PLAYGROUND BOSTON

Ah day two on beautiful sunny Cape Cod. Well actually, by the time we pulled into Provincetown the soggy Thursday evening mist had turned into actual droplets of light chilly rain that would only get steadier before turning into full-on downpour by the end of the night. No to be deterred, after getting the lay of the land and chatting it up with The Lights Out on Commercial Street, we headed to Old Colony Tap to catch some local atmosphere, some beers, and some singer/songwriters.

For day 1 recap click here

Click here for a complete listing of bands and venues participating in the festival!

Day 2 – Thursday July 23rd

Venue: Old Colony

The Scene: The first word that comes to mind when entered Old Colony Tap is “Crusty.” From the dark cave-like lighting, the low ceiling, the old buoys and fishing memorabilia hung everywhere on the walls, to the leather-skinned fisherman/biker local clientele, Old Colony is a place for serious drinking, and that’s about it. The doorman Keith (commercial fisherman by day) was friendly and chatty, and as he explained, helps out at the bar at night after selling them his day’s oysters. With Anchor Steam on tap, reasonably priced well drinks, and music set up in the corner, I had no complaints! (memorable sightings include a dude in a sweet Sam Black Church t-shirt and Punk-Rock Ron Jeremy hanging out at the bar)

Alexis Babini

The Bands: As we walked in the door, Boston singer/songwriter Alexis Babini was halfway through The Beatles’ “With a Little Help From My friends.” We first heard about Alexis from our new bartender friend Katie the night before at Good Times, who informed us he was a must-see. He must be a favorite over there, as later in the night bartender number 2 was displaying and singing the praises of Babini’s latest CD “Breaking It In” to festival-going couple. Though it takes a lot for me to be blown away by solo acoustic guitar, Babini held his own, putting on an entertaining set of upbeat poppy originals.

Following Alexis was a solo performance by Bob Cencii of The Wynotts. Bob could have taken a little more time to tune his guitar properly, but hey, he was having fun belting it out, and his buddies in the crowd were appreciative.

Venue: Good Times

The Scene: After leaving Old Colony Tap we headed over to Good Times to put back a few ‘Gansett tall boys. Thankfully this night they had the projection screen turned off, so the bands weren’t forced to perform while images of infomercials were projected over them. Also this night, in place of Katie was a shirtless, tattooed, nipple-pierced, chest-shaved bartender chatting it up with a middle-aged dude in a beaver-skin top hat (ah yes this is Provincetown).

photo by Lara Keshishian

The Bands: Shortly after I settled into the bar, Boston two-piece grunge/blues outfit Blackbutton started making a racket from the stage-area. Turned up to ear-drum shattering volume, Jordan Tavenner (guitar, vox) and Anshul Jain (drums) made more noise together than any band yet at the festival (so much noise that actually got yelled at and told to turned down mid-performance by the bar’s owner). With nasty dirt-blues guitar chops, loose flying drums, and intense vocals, Blackbutton were my favorite festival discovery thus far! Tavenner’s Gibson hollow-body soared with rich, sweet tone, while Jain channeled his inner John Bonham, punishing his toms and snare. Festival-goers will have another chance to check these guys out at Good Times on Saturday night at 7:30, I highly recommend it!

Black Buttons – “Rose’s Roses” – That Thing That You Want To Put A Finger To Is Because

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Next on the GT stage was Boston quartet The Grownup Noise. Volume levels more in-check, the Grownup Noise presented a well-crafted set of intimate pop ballads, sounding somewhere in the vein of Ben Folds meets Postal-Service. Rotating instruments on stage, Paul Hansen and Katie Franich cycled between cello, keyboards and guitar on various songs, while Adam Sankowski (bass) and Aine Fujioka (drums) held down the rhythm. Though usually tastefully restrained, Hansen blasted an incredible guitar solo out of nowhere about 5 songs into the set that really blew me away/woke me up. Very impressive! The Grownup Noise are primed for big things, as they kick off a national tour tonight in Cambridge at the Middle East.

As the night went on and the crowd packed in, Gene Dante and The Future Starlets took the stage, looking like a bizarre fashion show gone horribly wrong — a weird mishmash of ties, vest, scarves, suspenders, leather pants and guyliner. Amped up for the performance, Dante and the Starlets came out swinging with some big gay rock, rattling off songs about dressing up, looking good and being a queen. The highlight of their set was a rocking rendition of their song “Photo Synthetic,” that delivered some serious crunch live. You can check out the band again next month in Cambridge, playing August 27th at the Middle East. Also on a side note Gene Dante has a really cool website, check it out.

(also they serenaded Bryan… too bad they spelled his name wrong)

Gene Dante and the Future Starlets – “Brian, My Darling” – The Romantic Lead

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Not wanting to, in the words of a Mr. James Willets, “cash in all my fun-chips early,” I decided to call it a night, and gear up for the next two days of Festival action. Friday has a nasty lineup in store.

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