happy. Dan Webb And The Spiders made me think of The Replacements. Dan Webb And The Spiders made me happy. New City Ghost were dramatic. The Dirty Looks were exuberant. Protean Collective shredded. Thanks to The Rumble I got to see them all.

Hats Everywhere Redux

Mercury On Mars: hat with pins.
Mercury On Mars: hat with pins.

I acknowledge this is ridiculous. I’m doubling down on the nonsense. I apologize. I can’t stop seeing the hats. It first caught my attention earlier in the week. It continued all the way through the Prelims. There were 5 more bands sporting hats of all varieties after the Day Of Rest. With their wildcard selection, Duck & Cover brought the odds of advancing to the Semifinals up to even with the non-hat wearers for the first half of the week. Unfortunately, bands with hats didn’t fare as well in the subsequent nights. None of them advanced. Oh, well. It’s all meaningless, anyway. With any luck, that’s the last thing I’m going to say about hats in The Rumble.

Fun With Numbers

That guy on the right looks awfully familiar.
That guy on the right looks awfully familiar.

  • Two For One: Rich Crimlisk played with 2 bands in this year’s event. He was on guitar for The Warning Shots and Salita.
  • Three For One: There was 1 band that had a shaker that looked like a tomato (Soft Pyramids). There were at least 3 people I know of, myself included, that thought said tomato was real until it was used in a musical capacity.
  • I Can’t Count That High: The number of decibels pumped out by Murcielago’s 24 speakers.

Play Me Out

Their Lindsey Buckingham cover was a thing of beauty, but “Around This Town” is the Soft Pyramids song that’s been stuck in my head since Saturday night. Here it is with the other tunes ringing in my ears from the later Prelims. Come on out the Semifinals!





7(ish) Reasons I’m Excited To Attend The 6 Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble Preliminary Round Nights That Kick Off In 5 Days

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…

  1. 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.
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  3. 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.
  4. 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.
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  6. 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.
  7. 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.
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  9. 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.
  10. “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.
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The 2015 Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble Preliminary Round lineups are set!

Found a bunch of new favorite bands in the 2011 Rumble. Hoping for a repeat this year.
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.

2015 ROCK ‘N’ ROLL RUMBLE PRELIMINARY SCHEDULE

Sunday April 12th, 2015 (FB Event)

9:00 – Mister Vertigo (Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)
9:45 – The Rare Occasions (Web | Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)
10:30 – Band Without Hands (Web | Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)
11:15 – Nemes (Web | Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)

Monday April 13th, 2015 (FB Event)

9:00 – Drab (Web | Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)
9:45 – Eternals (Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)
10:30 – 
Raw Blow (Web | Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)
11:15 – Duck & Cover (Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)

Tuesday April 14th, 2015 (FB Event)

9:00 – Le Roxy Pro (Web | Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)
9:45 – Salita (Web | Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)
10:30 – The Static Dynamic (Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)
11:15 – Psychic Dog (Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)

Thursday April 16th, 2015 (FB Event)

9:30 – Mercury On Mars (Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)
10:15 – Dan Webb And The Spiders (Web | Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)
11:00 – Dirty Bangs (Web | Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)
11:45 – Protean Collective (Web | Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)

Friday April 17th, 2015 (FB Event)

9:30 – Nate Leavitt (Web | Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)
10:15 – The Dirty Looks (Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)
11:00 – Murcielago (Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)
11:45 – Zip-Tie Handcuffs (Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)

Saturday April 18th, 2015 (FB Event)

9:30 – New City Ghost (Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)
10:15 – Yale, Massachusetts (Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)
11:00 – Soft Pyramids (Web | Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)
11:45 – The Warning Shots (Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)

More info: Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble Website

Meet the Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble Class of 2015

rock
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 today right 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!

Band Without Hands
(Web | Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)

Dirty Bangs
(Web | Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)

The Dirty Looks
(Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)

Drab
(Web | Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)

Duck & Cover
(Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)

Eternals
(Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)

Le Roxy Pro
(Web | Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)

Nate Leavitt
(Web | Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)

Mercury On Mars
(Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)

Mister Vertigo
(Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)

Murcielago
(Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)

Nemes
(Web | Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)

New City Ghost
(Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)

Protean Collective
(Web | Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)

Psychic Dog
(Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)

The Rare Occasions
(Web | Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)

Raw Blow
(Web | Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)

Salita
(Web | Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)

Soft Pyramids
(Web | Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)

The Static Dynamic
(Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)

The Warning Shots
(Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)

Dan Webb And The Spiders
(Web | Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)

Yale, Massachusetts
(Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)

Zip-Tie Handcuffs
(Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)

Too bad nobody ever has a good time at The Rumble.
Too bad nobody ever has a good time at The Rumble.