PLAYGROUND BOSTON

Major Stars @ TT's 1/19/10 - Photo by Tim Bugbee

I was fortunate enough to catch Major Stars at their show at TT’s last month (click here to check out Tim Bugbee’s AMAZING photos from that show), and as a result I can honestly say that I’ve resolved to never miss another one of their local shows. These guys put on an intense performance of psychedelic insanity – hair flying everywhere, more wahs and shreds than the ears can handle, dueling guitar solos, and general face-meltery all around. Ever seen two guitars, a bass, and a drummer all soloing at the same time and have it actually WORK? Come down to Charlie’s in Harvard Square tonight and see for yourself! Joining Major Stars on this bill are Fat Worm of Error and Vile Bodies.

Here’s a video to give you an idea what to expect. The lineup’s a little different, but the sound is the same. Entire band plays the song through, singer sings the lyrics, then she gets outta the way and lets the rest of the band jam out for 4 minutes or so. That’s how they did it at TT’s, that’s how I’m expecting them to do it at Charlie’s – don’t miss out!

Major Stars

Charlie’s Kitchen

Tim Bugbee @ Tinnitus Photography

Friday, February 5th @ Church

Former PGB Track of the Week honorees Sprained Ankles highlight a bill chock full of irreverant punk rock down at Church. Check out the Ankles’ original brand of doo-wop garage rock, complete with female backup singers doing interpretive dances to songs like “Randy the Rock and Roll Pizza Wolf” and the legendary “Axe Gnome.” Nope, couldn’t make that up if I tried. Also worth checking out is Wasted Talent, featuring solo artist Nabo Rawk and DJ Paul Foley. Should certainly be interesting, click here to check out their video “Khed.”

Friday, February 5th @ O’Briens

I’m happy to report that rumors of the demise of Buried in Leather have been greatly overexaggerated. While they may only play a show every 6 months or so, they are still definitely alive and breathing. Sneering, guttural vocals laced over shredding guitar riffs, this band gets you pissed off and fired up like no other. You never know if or when you’ll have another chance to catch them, so make sure you don’t miss this one. Also appearing on this bill are Anarchunts, an all-girl gutter punk quartet having recently burst onto the Boston scene; Doggfight US, fist-in-the-air anthemic punk rock from up north; and local legends The Acro-brats. This is an unbelievable lineup, sure to pack the house at O’Briens and threaten to tear the roof down.

Saturday, February 6th @ Great Scott

A killer lineup is hitting Great Scott on Saturday night. Local rock giants Reverse might be the most influential band playing out in Boston today – almost every last musician in town counts these guys as one of their favorite acts to see. Full Body Anchor is a brand new outfit consisting of former members of some of the best punk and garage bands in the city – Blue Bloods, Darkbuster, The Dents, and more. Lead singer Eric Edmonston jumps back and forth seamlessly between a heartfelt croon and an eardrum shattering scream, accenting the crunchiness of the heavy noise-rock instrumentation. Sun Lee Sunbeam and Dirt Mall also take the stage for this show, assuring a nice mix of styles across the bill for your listening pleasure.

Saturday, February 6th @ Church

Church is doing themselves proud this weekend with the great rock shows. Look at the bands on this bill! Dirty Truckers, fresh off a win at the Xconomy Battle of the Tech Bands. Watts, featuring the incomparable John Blount on guitar and John Lynch on drums. (Lynch is easily one of the best drummers in the entire damn city, and is pulling double duty on this show as he also plays for the ‘Truckers). Garage powerhouses Muck and the Mires will also be making an appearance, the only band in town and probably one of the few in the entire country who have shared a stage with both MC5 AND the New York Dolls – if that’s not some serious credibility right there I don’t know what is. Rounding out the bill are The Cretins, back after an almost 10 year long vacation. Local hero Malibu Lou will be opening the night in celebration of his 40th birthday – go check out him and The Italians rock out up on stage, then buy him a PBR or two – happy birthday Lou!

A three-way marriage.

That’s legal in Massachusetts, right?

Well, that’s exactly what you get out of The Indobox’s Adventure Rock:  a three-way marriage of electric, electronic, and acoustic as they switch at will from the passionately organic to the grindingly distorted and onward to the pleasantly & head-bobbing-ly danceable.

That also means there’s no way to single out any one instrumentalist or even vocalist.

Quinn Ferree’s natural drums give way periodically to drum-machine sounds that ramp up and down in the backdrop of tracks like “Reading,” and “Part II.”  Guitars provide stabbing rhythms and monolithic chords in the background while bright synth lines decorate a track. At other times, those same guitarists take the front seat, dial on the delay, and swim their way into your ears. The vocal styles and sounds also change throughout the record thanks to multiple singers, making for a further varied experience.

CONTINUE READING »

All photos by Seth C. Drury!

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This is it. After 8 years, post-hardcore act Scary Kids Scaring Kids are doing one more tour, then calling it quits as a band. Keyboardist Pouyan Afkary explained it best in his blog:

We are doing this to say goodbye in person to all the friends that have ever supported us and we’ll be making it even more special by touring with some of the bands that have become brothers to us on the road. …Life throws us all something different and we’ve decided that the best thing for us personally is to end the band on a positive note and start new chapters in our individual lives.

So yup, that’s it. Barring any cheesy reunion tours down the road, this will be the last time SKSK comes through Boston, the last time you’ll have a chance to see them. What better way to catch a farewell show… then to do so for free! We’ve got a pair of tickets to give away to this show, which also features The Sleeping and local heroes The Murder Mile on the bill. Just send an e-mail to bryan@playgroundboston.com with the subject “SKSK” to be entered for your chance to win. That’s all there is to it! Our winner will be selected on Monday afternoon. Enter now!

Scary Kids Scaring Kids – Snake Devil

The Murder Mile – “No Solutions”

The Indobox

Dinosaur Bones - Photo by Stephanie Luong

What’s that, you want more tickets? You got it! We’ve got a pair of tickets to give away for a big show this Saturday at Harpers Ferry. Local dance/rock/jam/electronic all-stars The Indobox headline the bill. They’re celebrating the recent release of their latest album, Adventure Rock, which came out in December of ‘09. Their shows promise great light shows, plenty of different singers, extended jams, and a good time all around. The ‘Box will be rocking 2 separate sets too – plenty of jamsanity to be had by all! They’ll be supported by Canadian indie darlings Dinosaur Bones, who have been selling out clubs all throughout our great northern neighbors and are now set to invade the USA. They just released a 7″ on Monday, and are gearing up to jump into the studio as soon as they finish their current tour to finish up a full length. To further sweeten the pot, DJ Sonkin is coming up from Philly to spin, and local artist Iansanity will be painting live all night long!

Sound like a good time? It will be. Want to go to the show? Want to get in for free? Sure you do! Just send an e-mail to bryan@playgroundboston.com with “INDOBONES” in the subject, and you’ll be entered to win! We’ll only be taking entries until Friday morning, so enter now! Winner will be selected Friday afternoon.

The Indobox

Dinosaur Bones

DJ Sonkin

Iansanity

The outpouring of support for the victims of the disaster in Haiti from the veterans of the local Boston music scene has certainly been impressive, but there’s always more that can be done. To this effect, Jillian of One in a Million Media has put together a benefit show tomorrow night at the Middle East Downstairs featuring an outstanding lineup of bands, DJs, prizes, and more! Aloud, The Lights Out, and You Can Be A Wesley are all PGB favorites that have received plenty of coverage on this site (Aloud and TLO are also previous Track of the Week honorees). Pretty & Nice’s indie pop is just about impossible not to dance to, as are the vast array of songs spun by some of the most well-known DJs in town. This will be a great opportunity to catch some incredible music, and all for a great cause too!

If some of the best rock & pop acts Boston has to offer aren’t enough for you, there’s plenty more happening at this event. Several local businesses have donated some amazing prizes to be raffled off to raise additional funds for the relief effort, including Ace Ticket, Anna’s Taqueria, Rescue, and The Alter Eco. We’re talking tickets, gift certificates, merch, and more! Also, Special Ed & Charlie, formerly of WFNX’s Sandbox but now operating independently as The Empire, will be recording a podcast throughout the night. PGB always supports charitable benefit concerts, especially for such a great cause. It’s a lot easier to be so supportive, though, when a benefit is as packed with awesome-ness as this one. Rock out, dance, win prizes, party – but feel good about it because you’re helping out those in need! That’s what we call a good time – see you there.

• 7:30 – Doors
• 8:00 – 8:30 Michael V
• 8:45 – 9:15 Aloud
• 9:30 – 10:00 The Lights Out
• 10:15 – 10:30 Pretty & Nice
• 10:45 – 11:15 You Can Be A Wesley
• 11:30 – 12:00 Damien Paul
• 12:00 – 12:30 Repeat Offenders

Aloud

The Lights Out

You Can Be A Wesley

Pretty & Nice

DJs Michael V / Repeat Offenders / Damien Paul

Gillian Bowling Photography

The Empire

One in a Million Media

b

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All photos by Tim Bugbee. For more of Tim’s amazing work, check out tinnitus-photography.com!

Major Stars

PGB’s had a veritable landslide of tickets to give away lately! We’re giving away a last-minute pair of tickets to what looks to be a VERY cool show up at Johnny D’s this Wednesday. Portland, Oregon’s Vagabond Opera will be bringing their eclectic cabaret-style performance to the legendary Davis Square hotspot in support of their latest album, 2009’s The Zeitgeist Beckons. This talented sextet sings in thirteen different languages, and feature a vast array of instrumentation including upright bass, banjolele, cello, tenor sax, castanets, and musical saw. Musical saw!! I haven’t been this excited since I got a press release from the Saw Lady herself last summer! (and NO, I’m not talking about Lady Saw.)

Check out this video and see what the show’s all about. (There are better quality videos out there but I had to go with this one because there’s a FREAKING FIRE EATER involved!) If you like what you see, come join the PGB staff up at Johnny D’s for what promises to be an interesting night of vaudeville insanity! Just send an e-mail to bryan@playgroundboston.com with “VAGABOND OPERA” in the subject to be entered to win a pair of tickets to the show! We’ll throw a T-shirt and CD in to sweeten the pot even further. Don’t hesitate though, the winner will be selected tomorrow!

Vagabond Opera