PLAYGROUND BOSTON

If you or the artist you represent would like to have a music writer from Playground Boston come out to review one of your upcoming shows please email bryan@playgroundboston.com.

Memoryhouse - Photo Credit: Adrian Joseph Vieni

Great Scott continued their epic summer line up this past Monday with a killer triple bill featuring local act Avoxblue opening up for Long Island’s Twin Sister and Memoryhouse, a dream-pop trio from Ontario.

Avoxblue, the electronic solo project of Cambridge-based Jimmy Rossi Jr., provided a pleasantly solid opening act for this night of dreamy, ambient, mood music. Set up behind his laptop and other musical equipment, his droning sounds had the crowd bopping their heads along to his experimental beats and grooves.  Avoxblue played a short set but was able to gather the attention of both headliners who were out in the crowd watching his performance. The early arriving crowd at Great Scott gave Avoxblue his love, and Avoxblue returned the favor by closing out with a great rendition of his track “TimeWaves.” An EP dropping in the fall should be something to look forward to from this talented solo act.

Twin Sister - Photo Credit: Nir Landau of Foundwaves.com

Twin Sister performed next. This was their third show in Boston in the last six months – the band’s relentless touring and critical acclaim has earned them quite a following as the venue reached its peak audience during Twin Sister’s set.  The band showed a more confident and raucous vibe than they did in their previous performances at TT the Bear’s and The Middle East. Lead singer Andrea Estella led the band through an inspired performance of “Lady Daydream” to open, as her glass of whiskey and neon pink pocketbook rested at her feet during the performance. Estella brings an “I just walked up from the bar” accessibility to the band but it is the cohesiveness of the whole group together that really makes Twin Sister something to write home about. Their two EP’s this year, Color Your Life and Vampires with Dreaming Kids have received well-deserved massive acclaim, and the band’s live performance is equally as impressive. Lead guitarist Eric Cardona (totally thought he was Jewish, guess not) turned in an inspired performance. His distorted guitar solos took over on improvised versions of “Milk and Honey” and “Other Side of your Face” The addition of Cardona’s shredding is a welcome weapon in the Twin Sister arsenal. This might have been your last chance to catch Twin Sister before they move onto a certain bigger venue about half a mile down Comm Ave.

Twin Sister Live @ Great Scott 8/9
Video courtesy of Michael Marrotta of the Boston Phoenix

Memoryhouse headlined the show, and even though they suffered a little from some of the crowd trickling out after Twin Sister’s performance, you would never have known it. Memoryhouse really stole the show this night. The band’s debut EP The Years clocks in at a dainty 14 minutes long, which is even more surprising considering the solid 45 minutes the band clocked in during their set. (Download the EP for free here!) Another band in the Cocteau Twins / Mazzy Star inspired dream pop mold, Memoryhouse’s fresh take on the genre features a more rhythmic backdrop and a more in-your-face guitar punch than other bands of that style. They even finished their set with a crowd pleasing cover of My Bloody Valentine’s “When You Sleep.” This was the first stop on a brand new US tour for the Ontario trio, and it should be the start of a long and productive career making music for this experimental, yet listenable band.  An added bonus, and further incentive to catch Memoryhouse next time they come around – lead singer Denise Nouvion’s dance moves are unmatched by anyone in indie music today.

Memoryhouse Covering My Bloody Valentine, Live @ Great Scott 8/9
Video Courtesy of Liz Pelly of The Pelly Twins Blog

Check out Foundwaves’ full gallery of Twin Sister and Memoryhouse!

Avoxblue

Twin Sister

Memoryhouse

Great Scott

“Waiter/Guitarist/Music Producer seeks female teacher, preferably teaching in a rough area, to form one of the most buzzed about bands of 2k10. Must like KoRn.” Not only is that the start to a potentially awesome fairy tale, but it is also the basic circumstances under which Sleigh Bells were formed. Working as a waiter, guitarist/producer Derek Miller encountered Alexis Krauss as she ate lunch with her mother early in 2009. Fast forward to now, and this former school teacher/waiter combo combine to form the hottest act in America right now.

Sleigh Bells - Photo Credit: Kyle Dean Reinhard

Sleigh Bells brought their hard rocking, abrasive sound to the Royale last week as part of a killer double bill with South African rap stars Die Antwoord. Sleigh Bells‘ live performance has helped transform them from local bar band to national act, currently signed to MIA’s N.E.E.T. Recordings, and Thursday night at Royale they did not disappoint. The band played for an energy packed 40 minute set, as they played through eight of the ten tracks on their debut album Treats, along with one currently unreleased song. With a back drop of strobe lights and an eager crowd before them, vocalist Alexis Krauss jumped around the stage, doused the fans with water, and crowd surfed her way into the audience’s heart as she sang the energetic anthems that have made Sleigh Bells a popular choice in both raucous bars and spin classes alike. Guitarist Derek Miller mostly stayed in the back and shredded away on his red Gibson as he let Krauss pander to the crowd – but it’s Miller’s riffs and song writing ability that have helped catapult Sleigh Bells to the heights they now reach.

Die Antwoord - Photo Credit: Exile On Moan Street

Foolishly, much of the crowd left after the Sleigh Bells performance and missed an opportunity to see Die Antwoord do their thing on stage. Die Antwoord is a three piece rap collective from South Africa. Charismatic lead singer Ninja looks like Dolph Lundgren minus 20 lbs of muscle, while his female counter part Yo-Landi Vi$$er looks like a shrunken down Lady Gaga. The two played off each other brilliantly as a mostly reluctant crowd was quick to come around to the band and their “Zef” stylings. The band opened with their hit single “Enter The Ninja” and turned in a set that had everyone urban dictonary’ing Zef upon their return home.

Ear drums pounding and caked in sweat, the crowd at Royale this night was treated to an excellent double bill. Both bands then made their way to New York to play the M.I.A curated HARD festival where, by all accounts, they stole the show from the truffle fry eating curator. It won’t be surprising to see both these acts in much bigger venues on their next trip though town

Sleigh Bells – “Treats” Live @ Royale, 7/22 – Video c/o Barelytomson

Die Antwoord - Photo Credit: Gemma Simone

Sleigh Bells

Die Antwoord

Royale

Once upon a time there was a band called the Dead Boys. They were fast, they were angry, they were obnoxious in all the right ways – they were everything you want in a punk rock band. Though only around for about 3 years in the ’70s, they were part of that NYC CBGBs crew that defined American punk rock and influenced thousands of the young and disillusioned throughout the subsequent decades.

So the Dead Boys broke up in 1979, and raspy rockin’ lead singer Stiv Bators went on to form the Lords of the New Church alongside members of Sham 69 and The Damned. This band lasted throughout the majority of the 80’s, before Bators dissolved the band while on stage in 1989. A year later, Bators was hit by a car and killed. Fast forward to 2003, when the surviving members of the Lords came across The LustKillers‘ Black Sugar Sessions, and thought LK lead singer Adam Becvare sounded so much like the late Bators that they tapped him for a Lords reunion album and world tour. Long story short, Becvare replaced the legendary Stiv Bators, replaced the un-replaceable – that doesn’t happen too often!

The LustKillers – “Do I Love You?” – Black Sugar Sessions

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Tomorrow, The LustKillers come to Boston as part of their latest tour. They frequently tour both nationally and internationally, but do not often reach Boston, where drummer James Willetts calls home. Now you’ve got a chance to see them, Saturday, July 24th, at the infamous All Asia in Central Square. Its an all ages show, so bring the kiddies and get ‘em started early on developing a little punk rock street cred. Don’t miss out, you don’t know when your next opportunity will be to catch these guys! PGB will be there in full force, we suggest you do the same!

All Asia

Saturday, July 24th
Doors at 1pm
All Ages / $7

Subculture Stereo
Senior Discount
THE LUSTKILLERS
The Jukebox Romantics
Yesterday’s Heroes

Destroy Babylon - Photo by Sheryl Lanzel

Yes, I’m pretty sure they ran the recording of “I’m on a BOAT!” during the set change….

But that truly wasn’t the highlight of the night’s voyage around the bay, which was filled with frivolity and fluids (of the alcoholic variety), set to the disarming sway of the vessel and inspirational performances by two of Boston’s finest groups of groovesmiths.

The Macrotones (Check out that friggin' sunset!)

The night’s opener, The Macrotones, are admittedly a little hard to pin down sonically. Obviously the creative solos and refreshing changes in leads between their horn players require some improvisation, but to call them a “jam band” really undersells the elaborateness of their ensemble sections… not to mention the vast array of influences as they dip into the wells of Afro-Cuban, Brazilian, Reggae, and even Celtic styles – all the while providing a steady thump that kept
listeners’ feet shaking the upper deck!

And shake it did! With a full house up top filled with semi-random cheers at the particularly rousing moments of the performances, the bands incessantly continued their cavorting with admirable fearlessness as the boat –quite literally– rocked in the waters on a backdrop of a vivid sunset over the Boston skyline.

Destroy Babylon

As the second and final band on the bill, Destroy Babylon began their set with four well-placed and well-played originals to warm the crowd back up against the ocean breeze. Even though I love the Clash at least as much as the next guy, I was quite impressed by their original material – filled with extra-intricate harmonies, adrenalized backbeats, and very satisfying guitar tones to round off a very tasteful and appropriate prelude for their cover set.

Inevitably, that favorably-anticipated moment arrived for us all to hear London Calling, in its entirety, but what I wasn’t expecting was to hear some medleys and segues tacked on and scattered about the various London Calling favorites, such as DB-covering-The Clash-covering-Toots and other Clash favorites from Super Black Market Clash, Sandinista!, Combat Rock, and their self-titled debut. These boys know and love their Clash!

It’s easy to go on about a great pair of bands, but a very big hats-off is deserved towards Rock On! Concerts for putting together an entire summer’s worth of similar boat-shows, dubbed appropriately, “Concert Cruises.” Looking at the future for these cruises is just shy of mouth-watering, especially considering the upcoming performances by Township (7/16… Oh, and Electric Six will be there, too), and The Slackers (9/10). (Click dates for ticket links)

(Ed. note: Couldn’t find any video of the Cruise, but did find this one of Destroy Babylon and The Macrotones performing “Rudie Can’t Fail” and a little bit of “White Riot” the following night down at the Brooklyn Bowl)

Destroy Babylon

The Macrotones

Rock On!

Lady Lamb The Beekeeper

Last Thursday, Church celebrated the beginning of summer (only a week late) with a Beach Party, presented by Agent Bishop Productions. Hawaiian shirts, leis and fake tattoos dotted the bar and pool tables as the audience was treated to 4 of the best female fronted bands New England has to offer.

St. Helena - Photo by Perez

First up was St. Helena, a five piece with an interesting, eclectic mix of sounds ranging from the bubblegum pop sensibilities of The Beatles or Dr. Dog to more moody, soulful tunes. Frontman Patrick Teahen took the lead on many of their songs, but those sung by keyboardist Magen Tracy had a more introspective feel, reminiscent of Tidal era Fiona apple minus the pretention. (In case you were wondering, that’s a very good thing.)

St. Helena – “Superheroes Make Mistakes” – Slow Jack
[PGB Track Of The Week #6]

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After St. Helena, Lady Lamb the Beekeeper trotted up on stage. An unassuming young woman with giant black glasses resting on her nose, Aly Spaltro was the belle of the ball. She smiled and introduced herself: “Hi, I’m Lady Lamb the Beekeeper, and this is my band,” she said with a wave of her hand to the empty stage behind her. Those who were not immediately wooed by her charm became enthralled as soon as she began to sing. A very big voice comes out of that little woman. She oscillates from beautifully constructed metaphors [I want to touch you like the sea touches the soil – I want to hold you like the milk holds the spoil] to statements so obvious that they become stunning [My hair was long – so I fucking cut it.] She commanded the audience with her every move.

Aloud - Photo by JustBill

Next up was rock and roll quartet Aloud. By now, Aloud should be familiar to anyone who lives in Boston and has ears. They were touting the upcoming release of their new record Exile, coming out this September. Along with offering a presale, Aloud played several songs from the new record. “I’m about to say the four words that no audience wants to hear,” Guitarist Henry Beguiristain smiled at the crowd, “We have new songs.” The audience fake-groaned (or perhaps really groaned), and one fan screamed “Marriage has ruined this band!” (in reference to the recent marriage of singer/guitarists Beguiristain and Jen de la Osa.) Aloud’s performance was unconventional to say the least: Like St Helena, they mix light, airy power pop songs that are reminiscent of Phantom Planet (also a good thing, in case you were wondering) with more subtle, instrumentally driven songs. At one point, De la Osa and Beguiristain leapt off the stage into the crowd and played standing and sitting on the club floor respectively.

Aloud – “When The Ants Attack The Queen” – Fan The Fury
[PGB Track Of The Week #28]

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Aloud finished their set by calling up all of the ladies of the evening (not ladies-of-the-evening, rather all the ladies that were on the bill that night) to join them in a rendition of The Supremes’ “Can’t Hurry Love.” (Video courtesy of Michael Epstein from TheMotionSick Youtube Channel)

Naked On Roller Skates - Photo by Steve Wollkind

The last act of the night was Naked On Roller Skates. Travis Richter, drummer for Aloud pulled double duty as lead guitarist for the final band as they played impossibly catchy rock tunes with attitude to spare. NORS’s powerful vocals and strong hooks make them seem as if they were plucked from the soundtrack of a teen comedy about believing in yourself. Once they get rocking, it’s impossible to not find your head bobbing and toe tapping.

St. Helena

Lady Lamb The Beekeeper

Aloud

Naked On Roller Skates

Agent Bishop Productions

Church

Tonight local rocker Duncan Wilder Johnson, in conjunction with SIM (Mass Art’s Studio for Interrelated Media) is producing a multimedia arts show at the Somerville Armory. This is an extremely interesting and innovative idea, designed to cater to all walks of life. Performance artists team up with stationary media artists in a showcase of the works of some of the most talented people in the city.

Artwork by Amy Toxic - http://chaoshamr.com

The works of Dave Tree, Amy Toxic, Ian Deleon, Alvan Long, and Tim Bailey will be on display all night, from the 7pm start time until the show wraps up at 10. Performance artists will be on stage from 7:30-9:30, featuring a headlining set by HUMANWINE along with Rick Berlin, Ryan Green, Kelsey Jarboe, Amy Mills, Jessica Lynch, and Johnson’s spoken word. This is just another example of an innovative event hosted by the Somerville Armory – if you have yet to check it out this would be a perfect opportunity (and if you like you can take advantage of their newly granted liquor license as well!) The event starts soon though, so head on over to 191 Highland Ave in Somerville for a slice of the vibrant Boston arts scene!

thrashachusetts.com

artsatthearmory.org

massart.edu

sim.massart.edu

Photo by Cayte Designs - caytedesigns.com

Last Thursday Boston hardcore legends Gang Green reunited and rained chaos down on a packed crowd at Church. The band got stronger, faster, and better as the night went on, culminating in a several encores that whipped their screaming fans into an absolute frenzy. Local rockers Dead Friends, Apple Betty, The Scrapes, and Antibodies opened up the show. We managed to get footage of Gang Green, Dead Friends, and Apple Betty – check it out!

Gang Green – “Just One Bullet”

Dead Friends – “Snitches Get Stitches” (Nowhere USA cover featuring Anthony Snowdale on guest vocals)

Apple Betty – “Sex Drugs and Rock & Roll”

Thanks to Jacqui for capturing this unforgettable show on video! To see more of her videos, check out the fakenameJD Youtube channel!

Gang Green

Dead Friends

Apple Betty

The Everyday Visuals - Photo by JustBill

[View with PicLens]

All photos by JustBill – check out www.justbill.net to see more of his amazing work, to purchase prints from this incredible show, and to learn about some of the best bands in the local scene!

Aloud

Flying Machines

The Lights Out

The Everyday Visuals

This Tuesday, May 11th, folksy Philly alt-pop cult icons Dr. Dog are coming to The Paradise along with Providence alt-country prodigies Deer Tick. There are sure to be quite a few surprises in store for this one – Dr. Dog has recently incorporated an amazing light show into their repertoire, while the guys in Deer Tick… well, they’re pretty much insane. Rumor has it the last time they played our city they spent their entire set in drag – going commando all the way – and that was just the beginning of the madness! These bands are some of the fastest-rising stars in American music today, thanks to exhaustive touring, appearances in major festivals and late-night television, and critically acclaimed studio releases.

The Tuesday show is the first of a 2-day stint at The Paradise… and both shows are already SOLD OUT! If you thought you could wait and pick up tickets at the box office, this might be your only chance to get into the show. So enter now! Just send an e-mail to bryan@playgroundboston.com with the subject “DR. TICK” and you’ll be entered to win! Our winner will be selected at random on Tuesday morning.

So let’s get you some videos to show you what to expect. Here’s Dr. Dog performing “The Breeze” off of the 2008 LP Fate.

This is Deer Tick rasping out “Easy,” the single off of their latest album, 2009’s Born On Flag Day.

And hey, just for the hell of it, Deer Tick lead singer John McCauley shotgunning a beer.

Want one more? Why not! How about that same lead singer of Deer Tick crowd surfing… in a dress?