Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Bostonist on Black Joe Lewis
Bostonist.com has a great review of Black Joe Lewis @ the pill last Friday -- and while I never get why publications never mention the party name (just the venue) I did appreciate the line about "watch(ing) the venue's usually-passive hipster crowd become absolutely transformed by BJL's remarkable blend of blues, funk, soul, and awesome." True dat.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Illius Rock 2nite w/ Pretty & Nice
I'm still kinda cracked out from the eight shades of epic Presets & Circle smasher on Saturday, so I might sit this out (ahem Ray J). But Pretty & Nice are always fun, dynamic DJ duo Roguewaves know how to kill it in the booth and you can't beat free free free. I still have no idea what Illius is but they keep throwing free events and that's good enough for me.
Bill's Bar's last dance with the Bloody Beetroots?
Anyone who has known me through the Dark Ages of a few years ago knows I was once GM of Bill's Bar. I'll have more thoughts on its closing later, but it looks like tomorrow's Bloody Beetroots show will be the club's last. What a high note. From today's Hotline:
<Bill's Bar's last dance?
There is a rumor afloat that Bill’s Bar, the longtime Lansdowne Street rock club that has staged everything from garage rock and indie pop to hip hop acts and jam bands, may go out on an electro note.
Although some said the room would close late last month to make way for a western-themed saloon (a move that promises to further the Disney-fication of Lansdowne Street) it now looks like the doors will shut for good after Tuesday night’s Throwed dance party.
Party organizer Eric Marcelino tells Hotline the room was given a stay of execution since he had already booked the party several months ago and couldn’t find an alternate space.Italian dirty disco DJ duo the Bloody Beetroots will headline.
If Tuesday night is indeed the last dance, Bill’s is going out with a bang. Dim Mak Records’ Bloody Beetroots, who perform in masks and add a punk attitude to rave and acid dance tracks, are billed as the dirty love child of the Misfits and Daft Punk . Their Boston debut will come as a longtime rock club ends its existence.
“If you’ve ever gotten wasted at Bill’s Bar, or gotten thrown out of Bill’s Bar, this is the last chance for one last hurrah,” said Marcelino. “It’s going to be debauched.”
Doors open at 9 p.m., tickets are $15 and more information is at wanttickets.com/embrace.
<Bill's Bar's last dance? There is a rumor afloat that Bill’s Bar, the longtime Lansdowne Street rock club that has staged everything from garage rock and indie pop to hip hop acts and jam bands, may go out on an electro note.
Although some said the room would close late last month to make way for a western-themed saloon (a move that promises to further the Disney-fication of Lansdowne Street) it now looks like the doors will shut for good after Tuesday night’s Throwed dance party.
Party organizer Eric Marcelino tells Hotline the room was given a stay of execution since he had already booked the party several months ago and couldn’t find an alternate space.Italian dirty disco DJ duo the Bloody Beetroots will headline.
If Tuesday night is indeed the last dance, Bill’s is going out with a bang. Dim Mak Records’ Bloody Beetroots, who perform in masks and add a punk attitude to rave and acid dance tracks, are billed as the dirty love child of the Misfits and Daft Punk . Their Boston debut will come as a longtime rock club ends its existence.“If you’ve ever gotten wasted at Bill’s Bar, or gotten thrown out of Bill’s Bar, this is the last chance for one last hurrah,” said Marcelino. “It’s going to be debauched.”
Doors open at 9 p.m., tickets are $15 and more information is at wanttickets.com/embrace.
Wednesday's great hipster debate
All the washed up fools will probably be at the HoB on Wednesday, which is sad because the White/Late of the Pier/Deadmau5 show at the Paradise will be nothing short of explosive. From today's Herald Hotline column:
White belt debate
Call it the first great hipster show debate of 2k9. Wednesday night at House of Blues, the kids in white belts and shotgun hair will be partying like its 2001 as indie veterans the Faint and Ladytron roll onto Lansdowne Street.
At the same time at the Paradise Rock Club, the UK’s new electro/rock hybrid is on full display courtesy of the Whip and Late of the Pier, who open for Canadian hard house DJ Deadmau5 (pronounced dead mouse).
Both the Whip and Late of the Pier owe much to their synthesized elder statesmen performing across town. The Whip specializes in sleazy drawn-out ’80s-ish electronica, while Late of the Pier emits more choppy, spastic freak-out rhythms.
So what’s a fashionable 20-something in tight black pants to do? Roll with yesterday’s tried-and-true or take a chance on tomorrow? The veterans may have the bigger draw, but those who know will roll the ’Dise.
White belt debateCall it the first great hipster show debate of 2k9. Wednesday night at House of Blues, the kids in white belts and shotgun hair will be partying like its 2001 as indie veterans the Faint and Ladytron roll onto Lansdowne Street.
At the same time at the Paradise Rock Club, the UK’s new electro/rock hybrid is on full display courtesy of the Whip and Late of the Pier, who open for Canadian hard house DJ Deadmau5 (pronounced dead mouse).
Both the Whip and Late of the Pier owe much to their synthesized elder statesmen performing across town. The Whip specializes in sleazy drawn-out ’80s-ish electronica, while Late of the Pier emits more choppy, spastic freak-out rhythms.
So what’s a fashionable 20-something in tight black pants to do? Roll with yesterday’s tried-and-true or take a chance on tomorrow? The veterans may have the bigger draw, but those who know will roll the ’Dise.
Friday, April 3, 2009
ITP: Boston remembers Kurt Cobain
To commemorate the 15th anniversary of the Kurt Cobain suicide this Sunday, I talked to some local folk who were involved or saw Nirvana's early Boston club shows for a piece in today's Herald. This was a really fun story to research, and former FNX program director Kurt St. Thomas, who I quoted heavily, is a pretty remarkable dude.
Boston Remembers Kurt Cobain
On Sept. 24, 1991, Nirvana’s “Nevermind” was unleashed. It would go on to dethrone Michael Jackson from the top of the Billboard charts, sell more than 10 million copies and change the face of music.
The same day “Nevermind” hit store shelves, Nirvana was in Boston, getting ready for the second of two shows at Axis on Lansdowne Street. Two days earlier, as Kurt Cobain was eating dinner at Division 16 on Boylston Street with WFNX-FM (101.7) program director Kurt St. Thomas, he asked, “So you think anybody’s going to show up to this?”
About 1,000 fans lined Lansdowne Street to get into that first Axis show, a WFNX birthday bash that also featured the then-unknown Smashing Pumpkins and local band Bullet LaVolta.
As the 15th anniversary of Cobain’s suicide arrives this Sunday, Nirvana’s prefame local club shows have become the stuff of legend. Three venues loom large in Nirvana’s local legacy: Green Street Station in Jamaica Plain, ManRay in Cambridge and Axis on Lansdowne Street. Sadly, none remain in business today.
The band’s first Hub gig was at Green Street Station on July 15, 1989, a show notable in its own right: Cobain, who broke his guitar the night before, performed the entire nine-song set without one.
On April 18, 1990, Nirvana played ManRay, performing to some 75 folks piqued by the band’s “Bleach” debut. Local punk band the Bags opened. Despite its place in local lore, recollections of the event are hazy.
“I was at that show, but I don’t have too many memories besides the fact that it was loud,” said the club’s longtime DJ, Chris Ewen, who did recall Cobain briefly singing an impromptu rendition of Madonna’s “Like a Prayer.”
Ashmont Media’s Joyce Linehan, who booked the show, is also fuzzy on details.
“I really don’t remember it being that remarkable,” Linehan said. “There weren’t a lot of people there.”
But St. Thomas was.
“The show blew me away,” he said. “I remember they thought it was really weird that I worked at a commercial radio station.”
St. Thomas would go on to play Nirvana on the radio, but mostly in the wee hours. Eight months before “Nevermind” came out in 1991, he pleaded with Geffen Records to put Nirvana on the bill for the ’FNX eighth anniversary show.
“I just wanted to book my favorite band,” St. Thomas said. “I had no idea what was going to happen. They agreed to play the gig, and it was the only free gig they ever played for a radio station.”
A month before the 1991 Axis show, St. Thomas was the first DJ to play “Smells Like Teen Spirit” on the radio.
“There was nothing on ’FNX like it,” he recalled. “No other song immediately ignited a response like that. But nobody knew the name. People would call in and say, ‘What was that mosquito song?’ ”
By the time the Axis show rolled around that September, fans were ready to embrace a new sound called grunge.
Nirvana then agreed to play a second gig after being, as St. Thomas puts it, “bummed” by the 21-plus age policy at the show. So they scheduled a second Axis performance the next night with an 18-and-older admission policy in effect.
By the time Nirvana hit the stage, “Nevermind” was in stores. Cobain would never again have to worry about people showing up to a show. mmarotta@bostonherald.com
Boston Remembers Kurt Cobain
On Sept. 24, 1991, Nirvana’s “Nevermind” was unleashed. It would go on to dethrone Michael Jackson from the top of the Billboard charts, sell more than 10 million copies and change the face of music.
The same day “Nevermind” hit store shelves, Nirvana was in Boston, getting ready for the second of two shows at Axis on Lansdowne Street. Two days earlier, as Kurt Cobain was eating dinner at Division 16 on Boylston Street with WFNX-FM (101.7) program director Kurt St. Thomas, he asked, “So you think anybody’s going to show up to this?”
About 1,000 fans lined Lansdowne Street to get into that first Axis show, a WFNX birthday bash that also featured the then-unknown Smashing Pumpkins and local band Bullet LaVolta.
As the 15th anniversary of Cobain’s suicide arrives this Sunday, Nirvana’s prefame local club shows have become the stuff of legend. Three venues loom large in Nirvana’s local legacy: Green Street Station in Jamaica Plain, ManRay in Cambridge and Axis on Lansdowne Street. Sadly, none remain in business today.
The band’s first Hub gig was at Green Street Station on July 15, 1989, a show notable in its own right: Cobain, who broke his guitar the night before, performed the entire nine-song set without one.
On April 18, 1990, Nirvana played ManRay, performing to some 75 folks piqued by the band’s “Bleach” debut. Local punk band the Bags opened. Despite its place in local lore, recollections of the event are hazy.
“I was at that show, but I don’t have too many memories besides the fact that it was loud,” said the club’s longtime DJ, Chris Ewen, who did recall Cobain briefly singing an impromptu rendition of Madonna’s “Like a Prayer.”
Ashmont Media’s Joyce Linehan, who booked the show, is also fuzzy on details.
“I really don’t remember it being that remarkable,” Linehan said. “There weren’t a lot of people there.”
But St. Thomas was.
“The show blew me away,” he said. “I remember they thought it was really weird that I worked at a commercial radio station.”
St. Thomas would go on to play Nirvana on the radio, but mostly in the wee hours. Eight months before “Nevermind” came out in 1991, he pleaded with Geffen Records to put Nirvana on the bill for the ’FNX eighth anniversary show.
“I just wanted to book my favorite band,” St. Thomas said. “I had no idea what was going to happen. They agreed to play the gig, and it was the only free gig they ever played for a radio station.”
A month before the 1991 Axis show, St. Thomas was the first DJ to play “Smells Like Teen Spirit” on the radio.
“There was nothing on ’FNX like it,” he recalled. “No other song immediately ignited a response like that. But nobody knew the name. People would call in and say, ‘What was that mosquito song?’ ”
By the time the Axis show rolled around that September, fans were ready to embrace a new sound called grunge.
Nirvana then agreed to play a second gig after being, as St. Thomas puts it, “bummed” by the 21-plus age policy at the show. So they scheduled a second Axis performance the next night with an 18-and-older admission policy in effect.
By the time Nirvana hit the stage, “Nevermind” was in stores. Cobain would never again have to worry about people showing up to a show. mmarotta@bostonherald.com
Thursday, April 2, 2009
PHX OTD offers Passion Pit's "the Reeling"
I have the new Passion Pit album, and it makes sweet synthetic pop love to me with each listen. Unfortch, I can't share -- but the Boston Phoenix can, as its always-worthy On the Download blog has lead single "The Reeling" available right.fucking.now. So sweet.
I dare you to not have this hook in your head for the next 48 hours. Oh nooooo!!! Ooooh noooo-oooo-oooooo!
I dare you to not have this hook in your head for the next 48 hours. Oh nooooo!!! Ooooh noooo-oooo-oooooo!
Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears live @ the pill 04.03
I have Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears performing live at the pill tomorrow night, and I am psyched as all hells. Everyone's been raving about this dude, with "the next James Brown" tag thrown around quite freely since he scorched SXSW last month. Here are some vids while I write up the party bio:
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Saturday: Presets show & afterparty
Saturday night is shaping up to be one motherfucker of an evening, with the Presets and the Golden Filter (whose lucious disco sleaze track "Solid Gold" I've raped twenty times over each week at the pill) playing the Paradise early on, followed up by a Presets DJ set at Circus. This is the kid of "welcome back" shit I've been expecting.
New Kasabian - 'Vlad the Impaler'
First we get new Placebo, now new Kasabian. Quite a week. Download the new Kasabian jam 'Vlad the Impaler' through the band's website until Friday, and upon first listen it sounds pretty saucy. I <3'd that first album, which still stands up today, though the second disc, "Empire," felt a bit flat to me after the title-track single. This new tune could be the remedy, though. Here's a taste:
Kasabian - Vlad the Impaler from Kasabian on Vimeo.
Kasabian - Vlad the Impaler from Kasabian on Vimeo.
April Fool's column: U2, BCN, Passion Pit & NKTOB
Here's the original draft of my April Fool's column from today's Herald:
U2 announce second secret show
Prepare to “Get On Your Boots” one more time, Somerville – U2 is coming back.
Sources told Hotline that the Irish rockers will return for a second secret show in Davis Square, this time hiring the Burren for an even more intimate night with U2.
Fans will be given wristbands at 9 a.m. this morning at the Davis Square T stop by flashing ticket stubs from any Joshua Tree concert within the past year. A man dressed as The Edge will be lurking near the outbound escalators handing out the green tags to privy fans.
“It’s a way to honor Somerville, honor our fans, our cover acts or tribute acts or whatever they’re called, as well as tie up traffic one last time throughout Somerville,” Bono wrote to Hotline in an email. “Gridlock on the drive-home commute? Magnificent.”
Some are saying the gig is a swift reaction to being knocked off the Billboard charts by Kelly Clarkson last week. Other concerts in small Irish pubs with very limited capacity are also scheduled for Secaucus, N.J., Austin, Texas and a five-show string in a Dubai island shaped like Ireland.
‘BCN switching to all Spanish
The ‘BCN Rumble could be rock’s last stand on the host’s radio station.
Once the winner of this year’s Rumble is announced via live radio broadcast April 24 at the Middle East, 104.3 WBCN will say “adios” to listeners and “hola” to an all-Spanish format.
“We have interns fast at work translating Eddie Vedder and Kurt Cobain’s lyrics into Spanish, with the music set to mariachi rhythms,” a high-ranking employee told Hotline. “Have you heard the Spanish version of Even Flow? It’s muy freaking bueno, dude.”
Passion Pit to sing national anthem
Looking to find the “next big thing” out of Boston “before they get too expensive,” the Red Sox hired local synth-pop quintet Passion Pit to perform the National Anthem at the team’s home opener Monday afternoon at Fenway.
“It’ll be unique,” a source in the organization told Hotline. “There will be more synthesizers and keyboards on the diamond than ever before. They might even throw in a sample from Joe Castiglione’s 2004 World Series call right at the end. Who can forget 2004?”
When asked about Passion Pit singer Michael Angelakos hailing from New York and if that might make the Sox faithful uneasy, the source said the band’s roots were no issue. “He’s from Buffalo,” he said. “That’s not really New York.”
NKTOB tapped for theme song to Departed 2
Looking to tap into the endless supply of coin created by the Dropkick Murphys in the original, NKTOB has been awarded rights for the theme song to 2010’s “The Departed 2.”
Producers say the Walberg connection wasn’t a factor in choosing the song, titled “Slipping up to Dorchester.” The sea shanty-inspired a capella track won out over an electro-rap collaboration between Hub rockers Aerosmith and Foxboro homegal JoJo. But fear not: a 14-minute long extended dub house remix of the Aerosmith/JoJo track is expected to be sold on iTunes.
U2 announce second secret show
Prepare to “Get On Your Boots” one more time, Somerville – U2 is coming back. Sources told Hotline that the Irish rockers will return for a second secret show in Davis Square, this time hiring the Burren for an even more intimate night with U2.
Fans will be given wristbands at 9 a.m. this morning at the Davis Square T stop by flashing ticket stubs from any Joshua Tree concert within the past year. A man dressed as The Edge will be lurking near the outbound escalators handing out the green tags to privy fans.
“It’s a way to honor Somerville, honor our fans, our cover acts or tribute acts or whatever they’re called, as well as tie up traffic one last time throughout Somerville,” Bono wrote to Hotline in an email. “Gridlock on the drive-home commute? Magnificent.”
Some are saying the gig is a swift reaction to being knocked off the Billboard charts by Kelly Clarkson last week. Other concerts in small Irish pubs with very limited capacity are also scheduled for Secaucus, N.J., Austin, Texas and a five-show string in a Dubai island shaped like Ireland.
‘BCN switching to all Spanish
The ‘BCN Rumble could be rock’s last stand on the host’s radio station.
Once the winner of this year’s Rumble is announced via live radio broadcast April 24 at the Middle East, 104.3 WBCN will say “adios” to listeners and “hola” to an all-Spanish format.
“We have interns fast at work translating Eddie Vedder and Kurt Cobain’s lyrics into Spanish, with the music set to mariachi rhythms,” a high-ranking employee told Hotline. “Have you heard the Spanish version of Even Flow? It’s muy freaking bueno, dude.”
Passion Pit to sing national anthem
Looking to find the “next big thing” out of Boston “before they get too expensive,” the Red Sox hired local synth-pop quintet Passion Pit to perform the National Anthem at the team’s home opener Monday afternoon at Fenway. “It’ll be unique,” a source in the organization told Hotline. “There will be more synthesizers and keyboards on the diamond than ever before. They might even throw in a sample from Joe Castiglione’s 2004 World Series call right at the end. Who can forget 2004?”
When asked about Passion Pit singer Michael Angelakos hailing from New York and if that might make the Sox faithful uneasy, the source said the band’s roots were no issue. “He’s from Buffalo,” he said. “That’s not really New York.”
NKTOB tapped for theme song to Departed 2
Looking to tap into the endless supply of coin created by the Dropkick Murphys in the original, NKTOB has been awarded rights for the theme song to 2010’s “The Departed 2.”
Producers say the Walberg connection wasn’t a factor in choosing the song, titled “Slipping up to Dorchester.” The sea shanty-inspired a capella track won out over an electro-rap collaboration between Hub rockers Aerosmith and Foxboro homegal JoJo. But fear not: a 14-minute long extended dub house remix of the Aerosmith/JoJo track is expected to be sold on iTunes.
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