Tag: Great Scott Allston MA Page 1 of 2

Introducing Hands (from Los Angeles) ~ Synesthesia & tour

On May 31, 2013

photo courtesy of David Morrison

Looks like we’ll be on a little “Eastside L.A. kick” for a few days. Hands actually began in Philadelphia with Geoff Halliday on vocals and keyboards and Ryan Sweeney on guitar, but then migrated to Silver Lake, where Sean Hess (drums) and Alex Staniloff (bass) joined them and all apparently partook of those mystical underground spring waters that make bands in this particular neighborhood of Los Angeles really, really good. This is exuberant synth pop that wouldn’t be unwelcome by fans of Passion Pit, Foster the People — or the 1980s, for that matter. This is some good bouncy stuff for moving around to in a sweaty club.

Although they only just became a band last year, they’ve already played at SXSW, CMJ and DeLuna Fest, and have had some considerable mainstream media attention. This includes ABC News’ “7 Emerging Artists On The Rise,” The Guardian’s “New Band Of The Day” and Time Magazine’s list of “11 bands you don’t know (but should).” Last month, they released their debut full-length, Synesthesia on Kill Rock Stars.

One stand-out track for me is “Brave Motion,” which also comes with a pretty awesome video. Check it out. They’ll be stopping off in Boston (Allston) at Great Scott on Tuesday night. See their East Coast tour dates below.

And speaking of Passion Pit, living in the Boston area as I am, I would be remiss in not including Hands’ remix of Passion Pit’s “It’s Not My Fault.” So here it is.

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/88489375″ params=”” width=” 100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

Upcoming Shows

6/1 New York City, NY @ Glasslands
6/2 Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Necktie Doors @ 8pm
6/3 New York City, NY @ Pianos Doors @ 7:45pm
6/4 Allston, MA @ Great Scott Doors @ 9pm
6/5 Montreal, QC, Canada @ Il Motore Doors @ 8:30pm
6/6 Toronto, ON, Cananda @ The Drake Hotel Doors @ 8pm
6/7 Pittsburgh, PA @ 6119 Penn Avenue
From there, it’s on to the Midwest and West Coast. For their complete schedule, see their website

web | facebook | twitter | bandcamp

share this:

The Bats – Spring 2013 U.S. Tour!

By julie

On May 29, 2013

In Gigs, Indie Music, Show Previews

Heads up, New Zealand Flying Nun indie pop fans! We have a real treat coming right up on the horizon. Direct from Christchurch, The Bats are here for a 12-date tour across the U.S., stopping off in Boston at the cozy Great Scott this Sunday (June 2). Not only are The Bats one of the legendary bands from back in those heady ’80s. Along with bands like The Clean, The Chills and The Verlaines, they defined that classic “Flying Nun sound” — pretty, chiming, jangly guitar-based pop music that dances happily around positively dismal lyrics. Love it.

share this:

Nightmare Air Debut Album & Tour!

By julie

On March 26, 2013

In Indie Music, Show Previews

IMPORTANT: SHOWS AFTER 3/29 DURHAM, NH HAVE BEEN CANCELLED DUE TO AN IMPENDING AIRBORNE TOXIC EVENT (TOUR) (congratulations guys!)

A noisy and beautiful psychedelic assault comes to Allston tomorrow night.

Nightmare Air is a band I’ve written about before in musings, as part of my annual Eastside L.A. Roundups. They’re noisy, spacey, psychedelic, powerful, and they just released their debut album, High In The Lasers. It’s an otherworldly adventure from Dave Dupuis (guitar, vocals) and Swaan Miller (bass, vocals). Both have a rich history in L.A. bands—Dave is in the band Film School, and Swaan put out an acoustic album in 2003, later released on Important Records. Jimmy Lucido joins them on drums for a full sonic assault and a wall of glorious space and distortion. Vocals veer from ethereal to paint-peeling, and the effect is hallucinatory. It was mixed by Dave Schiffman (Nine Inch Nails, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Mars Volta) and mastered by Howie Weinberg (Nirvana, Sonic Youth, The White Stripes). They’re currently on tour across the U.S., about midway through (having just performed sold out shows in Cali with The Wedding Present and with fellow L.A. Eastsiders The Happy Hollows. Next up are visits to Boston, Brooklyn, New Hampshire, Maine, the Midwest and Denver, beginning tomorrow night at Great Scott in Allston.

They began back in 2008 after a Film School tour, releasing their debut EP in 2009 and touring the U.S. and Canada in support of it. They pulled off quite a feat last year for a little indie band, embarking on a 3-1/2 month, 9-country world tour with no label and no booking agency, and even before their debut album. Happily, they now have a label—two, in fact. Their debut is available from Vinyl Junkie in Japan (with alternate artwork and bonus tracks), and Saint Marie Records everywhere else. Shake off those winter cobwebs in a major way, and go see them live if you can.

web | facebook | twitter | YouTube | Filter Magazine interview (Nov. 2012)

share this:

Highly recommended tonight: Family of the Year at Great Scott

By julie

On October 2, 2012

In Indie Music, Show Previews

Family of the Year

White Arrows (from CA) with Family of the Year (from CA) and New Cassettes (from the UK) at Great Scott – TONIGHT (Tuesday, October 2, 2012)
doors at 9pm | 18+ | $10

Pretty pop music alert – plus some psychedelia with an electronic beat from White Arrows, who are headlining. Especially recommended – Boston-bred, L.A.-based Family of the Year, and their new album, Loma Vista.

share this:

Wintersleep with Magic Magic and Slowdim at Great Scott TONIGHT!

By julie

On June 18, 2012

In Boston Bands, Indie Music, Show Previews

Wintersleep, photo by Scott Munn

CQ Presents: Wintersleep with Magic Magic and Slowdim at Great Scott
9pm | 18+ | $9 | :::: BUY TICKETS :::

Canadian band Wintersleep, who just released Hello Hum (Roll Call Records) last week, are at Great Scott tonight, along with Boston’s own Magic Magic and Slowdim. Magic Magic’s last release was the Thank You EP, in May of last year. Slowdim released their first single, “Money” back in February, which will by on their upcoming debut album.

Listen to a special acoustic version of “Nothing Is Anything,” included as a bonus track on the new Wintersleep album. Check out the latest from Magic Magic. And if you’re in the neighborhood, go see them.

Nothing is Anything (stripped down) by rollcallrecords

<a href="http://magicmagic.bandcamp.com/album/thank-you">thank you by magic magic.</a>

Upcoming Wintersleep Shows

Mon 6/18 – Great Scott, Allston MA – TONIGHT
Tues 6/19 – Knitting Factory, NYC (will be broadcast live on Livestream) (also playing: Soft Bullets, Jeff Beam – what a coincidence; I’m profiling him next)
Wed 6/20 – North Star Bar, Philadelphia PA
Fri 6/29 – Charlottetown Summerfest @ Confederation Landing Park (Canada)

share this:

Yellow Ostrich Roosts at Great Scott Saturday Night; Hatches New Album

By julie

On February 27, 2012

In Indie Music, Show Previews

photo by Kyle Reinford

Yellow Ostrich, who I first talked about back in October of last year, are back in Boston (Allston actually, at Great Scott on Saturday night, March 3) to celebrate the release of their new album, Strange Land, out 3/6 on Barsuk Records.

I spoke of how eclectic and experimental they were on their earlier recordings. They’re even more so now, at least based on one of the singles, “The Shakedown,” which surprisingly (or at least to me) is a pretty straightforward guitar rocker! You can download it from them, but have a listen to another single from the imminent album, “Marathon Runner,” which is more to my personal tastes, but that’s just me. It’ll be interesting to hear the rest of the album, and it’s refreshing to discover another band not beholden to any particular genre.

Also on the bill Sat. night is the duo of Nicolas Snyder and Joshua Sickels, known as 1,2,3 and Old Abram Brown. This stop in Allston is the opening night of Yellow Ostrich’s national tour which takes in SXSW, lands at the Bootleg Theatre in L.A. with Niki and the Dove, and circles back to the Mercury Lounge in NYC on April 12. They’re also playing at Sasquatch in May.

web | facebook | twitter | bandcamp

share this:

BOSTON HASSLE Playbutton Release Party – TONIGHT at Great Scott!

By julie

On December 11, 2011

In Boston Bands, Indie Music, Show Previews

The BOSTON HASSLE Playbutton

BOSTON HASSLE Underground Music Compilation Playbutton Release Party
featuring: Debo Band, Fat History Month, Creaturos, The Needy Visions, Saralee, Ming Ming, Exusamwa, and Kid Romance
Great Scott – Sunday, December 11 (tonight)
9pm | 18+ | $5 – $10 sliding scale

If you’re sitting there thinking, “how can I be so much cooler than everyone else around me, so that my Boston music scene street cred is forever secured?” , you need to know about this awesome new music compilation. It is in honor of the Boston underground music scene, fearlessly supported by the folks at Body Of Water (B.O.W.) and Boston Compass, who regularly promote shows within a wide range of ‘outside the mainstream’ genres in alternative venues. For this unusual new release, they’ve partnered with The Boston Hassle, a music blog and events guide that specializes in “Psych, punk, weird, pop, electronic, experimental, and awesome music… high and low brow smashed to pieces and forever mixed together.” Attention hipsters: you can now (quite literally) wear your love of underground music on your sleeve.

share this:

Darwin Deez at Great Scott Thursday night

By julie

On January 11, 2011

In Show Previews

The odd and quirky world of Darwin Deez leaves orbit and lands at Great Scott in Allston on Thursday (Jan. 13), on tour to support his upcoming debut, due out February 22 on Lucky Number. Originally from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (born to Meher Baba disciples, which surely must mean something), he’s now based in New York, where he developed his unique blend of goofy synth-pop, sing-song vocals and clever lyrics that put a happy coating on vaguely melancholy, slightly cynical sentiments. In “Bad Day,” a song written to some guy who stole his girl, he whimsically sings, “I hope that the last page of your 800 page novel is missing, I hope that your team lost.” It’s this type of juxtaposition that gives him that subversive charm.

share this:

Boston bands (featured) this week…

By julie

On November 23, 2010

In Boston Bands, Show Previews

The Hush Now (photo by Adam Quane), The Fatal Flaw, The Sheila Divine

The Fatal Flaw, The Hush Now, and The Sheila Divine @ Great Scott ~ Wednesday, November 24, 2010 (SOLD OUT)

Just as I’m getting to this, late as always, I see now that this show is sold out. So if you don’t have tickets, sorry. But I’d like to make a note of it, being as how it’s a big “Boston Band Spectacular”, and at least one of the bands is coming out of a kind of semi-retirement. So I’ll briefly profile all three. If you already know all about them and are going to Great Scott’s Wednesday night, awesome. If you don’t know about them, check ’em out. How’s that?

share this:

Boston Bands This Week…

By julie

On August 2, 2010

In Boston Bands, Show Previews

Three Boston/Allston bands will be converging at Great Scott on Saturday to pay homage, sadly, to one of them calling it quits. For Forest Henderson, whom I profiled back in April of last year, it’ll be their final show. They’ll be joined by the cool bluesy rock sounds of Big East and ‘folk punk’ quartet Pray for Polanski .

share this: