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Music |
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Reviews:
Feb 20th 2004 - Blaque Pearl
Feb 21st 2004 - Sam Kininger Band
Feb 22nd 2004 - Dweezil Zappa and Lisa Loeb
Feb 23rd 2004 - Von Bondies, with
March 5th 2004 - Dresden Dolls, and World Inferno Friendship Society, with
March 9th 2004 - Dresden Dolls, with
March 24th 2004 - Junior Brown
March 26th 2004 - Gogol Bordello with
March 27th 2004 - The Gentlemen with,
Feb 20th 2004 -
Blaque Pearl
We had just stopped in to the Middle East to have a couple drinks, and get something to eat. Often times there is some sort of entertainment that is set up on the little stage up at the front. This was one of those nights. There were a few people up on stage fiddling around with their instruments when we got there, doing some sort of soundcheck. It looked like a guitarist, bass player, keyboards, and drummer. We figured we were in for some instrumental jazz-funk fusion from a group of berklee musicians, and that's pretty much what we got. So there we were drinking our beers and comparing the different flavors of our middle-eastern spread, when all of a sudden there was a three part harmony vocal singing the Cheryl Lynn disco hit 'Got to be real'. I looked up from our table of culinary delights and nearly choked on my falafel! There on stage, were two backup singers in full costume, and one Mr. Big style lead vocalist dressed in white with gold chains, dancing out a fully choreographed routine. Where did they come from? I did not know, but the thing was, they could sing! The shock value alone would have been worth the price of admission (free), this is not at all what I had expected to be seeing or hearing when I first saw them setting up some 20 minutes ago. But on top of the shock value was the energy and quality of their performance. I was impressed with the vocals and I liked the disco tunes. I also liked the fact that even though there was only about 10 square feet on the entire stage, they were not deturred from their synchronized dance routines. We all seemed to have the same 'wow that was cool' kind of feel throughout the first few songs. The choice of covers started to slip for me however once they started moving into more contemporary stuff. I thought they were at their best in the funk-disco realm, and would have liked to hear more of the classic sound as opposed to the more modern stuff I just can't seem to sink my teeth into. Anyhow, all in all it was a pleasant surprise, and they are playing more free shows at the middle east, so if you happen to be in the neighborhood, you might want to check it out. Venus IV
Feb 21st 2004 -
Sam Kininger Band
When I think of jazz-fusion, I usually think of the really bland music school variety that floats around places like Berklee School of Music, here in Boston, or The Musicians Institute out in Hollywood. It all comes out as guys who are way to clean, playing music that is way too polished. Fortunately the Sam Kininger Band did not fit the jazz-fusion mold of the uninspired technicians. His band played the hard edged, funk-rock-jazz that makes fusion seem like a good idea again. The rhythms were aggressive and the horns were choppy and dense. I would have to classify the overall sound as sort of a hard-bop/james brown funk kind of thing. There was no doubting the technical proficiency of any of the musicians, but they were able to contain themselves for the benefit of the groove. They also tended toward a dirtier sound, which I like too. Not afraid to get down and dirty, nitty gritty kind of stuff. The only bad news is we only got to catch the last half of the show, I would have liked to see more. I will be keeping my eyes out for Sam Kininger however, he could be a really good find. Venus IV
Feb 22nd 2004 -
Dweezil Zappa and Lisa Loeb
Now if you read my last review, you know how I feel about fusion in general, so why Dweezil Zappa? My aunt invited me to come see the show and hosestly I really didn't know what to expect at all except that it was *.zappa, which was enough of a reason to go for me. It was a decision that I did not regret, and has continued a remarkable string of good luck for me when it comes to unknown shows here in Boston. I did not find out Lisa Loeb was on the bill untill a few nights before the show. I found it to be a rather startling, and slightly upsetting peice of news. Right after I found out about Lisa Loeb, I saw a Dweezil and Lisa special on the Food Network, and that really made me wonder what I was getting into. So by the night of the show, let's just say I was a little bit skeptical. We got to the club, and there was a mix of people outside that I would classify as unclassifiable. We could be seing a rock show, a musical, a classical concert, a jazz combo, I don't know, and can't really gauge by the fans. Maybe they were all like me and wanted to see, what is Frank Zappa's kid up to anyway. The Paradise was pretty cool, it was my first time there. They have a sort of club/theater combination feel, with a floor, and two levels of balcony like seating around it. They had a bar upstairs, and one downstairs, and you could get pizza, which was good cause I was hungry. After a couple slices and beers, they hit the stage. Dweezil was playing guitar for Lisa Loeb, hmm... So things were on the mellow side, but actually Lisa put on a much better show than what I was expecting. Nothing mind blowing, but all in all not bad. So, I thought, hey this isn't too bad, kick back have a pizza and a few drinks and listen to some music, whatever. At that point I would have been neither excited or dissapointed about the show. Could have been worse. Then something happened. Lisa Loeb said 'o.k. I'm going to let Dweezil do his thing now', and she walked off the stage. We were all then treated to about 40 minutes of off the hook, musical insanity. Now this is not the kind of stuff I would throw on my headphones and listen to normally, as I am not a huge fan of the whole progressive thing, but to watch these guys play was like being at the music olympics! It was certainly something to behold. How could a band stay so tight through all the bizzare time changes and complicated arrangements? I have seen a lot of this type of stuff before, but not like this. My hat is off to you Dweezil and Co. One of the highlights was a Frank Zappa medley that lasted about 15 or 20 minutes, and ran through a half dozen compositions or so, in insrumental form. Eventually Lisa came back out on stage, but the band was all charged up now and she was sort of forced to try and keep up, which she didn't, but she sort of stayed out of the way. They wound down with a couple of her songs one of which was the one I can't stand (and the only one I know), and that was it. After the show, they hung out and signed autographs and took pictures and talked to people and stuff, which I thought was really cool. I didn't do any of that (it's not my thing) but I liked the idea that they just hang out like that after a show. Very down to earth they were. Alltogether I rated the show definitely worth the price of admission. If Dweezil is on his own next time, I just might catch him again. Venus IV
Feb 23rd 2004 -
The Von Bondies
,
with
Someone had mentioned to me that the Von Bondies were playing at the Middle East, and that I shouldn't miss it. So I got some tickets. As the show drew near I started to catch a bit of the buzz that was going around about the Von Bondies. Aparantly they are either on the brink of bigger and better things, or they are just cashing in on the hype of the bar room fist-fight between their lead singer, and Jack White of the White Stripes. I have a theory that they are really still friends and just planned this whole thing for the hype. Kind of like the Janet Jackson Boob Incident. Only for these guys showing thier boobs wouldn't really do a whole lot for them so they decided a public brawl might do the trick. Anyhow, the first band, The Count Me Outs was decent. They fall into the garagey-hard rock-punk category somewhere. There were a few promising moments in their set, but they lacked any distinguishable features. I can't even really think of anything else to say about them except, they didn't suck. That puts you ahead of 90% of the crap out there guys, keep up the good work and good luck! Next up, Runner and the Thermodynamics. At first I did not think I was going to like these guys. Then the drummer caught my interest. He was progressively getting wilder and wilder as the show went on. He reminded me quite a bit of Keith Moon, but with even more flailing. His arms were all over the place, he would raise them completely over his head before every hit. It almost looked impossible. The bass player was really good too, and the strong rhythm section is what ultimately won me over. The singer/guitarist I could give or take. He made me a little nervous sometimes, hovering on the border of the traditional corporate alternative stuff I sometimes hear on the radio. All in all, however, they had a lot of energy and they had a few moments were they were in the zone and they managed to win me over. The Von Bondies were definitely the best of the bunch. The singer/guitarist was without a doubt - the band. The rest of them could have been session players, but he was going 110% from beginning to end with a herky jerky twitchy kind of explosiveness that carried the band. I don't think there are a lot of people in Boston that are aware of the Von Bondies yet, so the majority of the people were probably there just to see what it was all about, like myself. It was a relatively relaxed crowd, and not what he was used to apparantly, (at one point he remarked that he felt like he was playing in Japan). This didn't stop him from playing and screaming his guts out though, and I was very appreciative of that. I would have to say that there is definitely potential with these guys, (kind of like how I felt about the Strokes before they released their last album 'we haven't changed a bit') but the jury is still out. For now let's just say they are at least as good as their contemporaries, the White Stripes, well maybe not the White Sripes, and the Strokes, but I sense they could do a little better if they aspire to do so. Venus IV
March 5th 2004 -
The Dresden Dolls
and
The Dresden Dolls, and the World/Inferno Friendship Society, are both bands that need to be seen live to get what they are about. We had seen them play a show together a couple months earlier at the Middle East, and were impressed enough by both the music and the atmosphere to go down to Providence, RI for a Dresden Dolls-World/Inferno reprise. The Living Room, was located in a section of Providence that had sort of a JR. Mafia vibe to it. Maybe it was just my imagination, but car after car of slicked back hair and gold chains driving up and down the main strip, sort of set a tone. And what's with all the valet parking? Anyhow, the club itself, is what I would classify as a dingy little dungeon perfect for a do-it-yourself vibe punk show. If there was a staff, they didn't stand out at all from the crowd, which made it the kind of environment you would want for this sort of event. The first band to hit the stage was Ho-Ag. Ho-Ag somehow managed to pull off a progressive sci-fi punk sound, full of edgy, angular and melodic phrases broken into fragments and shifting tempos. This is another one of those experiments that seem likely to go awry, but by 2 or 3 songs in I was convinced. Sort of Voi-vod meets the Buzzcocks. (I don't know how many of you will catch the Voi-vod reference, but it is the closest thing I could think of off the top of my head). Anyhow the sound really worked for them and it was original and thus 'tres chic'. 7½/10
Up Next Valhalla Kittens. I didn't quite get this one as much. They were based around the Idea of a rock band with
three 50's diner style girls singing backup to a semi-deranged rock guru. Now I think I know what they were going for
here, and if they had been 'on' I might have dug it. Unfortunately the singing sounded out of key, and some of the
hooks just didn't sink in. I don't know if they were having problems hearing themselves, or if that is just what they
sound like, but I would be interested in hearing some of their recorded stuff to see if they are on to something or
just on something. Jury's out on these guys. But there were a couple highlights I almost forgot about:
6½/10
Now we get to the main course. The Dresden Dolls are what I would call, well actually what they would call, a 'Brechtian Punk Cabaret' piano/vocal and percussion/guitar duo. Amanda Palmer and Brian Viglione. Brian's musicianship is equal to Amanda's songwriting talent, and combined they add up to one of the best bands in the boston area. Dressed up in white face paint, striped stockings, bowler hat, etc... they perform with a theatrical flair, both dramatic and humurous. Also, as with any good live group, their live performances reach levels of intensity that can't easily be achieved in a studio environment. One of the highlights for me was the 'Port of Amsterdam' with the accordian player from World/Inferno joining them onstage (they also did this at the last DD-WIFS show). They also played 'Science Fiction Double Feature' from The Rocky Horror Picture Show. From the shows I have seen so far, I really like the covers they mix into their set, they fit in very nicely and provide a little variety. Not that their songs aren't enough, but it's good to get some surprises in there as well. I know they have won some 'best band in Boston' type stuff, I don't really pay much attention to that, but they will be doing a lot of shows around the country over the next couple months, I expect they will be gaining a lot of new fans. 9/10
Finally, after the Dresden Dolls, comes World/Inferno Friendship Society. They are a group of 9, complete with bass, percussion, guitar, horns, keyboards and accordian, that play a sort of vaudvillian ska to a group of particularly rabid devotees. Half the fun of seeing this band is watching the audience members work themselves into a frenzy dancing, jumping, and singing along with thier arms raised in the air. The other half is of course that the band itself is a smokin', swingin', rockin' sensation. The music is designed to get the adreneline flowing and the perfomance is always set at 11 with these guys. Mr. Jack Terricloth puts on a charming witty salesman persona onstage, and leads the way through an almost circus-like ride. If my head weren't so stuffed up right now I might go on telling you about how I enjoyed the show, but my poor melon is starting to throb, I think I am going to lay down. Your just going to have to trust me, they're good, go see em. Venus IV
March 9th 2004 -
The Dresden Dolls
, with
This would be the 4th time I have seen the Dresden Dolls, and though I love them and think they put on a great live show, I was really more interested in seeing Sleepytime Gorilla Museum. Axis is a hip joint on Landsdown St. snuggled in with all the other hip joints. I am generally a little bit more grungy and downscale for most of the establishments in this sizzling hotbed of nightlife activity. However, when they host a good event, the sound is going to be good, and they attract their own crowds of people. We got to the show in time to catch the last 9 or 10 seconds of Faun Fables, so I can't really review them (her?) at all, which is regretfull. I generally like to see all the opening acts, but we had some problems getting out on time and I didn't help things much, hobbling around on my broken ankle. The first thing that caught my attention was the unusual setup on stage consisting of what appeared to be quite the assortment of homemade percussion and stringed instruments strewn about. I was already beginning to like these guys (SGM) and they hadn't even played a note yet. I had a general idea of what their music was like, but did not know how well it would work as a live performance. When they finally hit the stage, I knew they were not going to let me down. These guys were industrial-goth, avante-garde, theater, art, intelligent and humorus. Their look, their music, their intensity, and their imaginative lyrical content was more ambitious than most bands should attempt, but they pulled it off. This is what Marilyn Manson would be if they were talented, intelligent, or witty. They moved effortlessly between haunting operatic themes and ludicrous anti-melodies without ever straying too far from traditional rock music sensibilities. They delivered the performance with an authoratative alien charisma that kept me captivated. I always love to see something as exciting and new as this. This is not a show I would recommend for everyone, but if you don't mind the harsher industrial type sound and want to see something different than I would highly recommend Sleepytime Gorilla Museum. Next came the Dresden Dolls. As I mentioned, this would be the fourth time I have seen them, and they have yet to dissapoint. I really enjoy watching and listening to the interplay between these two. They are as close to one musician sharing two bodies as any duo that I can recall. In short, as far as I can tell, they are always going to put on a top notch show. For a more detailed analysis, see the March 5th Dresden Dolls show review. Venus IV
March 24th 2004 -
Junior Brown
Junior Brown is a country, blues, rock guitarist in a category all his own. He plays a combo electric guitar and steel slide, and has a finger pickin' technique which is truly a sight to see. His band travelled light. They were a three piece with a couple combo amps, Junior's guitar, the bass guitar, and a one-piece drumset consisting of a snare drum and a cymbal. Junior walked on to the stage, said 'we're gonna have a good time tonight' and busted right out into a full fledged, rip roarin, guitar solo laden, country music blitzkreig. There was plenty of jaw-droppin, and wide eyed finger pointin to be had by all, as he flipped back and forth between the guitar and slide, bending notes with his third and fourth finger on his slide hand, bending notes behind the nut of his guitar, dropping his E string down via the tuning key to hit a low note and bringing it right back into tune for the next one, and pickin away like a madman. I have heard Junior Brown before, but I had never noticed till tonight how jazz influenced his playing was. Maybe he was beeing more jazzy than usual but he was really throwing in a lot of 'way out' chords in his jamming. I am referring to 'way out' as in the 'cool man', 'way out' hep cat kind of way. He is a lot of fun to watch play as you can see him lose himself in some of the improvising and I prefered some of his creative adventures (which he is less known for) to his all out fireworks. He played a good mix of country, rock and blues all sprinkled with jazz. He did a couple rockabilly numbers that were just insane, and a couple really cool surf guitar instrumentals too. He also played a couple Jimi Hendrix covers much to the crowd's delight. ('Jimi' cried out the drunked patron near the front). Now the show was great from beginning to end, but if there was one stand out moment for me, it was the drum solo. I guess it just caught me off gaurd. For the first part of the show I noticed the drummer was doing an exceptional job of making that one drum and cymbal sound like an entire kit, just through finesse and dynamics. He was deadly accurate at placing the stick on a particular place on the head or rim to produce a particular timbre. But a drum solo? I figured it would be pretty short and to the point. Not so my friends. Percussion Wizardry I tell you. He managed to get more sounds out of that little snare drum and cymbal by pressing on the head with his palm, using both ends of the stick, rims and placement of hits on snare and cymbal along with dynamics, sliding one hand across the drum head while hitting it with the other, flipping the snare off and on, etc... Some of it I couldn't even completely comprehend (he was making these quick little flange rattles by trapping one stick between the other one and the head of the drum or the rim). That guy (and I wish I knew his name) put on one of the best drum solos I have seen, and he did it with one drum. NOW THATS ENTERTAINMENT!!! Anyhow it was a great show, the crowd went nuts, and it was in the comfy little environment I have come to really like seeing shows in. No more theaters and stadiums for me (well maybe the Pixies), but their are just so many shows like this one that slip through town relatively unnoticed, I think that's where you get the most bang for the buck. So there it is, Junior Brown 9/10 Venus IV
March 26th 2004 -
Gogol Bordello
with
First off, let me say that I gave up seeing The Sun Ra Arkestra to see this show. I had heard a lot about three of these bands, (Rev. Glasseye, Beat Science, and Gogol Bordello), and having them all on the same bill was enough for me to say, O.K. I gotta see this one. The good news is I did not regret my decision. The first happy surprise was Alec K. Redfearn and His Eyesores. I had never heard of them before, and had no idea what to expect. I imagined they would be sort of a timid impersonation of the rest of the night's lineup, but they were just as good in their own right. They had a violin, cello, french horn, sax, guitar, drums, accordian and vocals for their pallete of sounds. The group managed to build up swells of chaotic jamming over solid melodies and managed to create an organic tension that got to be pretty intense at points. The vocals were a little plain, kind of in a spaceman- spiritualized-belle and sebatian kind of way, but the music was much better than any of these and kept things interesting. (some people like the mellow style vocals I'm referring to, and if you do you would probably really dig the vocals and backup harmonies, which were really pretty good, I just prefer a little more hutzpah). But, lack of vocal hutzpah aside, these band was really great. I loved some of the wall of sound (no, not phil spector wall of sound) jams they got going, and the musical intensity was very high. 8½/10
Next up - Reverend Glasseye and his Wooden Legs - much more vocal hootzpah! The Reverend certainly had some character as well, raising his hands in a sermonizing type way and jumpin about. I would have to place Reverend Glasseye in the neighborhood somewhere between Nick Cave, and Tom Waits. Just good old nitty gritty blues/folk and vaudeville with a hard edge and a thematic songster style storytelling of a dark themed nature. I was expecting to really like these guys and they were exacty what I was expecting. No surprises, which in this case was a very good thing. The music wasn't mixed quite as well as the first band (the bass was a little more muddy), but the performance was inspiring, there were plenty of stage theatrics, and I really liked some of the bizzare vocal arrangements (sounding like a bunch of drunken sailors, yet with very strong and thematic melodies). Between the first two bands, I was already O.K. with my decision miss Sun Ra to see this show. 8½/10
Beat Science was up next, and they were great. They are a sort of circus jazz avante-garde freeform instrumental group that just jams out on all kinds of crazy amped up mayhem. The tuba player in particular caught my attention huffin and puffin away and providing a very solid rack for the rest of the guys to hang their hats and ties on. I don't really know what that is supposed to mean exactly but they were good. Sometimes they get a little to a-melodic for my taste, but I still really dig it and most of their stuff is right up my alley. I have a propensity for some chaos in my chaos, and these guys know how to deliver. 7½/10
O.K. Now comes the moment I had really been waiting for. The show had already been great so far and if Gogol Bordello
just plain sucked I would have been able to live with it. I had heard alot about these guys though and had a feeling
things were going to get pretty intense. I had no Idea.
The next hour and a half, let me tell you, was unlike anything I had ever heard or seen before. Eugene Hutz, was equal parts Iggy Pop, Shane MacGowan, Jim Morrison, Gypsy Dancer, Contortionist, Witch Doctor and Shaman. I have never seen so much pent up energy released at once. The band new how to take it down and get a mood going and then just all jump forward and go nuts filling the whole room with thier explosive energy. There was dancing, costumes (including a shamanistic eskimoan theme which I particularly liked), they had 6 instrumentalists plus two dancing girls who also played cymals and a giant drum with a mallet, and added in screams and hollers and whoops and wails. This was very authentic Eastern European Gypsy and Authentic Punk rolled into one. Their sound was absolutely incredible, not one area in the sonic spectrum was not spoken for, and it was teeming with rich overlapping instrumentation, while still pounding and throbbing with a vigorous tribal-like rhythm. I was blown away, truly. These guys were more than I could have Imagined. Gogol Bordello, in one amazing performance, have placed themselves at the top of my favorite bands of the Boston-New York region, and if they keep it up, there will be a place waiting for them on my all time list as well.
11/10
Venus IV
March 27th 2004 -
The Gentlemen
with
Well, after seeing Gogol Bordello the night before it is hard for me to be completely fair to these guys, because even the next day, Gogol Bordello is going to be a tough act to follow. But here it goes. The first band on stage was The Unbusted, a sort of 'garage/indie rock' band cut from that same Strokes, White Stripes, Von Bondies cloth we seem to be seeing a lot of lately. These guys were plenty 'pop'-y and had some catchy radio friendly sounding stuff. Something in the mix was not quite right however, there seemed to be a bit of a hole in it, so the overall sound was clear, but a little weak. The crowd was overly mellow, people were sitting at their tables eating dinner, (Johnny D's is primarily a Jazz and Blues club for the most part) and I think they might have felt a little out of place up there on the tiny little stage. The singer when finishing the show thanked everyone and said 'I hope you all enjoyed your dinner'. I thought it was kind of funny. But overall I would have to say the show was fairly bland, although if recorded properly they did have some of that hip new sound that might make a good radio friendly 'pop' hit, or a good MTV video. Just not my bag per se. 5/10
A few more people piled in for the Gentlemen, but not much, and the energy raised a little but not high enough to
propel the band to what I suspect they are capable of. The Gentlemen proved they know how to rock and roll, but just
didn't have quite enough to blow the doors off the place, despite the fact that Mike Gent jumped up on top of a table
for his guitar solo, and when they asked for a few beers on stage, three people responded and they wound up with a
dozen. I liked their loose aproach and carefree attitude toward playing music. That's what rock is about. Unfortunately
some of their jams just didn't quite deliver on the potential that was there, and they also seemed to be suffering
from the same weak mix as the first band. Though it was a little bit better, just not quite as punchy as I would have
liked it. There were some highlights and the show was entertaining, I get the feeling they have had better nights
though.
Venus IV |