My Local Top 3 (9/12/10-9/8/10)

Fall is sadly upon us and the hipster kids are exponentially growing in population. As we look ahead to this week, those hipster kids should be smiling because all three picks are indie rock studs. Indie rock is a real crapshoot live. A lot of these bands are getting so experimental in the studio that it is too difficult to translate live. Many others, however, put on a great bare-bones rock n' roll show that can't be beat. The proof is in the pudding though, don't take my word for it.

Monday 9/13
Wilbur Theatre, Boston, MA
Dirty Projectors
Owen Pallett

The Dirty Projectors really came alive last year with Bitte Orca. It was truly one of the most interesting studio releases I had listened to in a while. I haven't caught them live yet, but from what footage I've seen on the internet, they are pretty tight live as well. Dave Logstreth, the band's front man, is a very talented songwriter and one of today's most innovative guitarists.

Friday 9/17
House of Blues, Boston, MA
Broken Social Scene
The Sea and Cake

Two awesome bands that are great both live and in the studio. Broken Social Scene's latest album is as good as any they have released. I have always thought that they drew great similarity to Radiohead. That is a pretty trite thing to say at this point, but I think their creativity is groundbreaking in same sense of Radiohead's. The House of Blues is going to seem like a small venue to see this band in the not so distant future.




Saturday 9/18
Agganis Arena, Boston, MA
Pavement
Jenny Lewis

Pavement is one of the pioneer bands of indie rock. They somehow never saw the glory that the Smashing Pumpkins, Jane's Addiction, and other bands of the same genre saw in the early 90's, but 20 years later, they are regarded with an even greater importance. Stephen Malkmus is one of the greatest songwriters of modern rock and the band has influenced just about everyone. We've waited long enough for a reunion, so here's our chance.

Go see some live music this week,

Perry

M.I.A. Fall Tour

M.I.A. has seen nothing but controversy ever seen the success of "Paper Planes" came and passed. She has become notorious for ducking out on gigs and even retired at one point, but is back and hopefully willing to make up for her shaky couple of years. She will be making stops all across the US this fall, so dig up your neon gear and shutter shades because M.I.A. is no longer MIA.

09-21 Montreal, Quebec - Metropolis
09-22 Toronto, Ontario - The Sound Academy
09-25 Washington, DC - Virgin Festival
09-26 Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory
09-27 New York, NY - Terminal 5
09-29 Chicago, IL - Vic Theatre
10-03 Ithaca, NY - Cornell University
10-04-05 Boston, MA - Royale Nightclub
10-09 Austin, TX - Zilker Park (Austin City Limits)
10-12 Oakland, CA - Fox Theatre
11-10 Brixton, England - Carling Academy Brixton
11-13 Manchester, England - Warehouse Project
11-16 Köln, Germany - E-Werk Köln
11-17 Berlin, Germany - C-Halle
11-25 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Noord-Holl
11-26 Eindhoven, Netherlands - STRP Festival
11-28 Munich, Germany - Muffathalle
11-29 Zurich, Switzerland - Rote-Fabrik
11-30 Vienna, Austria - Gasometer
12-02 Milan, Italy - Alcatraz
12-03 Rome, Italy - Atlantico Live
12-06 Madrid, Spain - La Riviera
12-07 Barcelona, Spain - Razzmatazz
12-11-12 Paris, France - Trianon

miauk.com

My Local Top 3: 9/5/10-9/12/10

Wednesday 9/8
House of Blues Foundation Room, Boston, MA
The Barr Brothers

The Slip is one of the best bands to come out of the Boston area in the past chunk of time, unfortunately they have never been consistent in playing live or releasing studio material. Now Brad and Andrew Barr, two thirds of The Slip, are releasing an album of their own. These guys are unbelievable musicians and Brad happens to be a great songwriter. They have made a tremendous contribution to the local music scene in their time, so do yourself a favor and get out to support them.

Thursday 9/9
Harper's Ferry, Allston, MA
Heavy Pets

Heavy Pets are one of the hardest working jambands out there today. Unfortunately, being a jamband is harder than ever right now, with the comeback of Phish and the rise of electronica and dubstep. That doesn't, however, take away from their skilled musicianship and keen ear for improvisation. The Heavy Pets bring it live and are a gimmick-free, stone-cold rockers.

Saturday 9/10-Sunday 9/12
Blue Hills Canton, MA
Life is Good Festival (lineup found here)

There are rarely large festivals with good lineups in the greater Boston area, but the new Life is Good Festival is definitely worth checking out. First of all, any lineup with Dr. Dog is automatically a good lineup. With that out of the way, it is important to recognize big names like Ben Harper and Galactic, but also smaller acts that bring the heat like Trombone Shorty, Eli Paperboy Reed, and Toubab Krewe. If the weather is nice, Blue Hills will be the place to be this weekend.

Go see some live music this week,

Perry

My Local Top 3: 8/8/10-8/15/10

Jerry Week has ended, but summer music keeps on keepin' on in Boston. This week we have some good big shows going on and some even better ones happening behind the scenes. Before you go into panic mode about seeing an outdoor show before the end of the summer, take a look around and realize there are more than plenty of opportunities.

Wednesday 8/11
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
Buckwheat Zydeco

First Drug Rug and now Buckwheat? The MFA is becoming one of Boston's best summer music venues and they're an art museum. If you wanna have a good ole' time on a Wednesday, check out this classic New Orleans feelgood collective. Zydeco is a genre foreign to many of us New Englanders, so you might even pick up a little culture too.

Thursday 8/12
Middle East Downstairs, Lizard Lounge
Club d'Elf

Club d'Elf is one of those bands that you have probably seen, but never really realized it. These guys don't seem to play regularly like they used to, so they stick to very modest venues. Their talent and grip on funky neo-jazz is bottomless, which is what makes all of their players in high demand for other gigs in the area. When they come together, however, nothing can match it.

Friday 8/13
Rock On Concert Cruises, Boston, MA
Rubblebucket
Tigercity

Rubblebucket is one of the most fun bands to see in New England. Not only do they have numerous highly skilled players led by trumpet player Alex Toth, but they make their performances interactive and spiritual. They are shooting quickly up the rankings and to be able to see them team up with Tigercity on a cruise in Boston Harbor is pretty much the coolest.

Go see some live music this week,

Perry

Fun Fun Fun Fest Announces Lineup

Austin didn't have enough awesome music festivals already, so the Fun Fun Fun Fest is returning for another year! This year's Fun Fun Fun Fest will take place November 5-7, 2010 at Waterloo Park in Austin, TX. Just like everything in Austin, this year's lineup is totally weird, including headliner Weird Al Yankovic.

FUN FUN FUN FEST 2010 COMPLETE LINE-UP:

ORANGE STAGE:

Weird Al Yankovic
MGMT
Devo
Dirty Projectors
The Hold Steady
Man Man
Cap'n Jazz
Os Mutantes
Deerhunter
Wavves
Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti
Polvo
Kaki King
Dum Dum Girls
Best Coast
Crocodiles
Magic Kids
Indian Jewelry
Appleseed Cast
Margot and the Nuclear So and Sos
Toro Y Moi
Junius
Woven Bones
Royal Forest
Mother Falcon

BLACK STAGE:

Bad Religion
GWAR
The Vandals
Dwarves
The Gories
Municipal Waste
Strike Anywhere
The Casualties
Valient Thorr
Jeff The Brotherhood
The Briggs
Power Trip
Eagle Claw
Mastodon
Suicidal Tendencies
High On Fire
Snapcase
Floor
The Bronx
Ringworm
Kylesa
OFF!
Peelander Z
Hatred Surge
Black Congress

BLUE STAGE:

RJD2
Slick Rick (performing "Great Adventures Of")
Deakin (of Animal Collective)
Delorean
Big Freedia
Designer Drugs
Devin The Dude
Invincible
Butcher Bear and Charlie
League of Extraordinary Gz
DJ Nick Nack
A-trak
Yelle
Pharoahe Monch
Jean Grae
POS
Dam-Funk
Dominique Young Unique
Black Nasty
DJ Bird Peterson
Crew 54

YELLOW STAGE:

Cold Cave (doing a live visual projection show)
Monotonix
Mariachi El Bronx
Live Action Wrestling
Veggie Hot Dog Eating Contest
Punk Rock Story Time with Joe Sib (spoken word)
New Movement (live sketch comedy)
Air Sex Contest (presented by Alamo Draft House)
Live Stunt Show
Video Shows
Stand Up Comedy with: Matt Bearden, Altercation Punk Rock Comedy tour and many more tba.

funfunfunfest.com

My Local Top 3: 8/1/10-8/7/10

You're going to have to wait for your good shows this week because it seems like the week will start to heat up towards the end (although I heard that Arcade Fire played a pretty mean show last night). The first week in August will bring straight Rawknroll to your soul with some tasty licks by some of today's best players.

Thursday 8/5
Middle East Downstairs, Cambridge, MA
Local Natives
We Barbarians

Right along side Dawes and Sleigh Bells are the Local Natives when mentioning the biggest breakout acts of 2010. The Natives back sweet CSNY harmonies with hard rock twang for a live show that has been received with great acclaim. Unfortunately, this show has been sold out for quite some time now, but if you are going, enjoy. If not, they will be returning to Boston at the Paradise in the fall.

Friday 8/6
Bank of America Pavilion, Boston, MA
Gov't Mule
Jackie Greene

One of the first show I ever went to was a Gov't Mule show and my interest has never waned. Mule's axe player Warren Haynes is one of the best and most versatile guitarist out there today, not to mention one of the friendliest and most charitable people in the jamband scene. On top of that, Jackie Greene continues to draw Dylan comparisons with his songsmith ways and easygoing feel. This will be a summer classic for sure!

Friday 8/6
Comcast Center, Mansfield, MA
John Mayer
Train

Lots of people hate on both these bands. I could personally give a rat's ass about Train, especially that song that keeps playing on commercials (although tell me you don't have a soft spot for "Drops of Jupiter" and I'll eat my hat). John Mayer, however, is too solid a talent to completely give up on. Despite his crappy pop tunes and mildly racist comments, the boy can play the geet as good as anyone out there today. If you go to this show, just hope for more "Who Did You Think I Was" and less "Who Says?"

Go see some local music this week,

Perry

Beatle Bob Celebrates 5000th Consecutive Concert

St. Louis' legendary "Beatle Bob" will celebrate his 5000th consecutive attended show on Tuesday, August 10th at the Duck Room at Blueberry Hillon in St. Louis. The show will feature some of Beatle Bob's local favorites such as The Trip Daddys, Hudson and the Hoo Doo Cats, Devil Baby Freakout!, DJ Sparkiss among others. For those unaware of Beatle Bob, he is simply a fan of music that has taken show-going to an insane level over the past decade and a half. He has attended a show every night since Christmas Eve 1996 and is now approaching his 5000th. Views are mixed on Beatle Bob. Many folks celebrate his Cal Ripken efforts and crack up over his ridiculous dance moves, but others think that his minor celebrity status should not give him the right to push his way to the front and disrupt the experience of surrounding fans. Whether you like him or not, however, you must admit that 5000 is a lot of consecutive shows and at this point in time, if you are seeing a show with Beatle Bob, you are seeing the best show in town. If you would like to learn more about this peculiar character check this out.

Congrats on 5000 Beatle Bob!