Last weekend The Mighty Mighty Bosstones celebrated lead singer Dicky Barrett’s 50th birthday by doing something that they’ve never done before: playing a show in Boston. Okay, they’ve been playing there for 30 years but what the hell. Let’s do it again. It’s finally warm in Massachusetts let’s bust out those plaid skanking shoes and…
People come to Empty Bottle Evenings to find out about music they haven’t listened to before, and LET ME TELL YOU about this band. It’s like nothing you’ve ever heard. They’ve been around for a little while but…okay everyone knows the goddamn Black Keys. When you’ve reached the point in your career where your songs…
This past weekend was this year’s Spring Boston Calling Festival. Expanding this year to 2 ½ days of music at City Hall Plaza, there were over 20 bands for people to rock out to. Or awkwardly sway to. Fucking Hipsters. I know they’re all look at me with their fedoras, checkered shorts, and thrift stores…
Sometimes I think about when bands are starting to make it big and they start playing bigger venues. Eventually they’ll get to the point where they are opening at some huge arena for the biggest band on the planet. They’ll talk about how it was always their dream to open for Springsteen or whoever (whomever?…
What is it about British musicians that confuse Americans into thinking that they’re tough? Maybe its just the accent, but it sounds like every songwriter finishes up their 7th pint at the pub, strolls down the street, and knocks out some guy for giving him a dirty look, before stumbling on stage and strumming away….
I once brought my girlfriend to see Rocky Votolato play a show at someone’s apartment. I kept it a surprise because I thought it was so cool that we could go see a private show from one of our favorite songwriters in some random living room. We got to the door and a scantily clad young…
I should read more books. Every once in awhile I’ll pick up a novel and it will blow me away. Even if I’ve read it before, if it’s special enough I’ll spend weeks thinking about it. Sometimes it’s good for me, I’ll read Three Men in a Boat and remember that people have been laughing…
Before Ryan Adams was living happily ever after with Mandy Moore (yes this is true and more than a little strange) he was creating mostly depressing, sometimes beautiful, pop and alt-country (there is is again!) albums. In the early 2000s, Adams was particularly inspired, creating his best work while under the influence of alcohol and…
Bitter Drink, Bitter Moon is the sixth studio album by the band Murder By Death. It is similar in sound to their last few albums, a sort of alt-rock/americana blend that is pretty popular these days. If the band is known at all it’s because their song “Coming Home” was used in the trailer for…
It’s St Paddy’s Day in Boston. So it’s time for that annual tradition. Not drinking, that’s not a tradition, more like a daily task. I mean seeing the Murphys live. This year they are playing 6 shows on Landsdowne Street. To which I say: please stop. I went to the 3/14 show. I had a…
