One of the auction items, Boston Bundle Two, features The Dirty Dishes CD (signed), The Michael J. Epstein Memorial Library Vol 1 CD (signed) with sticker, Sodafrog 'Hang the Moon' CD and bonus Marc Pinansky sticker.

In the holiday spirit of giving to those less fortunate, Sleepover Shows, the people who bring you stripped down, acoustic sets in curious locales by your favorite bands as they come through Boston, have put together a very special auction, all profits to benefit The Greater Boston Food Bank.

Apart from the wonderful cause, what makes this auction so cool is that they’re offering up a load of signed band merch from many of the bands they’ve filmed over the last year. This includes posters, vinyl, set lists, shirts, cds, by well-loved artists such as Frightened Rabbit, Pearl and the Beard, Chris Bathgate, Walter Sickert and the Army of Broken Toys (a poster of their show with Zoë Keating), The Michael J. Epstein Memorial Library, The Motion Sick, Marc Pinansky, Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling, The David Wax Museum, Marco Benevento, Marisa Nadler, Mean Creek, and many more.

Each item’s photo on the Charity Auction site links to its eBay page, with auctions ending on Wednesday, December 14, so BID NOW! There are a few cool Boston music bundles up there as well, so check ‘em out.

Visit Sleepover Shows to see their latest sessions, and starting next week, a series of six Boston bands performing original songs, each band naming a charity for people to donate to this holiday season.

Sleepover Shows: official site | facebook | twitter

On this auspicious evening, the theme is CULT, and the featured performers include:

The Slutcracker mastermind Sugar Dish

Burlesque artist Femme Brulee

Lainey SchoolTree

Elephant Tango Ensemble
Valerie Thompson (Voice/Cello, Goli), Vessela Stoyanova (MIDI Marimba, Goli), Brendan Burns (Guitar), & Nate Greenslit (Percussion, HUMANWINE, What Time Is It, Mr Fox).

Black Cat Burlesque co-creator Mary Widow as David Bowie

A sneak preview of the holiday phenomenon The Slutcracker

WIREFOREST Cult Leader Walter Sickert

A special performance art piece from Axe To Ice’s Artistic Director Karin Webb

Video shorts from the Boston Underground Film Festival

As always, the evening will be hosted by UnAmerika’s Sweetheart Karin Webb and the legendary Mary Dolan.

Get on down to Harvard Square tonight and give them a rousing farewell!

Occupy Boston march on Global Demonstration Day, October 15, 2011

It’s a sad fact that a bad situation usually has to get much, much worse before it can start to get better. Ninety-nine percent of this planet should be really pissed off right now, if only there wasn’t so much other stuff that gets in the way. If religion is the opiate of the masses, then so are radio talk shows and opinion columns, political pundits and proselytizers. All that noise, all those petty disagreements over social issues and divisive politics. What commentators call the “wedge issues” that cause people who have more in common with each other than they realize to bicker endlessly, while they lose sight of the main plot.

The image of crabs in a barrel frantically climbing all over each other to get to the top remains stuck in my mind ever since Reverend Al Sharpton brought up that great analogy during his recent MSNBC interview with Michael Moore. The interview itself made me grimace, though it was a classic pairing, and a surprise that they hadn’t crossed paths before. Don’t get me wrong – I’m a big fan of Michael Moore and his hard-hitting documentaries and stinging social commentary, but his trumpeting of the Occupy Movement might have come off as more genuine if it hadn’t conveniently coincided with his book tour. For god’s sake man, just support the cause without having an agenda! Though it’s great to have him – and many others – on board.

The Occupiers in Dewey Square, across from South Station

Nothing Ever Trickles

Yes, the bad situation has gotten worse. It’s no longer just poor people in the inner cities who don’t have jobs, are becoming homeless, can’t feed their kids, and are losing hope. We’ve known for a long time that a small percentage of the world’s population (make that 1%), through their stockpiles of wealth and purchased influence, control the lives and livelihoods of everyone else. But up until just recently, enough crumbs have fallen from the overflowing mouths of the corporate elite to at least keep the unwashed masses reasonably subdued. Personally, I’ve never believed in the theory of ‘trickle-down economics’. While it’s a charming concept, there’s just one small problem… greed.

So what exactly happened? As Reverend Sharpton said in that program, the card sharks “overplayed their hands.” In this age of out of control poverty and equally out of control opulence, we now talk about billionaires instead of just millionaires, and they’ve pushed their luck a little too far.

Occupy Everywhere

The real roots of the Occupy Movement can be traced back to the Spanish protests in
May, though most cite Occupy Wall Street as their inspiration for getting personally involved. It goes beyond symbolism. This is the very heart of the banking industry and corporate America, and the wealthy’s schoolyard sandbox. This is where a rich tycoon’s “bad day” could, for the vast majority, translate into the loss of a lifetime of retirement savings. Appropriately then, in this country, it began here. But the reason this one protest has been able to spread to nearly 1,000 cities worldwide is that there are increasing numbers of people who, without jobs, find themselves with enough time on their hands (and enough anger in their hearts) to set up camp.

Healthcare Hell

In my own current financial crisis, I’m acutely aware of the plight of the middle class – too wealthy to receive benefits; not wealthy enough to pay the bills. I’ll address just one example of this that directly affects my family: the healthcare debacle industry, and long-term facilities. If you’re unfortunate enough to have to place a family member into a nursing home, I have news for you: if you’re not rich, then it’s best to be poor.

Quite apart from the fact that I can’t find a single person without some horror story of inadequate or incompetent care, these places are stupidly expensive. However, if your assets fall below $2,000, congratulations, you’re poor, and the state will pay for room and board. If you happened to squirrel away a few dollars but still can’t afford the approximate $10,000/month bill, the nursing home will simply suck you dry like an incubus until there’s nothing left, and will then move away from your dry carcass towards state funding, where it will continue its ravenous feeding frenzy.

There’s a breed of lawyer that specializes in “Elder Law,” and one of their primary services is a kind of “wealth hokus pokus.” For a sizable fee (of course), they’ll help you move your money around to make you appear, for all practical purposes, poor. All entirely legal, I might add. If you’re not poor and not rich, you should look into this. Though if your family’s situation is like mine, with one spouse taking care of the other, you’ll have to make a bet as to who’s going to die first. You might want to consult a psychic as well.

Why should any of this be necessary in a country that can afford to bail out major financial institutions and car companies to the tune of $2.5 trillion (as of April 30) and spend over $799 billion in Iraq?

That’s my rant. And here’s my review of the march and rally in downtown Boston last Saturday, as part of the global demonstrations: awesome.

The Music Connection

Music has always been an integral part of social movements and demonstrations. Buffy Sainte-Marie’s “Universal Soldier,” John Lennon’s “Give Peace A Chance,” Billie Holliday’s “Strange Fruit,” Bob Dylan’s “Masters Of War,” Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger… just a few shining examples. Though the idea to fight injustices with song dates well before all that (one early mention is from 1795, in support of women’s suffrage), and it’s universal. Boston-based Sleepover Shows (who films acoustic sets of bands living in and passing through our city) have put together a wonderful documentary about the Occupy Movement and its music connection. Read more about this and watch the doc below.

Get Involved

If you’re lucky enough to have gainful employment and can’t yourself be an occupier, you can still make a contribution, which would be greatly appreciated. If not money, there’s also the need for material donations. Occupy Boston’s list of requested items changes, so for up-to-the-minute requests, check their logistics twitter feed. It’s best to just drop things off at their camp in Dewey Square (across from South Station), and then you can be amazed like I was by their organization and dedication.

Stay Informed

Occupy Boston: official site | twitter | facebook
Occupy Wall Street: official site | twitter | facebook
Occupy Together (for all Occupy groups): official site | twitter | facebook

Live streams of protests: OccupyStream | Global Revolution

Live blog of international protests: Al Jazeera

(clockwise from top left): Anna Rose, The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players, and Kim Boekbinder (photo by Shami Kiely)

Presented by Morgan’s Hotel Group, The MuseBox and DigBoston

There’s an exciting new showcase for up-and-coming bands, a free music series called The Ames Sessions, taking place on three consecutive Tuesday evenings in Woodward Park at Boston’s Ames Hotel. Not to be confused with The Ames Sessions that were in collaboration with WFNX (which was indoors, very limited capacity, and you had to win tickets), this one is completely free and open to the public. The performances are September 20th (this coming Tuesday) with Anna Rose and Leo Blais, September 27th with The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players and Supercute, and October 4th with Kim Boekbinder and Audrey Ryan. In addition to hearing some fine music in an intimate setting, there will be specials and prizes to coincide with each event.

It seems the Ames Hotel is requesting that people R.S.V.P. for the shows they’d like to attend. This is probably because Woodward Park is actually the outdoor patio area of their Woodward Tavern (meaning, it’s *very* small and intimate). It looks like an amazing setting for live music.

This series unites the efforts of three Boston-area businesses. There’s Morgan’s Hotel Group, which specializes in upscale boutique hotels in Boston, New York, Los Angeles, and elsewhere (The Ames Hotel in Boston is, I must say, one classy establishment). DigBoston (formerly The Weekly Dig) should be well-known to Bostonians, as their weekly magazine focuses on the local arts and entertainment scene. MuseBox is a public relations and marketing agency, catering to a wide variety of bands and musicians, providing contacts in both underground and mainstream cultures, in the U.S. and internationally. The artists they’ve chosen for this series are especially known for their audience engagement and unique live performance.

Tuesday, September 20th ~ Anna Rose

Supporting Anna Rose will be Leo Blais

Listening to classic and alternative rock in the 90s, more recently getting into blues, soul, some funk and NYC punk, hip-hop and house music, singer-songwriter, pianist and guitarist Anna Rose (daughter of musical theatre and film composer/pianist Alan Menken) has a wide variety of influences to inform her songwriting. She has what sounds like a classically-trained, disciplined voice, but isn’t afraid to try something a bit different. Her cover of Arcade Fire’s “My Body Is A Cage” is sung as a soft, stripped-down ballad, and it helped attract international attention to her music. She’s currently in the studio recording the follow-up to her 2010 album Nomad.

official site | facebook | twitter | recent interview

Tuesday, September 27th ~ The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players

Supporting The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players will be Supercute (daughter Rachel’s band)

All I had to do was watch the video for “The Complicated Life,” and I was instantly sold on these guys. Calling themselves “indie-vaudeville conceptual art-rock pop”, The Trachtenberg Family Slideshow Players actually are a family. There’s father Jason on guitar, piano and vocals, mother Tina Piña on slide projector (yes, there really is a slideshow as well) and backing vocals, and daughter Rachel on drums and vocals. What started with a chance “find” at an estate sale while dog walking – an old slide projector and a box of slides from a 1959 family trip to Japan – turned into musical inspiration and a unique stage show. In their performances, a slideshow is projected while they play and sing about things that occurred in the places shown in the slides. Released in July of this year on Tummy Touch Records was Lost and Found, a collection of old and new songs plus bonus tracks from the family’s various side projects.

official site | facebook | myspace | wikipedia

Tuesday, October 4th ~ Kim Boekbinder

Supporting Kim Boekbinder will be Boston artist Audrey Ryan.

Performer, composer, musician and visual artist Kim Boekbinder has a clear, honest vocal style, and accompanies herself on guitar, ukulele, and keyboard/piano. She released her first solo album, The Impossible Girl late last year. After a highly successful preorder campaign that raised $20,000, she was able to record with legendary Boston producer, Sean Slade (Radiohead, Dresden Dolls) and engineer Benny Grotto. She first came to his attention when her previous band (a folk-cabaret duo with her sister Zoe called Vermillion Lies) opened for Amanda Palmer. In fact, she and Amanda recently released a song they performed together (”Such Great Heights” by The Postal Service) as a “split single” (backed with a song of Kim’s). A big believer in Kickerstarter campaigns, she also pre-sells her performances with various packages for different $ levels (great idea!).

official site | facebook | blog | twitter | wikipedia

Somerville Grooves proprietor David Plunkett was a WZBC DJ who also worked at In Your Ear Records in the 1990s, before leaving for a more lucrative writing and editing gig (from which he was recently laid off). After much scouring of flea markets and yard sales for product, he’s giving his love of music another go, and all vinyl lovers in the city welcome him with open arms.

Also new to Union Square will be the 200-person capacity Radio, a brand new restaurant and live music venue, replacing the recently closed Club Choices on Somerville Avenue. The new owners, Josh Banville and Aimee McGrath, were bartenders at Rosebud Bar & Grill, the chef is Jim Seery (formerly of The Plough & Stars), and it will be booked by Boston Band Crush’s Ashley Willard. Both the food and the music will have a “local flavor” (see schedule below). They plan for live music Thursday through Sunday, with most shows a $5 cover. Awesome.

Upcoming Shows

Friday, Oct. 7: The Rationales, The Organ Beats, John Powhida International Airport, “and one more beloved local act that we can’t announce quite yet.”
Saturday, Oct. 8: BrownBoot, AM Stereo, Watts and The Dirty Truckers.
Sunday, Oct. 9: Dinner With the Band: Erin Harpe — “an occasional free Sunday event during the dinner hour where Jim will prepare a menu that accompanies the act that’s playing. In this case, a Delta-inspired menu to accompany Erin Harpe’s Delta blues.”
Saturday, Oct. 15: Parlour Bells / Sarah RabDAU & Self-Employed Assassin / Garvy J / Eldridge Rodriguez
Sunday, Oct. 16: Nina Violet / Willy Mason / Tallahassee
Friday, Oct. 28: Halloween with local bands/musicians covering The B-52s, Pat Benatar, INXS, James Brown

Saturday, Nov. 5: Guillermo Sexo / Age Rings / Marconi / The Future Everybody
Sunday, Nov. 6: The Fagettes / Thick Shakes / more TBA
Friday, Nov. 11: Mitten / Lovewhip / Streight Angular / SPF 5000
Saturday, Nov. 19: Mellow Bravo / InAeona / Rule / Cask

Radio
379 Somerville Ave., Union Square
Somerville, MA

Somerville Grooves
26 Union Square
Somerville, MA
Phone: 617-666-1749
somervillegrooves@gmail.com

Victor Robert Venckus presents his Lucid Sounds/Expanding Awareness program on WZBC 90.3 FM (Boston College Radio) every Saturday from 7am – 11am. He begins with New Age, ambient, Native American and world music, with a weekly astrology report from Dietrich Pessin at 9:30 am. Expanding Awareness is at 10am, featuring interviews on paranormal, holistic health, environmental, animal rights and occasionally human rights topics, with listener call-in participation. Victor has been on the air, in some guise or another, since 1975. Shows are now archived for two weeks.

For their first show of the year, Bent Wit Cabaret will be examining the theme of Obsession, with a crazy cast that includes “regulars” such as co-hostesses Karin Webb and Mary Dolan, Sugar Dish (The Slutcracker), burlesque artist Femme Brulee, Lainey SchoolTree, and Bent Wit Cabaret’s house band, Elephant Tango Ensemble. The band features Valerie Thompson and Vessela Stoyanova (Goli) on vocals/cello and MIDI marimba; and Nate Greenslit (HUMANWINE, What Time Is It, Mr. Fox?) on percussion.

Special features this evening will be Brian King from “What Time Is It, Mr. Fox?”, commedia antics by Behind The Mask, spoken word by Jha D, bellydance by the exotic Divine Filth and video shorts curated by the madmen at the Boston Underground Film Festival.

Ok, so I’m flat out working all weekend and completely out of the loop, but for those of you wondering where all the hipsters are tonight, they’re at T.T. the Bear’s Place for the first night of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Rumble! For a full schedule of bands during this six-night extravaganza, check out Ryan’s Smashing Life. Featured bands include Jenny Dee & the Deelinquents, Walter Sickert and the Army of Broken Toys, Spirit Kid, Mellow Bravo, Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling, and Sidewalk Driver (and loads more).

As for ‘musings’, I’m currently auditioning bands and will be doing one of my infamous ‘Band Roundups’ very soon. Promise.

If you’re on that ‘anti-Valentine’s Day’ kick and are looking for an alternative way to get through the endless marketing hype for flowers, cards and chocolates, here’s some more suggestions for tonight and tomorrow – the ever-provocative Bent Wit Cabaret, with “Cupid’s Misfire”; massmouth’s “Ex-Files”, and Mortified Boston’s Doomed Valentines Show.

Bent Wit Cabaret: Cupid’s Misfire at OBERON

2 Arrow St., Harvard Square, Cambridge
Sunday, February 13th
doors at 7:30 pm; show begins at 8:00 pm
Tickets $10-35; Seating is limited.

Bent Wit Cabaret Presents: “Cupid’s Misfire: Burlesque with a Heart On.”

“Featuring an all-star cast fresh off The Slutcracker, all-original numbers
about love and its pitfalls/pratfalls, and a winning combination of comedy and striptease burlesque, this is the show to see on Valentine’s Weekend. With all-new performances by Lolli Hoops, Mehran, Bitches of Destiny, Pamela Passion, Femme Brulee, UnAmerika’s Sweetheart Karin Webb, 86-year-old Mary Dolan and more- this show will turn you on in ways you never thought possible.” (from their press release)

massmouth Presents: Story Slams – “ex-files”

at the Enormous Room, 567 Mass. Ave, Cambridge
Sunday, February 13th
6pm-9pm

An evening of 10 five-minute stories, improv games and prizes, and more, hosted by massmouth. The theme is “ex-files”, which is rather self-explanatory on this Valentine’s Day Weekend. Cohosts will be Bruce Marcus, J. Mike Remy and Diana V. I had my introduction to massmouth last night at Lizard Lounge as part of the Un-Valentine’s Day Org (a few words about this coming up soon), and they were wonderful.

massmouth is a nonprofit organization “promoting the timeless art of storytelling through social media, education and live performance”.

Mortified Boston’s Doomed Valentines Show

at the Coolidge Corner Theater, 290 Harvard Street, Brookline
Valentine’s Day, Monday, February 14th
$15 general admission/$12 Coolidge members | BUY TICKETS

“This special love-themed event features ordinary people sharing their most hilariously embarrassing diary entries, lyrics, poems, and artwork from when they were teens struck by Cupid’s arrow. One by one, brave men and women will take the stage to relive their tortured adolescence with cringe-worthy material about juvenile ardor gone wrong, from unrequited high-school crushes and tumultuous off-and-on romances to bad prom dates and worse!” (from their press release)

Mortified is a curious organization that celebrates the writing, art and media of young adolescents. Referring to their mission as “a comic excavation,” adults share their most embarrassing letters, poems, art, journals, and other forms of self-expression. Participants include professional performers and people from all walks of life – “all in the noble pursuit of personal redemption through public humiliation”.

Fan-Tan

from NYC, on at 9pm
Fan-Tan – A.O.D. by rslblog.com

The Cinnamon Fuzz

from Boston, on at 10pm
The Cinnamon Fuzz – Strangers by rslblog.com

Bridges & Powerlines

from NYC, on at 11pm
Bridges and Powerlines – Mirabell by rslblog.com

RIBS

from Boston, on at midnight
Cosmos by RIBS (band)