Friday, April 30, 2010

112 posts in April 2010

112? Damn. Let's get freaky, haha...

Tonight: Class Actress @ the pill

Finally, this night is here. Been listening to Class Actress daily since I found the "Journal of Ardency" EP in February, and it will no doubt crack my Best of 2010's Top 3. Just magical, hypnotic synthpop that's a perfect date for the pill.



friday april 30:
Class Actress
New York City noir-pop for the broken hearted

Class Actress is a modern pop band in a retro world. Equal parts the soundtrack of a Diane Lane infidelity flick and a closing scene’s sonic come-down in a Jules Dassim heist film, this New York based trio’s slow-burn noir-pop disco makes its pill debut this Friday.

The result of Class Actress producers Scott Rosenthal and Mark Richardson plucking sultry singer Elizabeth Harper from New York’s coffee house circuit and positioning her impossibly seductive between-the-sheets voice with vintage synth-pop and against Lower East side nightclub flash, Class Actress would be coldly sinister if not occasionally acquiescing as a hopeful morning-after apology note written on the back of a 24-hour diner’s receipt. And that’s before we get into the comparisons Harper has been receiving as this generation’s Madonna.

The glacial strength of Class Actress’ “Journal of Ardency” EP has led the band to quickly share the stage with the likes of Little Boots, Dragonette and Erykah Badu, and single “Careful What You Say” has been embedded in Michael V’s head long before he fell hopelessly in love at SXSW last month.

New York Press called Harper “Brooklyn’s very own Madonna,” Nylon gushed over Class Actress’ “sweetly spectral vocals over lush ’80s synths and beats” and New York Magazine secretly passed the band its phone number in a cover story about the new Brooklyn sound, winking slyly at “unabashedly slick electro-pop beats juxtaposed with coy, romantically depressed vocals courtesy of star-in-the-making Elizabeth Harper.”

Let them take you out; this time our love is personal. Before and after the band, DJ Ken and Michael V (if he can compose himself afterwards), spin the best in Britpop, Modern Indie & Beyond. Look sharp.



Thursday, April 29, 2010

Cheaps: Mr Belding party, MayFair & HoB locals

I had a billion things I coulda tucked into today's Cheap Thrills column in the Boston Herald, from "Tremors" screenings to Passion Pit's free show at Brandies SpringFest. But hey, I went with Mr Belding at McFadden's, Harvard's MayFair and the new House of Blues local music series. Deal with it. Rock n roll.

PRINCIPAL CONCERN
Back to Class party at McFadden’s, hosted by Mr. Belding of “Saved by the Bell”

Tonight from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m., 148 State St. between Faneuil Hall and the Financial District, 21-plus, FREE
Dennis Haskins is no stranger to hanging out with sexy young women. Back in the early ’90s, Haskins played principal Richard Belding on NBC’s cult classic sitcom “Saved by the Bell,” which starred Tiffani-Amber Thiessen and Elizabeth Berkley, among others. Though the show hasn’t taken TV attendance since 2000, Mr. Belding still enjoys the ladies (seriously, do a Google Image search). So naturally, him hosting tonight’s party at McFadden’s has us more excited than Jessie Spano on caffeine pills. We’re not sure why this is a Back to Class party when college semesters are finishing up, but then again we’re not sure why Mr. Belding is partying with college chicks. But as the theme song goes, “It’s alright, ’cause I’m saved by the bell.”
Info: mcfaddensboston.com, 617-227-5100

DAY AFTER MAY DAY
The 27th annual Mayfair in Harvard Square

Sunday from noon to 6 p.m., around John F. Kennedy Street, Massachusetts Avenue and Mount Auburn Street in Harvard Square, Cambridge; all-ages, FREE
Someone get Mick Jagger on the horn - this Sunday’s 27th annual May Fair festival in Harvard Square promises an exquisite day of entertainment and dancing in the street. The May Fair features six stages of entertainment, street chalk drawings, railroad train rides, beer gardens, a charity hair cut-a-thon, hot air balloon rides (no joke!) and roughly 200,000 revelers enjoying one of the most vibrant places in the region on a sweet spring day. The live performance slate includes shows by Oranjuly, Love in Stockholm, Action Verbs, the Downbeat 5 and others, and Thunderdome’s DJ Mistaker holds down the dance party on the super crosswalk main stage. (Note: Because Mother Nature has a nasty sense of humor, the rain date for this jam is May 16.)
Info: harvardsquare.com, 617-491-3434

FREE BLUES
House of Blues free local show series launch with Bearstronaut, Earthquake Party and DJ Die Young

Starting Saturday and several nights a week at 9 p.m., 15 Lansdowne St. in the Fens; 21-plus, FREE
A night on the town along Lansdowne Street - whether it be a concert or a Red Sox [team stats] game - doesn’t come cheap these days. So props to the House of Blues for offering a free, local angle to its live music experience. Starting Saturday, the 150-capacity front room restaurant at the House of Blues will host free local music shows, open to both the public and ticket holders for concerts in the main hall. The dance-minded stylings of Bearstronaut, Earthquake Party and DJ Die Young help kick things off, and future gigs include Drug Rug (May 5 and 6), Doomstar (May 12) and the Hush Now (June 2). With free admission, it’s also easy on the wallet.
Info: hob.com/boston, 888-693-BLUE

Think About Life tonight at TTs in Cambridge

Hotline multi-tasking: Don't know too much about dance-minded indie kids Think About Life, but they sound lovely and hail from Montreal. So after Jaroslav Halak pretty much single-handedly took out Ovechkin and the Capitals, paving the way for the Bruins to not only avoid the Crosby Pens but secure some home-ice goodness in the NHL playoffs against a banged-up Philly squad, we'll throw some respect up to La Belle Ville. Oh, Canada!

Think About Life hits TT the Bear's Place tonight, and between that and Murder By Death at the Middle East, Central Square in Cambridge has it going on fierce this evening.

Circus party update :: new venue, May 1

When life gives you lemons, head to Great Scott. So yeah, Privus went out in typical douchey Privus fashion, telling us yesterday the Circus party (and it's 284 Facebook RSVPs) is a no-go. They didn't want a rager on their last night. Was hoping for one final banger, a few hours to remember a very awesome time in my life, but alas, not meant to be. So we're teaming up with the Royal Bangs & Twin Berlin show at Great Scott to present one MEGAPARTY:

CIRCUS PARTY UPDATE

Late yesterday the owners of Privus Lounge informed us we are no longer welcome to host our Circus farewell due to internal management conflict.

Faced with just not hosting an event, we teamed up with Great Scott in Allston to relate the party up the street.

In true Circus fashion -- the show must go on.

We know Great Scott is quite different than Privus, but it's a venue that does want us there and we're bringing the dance party to them. From 9pm to 11, Great Scott is hosting a indie show with Royal Bangs and Twin Berlin, then the Circus party takes over around 11pm. The regular $10 Circus admission gets you into both events, as we're making it one big giant party.

Drinks are cheaper, the sound is better, and most of all, we're welcome there.

Justin Bieber & Black Flag, together at last

Hotline on the Fashion Tip: It was only a matter of time before Justin Bieber's savage world of mediocre pop merged with classic punk icons in the holy name of hipsterdom. This fancy-pants Bieb Flag t-shirt is yours for just $20, and the only question left is how many we'll see around Allston this summer.

Next up: Miley Cyrus' face superimposed on the Misfits' fiend logo. Let's make it happen, apocalypse.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

New Interpol single for download: "Lights"

We'll see about this...









House of Blues front room goes local

Another from the desk of "More on This Manana in My Cheap Thrills column," but this new House of Blues free local music lineup is just too insane to not post immediately. Psyched my boys on Bearstronaut (who opened for Dragonette last night) are kicking this off.

Non-Kate Nash options tonight

I'm feeling frisky, and want to catch Southern Belle and Static Of The Gods at Harper's Ferry either before or after Nash down the street. Lot of cool shit going down, here's what else is up tonight, in beautiful techi-color flyers...


Kate Nash in Allston tonight

UK smart-pop diva Kate Nash hits Great Scott in Allston tonight for a very sold-out club gig. I'll be rolling up solo, which is entirely appropriate, since "Foundations" is one of the best relationship fuck-off songs ever written. Is she still dating the bloke from the Cribs? I'm falling behind on my indie celeb gossip...

Party with Mr Belding from Saved By the Bell

More on this in tomorrow's Herald, but this shit makes me more excited than Jesse Spano on pills.

Kid Sister in Cambridge 6/19, covers Extreme

Hotline hump day evs city: Kid Sister rules. So color Hotline wicked stoked when not only did we see the Chicago rapper rolls into the Middle East in Cambridge on June 19 to party proper with Bodega Girls, but that she also has respect for one of Boston's finest, Extreme.

Check out her a cappella treatment of "More Than Words," then get tickets to the Mid East gig because that'll be one hot shake down. Better get your right hand hi, people.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Animals in the News: Attack Cats & Gay Dogs

This is why I love the news -- you never know what kinda weird ass shit will suddenly go down. It was a boring ol' Tuesday until about 5 minutes ago, when these gems found my desk:

-- Vicious cat attack in Idaho (the quotes are incredible: "All I heard was rrwwwrrrr hisss," Jackie Ostermiller said.... "I was literally screaming" ... "I noticed she was looking at my wife with a weird look," Blaine said ... "I want people to know how dangerous cats can be, they can turn on you in a dime. Believe it or not - cats!" she said.

-- A gay dog was refused entry into an Australian restaurant (the wait staff misheard "guide dog" for "gay dog". For fucking serious. No. REALLY.)

Ahhh, yes. Believe it or not, cats.

Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg vs Class Actress

So yeah, you know, it's Tuesday around 3pm, and once the pain and suffering of the Standard American Weekday settles in with the daily jailbreak at still least a few hours away, I usually seek refuge in the voice of Class Actress' Elizabeth Harper. Nope, I'm not entirely kidding when I say I'm obsessed with the music of this week's pill guests: it gets me through the day, carries me through exercise and tucks me in to bed at night before sleep. It hypnotizes me.

So anyway, was doing my daily "Class Actress Listening Party For 1 (TM)," when I came across this mashup of "Journal of Ardency" with Dr. Dre's "Nothing But A G Thang." Oh lordy lordy bee, this is pretty next level, and only a matter of time before Snoop gets on stage one night and bangs this gansta synth tip out.

Tonight: Hearthrob announces last call.

You know, I've never actually attended Hearthrob, but I always noted its place in the Boston/Cambridge party scene and respected what a force it was. So while I'll be in my Allson Cave at Dragonette, a tip of the coke bindle on the sidewalk to the Middlesex Lounge bi-weekly electro party, which wraps up a debauched four-year run tonight. My ex got involved just in time, haha <3... From their Facebook event page, which wrangled up 225+ guests in like 24 hours:

Goodbye.

It's been 4 years.

Thanks to those who really got it and made it special.

We might be back, we might not.

We'll see, keep watching.

THE END.

Red Foxx, Baltimoroder, Dev/Null.

Photos: Zanazazzi
Visuals: Bloodsugar.

This party will be ALL BLACK EVERYTHING.

No cover. Tuesday. 9pm. 4/27.

This is THE END.

Be sure to share moments, love, hate, pics or videos from the years below...




Hotline: Sans Boots, Dragonette stomps Allston

Hotline action for a busy Tuesday: ...Dragonette must love us here in Boston.

After the Canadian electro-rock band’s massive North American tour with UK pop princess Little Boots got canceled last month (it was supposed to hit the Middle East tomorrow along with Fan Death), we here in the Hub figured that was the end of that. But Dragonette threw together some quick club dates sprinkled across the states, and they hit Great Scott in Allston tonight.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Dragonette front woman Martina Sorbara is this generation’s Justine Frischmann. Her seductive, commanding stage presence only enhances Dragonette’s synthed-out glitter-rock. Last fall the band blew up Allston in a sea of sharp synthesizers and an epilepsy-inducing light show.

But like Poison once told us, you can look, but you can’t touch, as Sorbara’s husband will be right there on stage with her, playing bass. But dancing is allowed, and for those not headed to Cambridge to kiss-off the Hearthrob party, this should be an alternative just as sweaty and electro’d out.

Choosing a Dragonette song is like picking among kin (“Pick Up The Phone” and “I Get Around” are Hotline favorites), but we’ll post the band’s underrated and slightly under-the-radar collab with Martin Solveig.

Monday, April 26, 2010

Class Actress: 'Journal of Ardency' 4.30 @ le pill

Class Actress, pretty much my obsession all of 2k10 so far, is at the pill on Friday. This won't be the last time I mention this fact. Elizabeth Harper's voice is from the heavens.



May Day: Royal Bangs & Twin Berlin

Knoxville's rowdy trio Royal Bangs are bringing some Vol State rock n roll to Allston Towne on Saturday, and New England garage rock mavens Twin Berlin help get shit started. So much shit going on May 1, but here's another certain to leap frog about 80 percent of your previous options. Obvs this happens at Great Scott.

MIA's very NSFW new video, "Born Free"

Well we have some boobs, a fat dude and a fairly graphic mass extermination of gingers. The song is OK. But this video is very CONTROVERSIAL. Ka-Boom.

M.I.A, Born Free from ROMAIN-GAVRAS on Vimeo.

Hotline: Video for Dom "Living In America"

Baby got the Boston Herald Hotz: If MGMT released this song as the first offering off "Congratulations," it would be the biggest song of the year. Instead, the sweetly bombastic, glistening, synthed-out romp that is "Living In America" comes from a fast-rising Worcester trio named Dom, who were at Great Scott last weekend for the WTBU fund raiser and next play the Wet Bandits (Passion Pit DJs) Cinco de Mayo bash at the same Allston venue on May 5 then two days later at Thunderdome in the South End.

Dom's debut EP, "Sun Bronzed Greek Gods," was recently purchased and remains Hotline's best $3 spent since going halfsies on a KFC Double Down. It officially drops on vinyl May 1 on Burning Mill Records.

Expect HUGE things to come (and a better video). Pitchfork's already all over it.

Last call: Anglophiles Unite's final broadcast

My BFF Kayley K is wrapping up a four-year radio run tonight with the final Anglophiles Unite broadcast on Emerson WECB Radio, www.wecb.com. All things Britpop all the time, it's been a great run and was very important to me for several Monday nights during the doldrums winter, a show full of knowledge and insight and King Adora. While I disagree with her assessment below that the songs never properly reached certain crushes, AU was a great source of the UK's rock heyday and properly carried on that Emerson tradition like David Virr's British Accents show before it.

Kayley's sendoff, from her In The Shadowplay blog: Uniting the Anglophiles One Last Time

Tomorrow night, I will do the final edition of my radio show, Anglophiles Unite. The show debuted in the spring semester of my freshman year at Emerson. I've done it every semester since then, usually in the 8-10PM time slot on whatever night best suited my schedule at the time.

I only had a co-host on a few occasions: when Victoria would join me for the all Smiths/Moz edition of the show called Shoplifters Unite or when one of my radio friends would drop by and hang out with me in the studio for a while. Otherwise, the show was all me. It truly was my baby. I put my heart and soul into each episode.

When I started the show, I always included an ode to my hometown of Murfreesboro, TN by playing one of my friends' bands. The longer I stayed in Boston and further I grew from my old scene, that segment disappeared. I used to do "Anglophile Dance Parties," in which I'd play 30 or 40 minutes worth of straight Britpop dance music. That also fell by the wayside.

My love life is always in shambles, and the play lists of my show always seemed to reflect that. When I was desperately crushing on a guy, I would pray that he was tuning in and play songs just for him. Of course, this never worked, even though at the time I thought playing "Girl Afraid" and "Ask" by the Smiths back-to-back was genius.

I got choked up making the play list, so I'm sure I'll cry on air tomorrow night when I sign off of WECB for the final time. That organization was my home at Emerson for four years. I can't believe that it's all coming to an end.


Iceland No: Bear In Heaven get airport creative

Firing up the Hotline on this Monday morning: As we all know, there’s not much to do when stuck in airports. So when Brooklyn space-aged synth-kids Bear in Heaven (as previously noted, a Hotline fave) were trapped in Madrid en route to London as a result of that angry mountain in Iceland, they got creative.

The boys placed a video camera on a baggage claim belt and set it to their track “Dust Cloud” in a serendipitous marriage of sight and sound. The result is the best – and trippiest -- piece of airport video footage since Tom Hanks starred in the Terminal.

Peep the Bear in Heaven tour dates, which include a few New England jams but nothing within the I-495 belt, after the video jump, and we still urge you to buy last year’s album “Beast Rest Forth Mouth.” It’s ace.





A nice moment during the dust cloud from Bear In Heaven on Vimeo.

Bear in Heaven U.S. Tour Dates
5/16 - Terminal 5 - New York, NY w/ Metric
5/18 - Newport Music Hall - Columbus, OH w/ Metric
5/20 - Vic Theatre - Chicago, IL w/ Metric
5/24 - Space - Portland, ME w/ Metric
6/25 - The Monkey House - Winooski, VT w/ TBA

6/26 - Big Orbit's Soundlab - Buffalo, NY w/ TBA
6/27 - The Space - Hamden, CT w/ TBA
7/9 - South Street Seaport - New York, NY w/ Zola Jesus
7/17 - Pitchfork Music Festival - Chicago, IL

Circus farewell party & Privus Lounge RIP

Everyone has *that party*. For many in Boston since 1997, the pill is *that party*. But my affiliation with my night means it's just my night (though the late-'90s/early-'00s were a great time as a spectator) and my involvement on the inside changes how I perceive it.

Circus was *that party* for me. What began at a newly-minted Allston sushi bar where I'd go to hear electro in Summer 2008 with my then-GF Brigid, reveling in that no one gave a shit who I was, became an obsession, hitting Privus Lounge on its bi-weekly sked before shifting to a weekly, dancing to sets by Designer Drugs, Drop The Lime, DJ Die Young, Hot Pink Delorean, Mayday, the Presets DJs, all after stuffing my belly with maki and getting throwed on appletinis.

The FTW crew's Circus dance party was the motherfucking shit, a mish-mash of scenes and people, and its creator, Vadum Rankin, is now my roommate and one of my closest friends. It helped spark electro in Boston like no one else, and remains my favorite non-pill party ever created.

With Privus Lounge closing this weekend, there's one final Circus blowout. Obvs, I'm pretty excited. My quick bio is below after the photo jump, along with the party's first-ever promo video. Nobody gets out alive.





PT Barnum once said that “every crowd has a silver lining,” and from June 2008 to August 2009, Circus brought a new shine to Boston’s electro scene. Now on Privus’s final Saturday night in Allston Dance City, the party that helped put the upscale sushi and cocktail lounge on the map gives it a proper requiem at the official Circus Farewell Party.

For one night only May 1, one of the city’s preeminent and groundbreaking electro parties returns, welcoming back the party people that helped Circus blow up and set the tone for future bangers across Boston. In a flash it destroyed, and in a flash it was gone. This is one final reminder of how we do.

Though Circus was renowned for enlisting national DJ acts like Designer Drugs, Drop the Lime, Reid Speed, B.Rich, AC Slater and celebrated guest sets from Ladytron, Presets and the Faint, this last bash is a Boston affair aimed to celebrate the scenes it helped foster. The lineup is a family reunion of Boston’s finest DJs: Mr Matt, Fantastadon, Vadum Rankin, Domonique, Gemini Caezer, Gil-T and Bons Cornelius, with Hot Pink Delorean’s Incite serving as MC. The Circus Farewell Party is guest hosted by Christian Hall and Michael V, and it’s also resident photographer Lara Callahan’s birthday.

Under the unmistakable scent of Privus Lounge and buried under a thousand martinis, Circus helped unite scenes, bringing together Allston hipsters, Cambridge scensters, suburban rave heads, 24 Hour Party People, techno kids, booze hounds, synthpoppers, undeads, downtowners, uptowners, across towners, terrified late-night sushi lovers and the legions of street walking cheetahs immediately drawn to Privus by the booming bass blasting down Brighton Avenue.

Dust off that Night Society t-shirt, pop the last round of bottles and post the aftermath on On That Tip. Let’s kill it one last time, start looking for the afterparty now.

RIP Privus Lounge. Circus forever.



Friday, April 23, 2010

Saturday: Boston Underground Summit II

Oh hey, it's a round robin musical beat down where like 10 bands set up at once and go around the room playing one song each and then it repeats, over and over and over until everyone runs out of songs. It's kinda like a fantasy baseball draft without the snake formula and no matter where I was picking I'd go with Viva Viva for the 5-category production. Though Quilt could probably racks up mad wins with a sweet ERA and WHIP.

O. Children releases "Ruins"

A lot of the music I post here is easily digestible. Being a young child in the new wave era gave me a keen pop awareness, and pop, despite its unrelenting wink-this-wink charm, is relatively disposable. So it's telling that I've been listening to the haunting new O. Children single "Ruins" a lot the past few weeks without really saying anything. I was kind of indifferent towards it in the beginning, but still mesmerizingly drawn to its presence. Officially released last night in London, the darkwave organ tone and deep vocal is more fitting for a fall release, but hell, here it is, orbiting a black cloud sonically larger than any spit from Iceland. I'm sure I won't be sick of it by October.



But beyond just another extension of the darkwave element creeping into rock music again, O. Children seem to enrapture more than anything else. This magnetic pull is intense, and the music doesn't go down so easily. Tobias' vocals could be the biggest hangup to prevent them from playing stateside arenas, but it could also be the band's greatest asset. Haunting doesn't begin to describe it, and it makes the Horrors look like safety patrol kids in elementary schools.

Jokers of the Scene has already electro-clubbed it up, according to Fader, and this could be the next step in the Muse Paradigm. This is some weighty shit, which is always near impossible to pull off with gothic tinged sounds. But this is clearly the next step. Of what, I'm not sure. Give me another few weeks to figure it out.

Weekend? Riverside motherfucker

It's Friday, off to see Sarah Silverman with her doppelganger then it's the pill. Weekend on tap: Mystery Roar & Videodrome tomw in Allston Dance City, Harlem/Girlfriends on Sunday @ GS. TURN IT UP LETS GO! RIVERSIDE MOTHER

Tonight @ le pill: modern indie dance party

Sarah Silverman is in Brookline, Lights isat the House of Blues. The odds of me getting arrested tonight before the pill are pretty good. So DJ Ken might need to hold shit down. Here's the deets from the mailing list on a suddenly-busy Friday



:::::::::::::::: friday april 23
:::::::::::::::: modern indie dance party
:::::::::::::::: dj ken & michael v

For the Win: Best Dance Night in the Boston Phoenix "Best 2010" award!

For the Nom: "Best Club Night [Dance]" nomination in the Boston Phoenix/FNX Radio 2010 Best Music Poll

So many contests, so little time. As the pill launches forward in a stylistic springtime march toward all night dance party gluttony, we’d like to take a promotional time out to thank everyone for once again naming us “Best Dance Night” in the Boston Phoenix’s “Best of 2010” reader’s poll.

Wrote our favorite alt-weekly: “Of all the ways and means to shake your stuff in the city, the pill is easiest to swallow. Every Friday night in Allston, DJs Ken and Michael V stir up a dance party that draws a scene-spanning crowd, week after week, month after month. Britpop is the flavor of choice, and now and then bands (Dear Leader, Passion Pit, Hooray for Earth, the Daily Pravda, many others) take the stage so the [DJs] can catch their breath.”

Right on.

And because the Phoenix loves itself some contests, its Best Music Poll round-up with FNX Radio is also accepting your vote, and unsurprisingly, we’re nominated for “Best Club Night [Dance].” We think we won that, too, last year, so what the hell, let’s make it a clean sweep.

All night dance party this Friday at the pill, a full-evening of DJ Ken & Michael V before New York City’s noir-pop trio Class Actress does dirty, nasty musical things to us next weekend. So many seductions, so little time.

Look sharp, vote sharp, dance sharp.
xo the pill



::::::::::::: 04.23.10 Top 5 playlist
1. "Fool's Day," Blur
2. "Living In America," Dom
3. "Lovesick Teenagers," Bear In Heaven
4. "Mayhem," Mystery Roar
5. "You Overdid It Doll," The Courteeners

::::::::::::: the pill
::::::::::::: friday, april 23 at great scott
::::::::::::: 1222 commonwealth avenue
::::::::::::: allston dance city
::::::::::::: dj ken & michael v spin britpop, modern indie & beyond
::::::::::::: 10 pm * $5 * 21-plus * look sharp
::::::::::::: http://www.thepillboston.com

Black & Cudi: (Non-bittersweet) Symphonies

Had an offer in to get Dan Black at the pill in June, but his US club tour was allegedly scrapped when Robyn picked him up for support slots. Now after seeing his new Kid Cudi collab video, I'm either bummed the pill gig is a no-go or relieved that it's a no go. This shot should blow up crazy.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Brooklyn Sunday: Dragonette & Class Actress

HOLY SHIT Brooklyn get on this. Dragonette and Class Actress team up to supersex the fuck out of Brooklyn Bowl, and if I wasn't locked into Harlem & Girlfriends at Great Scott I might trek down I-95 for this stunning display of sultry beauty. Martina Sorbara vs Elizabeth Harper. Me-fucking-yow.

Of course, Dragonette is at GS on Tuesday and Class Actress parties with the pill April 30, but together? Together?!?! Fo' five dolla?!?! Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa... $5 RSVP link after the jump



Dragonette Live, plus Class Actress Live
Sunday April 25 at Brooklyn Bowl

$5 tickets for Dragonette and Class Actress? Are we crazy? Quite possibly yes. But if you don't click on the link and get your $5 ticket, then that makes you crazy too... and you wouldn't like that very much would you? No you wouldn't.

$5 Advance tickets: CLICK HERE

Brooklyn Bowl: 61 Wythe Ave (between N11 and N12)
Doors 6pm. 21+ with I.D.

Band vs Promoter

Haha this is awesome.

Cheaps: Earth Day, Mystery Roar & more

Hidey-ho Cheap Thrill seekers. Today's fantabulous column includes this afternoon's free Earth Day show with They Might Be Giants, Mystery Roar's record release party, the French Kiss-a-Thon do-over and some inexpensive sciences. There's also a Belle & Sebastian reference. Good times.

GLOBAL SWARMING
The River 92.5’s Earth Day concert with They Might Be Giants and Citizen Cope. Today from noon to 3 p.m. on the Rose Kennedy Greenway between the Aquarium and Rowes Wharf; all-ages, FREE
In Belle & Sebastian’s song “Legal Man,” the Scottish indie-pop band tells us all to “Get out of the office, and into the springtime.” Never has that advice been more important than today, when the WXRV-FM (92.5, the River) celebrates 40 years of Earth Day with a free concert featuring They Might Be Giants and Citizen Cope on the lush open-air strip of the Rose Kennedy Greenway. Wrap lunch in biodegradable material and hit the greenway, which promises free music, a kids zone and other activities. While alt-rock veteran duo They Might Be Giants began their sturdy career of all-ages radio pop in Brooklyn, N.Y., the Hub can claim them as our own: John Linnell and John Flansburgh first met as teens in Lincoln and attended Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School. No surprise then that their 1988 album featuring the town’s namesake remains their best work. Extended lunch breaks are the order of the day.
Info: theriverboston.com, 978-374-4733.

HEAR THEM ROAR
Mystery Roar record-release party with Big Digits and DJs Die Young, Volvox, Baltimoroder and the Foxy Action Group. Saturday from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. at Great Scott, 1222 Commonwealth Ave., Allston; 21-plus, $10
With the highly anticipated - and sold out - Bacon & Beer Festival hitting the South End Saturday afternoon, legions of full-bellied Bostonians will need to work off a few extra pounds after sunset. So Mystery Roar’s official Dopamine Records release party in Allston not only serves as the rising local electro-funk-disco sextet’s coming-out party, it’s also a public service. Named the No. 1 new Boston band to watch in 2010 by this newspaper’s Hotline column in January, Mystery Roar’s sultry space-disco purr has enough synth-juice on its own to get any dance party moving. But this party will get downright sweaty. Hip-hop hipster duo Big Digits brings rapid-rap stage fury, and DJs from Cambridge’s best dance nights - including Hearthrob, Make It New and Foxy - cross the river to party Allston Rock City-style.
Info: myspace.com/mysteryroar, greatscottboston.com, 617-566-9014

KISS & MAKE-UP DATE
Boston Babydolls’ French Kiss-a-thon. Saturday at 5 p.m., Winthrop Park, in front of UpStairs on the Square, 91 Winthrop St. (Harvard Square), Cambridge; 5 p.m., 18-plus, FREE
Forget what we thought we learned from films like “The Notebook,” “Step Up 2” and “Spider-Man” - it turns out you can’t kiss passionately in the rain. Last weekend’s Boston Babydolls’ French Kiss-a-Thon was postponed to this Saturday after inclement weather clouded up the snoggery. Same deal as before: the open-mouth marathon is free and open to all couples ages 18 and up. Prizes include Oberon tickets and gifts from Peet’s Coffee, Lush Cosmetics and Eastern Standard, and it’s all to promote the Babydolls’ “French Kiss” show Sunday and Monday at the nearby Oberon (2 Arrow St., $15-$40, cluboberon.com). All participants in the Kiss-a-Thon will get a thank-you gift.
Info: bostonbabydolls.net, 617-869-2000

CHEAP SCIENCE
Cambridge Science Festival kick-off day at Massachusetts Institute of Technology Museum. Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., 265 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge; all ages, FREE
The nine-day Cambridge Science Festival kicks off with a day of free activities at the MIT Museum. On the agenda is a science carnival, deep-sea robotics demonstrations and quirky science workshops. Running through May 2, there’s enough science for everyone.
Info: cambridgesciencefestival.org, mit.edu.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Yo holmes! New Benji blowin' up

Figures they launch a new European looking $100 bill once I plan on not having any Hondo's for a while... But damn this is some patriotic shit. Get paper every day.

Happy birthday, Robert Smith of the Cure

51 years young today. Choosing a favorite Cure song is like choosing among children, but with a gun top my head I suppose I'd go with "Push" over stuff like "Killing an Arb," "Pictures of You" and the never-need-to-be-heard-ever-again "Just Like Heaven."

Coralcola 'Egggirl' download & release party

Hotline repost, where I'll probably be fired for suggesting pot use happened yesterday: Yesterday was April 20, celebrated for myriad reasons by myriad people. And one celebratory subculture – you figure which – got the perfect new-vibe soundtrack to accompany their going-green ways with a free download of the “Egggirl” maxi-single by Worcester’s solo trance-pop man/machine Coralcola.

Passed around the interwebs yesterday by Coralcola’s Mikey Lee, the nine-track collection features three Coralcola originals and “Egggirl” remixes by DJ Die Young, Christopher Wade and others. We don’t even need to listen to the Die Young interpretation to know it probably rules.

“Egggirl” gets the proper release treatment tonight in Central Square as part of the launch party for Zuzu’s “New Nostalgia” dance night, where resident DJs John Barera and Paul Morse offer up “vintage synthesizer music, psych, techno and house” in yet another sweet dance destination for the always-moving Cambridge crowd. The party is free and visuals are provided by Voight Kampff. Rad.

Details on the Coralcola “Egggirl” single are below, and peep the trippy video after the important stuff.

Coralcola - Egggirl single out NOW!
RIYL: The Field, Gui Boratto, M83, Boards of Canada
Artist: Coralcola
Title: Egggirl
Label: Self-released
Format: 320 mp3 download
Released: 20 Apr, 2010
Genre Tags: Electronica, Ambient, House,
IDM, Lo-fi, Experimental, Glitch, Minimal,
Tech House, Deep House

Tracklist:
01. Coralcola - Egggirl (Original Mix)
02. Coralcola - Tecmo
03. Coralcola - Arny Palm
04. Coralcola - Egggirl (Die Young Remix)
05. Coralcola - Egggirl (Christopher Wade Remix)
06. Coralcola - Egggirl (Space USA Remix)
07. Coralcola - Egggirl (Brothers Sunny Side Up Remix)
08. Coralcola - Egggirl (Nooka Jones Remix)
09. Coralcola - Egggirl (Kat Fyte Re-Rub)


Tonight: Spandex sexes up the Model

The Model Cafe in Allston Dance City might still be reeling from last night's 4/20-inspired Purple Pickle Party, though I wouldn't know for sure -- I was preparing for the Devils offseason and finishing up Peter Hook's fascinating new book, "The Hacienda: How Not To Run A Club". Either way, it gets its rock on in a skin-tight way this evening with the latest installment of SPANDEX.

As always, love this party's flyers, and might mosey on over after DOSH's gig at Great Scott. Is it a coincidence I heard Skid Row's "I Remember You" on the radio this morning? You, you are the judge.

Thursday: Ben Sherman party at Uniform

There are many things I <3 -- Ben Sherman, spring in the South End and free booze always rate at the top. So put them all together, toss in the stylish sounds of DJ Ken from le pill and tack on (or off) 20 percent discounts at Uniform, and we have a fun little after-work soiree that should keep my mind off the clusterfuck last game of the NJ Devils' 2010 season. RSVP to gary@uniformboston.com by this afternoon, it's a list-only event.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

RIP Devon Clifford of You Say Party We Say Die

Edit: Spinner has a piece on Clifford's passing

Sad news to pass along, as You Say Party We Say Die drummer Devon Clifford died over the weekend after suffering a brain hemorrhage during a gig in the dance-punk band's native Vancouver. Now I'm bummed I missed their show last month at TTs, and will listen to "XXXX" tonight. Dark Days, indeed. Details from High Rise PR:



DEVON CLIFFORD 1979 - 2010 R.I.P.

As the news continues to spread, we realize many of you are already aware of the recent passing of Devon Clifford, drummer of Canadian five-piece You Say Party! We Say Die! For those who haven't yet heard, it is with the heaviest of hearts to inform you of this sudden and tragic loss of a truly wonderful, vivid, talented and passionate young man whom we had the sincere pleasure of knowing and working with.

Our hearts are with Devon's family and friends, and the remaining members of the band.

The Clifford Family Issued the following statement regarding the passing of Devon Clifford:

"YSPWSD's Devon Clifford experienced a massive brain hemorrhage resulting from congenital defects while on stage in Vancouver on Friday night and fell into a coma. A surgery was performed but sadly doctors were unable to save his life. He was 30.

Devon Clifford was an extremely gifted drummer and determined character. He loved his family, loved his band, loved traveling, loved being on stage and loved meeting people around the world. He was smart, witty, passionate, and music meant everything to him. He was also incredibly generous with his love and respected everybody he came into contact with. This was underlined by his work with the under privileged at the Portland Hotel Society.

The Clifford family would like to take this opportunity to remind young people to have the courage to follow their dreams like Devon did.

The family would also like to take this opportunity to thank everybody around the world for their kind words and stories about how Devon impacted their lives."

Mary Onettes cancel tour (4/22 @ GS)

So that pesky volcanic ash spewing out of Iceland has finally affected Boston nightlife -- Swedish post-punk band the Mary Onettes have canceled their upcoming US tour, which included a Thursday pitstop at Great Scott in Allston. The shows openers, RIBS and Kid Chocolate, will still perform, likely as a reduced cover.

"We are very sorry to announce that we are forced to cancel our US tour due to the volcanic ash that is keeping European air traffic grounded. We feel really sad for all our fans who had already bought tickets and for the promotors and support bands who have been advertising and working for the shows. We would like to thank Ben at Paquin Entertainment and Sioux at Magnum Pr, who have done a truly amazing job.

We hope to return for a new tour later on. Please contact the box office where you bought your tickets for refunds. Big Love/The Mary Onettes"


In My Head: Afghan Whigs "Gentlemen"

No idea where this came from but I still fucking love the Afghan Whigs and this and "Debonair" is without a doubt their finest moment. The whole "Gentlemen" album is an underrated masterpiece.

Creed news an excuse to post Marlins video

A lovely Hotline repost: Reunited power-rock band Creed will hit the road this summer, and the Christian rock party bus rolls into the Comcast Center on Aug. 3. There's even a pre-sale going down tomorrow at 10 a.m. via Live Nation.

Of course Hotline doesn't expect to rep proud down in Mansfield Rock City for the Creed show. But this lovely tour news tidbit provides a stellar opportunity to post Creed singer Scott Stapp's new Florida Marlins fight song.

Whether or not a Marlin can "soar" is up for nautical debate -- the Fightin' Fish logo always struck me as literally being out of water. But the whole rallying cry about wanting "strike outs," "base hits" and "double plays" is so mind-bogglingly bad you can almost feel Hanley Ramirez counting down the days to free agency after the 2014 season.

Stapp is an Orlando native, so maybe the nearby Rays put him up to this. Stapp's laugh-track jam can't compete with Tampa-area rapper Cristol's "It's Our Season" promo video from the Rays' playoff push back in 2008. (Full disclosure: My parents actually appear in the rap video. Seriously.)

Anyway, here's Stapp in all his teal-team loving glory:

420 parties, if you can get off the couch

Hey, so yeah, April 20 is 420, and while it's silly and cheesy to celebrate a so-called "pot holiday," I can't really argue with the allure of lighting up a fat gorilla finger stuffing Double Downs in my mouth while watching MLB Network highlights all day. The Huffington Post had a great 420 background piece from last year, and outside of Great Scott's high-life bill of Adam Green, the Dead Trees and DJ Carbo (who claimed to be constantly stoned off his tits when playing for the Red Sox in the 70s) here's some other fully-baked parties going on around town tonight. If you can peel yourself away from the TV.



Monday, April 19, 2010

May 22: Morrissey birthday party

Last year I threw the stellar and ace-named "You're the One For Me, Fifty" Morrissey birthday party down at the pill, so this year I'm celebrating in an auxiliary fashion, DJing the Moz party at Great Scott on Saturday May 22. It's his Royal Mozness' 51st.

The legendary Honors are dusting off their heralded Smiths routine from another pill event, our recent Halloween show, and a collection of Boston players amass the Unhappy Birthday super group. Deets here and in the flyer below:

Thursday: Throwed with Vadum Rankin of Sweat

So the rumors of Throwed's demise (read: relocation) ended up being much ado about nothing (read: serves me right for being so motherfucking on the ball) after the promoters smoothed out some differences with the Middle East (read: who knows).

But now that the beat parade is back on track, the electro party gets vicious this week with the Sweat DJs, Vadum Rankin (famous for being the guy who lives with Michael from the pill) and Chris Crisis famous for being a third of Hot Pink Delorean. I'll be in the corner hitting on 19-year-olds requesting Herve's remix of Bad Boy Bill's "Falling Anthem."

Feel the motherfucking burn.

Ke$ha on Saturday Night Live

I missed this over the weekend -- a double-whammy as I guess I missed out on some hot sexy Ryan Phillipe action as well -- but I guess Ke$ha did some shit with aliens and lasers and spacesuits. Love this bitch.

Suede announce more live shows...

... in their playground of Europe, of course. But the 12/7 O2 Arena show isn't that far off a possibility. From an email received this Patriots' Day morning:


'Suede were and are everything a band should be... the best British punk, rock 'n' roll, sex-pop-glam band of the past 20 years' - NME


New shows just announced

smukfest, skanderborg, denmark.
7 august 2010

tickets: www.smukfest.dk / www.billetlugen.dk

the O2 arena, london, uk.
7 december 2010

pre-sale tickets - on sale 9am, Wednesday 21st April: www.gigsandtours.com
general on-sale tickets - on sale 9am, Friday 23rd April: www.gigsandtours.com
24hr cc hotline: 0871 2200 260 / O2 box office: 0844 856 0202

Sunday, April 18, 2010

DOM tonight in Allston (Great Scott)

A few weeks ago the friend who tipped me off to Cold Cave this time last year came through with another unsolicited recommendation: Worcester sparkle-synth trio Dom, who he pretty much described as the next Passion Pit but without Michael Angelakos' acquired-taste falsetto vocals.

I instantly dug "Living In America" -- Pitchfork Media did too, apparently, and they have the track streamable -- and now Dom's at Great Scott tonight for a BU Radio fundraiser. If this song led off the new MGMT album, it'd be everywhere already. With the summer around the corner and this jam more infectious than the clap at Denby Street, it's already on its way. Pitchfork says we'll get an official Dom release next month.

Also on the bill is the moody garage-psych of Quilt, who I included in my 10 Bands to Watch in 2010 list for the Boston Herald. Excellent Sunday night ahead in Allston, but not before Rays-Sox at 1pm and Devils-Flyers at 6. Today could be legendary.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Today's French Kiss-a-Thon postponed

What, you can't snog in the rain? From Boston Babydolls this morning:

Hi all:

Due to the inclement weather, the French-Kiss-a-thon scheduled for today at 5 p.m. has been moved to NEXT Saturday.

We'll see you all at 5 p.m. on Saturday, April 24 in Winthrop Park, Harvard Square (in front of UpStairs on the Square and Grendel's Den).

Celebrate spring, your love, and our upcoming show French Kiss with our version of The Boston Marathon. The rules are simple: any couple is welcome to enter, and the twosome that can remain in liplock the longest wins some fabulous prizes (plus everyone who enters gets a gift from The Boston Babydolls).

Win tickets to French Kiss, coffee from Peet's, a gift certificate to Eastern Standard, and more!

'til then, practice your puckering!

Boston Babydolls, P.O. Box 240369, Boston, MA, 02124 (617) 869-2000

Saturday Night Fever: OMFG vs Videodrome

Heading over to Good Life to catch an early side of OMFG (like the pill, nominated for "Best Club Night [Dance]" in the Best Music Poll, but I hope to be back in the ARC to get some Bonnie Tyler and Lady Gaga action down at that surviving bastion of hip vintage pop, Videodrome Discotheque

Friday, April 16, 2010

NME: Thom Yorke covers Joy Division

Tip of the cap to the NME, which reported that Thom Yorke and his Atoms For Peace band surprised fans with a cover of Joy Division's classic "Love Will Tear Us Apart" last night at a pre-Coachella show in Cali. Further proof that you just simply can't fuck this song up.

Pepercut Zine Library re-opens Sunday

You know, for people who like reading, community pride and Somerville.

VIDEO: Mystery Roar's "Mayhem"

Boston dance-cult risers Mystery Roar have all sorts of ill shit going for them: Their Dopamine Records release party is next Saturday April 24 at Great Scott (sick lineup), they get awesome shows with bands like Neon Indian and Delorean, and now great Caesar's ghost they have a video. A fancy ass pretty-as-a-penny video. This is rad stuff right here...

More Endless Wave promo: Stuff @ Night

... aaaaand I know it's just called "Stuff" now, but I'm old-school and I still call my newspaper the Herald-American. Anyway, they gave Endless Wave some Friday-night-pick lovin':

GET OUT: Endless Wave
We don't like to brag about family, but our sister publication the Boston Phoenix has a pretty good knack for recognizing local bands that won't bring back memories of sitting through your high school boyfriend's garage jam (ugh... he was so cute until the first note). That they named Cambridge-based trio Endless Wave one of the select local "bands to watch" in 2010 is another tribute to their seen-it-coming musical foresight. A rock undertow keeps the band's dreamy, ethereal shoe-gazing soundtrack from floating too far afield in the ethereal abyss. To hear for yourself, sail over to their show tonight at Great Scott (1222 Commonwealth Avenue, Allston, 617.734.4502). Cover is $5, and doors open at 9 p.m.)

More Endless Wave promo: Stuff @ Night

... aaaaand I know it's just called "Stuff" now, but I'm old-school and I still call my newspaper the Herald-American. Anyway, they gave Endless Wave some Friday-night-pick lovin':

GET OUT: Endless Wave

We don't like to brag about family, but our sister publication the Boston Phoenix has a pretty good knack for recognizing local bands that won't bring back memories of sitting through your high school boyfriend's garage jam (ugh... he was so cute until the first note). That they named Cambridge-based trio Endless Wave one of the select local "bands to watch" in 2010 is another tribute to their seen-it-coming musical foresight. A rock undertow keeps the band's dreamy, ethereal shoe-gazing soundtrack from floating too far afield in the ethereal abyss. To hear for yourself, sail over to their show tonight at Great Scott (1222 Commonwealth Avenue, Allston, 617.734.4502). Cover is $5, and doors open at 9 p.m.)

Tonight 04.16.10 : Endless Wave @ the pill

Insanely excited about tonight's dance party @ the pill, with both Endless Wave performing live and the fallout from being named Boston's Best Dance Night" in the Phoenix. Been all about EW since Mad Andre Obin passed along some early demos late last year, and next month's "City Walls" EP is going to drop-kick an already UK-indie mad Boston. Promo from the pill boston dot com:


friday april 16:
Endless Wave
a pop needle piercing a shoe gaze satellite

Upon this tidal rave of young blood comes a blistering jolt from the past, one not steeped in rehashed retro sounds or formulaic resurrections but one that arches a sonic lineage to a cherished but short-lived era crystallized by its own ambition and limitation.

Boston trio Endless Wave chips away at the past and makes their pill debut this week, taking an energized approach to shoegaze’s extended wall of reverb sound and juxtaposing it against a backdrop of pitch-perfect pop brilliance. In a concise aural bullet where elements of early Smashing Pumpkins and Catherine Wheel are splashed across the front-page praise for early ‘90s UK heaven-stormers such as Slowdive, My Bloody Valentine and Ride (the last eyed as a potential Endless Wave subject for the pill’s 8th annual Halloween Show this fall).

But where the previous millennium’s shoegazers hopelessly looked down, Endless Wave stares forward and launches past the restrictions of its forefathers. Call it evolutionary exercise.

Said the Boston Phoenix in its five Bands To Watch 2010 preview: “Imagine if the Verve, Slowdive or My Bloody Valentine went jogging on a regular basis… There’s a bit more rock thrust to these songs than is often found up the nu-gaze tree, and it’s a welcome alternative to the increasingly overcrowded raft of NyQuill-core.”

Led by the brilliant musical mind of Matters & Dunaway’s “Mad Andre” Obin on dream-pop vocals and seismic bass; the swirling, towering guitar downpour of Tim Ryan; and the paced attack rhythm of drummer Tucker Dawson, the ever-yearning sound of Endless Wave is crafted without the aid of synthesizers, keyboards or computers (we leave that to Obin’s “Soviet bloc techno” solo project).

Before the “City Walls” EP drops next month and aims to redefine the sound of a city’s non-electronic underground, join us Friday at Great Scott as Endless Wave crashes down in a live pill debut set for the ages.

We’ve been playing Endless Wave tracks each night early on at the pill since Mad Andre first passed along their demos, but you can get properly acquainted with one of Boston’s finest new acts at myspace.com/endlesswavemusic. Before and after the band, DJ Ken & Michael V spin the best in Britpop, Modern Indie & Beyond. Look sharp. xo the pill