Mellow Bravo @ Radio 10.13.2012

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.

OldJack @ Radio 10.13.2012

If you’re looking for the tipping point of the One Year Of Radio show where the event went from dignified celebration to rock ‘n’ roll debauchery, look no further than OldJack’s set. There would be plenty of time for things to get really out of hand, but this band of merrymakers certainly played a role in the decline of local civilization. They brought the songs. They brought the show. OldJack helped us find our way to the place we knew we had to go.

The Dirty Truckers @ Moe’s Lounge 10.12.2012

Hot, loud, sweaty and a little rambunctious could describe just about any Dirty Truckers gig. Confining the band and their cohorts to Moe’s Lounge made it inevitable at Bands For Babs.

AM Stereo @ Radio 10.5.2012

I love AM Stereo. How much do I love them? I just saw them twice in a week and if they played again tonight I’d be there. This set of disaster rock* was to celebrate the release of Nicole Tammaro’s new rock photography book. I’ll have pics from Bands For Babs coming up soon.

* Boston’s finest since 1998!

Gene Dante w/ The Other Girls @ Radio 9.22.2012

Last year, Gene Dante and The Other Girls both did sets for the Joan Jett Tribute night that Nicole Tammaro put together. For this year’s event, the two acts joined forces like some kind of hot-blooded, leather-clad, rock ‘n’ roll Voltron. Yowza.

The Dirty Truckers @ Radio 5.4.2012

The Dirty Truckers were back in action Friday night. The band was celebrating the release of their new Tiger Stripes EP and the 7″ single for the song “Human Contact.” It had been a while since the last time I saw these Boston wranglers. I was starting to get the shakes. Their set at Radio was just what I needed. The Dirty Truckers blasted out one of the best sets I’ve ever seen them play. They played the new stuff. They played the old stuff.* They rocked the in-between stuff like nobody’s business. “Sea Pines” and “3 Weeks To Go” blew the doors off the joint.** They threw in a couple of covers to keep themselves honest. In the end, the ‘Truckers reminded everyone that they’re one of the best rock ‘n’ roll bands around, not that we’d forgotten.

* Including “Backpack” from their first record.

** Both off of 2008’s fantastic Loose In The Joints