Ok, just a quickie here to introduce a new club I’ve just found out about this week. It’s called The Royale, and it’s on the site of the old Roxy, at 279 Tremont Street. You can read more about it (and see a few photos). Their grand opening is tonight, with a live performance by Tyson Ritter (from The All American Rejects) and “special guests”. Never mind about the mention of “Playboy events” – this is a new 800-capacity rock venue, folks, in downtown Boston, and one of the bands scheduled for May 4 & 5 is Public Image Limited. So definitely a club to keep an eye on. And I will.

Mary Lou Lord, The John Powhida International Airport, and Danielle Doyle.

Marching boldly into my latest installment of “Boston Bands This Week”. We start with “a classic”, Mary Lou Lord, whom I must be recalling from the early 90s when I first moved to Boston. She’s doing a special acoustic performance on Wednesday at Arts at the Armory in Somerville, which will probably sell out if it hasn’t already. Then there’s a few very cool bands playing at P.A.’s Lounge on Friday, including a personal favorite, the wacky and wonderful John Powhida International Airport. Finally on Saturday, there’s a CD release party for someone who just recently came to my attention, Somerville-based singer-songwriter Danielle Doyle, who’s joined, once again, by some cool local bands – this time, in the acoustic, ambient, and Americana vein.

Wednesday, March 10

Mary Lou Lord (acoustic performance) with special guest Michael Oliver @ Arts at the Armory – Wednesday March 10.

Some quick background: Mary Lou Lord first gained attention on the Boston scene in the early 90s by performing on her acoustic guitar in and around the T (subway stations), especially the Cambridge/Somerville Red Line. She also toured with Elliott Smith and co-wrote and recorded a song with him, “I Figured You Out” (1997). She gained notoriety as well, by having a relationship with Kurt Cobain, vehemently disputed by Courtney Love and causing “incidents” between the two, which I’m guessing I heard more about at the time than her music. She’s released six albums which have included both originals and covers (Elliot Smith, Richard Thompson, Daniel Johnston). The most recent, Baby Blue, was on Rubric Records (2004). | All Music Guide

Friday, March 12

Hot Protestants, Preacher Roe, AMStereo, The John Powhida International Airport @ the P.A.’s Lounge – Friday March 12.

The John Powhida International Airport I had the pleasure of seeing at a wicked cool “secret show” at The Regent Theater in Arlington, along with Reeves Gabrels and Monique Ortiz (as in, The Regent must have kept it a big secret, since hardly anyone was there). He was great fun, nutty and engaging (imagine Prince merged with Bryan Ferry doing a stand-up comedy shtick… ok, maybe you shouldn’t imagine that), and oh yeah, a terrific band. Definitely worth catching. Joining him this evening are Hot Protestants (no idea; couldn’t find ‘em anywhere), Preacher Roe (nice gutsy rootsy-sounding rock), and AMStereo (more punk, garage and noisier than I expected, for some reason, but pretty good).

Saturday, March 13

Danielle Doyle CD release, Flightless Buttress, Garlic & Moonshine @ the Lizard Lounge – Saturday March 13.

I just stumbled upon Danielle Doyle, and she’s really good – smooth, sultry vocals in the alt-country style, with soulful and mysterious acoustic guitar and drums accompaniment. As with what I’m most liking these days, the music supports and enhances the vocals; never overshadows or obscures. Lovely. She’s supported such artists as Loudon Wainwright III, Dawn Landes, and Heather Masse (of The Wailin’ Jennys). I’m racing (as usual) to get this up, but her songwriting seems to come from a deep, personal place, and definitely deserves more attention than I can give right now. Check out her MySpace for some more backround and to have a listen. Along with her are two great bands. There’s Flightless Buttress, a marvelous duo of John Nolan (guitar) and Callie Peters (cello), performing a minimalist kind of acoustic/ambient music with I guess a touch of Americana in places. Nice. Garlic & Moonshine are a trio of Matthew Rowen (acoustic guitar, vocals), Avi David (electric guitar, vocals), and Kirsten Lamb (upright bass, banjo, vocals) are excellent as well, with a warm alt-country sound and lovely vocals. If you’re looking to kick back and unwind with some comforting, pretty music in a low-key venue, this is most definitely it.

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.

Jesse Marchant of JBM and Zach Rogue of Rogue Wave

I almost decided not to go to this, as the band I was most interested in seeing (the openers) pulled out at the last minute. But then I had a listen to JBM (Jesse Marchant) and was instantly drawn in to his intimate songwriting style and warm, inviting voice. I also liked what I heard of Rogue Wave, though I was previously unfamiliar with them. I figured “what the hell, I’ll make the drive down”. Good call.

Jesse Marchant

I arrived maybe a song or two into Jesse Marchant’s set, with a small crowd circling the stage. My first reaction was “wow, incredibly brave”. Yes, I know, he’s a musician, a singer-songwriter, and that’s what he does. But to step-up and adjust his schedule to fill in and come play for us, and to perform a deeply personal, solo, (mostly) acoustic guitar set in what’s primarily a “Rock Club”, for, let’s face it, a Boston University “first time away from home, still developing alcohol tolerance” crowd… well, it fills me with an admiration I can’t fully express.

Instantly put under a spell by Jesse’s soothing, down-to-earth presence and heartfelt vocals, I pushed my way past a few young girls chatting and texting, standing near the front presumably to hold their space for Rogue Wave, but completely ignoring this wonderful performer. Now, you’ll all know that this is my favorite “pet peeve” – people who plant themselves in front of the stage and then babble to their friends throughout a musician’s set. No, I didn’t snap a flash photo in their faces so I can’t show them to you, but you’ll also know that I’m not beyond doing that. People, this is not background music for your pathetic drunken conversations. These are hard-working, earnest musicians who are kind enough to want to bring their music to your hometown, many of whom might earn enough money from CD sales at the shows to finance them to the next gig. For god’s sake, if you just want to get shit-faced and say stupid things to your equally-idiotic friends, buy yourselves a bottle of whiskey and stay home.

Back to Jesse. He moved adeptly from solo acoustic guitar to guitar and drums, accompanying himself on bass drum and cymbal… lovely. Never overshadowing the vocals, just enough to add a nice flourish and additional texture to the music. I had some trouble making out lyrics due to idle chatter around me, but this was certainly not his fault, nor the fault of the Paradise, which has excellent sound, even for something quieter and more delicate like this. An especially beautiful song (sorry, don’t know the name) saw him back at the front of the stage playing his guitar, mixing in some very nice harmonica with his clear, powerful voice, drifting up into higher registers for added emotional punch, though never overdone. There was also some tasteful “self-sampling” to accompany some really nice touches of slide guitar. Hopefully he’ll come around here again. Absolutely a class act.

As I’m listening now to his music, blissfully free of interference, I can happily report that his lyrics match the beauty of the music. Songs from his debut were written after moving to New York from Los Angeles, and there’s a sweet melancholy that runs through, with thoughtful introspection. The quiet solitude of time well-spent reassessing one’s life from a cabin in upstate New York.

“Please, don’t make a sound and stop your racing around
You’ve got feet on the ground but your head is a kite
And your heart longs to be found
Feeling free don’t come cheap anymore
Smile at me like you used to before
When the flames of a fire made you high
And you sat like a dog in the quiet
To breathe in the night
I’ve waited out all your storms
The pain and doubt has weakened my bones
But I’ll wait around even if it takes too long
I’ll wait around until the feeling is gone.”
- From Me to You and You to Me

JBM/Jesse Marchant’s debut album not even in July was recorded in Henry Hirsch’s Waterfront Studios, in Hudson, NY, in the Fall of 2008 and was released in early 2009. He also contributed music for the film “Lovers in a Dangerous Time”. Jesse’s originally from Montreal, Canada, is now based in Brooklyn, NY and Lake Clear, NY.

MySpace | Facebook | Official site | Daytrotter session

The crowd built slowly during Jesse’s set, and by the time Rogue Wave came on, the place was jam packed. They began with several songs from their new album Permalight, which was coming out the next day. As I was quite new to their music, I was coming at it with a clean slate, not expectant, not hoping to hear certain songs. I have to say, quite honestly, that I wasn’t terribly impressed at the start. It may just have been the band getting into its groove, on its first show of a new tour hyping a new album (which I gather is something of a departure from their earlier sound). Or perhaps I just don’t care for this newer material, which is poppier, synth-propelled, sometimes dancy, and to my ears, far more generic. A few people around me were moving around and pumping fists to “The Future”, but I think this was more of a “I’ve had a few drinks and I’m listening to a live rock band” reaction, rather than sincere appreciation.

Rogue Wave

“Solitary Gun” I thought was kind of interesting, but the first song that really caught my attention was “Sleepwalker”, which, listening now more carefully to some of their older material as well, I’d have to say has more of their original sound (which I’ve seen described as “melodic and pastoral” – hey, nothing wrong with that!).

A rant from Zach followed: “So much cynicism these days. FUCK cynicism! Always cutting each other down doesn’t get us anywhere… This one’s for the cynics.” Which then lead into “I’ll Never Leave You”, which is another favorite from the new album. It’s a gentle and pretty acoustic guitar-driven tune.

“These bottles and stones, we collected from our shores
we could line them one by one
’cause your pain is my pain
we’ll go out of this just the same
we’re better when our paths combine…”
- I’ll Never Leave You

After “Publish My Love” (from their 2005 release Descended Like Vultures), one of the funnier exchanges of the evening. “Only one thing I want to ask you guys…”, Zach began, to which a woman in the audience yelled out “show us your tits!” He responded with “I wasn’t expecting that.” You weren’t expecting that? You’re in Boston. The conversation continued, “Where were you in high school?” “I went to a catholic high school.” “Now see, I couldn’t get any ’cause girls wouldn’t give me any. You couldn’t get any ’cause god wouldn’t let you.”

Back to the music. For me, the second half of their set was the strongest. Not coincidentally, I’m sure, it was the latter part of the show that was loaded up with older material. Again, for me, the older stuff overall sounded more organic and somehow more substantial. Capturing my interest most were songs like “Bird On A Wire”, “Eyes” (which was featured in the film Just Friends, and which had some lovely ringing guitar lines), and “Love’s Lost Guarantee” (before which Zach teasingly sung a few lines, accapella, from “Postage Stamp World” – the only selection from their debut). There was an absolutely awesome tribal drum solo at the start of “Lake Michigan”, a huge crowd favorite which sounded fantastic. Audience emotions soaring high, they closed with the very lovely “Harmonium”. A pretty song, with the saddest of lyrics:

“All your dreams thrown in the trash
you were born into war
you were taught not to ask
for every single possibility
moving shadows in the dark
deciding fates over cocktail lunch
every single possibility.”

Loud cheering brought them back for a three-song encore which continued the high energy they had left with. They began with a nice slow ballad from their second album Asleep At Heaven’s Gate, “Cheaper Than Therapy”. Then – in what seemed like an unscripted moment, but looking at the set list afterward, clearly wasn’t – a vote was taken for what we preferred to hear next: ‘Kick’ (”Kicking The Heart Out”, I guess, from their debut) or “Medicine Ball”. We opted for the latter, which was wonderful. Things are a bit hazy in my scribbled notes (and failing memory) at this point. There were many shouts for “California” (one of their older and quite beautiful songs), which went unheeded, though I heard Zach say “we weren’t going to do that one, but you guys are so cool”. Not sure now what he was referring to. Did they perform part of something? The band was introduced, including their new keyboard player Steve Taylor. Zach introduced himself as Dick Cheney, there was some more nutty prattling, and “Chicago x 12″ was I think mentioned though also not played.

Rogue Wave, with some of their close friends.

And yes, there's always one exhibitionist in the crowd.

Inviting the audience up on the stage (an attempt to create that ‘anything can happen’ rock concert atmosphere which – I dunno – kinda loses something when it’s obviously, you know, planned), they ended the encore with “Permalight” (title track of the new album), which I have to say brought the energy level down considerably from the high plateau where it had previously been. It’s clear their loyal fans will accept the new material and change of direction as the next chapter in the band’s history… it just might take a little time.

You can listen to all of Permalight streaming on Ultimate-Guitar.Com.

A few of the people gracing our stages this week: The Novel Ideas, Black Marmot, Session Americana, and Rob Potylo (as Robby Roadsteamer).

Yep, it’s Wednesday. Yes, the first show I’m mentioning is happening tonight. And yes, actually, it just started. Any other questions? Good, I thought not. A very cool line-up of prog rock and pretty folk/pop at T.T.’s, and lovely folk-rockers Black Marmot’s CD release party (again at T.T.’s) tomorrow Saturday night. More Americana comes your way with Session Americana at Lizard Lounge Thursday & Friday, with notable performers (really notable) – check Lizard Lounge for important ticket info. And finishing up with HUMANWINE with Rob Potylo @ Center for the Arts At The Armory in Somerville on Saturday.

Wednesday, March 3

Sunrising, The Novel Ideas, Shark, and Dead Marxist Trio @ T.T. The Bear’s Place – Wed March 3.

The Novel Ideas

Sunrising – seriously nice spacey prog rock! wonderful. You can download their 5-track demo free on bandcamp. The Novel Ideas – pretty folk-rock and indie pop w/pedal steel, nice male/female vocal harmonies. Shark – a trio creating nicely dense synth and guitar-swirling prog with floating ethereal vocals. Dead Marxist Trio – psychedelic, dense, proggy in places, bluesy, funky, off-kilter and experimental. Awesome line-up!

Thursday, March 4 and Friday, March 5

Session Americana @ the Lizard Lounge – Thursday March 4 and Friday March 5

Session Americana

(from their site, ’cause I’m getting lazy and time is of the essence): “Session Americana sit tightly around a small cafe table, ambient mics tuned to catch the whole sound of the voices and instruments. A suit-case drum kit, an old electric bass, a bunch of acoustic instruments, a field organ: This format feels very theatrical and though the musicians face each other, the audience feels drawn into the circle by the warmth, joy and camaraderie that emanate outwards by the all star cast of characters seated around the table. What keeps you coming back show after show is the same thing that any audience member longs for, great songs performed by a great band. The six core members of the band have brought enviable careers worth of experience to the “table”, featuring (current and former) members of Treat Her Right, Patty Griffin, Lori McKenna, The The, Dennis Brennan, Kris Delmhorst. The group has grown from a rag tag jam at a local pub to a regional institution, playing gigs from church coffee houses to urban nightclubs to regional festival tents to large halls.”

[*see www.lizardloungeclub.com for ticket info - more tix to be released for these previously sold out shows*]

Saturday, March 6

Black Marmot (CD Release), Bear Motor, Sevi D & the Wilds, and Meteor Might @ T.T. The Bear’s Place – Sat March 6.

Black Marmot

It’s a CD release party for Black Marmot’s debut album Run Home. Great sounding folk-rock centering around Linda Clark’s crystal clear, lovely lead vocals. Nice mix of acoustic and electric guitar touches. Percussion and bass nicely compliment Linda’s voice, which is front and center. Supporting them will be Bear Motor (noisy garage w/a strong dose of the blues.), Sevi D & the Wilds (bluesy with a nice groove – guitar, upright bass, piano, percussion, strong passionate vocals. Some horn touches and harmonies come in on a few tracks.), and Meteor Might (musically rather murky, distorted; spacey and meandering; vocals like a strange and vaguely disturbing dream. Could be an interesting set. Note: they’re on early – 8:30pm).

H.U.M.A.N.W.I.N.E. and Rob Potylo @ the Center for the Arts At The Armory, Somerville – Saturday March 6.

Rob Potylo a.k.a. Robby Roadsteamer

This is going to be quite a show, make no mistake. H.U.M.A.N.W.I.N.E. I’ve seen before; they’re amazing. Rob Potylo a.k.a. Robby Roadsteamer is something else entirely. A Boston-based musician, comedian and performance artist, he began his career in the metal/hard rock band – wait for this band name – the Sweatpant Boners, who even put out an album in 2001. He’s released a dozen albums in the past decade, some as his “Robby Roadsteamer” character. Last year, he created a reality sitcom called Quiet Desperation, which features Boston-area comedians and musicians. His most recent album, Worried All The Time I’ll Make Mistakes is said to have a more “indie, folkie, dark country, Americana feel”. I’ll definitely have to check this guy out. To give you an idea and encourage you to visit his MySpace, a few of the song titles are “Lost Cat Poster At Shaws”, “When I Sell My Song To Batman 3″, and “Someone Put A Condom On My Dreams”.

Muse and Silversun Pickups - an awesome double bill.

For those not entirely familiar, Muse performs a dramatic and satisfying blend of prog rock and electronics with some classical influences, at times Queen-reminiscent vocals, and – according to Matthew Bellamy – are influenced by the guitar stylings of Jimi Hendrix and Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine, Audioslave). Their live shows are said to be pretty amazing, and listening to a live version of “Knights Of Cydonia” from Wembley Stadium right now, I’d say it will probably be one of those exhilarating concert experiences. On this current U.S. tour, they’re joined by the superbly marvelous Silversun Pickups, whom I very highly recommend to anyone not familiar with them. I had the great pleasure of seeing SSPU in Hartford last year, and it’s exciting to see them perform in venues such as Madison Square Garden. Really exciting.

Muse

Muse first formed in 1992 in Teignmouth, England (apparently first as a goth/glam band called Rocked Baby Dolls), and 18 years later, impressively still consists of the three core members – Matthew Bellamy on lead vocals, guitars, piano, keyboards, keytar, synthesizers, and programming; Christopher Wolstenholme on bass, backing vocals, synthesizers, upright bass, and synth bass; and Dominic Howard – drums, percussion, synthesizers, and programming. They’ve released five full-length studio recordings, the latest being Resistance, which is the first of their albums to be self-produced. In the history of the band, their strong belief in themselves and their music has caused them to butt heads at times with their major labels. In 2003, Maverick Records wanted the band to change a few songs to be more “radio-friendly” before the U.S. release of Origin of Symmetry which led to a split and the album was released by Warner Music. Most recently, the band have been very vocal about Warner Music’s decision to pull their artists’ new material from free streaming sites such as Spotify and We 7, believing, rightly so, that this decision hurts promotion efforts in trying to reach potential new fans.

In any case, it’s about the music! So if you’ve got a little cash to spare and are looking for something considerably bigger than the average club experience, check ‘em out.

Muse Discography: Showbiz (1999), Origin of Symmetry (2001), Absolution (2003), Black Holes and Revelations (2006), HAARP (2008, Live at Wembley Stadium 2007), The Resistance (2009).

MySpace | Official site | Facebook | Twitter

Silversun Pickups

Nikki & Brian at the Webster Theatre in Hartford last October.

Silversun Pickups are one of the best known bands out of the Silverlake area of Los Angeles, and a proud musical scene it is. Brian Aubert (vocals/guitar), Nikki Monninger (bass/vocals), Joseph Lester (keyboards) and Christopher Guanlao (drums) came together around 2005, first releasing their debut EP Pikul (2005), and then their debut album Carnavas (2006), from which “Lazy Eye” and “Well Thought Out Twinkles” ended up in the “top 10″ of Billboard’s Modern Rock Tracks. Last year they released Swoon which has given them far greater exposure and helped earn them a Grammy nomination for “Best New Artist”, even though they’re really not (not new, that is).

They have a great sound, with Brian’s fuzzy guitar distortion and distinctive voice, Nikki’s lovely backing vocals and thumping bass, Chris’s explosive drumming, and Joe’s sonic keyboard experiments… well, you can read my gushing over their Hartford show from last October. Brian’s reaction to the sold out 1200-capacity crowd was “holy shit! turn on the lights!” I wonder how he’s going to feel at Madison Square Garden…

Check out their performance of “Panic Switch” on Jimmy Kimmel:

MySpace | Official site | Facebook | Twitter

East Coast Shows

March 2 – Wachovia Center – Philadelphia, PA
March 3 – 1st Mariner Arena – Baltimore, MD
March 5 – Madison Square Garden – NYC, NY
March 6 – TD Banknorth Garden – Boston, MA

London jazz-pop singer Jamie Cullum.

If you like smooth jazz singing and/or bluesy, funky rockabilly, consider heading over to the House of Blues next Saturday.

While not really my thing, London-based jazz-pop singer Jamie Cullum has a smooth voice and seemingly, quite a lot of fans (several UK shows *in May* on this current worldwide tour are already sold out). He was nominated for a Golden Globe for his co-write with Clint Eastwood of the title song for the film, Gran Torino, and will be releasing his new album The Pursuit (Verve) (his first solo recording in four years) on March 2. In the meantime, you can listen to samples from the album.

Imelda May

Jamie’s joined by Dublin chanteuse Imelda May, who belts it out in a lowdown bluesy/rockabilly style with a powerful-sounding band – Steve Rushton (drums), Al Gare (double bass), Darrel Higham (guitar), and Dave Priseman (trumpet). She’s quite good, and apparently her album Love Tattoo is currently the #1 album in Ireland.

Cool stuff – Imelda May performing with one of my faves, Jeff Beck (who’s looking pretty damn good for an old man), at this year’s Grammys:

East Coast Shows

March 2 – Oak Room, NYC, NY
March 3 – Joe’s Pub, NYC, NY
March 4 – Town Hall, NYC NY
March 5 – The Keswick Theatre, Glenside (Philadephia), PA
March 6 – House of Blues, Boston, MA
March 7 – 9:30 Club, Washington, DC

Matt of Cage The Elephant gets up-close and personal in Providence last summer.

Well ok, the show is sold out, but I just love these guys and they’re totally fucking crazy, so I have to give them a little nod. My first time seeing them was at this uber-cool Providence Block Party last summer, and they were really fantastic.

CTE is kinda southern rock, very punk in ferociousness and sensibility, with a revivalist preacher vibe running through their music, which completely makes sense as they’re from Bowling Green, Kentucky. All this is synthesized into a very unique and powerful, funky sound, with singer-songwriter Matt Schultz’s introspective, soul-searching lyrics at its core. Their live performances are these crazed audience-participation affairs, and Matt’s demon-purging stage persona is truly a sight to behold.

But don’t be fooled by their out-of-control rambunctiousness and rocking fury – there’s some serious stuff going on here as well:

“Driven by religion
Running backwards down a one way road
A course collision, split decision
Tryin’ to save your soul
Manifest destiny
Is just a fancy word for murder
I’ve got this feeling
It’s gonna stop”

- Lotus (from their debut album)

Joining them at the Paradise will be New York’s As Tall As Lions (melodic with cool vocals, harmonies and thoughtful lyrics) and the pleasantly wacky and psychedelic Morning Teleportation from Portland, Oregon (oh man, theramin! hopefully they bring that on the road with ‘em. nothin’ like a theramin!). This sounds like a very cool show. Shame I have to work.

P.S. If you’ve got a ticket to the show, be sure to nanner them for me.

East Coast Shows

Feb 25 – 9:30 Club, Washington DC
Feb 26 – Recher Theater, Towson MD
Feb 27 – Theatre of the Living Arts, Philadelphia PA
Mar 1 – The Stone Pony, Asbury Park NJ
Mar 2 – Bowery Ballroom, NYC NY
Mar 4 – Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn NY
Mar 5 – Paradise Rock Club, Boston MA (SOLD OUT)
Mar 6 – Port City Music Hall, Portland ME
Mar 8 – Higher Ground, South Burlington VT

Cage The Elephant: MySpace | Official site | Facebook | Twitter |