PLAYGROUND BOSTON

All photos by Seth C. Drury!

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Get yer rump shaking to “Atlanta’s latest local supergroup” The Constellations, and local indie dance behemoths Bodega Girls, for free! On Thursday Feb 4th, Fenway Recording Sessions brings The Constellations, Bodega Girls, We are Wolves and DJ Carbo to Great Scott for a night of live dance mania. Being the selfless advocates for great live local and imported music that we are, we wanna send you there free of charge! All you have to do is leave a comment on this post to be entered to win. One lucky contestant will be selected at random for a free pair of tickets.

If you haven’t yet discovered The Constellations, I suggest you acquaint yourself asap. Hailing from Atlanta, this octet recently dropped their debut album Southern Gothic on Virgin Records, which features the likes of Cee Lo and Asher Roth (ok maybe we shoulda stopped at Cee Lo), as well as the production mastermind of Ben H. Allen (Animal Collective, Gnarls Barkley). The band has been known to “invoke the muscular rhythms of ‘70s Fela Kuti, the propelling pop sensibility of the Gorillaz and the vocals of a modern-day Tom Waits.”

Sound good? Take a listen, and enter to win!

The Constellations – “Setback”

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The Constellations
Bodega Girls
We are Wolves
Great Scott

Following the lightning success on iTunes of her latest release Luminous, rising star Samantha Farrell was asked to contribute a track to a forthcoming holiday compilation. What she came out with is a cozy, sultry ode to Boston in wintertime. Now, in the holiday spirit,  she’s offering it to everyone for free! I asked Ms. Farrell to tell me about the song, and this is what she had to say:

“A few weeks ago, I was asked to contribute a song to a holiday compilation. At first I said no, as I feel like all the bases have pretty much been covered when it comes to holiday music. That, and I have a strong aversion to sleigh bells. But, then I thought some more, and realized that if I took the “it’s all been done before” attitude, then I could single-handedly prevent myself from doing anything. It’s a highly unproductive philosophy to have, especially in any creative endeavor…..

So, this is what I came up with. I missed the deadline for the compilation, but I’m happy to just be able to share it.

This song is about being hopelessly far away from home, wherever/whatever that is during the holidays. It’s awful, no matter what you celebrate…I moved to Los Angeles right out of college, and I was totally broke before Christmas and couldn’t afford to fly home….ever. I was totally alone, hot, and frying underneath the Southern California sunshine, wishing and longing to be home in Massachusetts, and in the city I was born in, Boston. I would have given anything to see snow, to be cold, to be home. I’ll never forget that feeling. They always say “write what you know,” so here is my version of a holiday tune inspired by our lovely city; it’s called, “I’ll Be Dreaming of Boston.”

(to download right-click on link below and select “save target”):

download: I'll Be Dreaming of Boston (4.27MB) description: by Samantha Farrell

Listen:

Samantha Farrell – “I’ll Be Dreaming of Boston”

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Samantha Farrell

A couple of days ago we selected Samantha Farrell’s “Another Second Chance” as our Track of the Week. Now we say, you must go out and see her perform live! Playing a self-described blend of “jazzy folk rock pop with a twirl,” Farrell’s stirring, sultry voice stands out impressively above her smartly crafted pop songs. Giving a preview of her goods at Lizard Lounge this past Monday night, Farrell blew away the hushed crowd with a brief but memorable two-song performance. As someone who isn’t a fan of the usual singer-songwriter proffering, I must say I loved every second of Ms. Farrell’s soulful exhibition. She’ll be back on stage for a featured performance this Sunday at the Burren in Somerville, with a supporting cast of January Broke’s Chris DeSanty (drums) and Cilla Bonnie (bass,vox).

Farrell’s latest album Luminous, produced by the late great LeRoi Moore (founding member of the Dave Mathews Band), dropped earlier this week on iTunes, and quickly received a warm reception on the pop chart. Featuring appearances from the likes of John D’earth (Dave Matthews, Bruce Hornsby) and Bobby Read, Ms. Farrell sounds right at home playing with the heavy-weights. Check her out at the Burren on Sunday night, so you can say “I knew her when…” before she starts selling out the Paradise.

Samantha Farrell

The Burren
247 Elm St
Somerville, MA 02144

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Samantha Farrell

“Another Second Chance”

Luminous

© 2009 Samantha Farrell

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All Photos by Seth C. Drury!


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If you live in Allston, a few months back you may have seen some ominous sidewalk tags en route to the The Silhouette, or The Whitehorse, or Herrell’s (yeah I know it’s Allston Cafe now), or if you have impeccable taste (like we do) Deep Ellum. These yellow and red stenciled markings said something about Hostages… something about Attacking a City? This vandalism was is in fact how we first learned about the budding Boston band Attack the City.

Signed to District Kills Records, this young troop will fill all your high-energy Screamo needs and then some. Bassist (and music-blogger) Nick Grieco and drummer Rudy Olivares hold down the impressively tight rhythm, while guitar duo Sean Killary and Sam Morgan churn out mean WAAF-ready riffs made to get you boys and girl jumping up and down. If you’re looking to add an adrenaline shot to your Tuesday night, head to All Asia in Cambridge on September 29th – get angry, get sad, get pumped with Attack the City, and then dance the night away with electro-pop label-mates Love Via Dance Machine. The pair are sharing the stage starting at 7 pm. Check em out, and pick up a copy of Attack the City’s debut release Hostages EP.

Attack the City
Love Via Dance Machine

All Asia
334 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA
Love Via Dance Machine and Attack the City
7PM – 10 PM, $10

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Hallelujah the Hills‘ 2nd full length album Colonial Drones was released earlier this week on Misra Records. It is a dense and hazy, lo-fi affair, driven by spiraling melodies and thumping percussion. A whirlwind of cello, horns, drowsy keys, crunchy guitar and rumbling bass, the 13-track disc bites, soothes, becomes unhinged and crescendos masterfully throughout.

On “Blank Passports,” the band steers straight through a 4-minute build, while “Oxus Pagoda” dances in and out of its halcyon melody. The song “Variations On The Grand National Championships” rides out most pleasingly on the steady waves of Mathew Glover’s rolling drums. Meanwhile, Ryan Walsh’s lyrics read like a vaporous cloud of dreams, politics and love, somewhere between poetry and a stream-of-consciousness journal.

With noisy production and far-away sounding vocals garnished with harmonies and whistles, Colonial Drones drips of all things indie (minus the irony), thus fitting snugly in the present musical vogue- an album truly of the late 2000s. A mix of bitter and sweet with a hint of earthiness, I see it being the perfect soundtrack for the upcoming crisp fall evenings.

Hallelujah Hills is playing their Boston CD release show this Saturday, 9/26 at Great Scott. They are joined by rising stars You Can Be a Wesley and The Big Big Bucks. Don’t Miss it!

Hallelujah the Hills
You Can Be a Wesley
The Big Big Bucks

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Living Colour - Photo by Pete Legasey

It’s been over 20 years since Vernon Reid teamed up with Corey Glover and Will Calhoun, and more than a decade and a half since bassist Doug Wimbish joined their ranks. Their age hasn’t made these guys dated though, it’s made them musical juggernauts. Seeing a unit that is so cohesive, whose sound has been engineered so meticulously, and whose songs have stood the test of time, is usually experienced from the back of a giant pavilion after paying a 3-digit price-tag. Those packed into the overflowing Johnny D’s last week were given the unique experience to see all this up close and personal in a tiny club. This begs the obvious question, why the hell were these guys playing Johnny D’s and not somewhere bigger? The club was beyond capacity and plenty of people were waiting outside hoping to get in. Anyone who got stuck in the cold missed out, because what was going on inside was mind blowing.

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