The Dead Marxist Trio, Happy Hollows
One of my favorite bands, The Happy Hollows, are embarking on a little tour beginning tonight in Washington, D.C., stopping off at O’Brien’s Pub in Allston next Monday. Psychedelic, experimental Boston-based The Dead Marxist Trio will be performing with them, which promises to be a nice evening for a mystical foray to another world.
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Evelyn Evelyn (photo by Scott Irvine); Sxip Shirey, Jason Webley, and Amanda Palmer; For the Sake of the Song founder Patrick Coman; and Flightless Buttress (photo by Conor Doherty - www.conordoherty.com).
I present to you two evenings of stark contrast: a theatrical spectacular of epic proportions – the closing night of Evelyn Evelyn‘s whirlwind worldwide tour, with special guests Amanda Palmer, Jason Webley, and Sxip Shirey), followed by an ultra-special afterparty featuring Walter Sickert and the Army of Broken Toys and Jaggery at the House of Blues Saturday night; and For the Sake of the Song, a stripped-down, unplugged acoustic showcase founded by Boston musician Patrick Coman, also featuring local singer-songwriters Dan Emino and Levi Schmidt, and indie folk duo Flightless Buttress, which touches down on Sunday at O’Brien’s Pub in Allston.
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During an evening of much invoking, Walter Sickert channels an Indian shaman.
On the cover of their brand new CD, Steam Ship Killers, there is a portrait of a multi-tentacled sea creature, ominous and threatening. But the curiously inviting keyholes at its base suggest that if one has the necessary fortitude, one might unlock its secrets. The same could be said of its protectors, Walter Sickert & The Army Of Broken Toys. A ‘Toys’ virgin might well be confounded and overwhelmed at first – what to make of this motley gathering? Marionette and puppetmaster, musicians and dancers, a bawdy and boisterous mistress, the uke player with the filthy mouth… At the center, the master of ceremonies himself, Walter Sickert, who, on this special night, took us on a shamanistic journey. It was an inspired extravaganza. It was also my opportunity to finally see Jaggery, and they were every bit as marvelous as I thought they would be. With their orchestral gothic brilliance, Singer Mali’s ethereal and acerbic vocals, and a dark, extra menacing rendition of “O Scorpio”… what’s not to love?
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Les Shelleys (Tom Brosseau and Angela Correa) with Shelley Short at Passim, (Harvard Square) Cambridge, MA
Thursday, June 10 (8pm show, all ages)
Les Shelleys and Shelley Short (photo by Faulkner Short)
Argh! Just found out about this. Singer/songwriter Angela Correa (a.k.a. Correatown) is in town tomorrow night at Passim, performing with Tom Brosseau as Les Shelleys. Seriously, it was a tweet from Angela, saying they were “maybe a little lost in a warehouse district somewhere in Brooklyn” that kicked my brain into sudden awareness. My Eastside L.A. peeps are all over the place! How wonderful. Acoustic guitar with singular focus on their delightful harmonies, they perform arrangements of traditional folk songs and American standards from the past century. Joining them on this tour is Portland, Oregon based Shelley Short, no musical slouch herself; a clever songwriter with a sweet little voice, singing in an intimate, sleepy & wistful alt-country style.
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I’m not usually in the habit of reviewing parties, but I must make an exception in this case and say a few words. It was a ridiculously cool event put on by Boston-area bloggers – Boston Band Crush, Bradley’s Almanac, Exploit Boston!, Playground Boston, Ryan’s Smashing Life, Tea Party Boston, Zed Equals Zee, and Agent Bishop Productions – and hosted by the fine folks at the extremely classy production facility The Bridge Sound and Stage (formerly home to the legendary Fort Apache Studios).
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Club D'Elf - Reeves Gabrels, Tom Hall, and Yaure Muniz.
How exactly is it that it took me 14 years to see these guys live? That was the question looming in my head at the cozy Lizard Lounge, as Club D’Elf‘s adventurous jazz/dub/fusion excursions ran rampant and unchecked through my electrified, buzzing brain. This was a special occasion – part of a Memorial Weekend ‘guitar orgy’ which, on this particular night, was presided over by special guests Randy Roos and Reeves Gabrels. Reeves I have seen before, and it was good to see him again. Mr. Roos I wasn’t familiar with, but he’s a wildly impressive guitarist as well, and there was some good-natured ‘sparring’ (and at times delightful interplay between the two) which added even more enjoyment to a heaping helping of aural ecstacy.
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Needy Visions, Magic Magic, Bearstronaut, and co-host of Bent Wit Cabaret, Mary Dolan.
Two Three interesting events to profile this week. The first is actually a three-day musical extravaganza to celebrate The Boston Phoenix’s Best Music Poll, with some very cool local bands in free performances at Downtown Crossing. This includes everything from psychedelic to lo-fi punk, synth-propelled New Wave and dance, indie pop, folk, and Americana. Secondly and a late addition because I just realized they’re performing at the Milky Way in JP Friday night, Audrey Ryan and Shepherdess, two highly talented singer-songstresses. The third promises to be a fun and adventurous evening of cabaret and music from Bent Wit Cabaret. They present a full collaborative theatrical production on the second Sunday of every month at OBERON in Cambridge (Harvard Square). For this particular show (“Identity”) which commemorates the end of Pride Week, they’ll be exploring race, sex, and gender, with lots of music, from rock to jazz to pop.
I almost ran over him at the route 60 exit
before the forlorn row of fast food restaurants
he had scurried across the road in front of my car
and then, in confusion and bewilderment,
agitated and translucent
in the harsh glare of strip mall and street lights
scurried back into the middle of the street
in search of something half-remembered
though exactly what, he did not know.
Hanna and The Bloodlines (photo by Brit Woollard), Jaggery (from their O Scorpio video), and Walter Sickert and the Army of Broken Toys.
Three bands featured this week who are performing on two consecutive nights at the cozy Cafe 939. This is a really nice coffee house and performance space down the street from the Berklee School Of Music (and run by its students). First up is Hanna and the Bloodlines on Thursday night, featuring jazzy pop vocals from Hannah Sumner. The following night is going to be quite an extravaganza – it’s Walter Sickert & The Army of Broken Toys‘ CD release party for SteamShipKillers, and they’ll be joined by their good friends, Jaggery.
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Happy Memorial Day Weekend, everyone – and let’s see how quickly I can do this and get it up. Starting tonight, there’s a four-day extravaganza over at Passim called The Campfire Festival. It’s quite a good bargain for the price, with loads of fantastic local artists and bands (just found the schedule, so click on in for details). Also tonight, I’ll be heading over to Lizard Lounge to check out Club d’Elf along with special guests Randy Roos, and – from the wilds of Nashville – Mr. Reeves Gabrels, who will surely be engaging in some mighty fine guitar wankery sorcery.
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