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!





Nate Leavitt Band @ T.T. The Bear’s Place 4.17.2015

The Nate Leavitt Band just gave one of the most gut wrenching Rumble sets I’ve ever seen. It was apparent something really special was happening by a few songs in. Nate was tugging on every heartstring in the room. The unassuming songs were brought to life with beautiful performances and exceptional dynamics. Damn, that was good.

Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble 2015 Prelim Night #5
Nate Leavitt Band
The Dirty Looks
Murcielago
Zip-Tie Handcuffs (Winner)