Boston Rock Photos And Stuff
There has been a lot of Parlour Bells coverage up on the site this week. We had a live video from their recent Precinct show of their noir-pop gem, “You Don’t Wear That Dress, The Dress Wears You.” We also had photos from the show. Now it’s Parlour Bells Bonus Time.* Here’s a video of their set closer, “O Holiday.” The sound is a little crispy at times on this one, but it’s such a vibrant performance it deserves to be shared.
*Patent Pending
Parlour Bells’ first show since their fantastic Rumble appearance did not disappoint. The band brought the same spark that impressed so many people during last month’s main event into Precinct last Friday night. A couple of quick notes before we get to the pics…
* The band posted their “Bachelor Hours” performance to YouTube so you can hear for yourself.
Here are Parlour Bells melting the walls at Precinct with a smoldering rendition of “You Don’t Wear That Dress, The Dress Wears You.”*
*It’s almost as if Parlour Bells and Eddie Japan were having a longest song title contest at this show.
The 2012 Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble Semifinals start tonight! Here’s the schedule. I posted some random rumble thoughts on the Rumble day of rest. I thought I’d do the same for the second half of Preliminaries.
Old Favorites
The 2012 Rumble saw a few of my favorite bands play the sets of their lives. Parlour Bells got all glammed up to rock out on Thursday night. One set later The Fagettes threw a big old rock n’ roll party on the TT’s stage that blew out a bass amp and the womb of a giant cardboard robot. In a testament to the strength of the Boston music scene, those sets didn’t even take the night! Cask Mouse got the nod from the opening slot for a shaking and stomping good time. The next night had Brownboot leading the crowd into hard rock excess like six-stringed pied pipers. The Bynars had synth-heavy power pop down to a science. Saturday night had back-to-back sets by Motherboar and neon post-punks Streight Angular that made me question the structural integrity of the club. I sure am glad I didn’t have to clean up after that show.
New Faces
The Grinds! Hell, yeah! I’m so glad I finally saw this punk n’ roll outfit. So good. The Rumble also introduced me to the modern Americana of Bow Thayer And Perfect Trainwreck, the angular indie of Pray For Polanski and the heavy riffage of Sherman Burns and Never Got Caught.
The State Of Heavy
Speaking of heavy, the two heaviest bands of this year’s Rumble both advance to the Semifinals. Motherboar was just plain devastating. It’s amazing how colossal they sounded after just having witnessed the how-the-hell-are-they-doing-this flying hair and riffs attack of Sherman Burns. I can’t wait to see how this plays out in the next round.
Fun With Numbers
Play Me Out
Here are some Rumble tunes that I haven’t been able to shake. It’s quite the varied collection. We’ve got suave pop from Parlour Bells and brutal metal from Motherboar. We’ve got indie rock both manic (Streight Angular) and unsettling (Pray For Polanksi). Top it all of with the searing hard rock of Brownboot and you’ll be humming these tunes for days. Now get thee to TT’s!
* Unless you pay them lots of cash, but you’d have to be a D-Bag to do that…
Last night’s Parlour Bells set at TT’s was intoxicating. The band was well prepared for their showdown in the Rumble prelims. Parlour Bells drew the crowd in with their glamourous, sultry pop. The performance was dynamic and engaging. Their songs are superb. They are one of the finest bands in town, yet somehow get better with every show. They may not have won the night, but don’t count them out yet.
Preliminary Night #4 Winner: Cask Mouse
Well, it’s that time of the year again. The Rumble is upon us. Sunday night will kick off the 2012 edition of this rock n’ roll institution. I called the 2011 version “a crash course in Boston awesomeness”. I have no reason to think this year won’t be the same. Having been to many a Rumble show (and participated in a couple) I can tell you these are always a lot of fun.
For the past few years The Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble has been curated by Anngelle Wood. She’s done a fine job, hasn’t she? This year will be no exception. I’ve managed to document exactly half of this year’s participants in the wild. I look forward to checking out the other half. Below is the complete schedule with some links to the bands’ shows I’ve caught in the past. If all goes according to plan, you’ll be seeing lots of Rumble pics up on Daykamp Music over the next few weeks. Check back often. More importantly, go see some of the shows!
PRELIMINARY SCHEDULE
Sunday, April 1
7:30-8:30pm Boston Band Crush sponsored Opening Night Welcoming Party
9:00pm – The Grownup Noise (Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)
9:45pm – Endless Wave (Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)
10:30pm – The Rationales (Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)
11:15pm – Cooling Towers (Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)
Monday, April 2
9:00pm – Thick Shakes (Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)
9:45pm – Animal Talk (Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)
10:30pm – Garvy J (Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)
11:15pm – Grey Valley Ghost (Facebook | Twitter | Reverbnation)
Tuesday, April 3
9:00pm – The Susan Constant (Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)
9:45pm – The Tin Thistles (Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)
10:30pm – Ghosts of Jupiter (Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)
11:15pm – Letterday (Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)
Thursday, April 5
9:30pm – Cask Mouse (Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)
10:15pm – Never Got Caught (Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)
11:00pm – Parlour Bells (Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)
11:45pm – The Fagettes (Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)
Friday, April 6
9:30pm – Pray For Polanski (Facebook | Bandcamp)
10:15pm – BrownBoot (Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)
11:00pm – Bow Thayer and Perfect Trainwreck (Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)
11:45pm – The Bynars (Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)
Saturday, April 7
9:30pm – The Grinds (Facebook | Twitter | Music)
10:15pm – Sherman Burns (Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)
11:00pm – Motherboar (Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)
11:45pm – Streight Angular (Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp)
Tickets: www.ttthebears.com
More Info: www.rockandrollrumble.com
Hey, look! Corsets aren’t just for Jane’s Addiction tribute nights anymore! Glenn DiBenedetto dusted his off for the Parlour Bells set at TT’s.* Was this a Rumble preview set? Maybe. It was certainly Rumble-worthy. Parlour Bells return to TT’s for their preliminary night on April 5th.
* Do corsets get dusty?
It’s Groundhog Day and I feel like I’ve written this post before. You know, the one where I tell you I that think Parlour Bells are pretty great.
Somehow my previous posts singing the band’s praises don’t adequately describe just how good this outfit is getting. Their set at Radio for the Winter Rock Formal was incredible. It was at times dramatic, joyous, haunting and seductive. I wouldn’t mind reliving this one over and over again.
Parlour Bells
“Speak Up”
2011
Parlour Bells are making me look good. Ever since I caught their set at Brighton Music Hall back in March, I’ve been blabbering on about what a great band they are to see live.
Now along comes their new single, “Speak Up”. Drummer Brandon Erdos immediately make his presence know with the clock-steady beat that anchors the song. Glenn DiBenedetto pulls you along as his voice weaves a melody through the thumping bass and strummed guitars. There’s a simplicity to the song that draws you in before Nate Leavitt’s harmonized guitars carry you out. Well played.
Where to get it:
I’d like to think you’ll love Parlour Bells.