PLAYGROUND BOSTON

More tickets? YES! Big D and the Kids Table are among the biggest names to come out of the Boston ska scene in the past few decades thanks to energetic live performances, tireless touring, and frequent releases in the form of studio albums, EPs, compilation appearances, and split albums with other bands. They had a very busy 2009 on the Warped Tour, out in the UK in support of Reel Big Fish (yeah, I can’t believe they’re still around either!), and back stateside with State Radio. This will be a homecoming show for the former Berklee students, ready to bring down the Paradise with the help of We Are The Union, Larry and His Flask, and Waltham’s favorite punk rockers the Morgan Knockers (well, my favorite punk rockers from Waltham, anyway.)

Want to win tickets? Just send an e-mail to bryan@playgroundboston.com with “BIG D” in the subject, and you’ll have a chance for you and a friend to get into the show for free! Our winner will be selected on Friday morning, so there’s a very limited time to enter this contest. Good Luck!

One of the best parts about living in Boston is the St. Patrick’s Day festivities. Camraderie, funny hats, and alcohol-infused good times – what better to go with all of the above than some great local music? Sure, its not exacly what St. Patrick had in mind while transversing the Irish countryside as a Catholic missionary, but I don’t think Jesus was thinking of pastel pink rabbits handing out eggs to commemorate Easter either. We work with what we’ve got, and we make the best out of what we can. Since the parade always falls on a Sunday, and St. Patrick’s Day is always on March 17th, they usually don’t line up on the same day and as a result you get TWO days to celebrate. Sure, this year’s parade was a little… soggy, to say the least. But hey, the weather’s going to be 60 degrees and sunny tomorrow, perfect conditions to throw a few back and check out some Irish-themed local shows!

Over in Cambridge, The Swaggerin’ Growlers are taking over The Middle East Upstairs for their 5th annual St. Patrick’s Day Riot. The local legends of Irish riot folk are bringing some great local bands together for this one, including Faulty Conscience and The Old Edison. Amherst’s Time and Place will be this year’s pit band. They’ll also be bringing in New Jersey’s F Bombers, a female-fronted punk rock machine from the worst-smelling state in the country. The Growlers will be selling their new CD for only $5, will have new T-shirts for sale, and will without a doubt be willing to have at least one drink with every last man, woman, and child who walks into that club. There are also plans to have the entire show recorded for a live DVD, even more reason to join in the revelry! This annual show has become an institution for St. Paddy’s day madness in Boston, come see what you’ve been missing!

If you’re planning on spending your time on the other side of the river make sure you get down to Great Scott for their St. Pat’s celebration show, featuring an absolutely STACKED lineup. Local Britpop superheros The Luxury will be headlining the night, playing a rare weekday show to commemorate the Irishness of the day. They’ll be joined by Midatlantic (ex-Bleedin Bleedins), who put on one of the best sets of the entire P-Town Festival but we have unfortunately not seen since. Midatlantic’s actually got some ties to Ireland among the band members, so I suppose that gives this show a little bit extra authenticity. The Organ Beats (ex-Damone) completely killed it at the Conservative Man EP Release show back in January (click to see Matt’s review), and have been blowing up the Boston spotlight ever since with a jam-packed show schedule. We’re excited to see what they come up with for this one. Local rising stars Mellow Bravo are also featured on this bill – their gritty blues-rock style has made a serious impact on the local scene in the relatively short time they’ve been together. The Herald recently named them one of their top 10 bands to watch for in 2010 (Herald article is archived, click link for a transcribed version on the writer’s blog), so if you haven’t had a chance to watch them yet, now’s your chance! Creepy Jones rounds out the bill, ensuring you’ll have enough yee-haw rock to make it through the night. In addition to their normal sets each band will be doing at least one cover of a traditional Irish song, and DJ Belfrank out of Belfest will be spinning and lending even more authenticity between sets. This is sure to be an unforgettable (depending on how much you drink) night of some of the best local rock Boston has to offer!

More giveaways? No problem! This time we’ve got a pair of tickets to go see local indie darlings Drug Rug open up for Apollo Sunshine next Thursday the 18th! Fresh off a national tour, Drug Rug returns triumphantly to their hometown to rock out the big stage at the Paradise. Fronted by BMA Female Vocalist of the Year Sarah Cronin, Drug Rug has been taking the lo-fi indie scene by storm on both the local and national level since the release of last year’s Paint The Fence Invisible. They’re currently plotting and scheming on a new album to be recorded in May, so you can bet you’ll get a nice mix of brand new songs to go with your favorites from the last album.

Apollo Sunshine, who also boasts ties to Boston (as well as NY and SF), will be headlining the night. After blowing up in the Berklee scene, they’ve spent the past few years touring the country and all over the world opening up for the likes of Dirty Pretty Things, Sonic Youth, Built to Spill, The Walkmen, The Roots, The Decemberists, and My Morning Jacket. They’ve got quite the unique style, which Pitchfork describes as “runs the gamut from pastoral folk to distorted-everything blues-punk to Latin-tinged indie pop to orchestral interludes.” Yeah, good luck figuring that one out. Anyway, they’ve got an original indie sound that’s become very popular in the wake of their third full-length, Shall Noise Upon. Scroll down and check out the video of one of their more mellow numbers, “Singing to the Earth.”

Want to enter to win tickets? All you have to do is send an e-mail to bryan@playgroundboston.com with “DRUGSHINE” in the subject, and you’ll be automatically entered for a pair of tickets to the show! Winner will be announced the morning of the show, enter now!

Apollo Sunshine

Drug Rug

Edan the Dee Jay

The Paradise

All Photos by Tim Bugbee

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Thanks to Tim Bugbee for the great shots! See more of his work at www.tinnitus-photography.com!

Blue Oyster Cult

PGB is happy to offer up a pair of tickets to Monday’s show at the Paradise featuring Philly’s DJ/Producer extraordinaire RJD2! RJD2 usually comes through town once a year, and without exception his shows are regarded as among the best anyone has seen – regardless of your genre preferences. The influence RJD2 has had on the underground and indie hip hop scene cannot be denied, and we’ve got your chance to see his groundbreaking style for yourself! This tour is in support of his brand new album, Colossus, released January 20th. He promises to have some tricks up his sleeve for this time around – check out this excerpt from his website:

This is the most planned out/intricate/thought out/awesomest show I’ve ever been a part of. Easily. By far. I can say this with a clear conscience.  Costume changes. Custom built electronics. New songs and old.  3 turntables, 2 mixers, 1 sampler, 1 serato rig(PLUS a crate of vinyl), guitar, bass, drums, vintage and new analog synthesizers, visuals, and 2 hand puppets to boot.

RJ, you had us at hand puppets. Want your chance to win? Just send an e-mail to bryan@playgroundboston.com with the subject “RJD2″ and you will be automatically entered to win a pair of tickets, courtesy of PGB and The Paradise! Still not convinced you want to check out this show? Then check out this video for “Let There Be Horns” off the new album, featuring a drug-addled, lovelorn minotaur in a wife beater. Nope, couldn’t make that up if I tried. RJD2 can though, and if he can come up with something as crazy as that just imagine what he can do live with a couple of turntables and some samples. Enter now, winner will be selected on Friday!

T-Model Ford - Photo by Tim Bugbee

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All photos by Tim Bugbee. For more of his work, check out Tinnitus Photography.

T-Model Ford

Ten Foot Polecats

Erin Harpe & The Delta Swingers

Boston Blues Society

This Saturday at Precinct in Union Square NTP Productions has put together a strong lineup of bands to celebrate the release of the Young Tremors new album on Teenage Heart Records, a local indie label well established in punk and garage rock circles. The collection of bands on the bill are perfect compliments to each other, and are extremely fun to catch live. The Young Tremors describe their sound as “The Kinks caught huffing the fumes of Motown in Elvis Costello’s garage.” Tad Overbaugh is opening the night up, the former frontman for The Kickbacks debuting his solo project, The Late Arrivals. Memphis 59 are bringing their rootsy twang up from Virginia to add a little southern flavor to the bill – and hey, look! Is that Rich Lewis from Sam Black Church on bass? You damn right it is! PGB Favorites Watts will be providing rock ‘n roll hooks, sneers, and struts for the masses. Dirty Truckers, who have also received plenty of coverage on PGB, will be closing out the night with their 90’s style rock that’ll stay stuck in your head the entire ride home after the show.

Watts - Photo by Johnny Arguedas

Good music and good people not enough for you? OK, well how about a ‘Gansett sponsorship? Still not enough? How about FREE FOOD?! The $10 price of admission gets you all the appetizers you can eat all night long, courtesy of Nicole Tammaro. Stuff your face and rock the fuck out tomorrow night at Precinct, 70 Union Square in Somerville.

Tad Overbaugh and the Late Arrivals – 8:30pm

Memphis 59 – 9:15pm

Young Tremors – 10:05pm

Watts – 10:55pm

Dirty Truckers – 11:45pm

This weekend brings the 4th annual New England Americana Festival to Boston (formerly known as the Alt-Country Extravaganza). The festival this year has been receiving tons of press in newspapers and music sites for the past two months, and is looking to be one of the best roots-rock events this area has seen in years! This is an entirely non-profit event, with all proceeds to benefit Coalition for Courage, an organization that helps children in Africa.

In addition to 8 bands per night on the big stage at Church, event organizer Noel Coakley (Autumn Hollow Band) will also be setting up a second stage over by the bar, to ensure that even between sets there will still be music filling the room. The lineups for each night speak for themselves – check them out below, with the headliners for each night in bold. Each night is extremely solid! Tickets are around $10 per night, but you can get a combo pass to all three shows for only $20 – a great discount for a long weekend of all the twang you can handle!

Here’s the lineup and set times for each night:

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