Boston Rock Photos And Stuff
Rumble Preliminary Night #1 closed out with the heavy groove of Cooling Towers. Eric Donohue and Pete Gamache are one killer rhythm section. Ronan Fahy knows when to attack his guitar and when to let it sing. Judy Margo’s backing vocals and synth parts are the icing on the cake – a cake that Commodore Vic slithers all over like some kind of rock n’ roll prophet with a sweet tooth.
When a good rock n’ roll band finds its groove, it’s a wonderful thing. It becomes as much about what you feel as what you hear. I feel good right now. I just heard something great. It was a wonderful thing.
The Rationales just played their Rumble preliminary set. By the time they got to “No Guarantees”, a personal favorite of mine, they were so locked in nothing could derail them. The last three songs of their set felt like a victory lap. That’s the beauty of the Rumble. Win or lose, bands rise to the occasion. Bands like The Rationales.
My gut is confirmed. The Rationales take night #1.
When a member of The Grownup Noise slipped a disc in his back (ouch!), Endless Wave became the first band of the 2012 Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble. Their sound swirled and churned, washing over the TT’s crowd. The Rumble has begun…
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
This was The Shods’ second appearance in a Rumble Finals. Most bands aren’t so lucky.
The first time, back in 1999, The Sheila Divine won it all. I wasn’t there that night, but I can almost guarantee that there were many in attendance who felt The Shods were robbed. It happens every year. Such is The Rumble.
In 2011, The Shods returned to The Rumble Finals. This time, Anngelle Wood brought them back as the special guest band. Good call, Anngelle.* A raucous and rowdy set from The Shods was a great way to end a Rumble that truly was a celebration of Boston rock ‘n’ roll.
*Seriously, how great of a job did Anngelle Wood do putting this thing together? It boggles the mind.
Once again I find myself posting about Spirit Kid in the 2011 Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble. This time Emeen and his gang are in the Finals. Once again they’re great. I covered their wild card winning set from Preliminary Night #3. I also praised their fantastic Semi-Final set. Now I’m supposed to find new ways to tell you about the amazing Spirit Kid? No más.
Look, Spirit Kid has more hooks than Gamakatsu International. I’m not going to sit here and blather on about them for the third time in a week and a half just to hear the click-clackery of my keyboard. Just go hit up their Bandcamp page and download this damn near perfect single.
You’re welcome.
What does a Rumble winning set sound like in the year 2011?
Well, during John Powhida International Airport’s Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble Finals set someone from Boston Band Crush posted the following Facebook update:
“Does anyone else think John Powhida is from another planet?”
Now, most of my alien rock music experience comes from Gwar. Locally we’ve got Planetoid living among us. What about Mr. Powhida? Could J-Po be from another planet?
I think the BBC folks may be onto something. There’s just too much crazy goodness going on in a John Powhida International Airport set for it to be of human origin. J-Po’s previous outfit, The Rudds, was a pretty kick-ass rock band. Here, the kick-assity remains, but it’s infused with synthesizers, danceable grooves and a healthy dose of insanity. It sounds crazy. It is crazy. But it works. It works beautifully.
Now that we’ve got that out of the way, you may be wondering what a Rumble winning set looks like in the year 2011. See below…
Sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose. Sometimes (like say, once every 32 years) you lose, but you still get to keep playing because of a previously scheduled gig at a clam shack.
Such was the case with OldJack’s Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble run.
Look, life doesn’t always go as planned. It’s what you do with second chances like these that defines you. OldJack used theirs to cook up a semi-final set that was good enough to land them in the finals.
That’s where we caught up with the band. OldJack opened the 2011 finals with a blistering set. Dan Nicklin and his gang poured their hearts and souls onto T.T.’s stage until the room felt like it would burst. They were taking nothing for granted. They showed why they were there. OldJack showed, once again, that they are one of the best bands around.
Pay attention boys and girls, this is how you do 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?