The Airborne Toxic Event, The Henry Clay People, and Red Cortez at the House of Blues, Boston, MA, October 13, 2009
On a chilly autumn night in the rather impersonal caverns of the new Landsdown Street House of Blues, this show had the feeling of a family barbecue on a lazy, warm summer afternoon. Anna’s hometown and the rest of the band’s adopted one, it’s clearly a special place for them, and while it’s not like being back home in L.A. with family and friends, I like to think it a reasonable facsimile. A comforting respite from the long and weary road.
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Ok, so technically this isn’t a show preview, because they’re not coming to Boston, and the closest they’ll be is a 2+ hour drive away near Albany (I’ll let you know what it ends up being). But I thought I would mention The Parson Red Heads and their East Coast visit, as they’re a great band I’ve been enjoying for a little while now. They have a lovely psychedelic and folky, upbeat sound with delightful harmonies, reminiscent of bands such as The Byrds, Big Star, CSN&Y, The Kinks, Fairport Convention, and Wilco.
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Youth Group (midnight), The States (CD Release, 11:00 pm), The Honors (10:00 pm), Leo Blais (9:00 pm)
at the T.T. The Bear’s Place, Cambridge, MA
Friday, October 16
(doors at 8pm; 18+ show)
Youth Group, at their show @ TT's last April
I had the pleasure seeing Sydney-based Youth Group at T.T.’s back in April. Very impressive. With a strong focus on the considerable songwriting and vocal abilities of Toby Martin (who also plays guitar), he’s joined by Danny Allen (drums), Cameron Emerson-Elliott (guitar) and Patrick Matthews (bass). They’ve been performing together since the late nineties, with a big following in Australia, having supported such artists as Elliott Smith and The Strokes. They became better known here in the U.S. when they toured with Death Cab For Cutie. Their music has been compared to Teenage Fanclub, Pavement, Matthew Sweet, and the aforementioned Death Cab. Toby Martin cites Teenage Fanclub as a strong influence.
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A lovely evening for Anglophiles. And for Scotsmen – or Irishmen, as the case would be here in Boston. Apart from the apt choice of venue, a particularly boisterous and no doubt ale-fueled Irish fellow up front repeatedly – and loudly – professed his kinship with the two Scottish bands. Irish, Scottish – ah hell, close enough. Which only added to the celebratory, over-the-top enthusiasm of the nicely packed-in crowd.
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The Wrecking Coast (9:15 p.m.), The Happy Hollows (10:15 p.m.), Dark Martini & The Dirty Olives (11:15 p.m.)
at the T.T. The Bear’s Place, Cambridge, MA
Sunday, October 18
(18+ show)
Photo by Dan Monick
The big and exciting news of this show is the first Boston appearance of The Happy Hollows. Having just been proclaimed by Radio Free Silver Lake as “the best band playing regularly in Los Angeles right now”, they’ve just released their debut album Spells, and will be performing a few shows here on the East Coast along with an appearance at CMJ.
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Silversun Pickups, Cage The Elephant, An Horse
at Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel, Providence, RI
95.5 WBRU 40th Birthday Bash
Saturday, October 17
(doors at 5pm; All Ages show)
::: buy tickets :::
and at the Webster Theater, Hartford, CT
Tuesday, October 20
(doors at 7pm; All Ages show)
::: buy tickets :::
An Horse, photo by Nadia Mizner; Cage The Elephant, photo by Danny Clinch; Silversun Pickups, photo by Timothy Norris
Looks like the “Boston date” for this really excellent lineup is either Providence, Rhode Island (about an hour’s drive) or Hartford, Connecticut (about 2, but an easy drive via Mass Pike and I-84). Being how jam-packed this autumn is with bands coming through the area, I’m guessing it was a scheduling difficulty rather than an oversight that led to this sad state of affairs. If you can somehow make it, or find yourself in a place they’re performing (see entire schedule), it should be a fantastic show.
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Daniel Johnston, Capitol Years
at the Paradise Rock Club, Boston, MA
Thursday, October 15
(doors at 8pm; 18+ show)
Photo by Yves Beauvais
My earliest recollection of Daniel Johnston is hearing his now classic song “Speeding Motorcycle”, performed as a special over-the-phone collaboration with Yo La Tengo, for WFMU’s “The Music Faucet” show on February 4, 1990. Actually, this song from the hour-long session was on ‘heavy rotation’ over at Boston College’s WZBC, and it was early 90s that I heard it, when I first moved up here.
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Sea Wolf, with Port O’Brien and Sara Lov
at The Paradise Rock Club, Boston, MA
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
(doors at 7pm; 18+ show)
Alex Brown Church a.k.a. Sea Wolf
Sea Wolf was formed around 2007 by singer/songwriter Alex Brown Church. Part of the vibrant East L.A. scene, he had previously founded the group Irving, some of whom who would go on to become the Afternoons.
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Built To Spill, with Disco Doom and Violent Soho (nights #1 & #2),
Disco Doom and Pretty And Nice (night #3)
at The Middle East (downstairs), (Central Square) Cambridge, MA
Friday, October 9, Saturday, October 10, and Sunday, October 11
(doors at 8pm, except on the 11th – doors at 7pm; 18+ show)
Ok, this is a big deal. I mean, it’s a huge deal. The Middle East, for those of you who haven’t been, is one of our best venues here in the Boston area, and even the larger 550-capacity downstairs room is small enough to feel intimate, besides being a really nice place to see live music. It’s a lovely thing, then, that this seminal indie band from the ’90s decided, rather than to play the House of Blues or the Orpheum (either of which they could easily sell out), instead to do three nights at The Middle East. Absolutely awesome.
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