Concert Review: Nine Inch Nails and Soundgarden at the Xfinity Center in Mansfield, MA 7-29-14

Because this show was on a work night and I hit some traffic on the way down to Mansfield, we got to the Xfinity Center (I cringe every time I say “Xfinity”) a little late. Soundgarden could be heard all the way from the back parking lot, which meant that we had missed Oneohtrix Point Never. As we got out of the car, the faint sounds of “Spoonman” could be heard as we made our way through the parking lot to the entrance, where there were a lot of strangely dressed characters, although this was not unexpected. As we got closer to the entrance, there were very long lines to get in and a lot of people complaining about how long it was taking to get through the gates.

Once inside, I grabbed a cup of beer ($11.75…really?) and tried to find our seats in section 4. This would be my second time seeing Soundgarden, with the first being at Lollapalooza a couple of years ago. They were just finishing up “Black Hole Sun” as we prepared to relive the 90’s for a bit with a crowd, at least around us, that seemed to be a little older. The band went into “Jesus Christ Pose” and continued on playing hits such as “Fell on Black Days“, “Superunknown“, and “Rusty Cage“. It still amazes me how Chris Cornell can hit those high notes. They ended with guitarist Kim Thayil going into a spastic noise feedback freakout which lasted several minutes and was awesome!

Up next were Nine Inch Nails, who I have seen several times in the past. Their stage shows are always visually amazing and tonight was no exception, perhaps providing the best multimedia show I’ve seen in a long time. The band, shrouded behind white curtains, started with “Copy of A” from last year’s “Hesitation Marks” album and from there it was a good mix of their older and newer stuff. “March of the Pigs” always gets the crowd fired up as does “Terrible Lie“. The highlight of the night for me was “The Great Destroyer” with all kinds of images and strobe lights flashing on panels behind Trent Reznor, as he twiddled knobs on a keyboard creating some really heavy bass that shook the whole venue! I’m still having visions of it! They ended the set with “Head Like a Hole” and played “Hurt” as an encore.

I had a great time especially with this being the first bigger show I’ve been to in a while, and the visuals completely blew my mind! Both bands sounded great and it was cool to relive a little bit of the 90’s again.

Concert Review: Morrissey at the Boston Opera House 6-7-2014

With all of the drama that a Morrissey tour brings, it was a 50/50 bet as to whether or not he would actually show up, especially with the week’s previous two shows being cancelled/postponed and opener Kristeen Young dropping out of the tour. As I arrived in downtown Boston to meet up with a friend in Chinatown, I walked by the Boston Opera House to make sure the show was still happening, which was apparent once I saw Morrissey’s tour bus sitting out front. We found out later that the show had been pushed back from 7:30pm to 9pm, so that left us a lot of time to pre-game with some drinks at the Rattlesnake bar and dinner at Q Restaurant (along with more and very potent drinks) in Chinatown.

Nicely buzzed, we made our way a couple of blocks down the street to the Boston Opera House, where we met up with a couple of people. After making our way to practically the top of the theater to what is technically called the “nose bleed” section, we got settled and waited patiently. A movie started playing for the next 20 minutes or so, then Morrissey flanked by five guys where white t-shirts that said “DIRT” on them, came out on stage to loud cheers. Going straight into the “The Queen Is Dead”, which seemed to surprise a lot of people, there wasn’t much of a break between songs. In fact, the whole night flew by pretty fast, although it was closer to an hour and a half.

At one point, Morrissey talked about all of the famous people who have been on the stage of the Boston Opera House and when he started saying names, my friend caught on that it was really just the names of the Golden Girls (and this is the part that made her night as she’s a major Golden Girls fan). He also played “Kick The Bride Down The Aisle” for the first time ever and it sounded good. Later, he played another Smiths song, “Meat Is Murder”, which I kind of expected. With a movie showing the slaughter of chickens as a backdrop and lots of red lighting for effect, Morrissey laid down on the stage in a fetal position as the band kind of jammed for a bit. There was one more song, then they left the stage. After a couple of minutes, the band came back out and played a couple more songs, with people trying to get on stage to hug Morrissey (and let’s face it, the guy could use some hugs). A few were successful but security threw them right back into the crowd. Morrissey ended by ripping his shirt off and throwing it into the crowd, the house lights came up and that was the end of the show.

For something that was in doubt all week, it was a pretty good show even though the sound at the Boston Opera House wasn’t all that great. To be fair, that could have been due to where we were sitting regardless, I had a lot of fun and was glad I finally got to see Morrissey live, even if as some walking out said, there was no “How Soon Is Now“.

Concert Review: A Troop of Echoes, Junta, Time Columns at TT the Bears 3-10-2013

Although I was pretty tired, I really wanted to get out and see some bands since it had been a while, so it was off to TT the Bears in Cambridge. I arrived to a pretty empty club but then again, it was a Sunday night, which is tough for a lot of people.

The first band of the night was A Troop of Echoes, who are from one of my favorite cities, Providence, Rhode Island. They were already playing to a crowd of around 10 people or so when I arrived. A Troop of Echoes played kind of jazzy sounding music with horns and noise thrown in for good measure. They were pretty loud but good.

In between sets, I ordered an Allagash White, which was damn tasty and much needed on this night. I noticed the next band setting up had a sitar on stage. This should be interesting.

Junta are a Boston based band that consists of 2 drummers, bass, guitar, horn, and the aforementioned sitar. These guys were really good, although I expected to hear more sitar based on their Bandcamp songs. The two drummers almost seemed to be in a competition to see who could out drum who. I ran into a coworker, who it turns out, is friends with someone in the band (and brought them many beers), so that was pretty cool. This was definitely an interesting band and I’ll have to try and see them again.

I decided to get another beer, trying out the Ithaca Ground Break beer this time around. It was a pretty good choice.

Up next were Baltimore’s Time Columns, who played a mostly instrumental post rock set. This band consisted of a drummer, guitarist, bass, and some loops. They tore through their songs and I was really into it, but the set was way too short.

I ended up leaving before We Can All Be Sorry went on, since I had to make sure I could catch one of the last trains back to Alewife, because, you know, the T.

I had a pretty good time, even though there was never really more than around 20 people at this show, but it was an interesting night of music.

Concert Review: RIBS, Majical Cloudz, The Soft Moon at TT the Bears 1-09-13

I was trying to decide all day whether or not to go out to this show, mostly because I was pretty tired and with the just announced flu epidemic in Boston, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to risk getting sick, but took the chance anyway and yeah, I was really glad I went!

I arrived at TT the Bears, where there were surprisingly very few people, probably around 15 people or so. I started the night off with an Allagash White, although I probably should have eaten dinner first.

The first band to play was RIBS who are from Boston. This is a band that I have heard a lot about but never had a chance to see. They sounded great and there was lots of cool strobe lighting, which set the mood for their music. It seemed like people were afraid to get close to the stage as most stayed towards the back. I ended up chatting briefly with drummer Chris Oquist as I browsed the merch tables after their set. He tried to shake my beer soaked hand (due to the cup being overfilled earlier), but I told him I would be back for some CD’s after the show.

Back to the bar for another drink. This time around it was a Pretty Things Jack D’or. It was being featured as TT’s local brew of the week or month or something. It was a little harsh, but not bad.

Majical Cloudz, a duo from Montreal who use loops to make atmospheric music were up next. They seemed to be having sound problems all night but persevered through it. This band seemed a little out of place since their music was much slower and softer than the other bands. Most of the songs seemed to be about death or dying. At one point, singer Devon Welsh came down from the stage and got down on his knees while singing near the bar. He also walked through the somewhat larger, at this point, crowd and sung amongst them for a bit. They weren’t bad, but I just couldn’t really get into these guys.

For my final beer of the night, I went back to the Allagash White. Probably not a good idea at this point since I was really feeling the first two and starving, but it was tasty regardless.

The final band was The Soft Moon. I had wanted to see these guys for a while now and they did not disappoint. The band was drenched in a blanket of projected lines, which also set the mood for their dark and gothic dance style of music. They reminded me of Joy Division or early Cure. With drum machines and synthesizers going, they played to a much larger crowd that was loving it. It was a pretty straightforward, although way too short set. I can’t wait to see them again at the Austin Psych Fest in April!

Although I didn’t manage to get any video (I got too caught up in their set), here is their latest video for “Die Life” from the album Zeroes:

After the show, I ended up chatting with Chris from RIBS again, who actually remembered me (and yes, we finally got that handshake done), as I picked up both their Russian Blood and British Brains CD’s. Right after I got the CD’s, I overheard this small blonde girl talking with the band and it turned out to be Abby from Boom Said Thunder (who were one of my recent Music Monday picks). I let her know that I saw her band at Deep Heaven Now 6 and that I was a fan. She was pretty appreciative of that as well. I’m starting to realize that most of Boston’s bands are really, really nice people.

Overall, it was a pretty good night of music and I met some really cool people and it was a great way to start seeing shows in 2013!

Concert Review: Guillermo Sexo, Orca Team, Laetitia Sadier at the Middle East Upstairs 9-20-12

I arrived at the Middle East Upstairs pretty early. So early in fact, that there were very few people there, which meant it was pretty easy to get a drink at the bar. I started the night out with a Sam Adams Octoberfest, which was damn tasty!

It wasn’t long before Boston’s own Guillermo Sexo went on. Playing a kind of gazey, indie rock, they were really good with the video projections being cast across the band setting the mood for their music. Check off another Boston band that I have been wanting to see. Shortly after they started, the pretty small room started to fill in. Their set started out kind of soft and quiet, but got progressively louder as they went through the songs, making me glad I remembered to bring earplugs. The band even dedicated a new song to their friends sick cat…Elvis. There was one more song after that and they were done.

It was time for another Sam Octoberfest, which once again, was pretty easy to get. Up next, the very adorable Orca Team.

Orca Team are a band from my beloved Seattle. With a retro, 60’s surf rock sound, this was my favorite band of the night. The crowd seemed to be into them as well. I chatted with guitarist Jessica B. after the show about Seattle for bit and picked up their newest CD called “Restraint“, which by the way, is great, although I wish I could have gotten them to sign it. Maybe next time. Oh, and did I mention how adorable this band is?

Having skipped dinner, I was getting pretty hungry at this point, so I skipped having a third beer. There was a pretty good sized crowd at this point but I managed to get a spot right next to the stage for Laetitia Saider’s set.

Next was former Stereolab singer, Laetitia Sadier. This was only the 5th show with her current band and they sounded good. There was definitely a Stereolab-like sound to her set, but with the spacey lounge sound missing. Also, a majority of the set was politically themed, which I wasn’t really feeling. She seemed to be really enjoying herself on stage, bantering with the very attentive crowd a bit. Some guy who looked like he just stepped off of a yacht was really, really into it by standing right up front and singing along with every song. After they finished, the band walked off stage for a minute, then came back to play a couple more songs for an encore.

I ended the night with an awesome chicken rollup from Falafel Palace, which has become my post-show-late-night go to place in Central Square. Overall, it was a pretty good variety of music and I had a great time. I can’t wait for Orca Team to come through the Boston area again and I will definitely catch Guillermo Sexo as well.

Concert Review: The Jesus and Mary Chain at The Paradise in Boston 9-11-12

I don’t know why I put myself through the horror of going to shows at The Paradise. It’s a great venue (except for those poles!), but having to take the red line and switch to the green line is soo inconvenient and a huge pain in the ass for those of us who come from the ‘burbs. But I guess it’s still easier than trying to find parking in that area, which is practically impossible. Perhaps, the green line is the lesser of 2 evils.

I arrived at the Paradise much later than planned (and missed The Vandelles, who I will try to see at Deep Heaven Now 6 in Somerville next month), where I met up with a couple of friends, one of which had my ticket. As we made our way in, and went for the bar, where they grabbed some ‘Gansetts and I got a Harpoon Summer Ale. We caught the last few songs of Psychic Paramount, who were playing noisy and droning music, which most people didn’t really seem to be into, myself included, which was weird because I usually like that kind of music.

The Jesus and Mary Chain, who are from Glasgow, were on next. With the exception of a few shows here and there, this was their first real tour in about 15 years. I went to the first of two nights that they were playing in Boston. I’m not sure how the second night went, but I hope it was better than this one.

It was a really, really loud show, with lots of squealing and feedback driven guitars for about an hour and then that was that. Seriously. An hour and it was over, although they are notorious for their short live shows. The band even had to restart songs a couple of times because at least once, singer Jim Reid stopped the band because he thought they were playing in the wrong key, amongst other issues.

There was an unusually large amount of hipsters for this kind of show, including several who tried to push their way in front of me and my friends, but we denied them as it was crowded enough where we were. Also, what was with people throwing their beer cups at the stage?

The band came back out to play a couple of songs for the encore, which got most of the crowd dancing around. Overall it was not an entirely bad show, and definitely not the worst I’ve ever seen, but the word “meh” pretty much sums up the disappointment of this night.

Concert Review: Refused at the House of Blues in Boston 7-20-12

When I first heard that 90’s political hardcore band Refused were reuniting this year, I definitely wanted to see them live. And on Friday night…I did. I arrived at the House of Blues a bit later than I planned, so I ended up missing the opening band Off!.

Let me get this out of the way first, I absolutely hate the Boston House of Blues with a passion and try to avoid any show there, unless it’s someone I desperately want to see. You don’t even go through this much security and pat downs at the airport! And don’t get me started on the overpriced drinks and attitudes of many of the staff (although the bartender on the 3rd level was actually pretty cool). I grabbed a Harpoon UFO White, which tasted really bad (guessing it was old stock) and found a spot on the 2nd level mezzanine looking down to the stage, as I and several others waited for Refused to come out.

After a long musical buildup, a huge curtain with “Refused” on it dropped and the crowd went wild! Starting off with “Worms of the Sense/Faculties of the Skull“, a huge mosh pit formed. Actually, the pit grew and kept going for the rest of the night. Even the band was dancing and jumping around through their whole set, with frontman Dennis Lyxzén showing off some old school popping moves. This led me to wonder who would win a dance off, Dennis Lyxzén or At The Drive In’s Cedric Bixler-Zavala? He also told stories from the band’s past as well.

Funky dance moves aside, the band sounded amazing and you’d never know that they only reunited just this year. That’s just how tight they were. It was actually kind of strange to see a band play longer than 30 minutes, since I’ve been going to smaller shows lately and that seems to be the norm. At one point, Dennis jumped into the crowd, which held him up and was a pretty cool sight to see. They finished with “The Shape of Punk to Come” and left the stage.

The band came back out for a 2 song encore, which they held back “New Noise” for. At the end, the band all took a bow, acknowledging the fans. They absolutely killed it and this definitely goes down as one of the best concerts I’ve been to in 2012.

Concert Review: Cooling Towers, Endless Wave, Plushgun at the Middle East in Cambridge 3/17/12

This show took place on St. Patricks Day, which of course, is a major event in Boston, so I decided to take the T to Central Square rather than drive. About 15 minutes later and a mild foot injury thanks to a drunk St. Paddy’s reveler in pointy heels, I arrived at the Middle East upstairs for the show. I had been looking forward to this show for a few weeks as I was really there to finally see Endless Wave live. But first a drink is needed! Harpoon UFO in hand, I took the 5 steps from the bar to the floor and caught the first band of the night, Cooling Towers, who were already playing.

Cooling Towers is an indie rock band from Boston. I have to say that this is one of those times where a band sounded a lot better live than their Bandcamp page led me to believe. There was a pretty good sized crowd, unusual for that early in the night for any band, so all was good. I managed to catch the last 4 or 5 songs of their set which included a cover of The Cure’s “In Between Days”. I definitely liked what I heard and will be checking them out again for sure!

While waiting for Endless Wave to set up, this girl gets up on stage and grabs the microphone and makes a bad attempt at telling jokes. I guess she’s trying to be a comedian but kind of failed. It also didn’t help that nobody could really hear her either. Sorry comic girl, whoever you are, you just weren’t funny, but I’ll give you props for getting up there in front of everyone and giving it a shot.

Another beer, another band. Up next was Endless Wave, a band that I have wanted to see live for a while now, but never had the chance. Not entirely shoegaze, dream pop, or indie rock but somewhere in the middle, they make really catchy and accessible music. At this point, there was a pretty sizable crowd in the small room. Considering that this was St. Patricks Day, this was a dedicated fan base. The band played a pretty straightforward set with little downtime between songs and seemed to be over rather quickly, but sounded really good.

Once again, the funny girl got on stage. This time the crowd was soo loud talking amongst themselves that you couldn’t hear a word she was saying.

Next was Plushgun from Brooklyn. Their music is probably best known from being used in a Comcast commercial, and most recently on an episode of the Jersey Shore. Once they started playing, everyone seemed to be dancing for the rest of the night. It was obvious that most of the crowd was here to see these guys since it got pretty crowded at this point. Plushgun play the kind of indie synth-pop that is really catchy. The crowd sang along with a few of the songs, which seemed like an easy thing to do. At one point, a Hello Kitty guitar made an appearance for a couple of songs. The band really seemed to be enjoying themselves, which always translates to everyone having a good time.

I went to this show not really knowing what to expect but ended up having a really fun time. All three bands sounded great and the crowd was really into all of them as well, which always makes it better. My only complaint is that I really wanted to buy some of the bands cd’s and even though there was a merch table set up, nobody was actually there to sell anything. What’s up with that???

Cooling Towers – Facebook, Twitter, Bandcamp
Endless Wave – Facebook, Twitter, Bandcamp
Plushgun – Facebook, Twitter

Concert Review: Belle and Sebastian at Citi Center in Boston 10-15-10

Well, hey what do you know, another concert on another rainy night! I arrived at the Wang aka Citi Center in downtown Boston to see Belle and Sebastian. My company for the night was the very friend that introduced me to them back in 1998 via her radio show on WRIU, and it has taken this long for me to actually see them live. Needless to say, I had very high expectations, especially since I’ve never heard a bad thing about their live shows.

The ritual of getting (overpriced) beers was performed, then we took our seats as Dean Wareham was playing the music of Galaxie 500 with his wife Britta. I have not listened to that band in soo long, but will have to rediscover them again. This also brings up the question of when will Luna get back together?

Dean Wareham plays Galaxie 500

My good mood was kind of shot down due to the staff at the Citi Center who were being real pains in the asses about taking pictures or even looking at your phone. If I’m paying to be there, why can’t I snap a memory of it? Venues should really be more fan friendly. But eff them, I managed to get the one shot above. Also, for a classy place, beer in cans…really?

After Dean Wareham was done, it was off for another quick beer run, then back to our seats where Belle and Sebastian came out to much applause and cheers from the audience.

Belle and Sebastian at Citi Center Boston

Starting off with “I Fought In A War” from 2000’s Fold Your Hands Child album, and going into “Dirty Dream Number Two“, the 12 people onstage sounded amazing! The guy in the row in front of me got up and started dancing immediately and never stopped. From now on, he will be known as “dancing guy”. It was kind of annoying but he seemed to be enjoying himself (perhaps a little too much).

This is when people were whipping out cameras and phones all over the place. The staff weren’t hassling people about taking pictures anymore. One theory we came up with was that maybe Dean Wareham was against it? Who knows, but I was happy to finally be able to get some pictures.

For “I Didn’t See It Coming” and “The Boy With the Arab Strap“, singer Stuart Murdoch asked for a few people to come up and dance onstage, letting violinist Sarah Martin choose the guys. Dancing guy hauled ass down the aisle to be the first one picked to get on stage. The four people danced non-stop through both songs. Before leaving the stage, they were given medals that said “I made it with Belle and Sebastian”. Definitely a nice memento of getting to be onstage with the band.

At one point, Murdoch ran up and down the aisles of the theater, giving out high fives to people as he ran by still singing. It’s always great when bands acknowledge their fans! He also tossed out some footballs to the crowd during another part of the show.

Towards the end of the first set, Stuart said that they were very grateful to have Dean Wareham open for them for the Boston show. He had one medal left and called Wareham to the stage, where he put the medal around his neck and thanked him. They played a little bit more and were done with the first set.

The band came out for an encore and played “If You Find Yourself Caught In Love“. After about an hour and a half show, the house lights came up and that was it, despite everyone around us hoping for a second encore. We hit the merch area on our way out, but it was absolutely insane! There were soo many people trying to buy posters and t-shirts, that it was impossible to get in there to see anything.

Overall, it was a very entertaining show and a great night! I left the show very happy that I finally got to see a band that I have wanted to see for quite a long time and regret not seeing them sooner. If you ever get the chance, by all means make an effort to see Belle and Sebastian live.

Concert Review: Best Coast, Male Bonding, Young Adults

I arrived at the Middle East Downstairs in Cambridge on a very drizzly Tuesday night for one of my other “most anticipated” shows of 2010. I met up with a friend and as we were getting our wristbands, she noticed that there was a “sold out” sign hanging up, although at this point, there was a decent amount of people, but not sellout sized. I also realized that I haven’t been there in a couple of years.

We caught the last 2 songs of Young Adults set, which sounded good, although I was not familiar with them at all. As we waited at the bar for our drinks (sidenote: these were the cheapest drinks I’ve had at any Boston area club), the bartender asked if we knew who the band was. He said he was really liking them, so that must mean something. I’ll have to check their Myspace and give it a listen.

Male Bonding

Next up was Male Bonding, all the way from the UK. We made our way towards the front of the stage to watch them. I didn’t really know much about this band either. They played grunge tinged guitar rock, with a little bit of a surf sound, which got a few people in the crowd, who were way to old to be doing so, to start moshing. Some more people joined in and there were even some girls moshing, but everyone seemed to be having a lot of fun, so that’s cool. The songs were short and loud but they weren’t bad at all. I will have to listen to some more of their stuff online when I get a chance. Did I mention they were loud?

After a beer refill, some moseying at the merch table (it’s always cool when bands work their own tables), and trying to figure out the logistics of how a midget could use the Breathalyzer machine that was mounted kind of high on the wall, Best Coast came on stage.

Best Coast

By this point, the club had filled up due to this being Best Coast’s first ever Boston show, which made it impossible to get close to the stage again. We decided to stay towards the back where it was easier to see anyway. Their lo-fi sound didn’t really translate over into the live show. Songs such as “Boyfriend” or “Crazy For You” sounded much cleaner live. The clearer vocals sounded good considering that lead singer Beth had been battling the flu all week according to her twitter feed. They pretty much went through their whole debut album, Crazy For You.

Bethany Cosentino of Best Coast

They played for around 50 minutes or so. After they left the stage, people were yelling for more and the band came out to play an encore which was pretty cool. This night seemed to go by way too fast and was over before I knew it. Overall, I had a great time and really hope that Best Coast makes Boston a regular stop when they tour again.

Best Coast – Wish He Was You