scene and herd: a boston beat

Esperanza, Boston Eclectic, Resonance, Delhill [The Paradise Rock Club, Boston, Mass.] 4 March 2007

nobody@vox.com(regina) — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 13:51:00 -0500

As it usually goes in Boston, a friend heard about a record release party while she was working the merch booth at another band's gig, and I got dragged along for my eyes and ears to partake. So last night, Miss Starkey and I (sans Miss Sooz, which was sadness!) T'd it out to Pleasant Street and drank tequila-based products at the Sunset Cantina and then hopped over the Paradise.

We were pleasantly surprised to find that a salsa band was opening up the night, and quite enjoyed their show. Unfortunately, there were no strategically placed males to con into dancing, so we just chair boogied. The keyboardist must have been the lovechild of two of our friends, and it was completely uncanny the resemblance -- and then we discussed the various horn players embouchers and the adorableness of the bongo player. All very nice people, as I got to talking with a few of them while I was tarring my lungs. There first show in Boston, too! They were very good, and I hope to see them again, and perhaps get some dancing action in, as well.

Didn't see too much of the whole Boston Eclectic scene, as we were running around and drinkin' beers, but everyone was really nice. It's bizarre for me to go to a show and not know a soul there -- I'm really happy that as I get my life back and have a new professional life that nicely dovetails into my personal pursuits that I'm meeting new people and seeing different sides of the greater Boston area.

Stuck around to see Delhill perform a few songs, and discussed how Boston rock has a very particular sound. It's not quite plaintive, not quite earnest, but fairly unique. Examples would be early Guster, KIMONE, Taxpayer, Aberdeen City and the like. Boys (and sometimes girls!) with guitars and sweet vocals. It's so strange to have that sound juxtaposed with one of the other really strong scenes in the city -- the hardcore scene. I mean, to know that Massachusetts is one of the beating hearts of hardcore in the nation is always awesome. I hope to see more of the Boston indie-pop-rock scene in the upcoming months, outside of the core bands I've already named.

Also, the thought that The Boy and I have tossed around the idea of starting a really ridiculous cover band resurfaced again last night. We just need players who have a healthy sense of irreverance, and totally no shame. Hmmm.

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Lily Allen [Axis, Boston, Mass.] 18 Feb 2007

nobody@vox.com(regina) — Sun, 18 Feb 2007 16:03:24 -0500

Oh, I love it when Axis oversells when they have actual shows. Even starting out with the opener, the place was packed. Maybe it was because it was Lily's last night in the States, but I think it has more to do with the fact that it was an all-ages show and folks realized too late in the game that they should have booked Avalon instead.

The opener was some crazy DJ who really wanted to showcase the fact that he had a sick vinyl collection and a flash PowerBook. The tracks he mashed up were interesting, but the actual output was lacking. I will admit my love for Sean Paul took over when he started to play some house music, and even though I wanted to pull the plug on his soundboard, I had a bit of a dance.

Boy got to escape to do a quick meet-and-greet with Lily, which pretty much consisted of "Hi! How'r'you?" and a quick piccie. Mostly, he noticed that she was really wee, and he was excited he got to show off his Greg Biffle tee shirt. Ah, urban elitists with a love of NASCAR. We are really that cutting edge.

The crowd was mostly girls, and a terribly amount of young scenesters mixed with quarter-life crisis kittens with blowsy hair and ridiculous stillettos. Lily apparently appeals to the disenfranchised suburban doll, because she came out to squeals and cheers. A few manly men let loose with "I love you, Lily!" and there may have been one "Show me some skin!" However, I think that came from the Beverage Patrol dude (No joke, he had an orange jacket that detailed his profession.), but you never know. Strange to know that the kittens love her, when in fact Lily is fairly street back in the UK.

Full band, including sax, trumpet, and trombone. The label must love her, to give her that kind of up-front cash to go on tour with that many folks. Dressed in a ridiculously cute black dress that I wish I could get a copy of for myself (size 10 US, thanks), Lily came out and giggled through a number of songs, sipping on her red wine the whole time. She's damn cute, I will give her that. But, it wasn't enough to make me stay after "Smile" for the encore. I scooped up Boy, and we bolted up the icy streets to the car.

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Justin Timberlake [TD Banknorth Garden, Boston, Mass.] 6 Feb 2007

nobody@vox.com(regina) — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 12:44:26 -0500

Holy crap, Justin.

02-06-07_2222

Best Girl and I were on the ledge. Like, the seats were so mad expensive that they fed us dinner for free. Amazing.

Timbaland was there! And he did up a medley! And I got a really ridiculously funny text from That Girl asking why everyone was singing along to the DJ that pretty much made me respond with "It's Timbaland! I want to have his studio babies!" Oh, that boy, for reals.

The new "My Love" remix is amazing. and one of the dancers totally looked like Britney. Oh, and during "Cry Me a River," he said, "you should have gave it up to me," and I about DIED. Also, there was hand-held camera work and insane stage set up, and justin totally impregnating the entire arena with one look.

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Paolo Nutini [The Paradise, Boston, Mass.] 3 February 2007

nobody@vox.com(regina) — Sat, 03 Feb 2007 16:10:32 -0500

Thanks to lovely label folks, Boy and I were able to see Paolo Nutini's soundcheck at the Paradise. Between scarfing free pizza and dousing our livers with free drinks, we saw this wee Scottish lad play a few songs for us. Now, the most I knew about Paolo going into this was that his name rhymed with "Pablo Martini," which is sadly what we ended up calling him for most of the evening. But he definitely has a voice bigger than his teenaged years. However, the poor thing looked almost in pain to be up on stage, stooped over his microphone like he was about 80 years old. I will say that "Jenny, Don't Be Hasty" really worked for me, and his guitarist was deadly gorgeous.

Boy brought home a promo of his album the next day, and I'll admit, it's interesting. Not as terrible as James Blunt, but definitely hasn't hit his stride yet. I feel like he's more suited for dark, smoky dive bars, but that he's being pushed to be a mainstream pop artist. Do not fall to the dark side, Pablo Martini!

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Razorlight [The Middle East, Boston, Mass.] 10 Jan 2005

nobody@vox.com(regina) — Mon, 10 Jan 2005 12:23:40 -0500

Pics from the gig... How I got even this many out in focus is beyond me.

I managed to not-lose my camera and get snaps w/ Johnny, but of course, there was copious amounts of JD involved and there was even a sighting of Weird Girl!

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The Hives [Avalon, Boston, Mass.] 22 July 2004

nobody@vox.com(regina) — Thu, 22 Jul 2004 12:02:43 -0400

We get into the city, spring D from work and drag him along to meet G for the sound check. It's fucking hot, and humid, and the city is FULL of Red Sox and Yankees fuckers. OMG, I wanted to fucking commit homicide. Seriously. Yankees games are the worst. Every single person I saw was wearing a tee shirt or a hat or something insane that was supposed to be insulting to the other team. Random Yankees fans were slapping each other on the back in the middle of Landsdowne, because they are just that fucking strange.

Finally got out of the heat, waited for about 30 minutes inside with about 20 other people. The boys came out, and we were able to go down front. Everyone was lame, though, and was hanging back in the center of the floor. I went really close up front, and was psyched, and the drummer toasted me with his glass of champagne. Also, the guitarist? The dark-haired one? HAWT. He said hello to the crowd, and only a few of us were like, "HIYA!" and again, I was all, "What's with the LAME people here?!" They were all acting tragically hip, it was so stupid. Anyway, Pelle came out and I was all smiles and shouted hello and he winked at me, etc. *beams*

Anyway, they started fucking around, played some random riffs, worked out some kinks in the amps, etc. They called out for requests (o_O) and someone asked for "AKAIDIOT," and Pelle was like, "It's too early in the morning to play that. Something easier." So someone asked for something off the new album (at this point, I was too flabbergasted to call out for a song), and they ripped through "No Pun Intended." They sounded really good, and Pelle was totally hamming it up – singing off key and strutting around the stage, sitting primly on the drum kit, etc.

After that song, Pelle chatted us up and the audience started to come a little more alive. I had been grooving, but holding it in somewhat, because there really weren't that many people there, and honestly, when I break it out, it's definitely distracting. Ask C. Anyway, then they launched into a cover of an old-school Bad Brains song, which CRACKED MY SHIT UP! He said that when they were kids (14 years old in '93 – making them nearly my age! CRAZY!) they used to play those songs, and they completely fumbled through it, but they were having loads of fun. Then he asked for requests again, so I asked for "Find Another Girl," and he started laughing, and said that one was too hard, too, and that the two guitarists always manage to play in different keys whenever they give it a try. The drummer then was all, "Hello, I know it! Don't blame me!" all pointing toward me, begging for my forgiveness. It was quite amusing. Pelle did say that it was a great song, and he always screwed up the words, anyway, did I have another song I'd like to hear, so I asked for "Supply and Demand," and they were like, "Ah, yes, we can do that one!" and they jumped into it. EEEIIIEEE! Anyway, that was the last bit, but we got to meet them afterward, and because we were with the retail folk (J's job has great perqs), we got a little extra time with them. When Pelle came over to sign my SPIN, he apologized about not playing the song again, and the drummer was like, "I knew it!" I told them I really wanted to ask for "Diabolic Scheme" from the new album, but I didn't think they'd play that live, because of the string arrangements. And Pelle was like, "Oh, we could have played that! He wanted to play that!" indicating the drummer. I was bummed, but then Pelle said that they might play it that night, and it was like someone held up a sign that said "Cue Squeeing Fangirl." Yes, I fangirled. Shut up.

Anyway, later, the head label rep corralled them together and I got my picture taken with them. YAY. However, it was all cramped into the staircase, and I really home I didn't blink, but WHATEVER! Because, because, because, hold up, I have to get to that part of the story…

So, show was great. We stood near the back – normally I go for the pit, but I had too much to eat at dinner, and loads of drinks. Wasn't feeling my best, but we could see really well from where we were, and that was fine. Honestly, I got my time with them earlier, they knew I dug them, so that's really one of the reasons I go down front at shows – to connect with the performers. So the crowd was really good, the people were crazy, and Pelle kept climbing the speakers and stage diving. Honestly, he's insane. Just the shit he was saying in between songs: "Did you like that?! DO YOU WANT SOME MORE?! I KNOW YOU DOOOO!"

Honestly, so funny. He's insane.

Moving on. They played pretty much everything I wanted to hear, but I was, like, internally hoping and praying they'd play "Diabolic Scheme," because that would just be fucking cool. Anyway, they come out for the encore, play "No Pun Intended," and then Pelle is like, "You like it when we play fast? Well, we're going to play a slow one first, and then play a fast one, right after it, so it seems even faster!" Then he goes on to say, "This first one is for the people at the sound check! The second one is for everyone else!" AND THEN THEY LAUNCH INTO "DIABOLIC SCHEME."

o_O

O_o

*fangirls*

*feels faint*

*fangirls some more*

Dudes. I just don't even know what to say. I mean, it wasn't like they singled me out, but after that conversation I had with them at the signing? Let me just pretend it was all my doing.

*fangirls some more*

Anyway, after My Song (note the capitalization), they launched into "AKAIDIOT," which was great, because it's kind of the original, old-school Hives. Definitely more punky and frantic than the new stuff. If that's possible.

Anyway, all you haterz out there who think they're fakers and completely Svengali'd and not serious about the music can just go and…I dunno. Do something unfun.

Yeah, so it was cool. Of course, I was a lot drunker than I thought, and ended up stalking out of the bar after the show. I just got enraged by a fairly random comment about my profession (and it's lack of "coolness") by someone who doesn't know me at all and is a fucking flake. Well, it was either leave or starting a bitch fight. I know I put J in a weird position, and that was lame of me. I'm definitely feeling a little bit ashamed about just getting up and leaving on this, the day after, but I'm not really sure how I should have reacted. And I'm a little pissed off that I let some fucking punk piss me off so easily. I could chalk it up to coming down off the concert high, PMS, the heat, tiredness, and mixing beer and liquor, but I dunno. I'm a little disappointed in my lack of telling that bitch right off when it happened and my abundance of obvious rage when it comes to people who think they are too cool for school. And I really do have a fucking low tolerance for disrespect, I guess. Whatevs. Gonna try and focus on the positives, of last night and all the people involved that I'm NOT pissed at are completely aware of that fact, so that's good.

In other news, someone reminded me about The Music last night, and I'm quite glad, because I forgot how much I really do like them. Fans of Muse and Interpol should check it out. They're a little bit harder (a la Mars Volta, without the really insane vocals), but still a really great, layered, textured sound. So all you peeps out there, check 'em out!

J is going to hit the local circuit tonight to see Seemless, and I was considering meeting him there, but I think I might need a night away from the crowds and the brews. *flails*

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Franz Ferdinand [The Avalon, Boston, Mass.] 16 June 2004

nobody@vox.com(regina) — Wed, 16 Jun 2004 12:09:07 -0400

There are no words.

Well, that's a lie.

Short of it?

Opening bands rocked; Franz rocked; C and I danced our hearts out; Alex called the crowd "charming"; in between songs, we yelled out for "Shopping for Blood," got Alex to laugh and say "Maybe later!"; they played so much that's not on the album, which made me happy; then they played "Darts of Pleasure" and I ripped off my sign from my shirt, held it up, and Nicholas laughed. (Sign read: EMOTION AVENGER.)

They came out for the encore, played "Shopping for Blood" (YAYYYYY!!!), during cheering, held up my sign again, Alex gave me props, laughed, pointed, and said, "You are an emotion avenger." Got Paul's set list off a roadie, tried to stop shaking, failed. I then proceeded to piss off everyone who came over with me in our car (including my lovely, long-suffering husband by waiting for the band to come out, which they did! We got to meet all four of them, plus got pictures with Nicholas and Alex.

Nicholas was all like, "Oh, that was you! Brilliant!" Alex was also really, really pleased with our tee shirts, and demanded we take a picture. It was ridiculous. They were all so kind! It was a small crowd waiting, so we all got to talk to them, it was really cool. So, I have a signed and battered set list, and will hopefully have some pictures to mark the event.

But, honestly? OMFG. Best. Show. EVAH. (For pictures, C on left, me on right.)

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