PLAYGROUND BOSTON

Check out the brand new official video for “Used to Be” by PGB Favorites Have Nots, filmed by master videographer Mike Gill of Circumvision! The Boston-based ska-punk band has released another excellent video featuring poignant and thought-provoking themes set to a fast-paced, fast-sung aggressive anthem. “Used to Be” is about growing up, getting old, and making changes over the course of your life – I’m sure there’s plenty of people reading this right now at their office job who can relate to things not quite turning out the way they envisioned! The video was shot by Mike Gill, who is responsible for some amazing videos from bands like Televandals, Confront, State Radio, Damone, and Wheat among others. This is the second video shot by Gill off of Have Nots’ debut album Serf City USA, PGB has featured the video for “One In Four” in the past. Watch this video here, and check out the full library over at the Circumvision website.

OH YEAH! You can also download the entire debut album from Have Nots, Serf City USA, for FREE! This is easily one of the best local releases of 2009 of ANY genre, let alone just punk rock – a PGB favorite all the way!

Have Nots will be playing this Saturday, Sepetember 4th, at the Middle East Downstairs as part of the CD Release Party for veteran Boston punks Far From Finished. FFF and Have Nots will be joined by PGB Track of The Week honorees Burning Streets and Lenny Lashley of Darkbuster (2000 WBCN Rumble winners). This is a jam-packed lineup of some of Boston punk rock’s best helping to kick off an unbelievable MONTH of music in the city – get your weekends clear now, because you won’t want to miss this or any of the shows we have coming up in town!

Saturday, September 24th – Middle East Downstairs
18+ / Doors at 8
$10 advance / $12 door

Far From Finished (CD Release)

Have Nots

Burning Streets

Lenny Lashley (Darkbuster)

Circumvision

Gozu

“Jamaican Luau”

Locust Season

© 2010 Small Stone Records

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Gozu

Mark your calendars! Gozu has a MONSTER show coming up this fall for their official CD Release! Don’t even think of going anywhere but the Middle East Downstairs on Friday, September 10th, for Gozu (CD Release), Mellow Bravo (CD Release), Township, and Zip Tie Handcuffs! PGB Favorites and Track of The Week honorees everywhere! Seriously, this lineup is like a Boston rocker’s wet dream. They’ll also have DJ Nook spinning in between sets! This one’s gonna be packed, make sure to get your tickets early! We’ll have more info on this as we get closer to the date, but make sure you’re around for this one, you will NOT want to miss it! Tickets can be purchased online HERE, or just get in touch with any of the bands!

The Force - Photo by Steve Wollkind

Captain Cutthroat – “Dakota” (feat. Dana Colley of Morphine) – Maciste

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Planetoid - Photo by Steve Wollkind

This CD Release party for both Alchemilla and Captain Cutthroat featured a full-on prom theme: decorations, photo booths, formal attire, catered refreshments, and, thanks to The Few, the finest powder-blue tuxes this town has seen since 1976. Check out these amazing pictures, all courtesy of Steve Wollkind. You can see more of his work at his website.

Alchemilla (CD Release!)

Captain Cutthroat (CD Release!)

The Force

Planetoid

The Few

Shaemus Shepard, Dapper Drummer of The Few - Photo by Steve Wollkind

On a night where there are an insane number of great shows going on around town, none can match the insanity that will be happening this Saturday night (7/10), Downstairs at the Middle East. We’ve got a dual CD Release Party for North Shore experimental psychos Captain Cutthroat AND Boston crooning indie rockers Alchemilla. These guys have assembled one of the best front-to-back lineups in recent memory, featuring the galactic stoner metal of Planetoid, the aggressive-as-all-hell funk o’ The Force, and the polished vintage rock dance party known as The Few! You know it’s a great lineup when 3 of the bands on the bill are all past Track of The Week honorees!

So what’s up with this prom thing? Well, to help celebrate the dual CD-Release, the entire night has a prom theme, complete with costumes, decorations, a photo booth, and FREE FOOD catered by New Moon Catering! We here at PGB don’t normally do this, but the inestimable Victor Valentino Foresta, fierce fro’d frontman of The Force, did such a great job explaining all you need to know about Saturday night that we’re gonna let him take it from here. Just remember to get there nice and early – free food never lasts all night, and you don’t want to miss a second of any one of these bands!

Mr. Vic Foresta, your guest author for the next few paragraphs - Photo by Rebecca MacPherson

Here’s some music from the new Captain Cutthroat album to give you a soundtrack while you read, and after you’re finished reading Vic’s masterpiece be sure to check out the video of The Few covering Primus’ “Those Damned Blue Collar Tweekers” at the bottom!

Captain Cutthroat – “Paradox” – Maciste

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WE’RE THROWING A FUCKING PROM!!!!!
…yes kids, you read that right, A PROM!!!!

Borrow mom’s car, wear your classiest duds, grab that lucky fella/or gal, and pop the virgin cherry, in 2 glorious seconds of pre-marital fornication.

Goin’ stag…no problem!!!! There’s gonna be plenty red hot mama’s, and stallion sized bulls lookin’ for that one night mr./ms. right!

All the cool kids, and all the losers too, are gonna be there! (they are one in the same, you see! :)

Planetoid frontman Locrius - Photo by Pete Legasey

Fully catered desserts (while they last), photo booth to capture all your ugly mugs, and 5 of the keenest bands in Boston!
ALL FOOD BY: New Moon Catering!

BE FUN!!!
DRESS TO IMPRESS!!!!
…prom dresses, tuxedo’s, well manicured suits, or just get creative with it! (formal attire not mandatory but STRONGLY ENCOURAGED!)
…it is your world after all!

Musical chaperones include:

“ALCHEMILLA” (RECORD RELEASE SHOW!!!!!) …jammie, alternative, hard-rock, with haunting female vocal leads, and riffs to tingle yo dick into a musical fit! It’s the RECORD RELEASE so please support your heroes…they need you!!!

“CAPTAIN CUTTHROAT” (RECORD RELEASE SHOW!!!!!) …avant-garde, hard rock, with a surf guitar, funky punk rock sheen, and a swing that gets your mother pregnant, and aborted all in the same song! SO FUCKING GOOD!!!! …that’s what she said! ;) Again…It’s the RECORD RELEASE so please support your heroes…they need you!!!

The Few's Ryan Martin playin' his Bootlegger Bass - Photo by Rebecca MacPherson

“THE FORCE“…A dance party favorite! Dirty, funk laden, hard-rock, with xxx induced scenes of pleasure drenched fun! An energy tsunami, that wipes out inhibitions, and allows your body to be free of insecurities. Enough funk for any bum! Not a dry seat in the house!

“PLANETOID“…Intellectual and physical superiors from another planet, sent from the past to teach humans the ways of rock! Blues driven, ultra tight, heavy jams that you’ll remember the second the song is over. Could be a mind alteration of some kind, but you won’t care…this is the takeover. The aftermath of their strike has been known to melt faces, in the wake of their storm. Be warned!!!! All who stand opposed shall be destroyed!!!

“THE FEW“…The most powerful female voice in Boston gently caressing funky rock ditties that are a great start to any party-goers evening! This band is ultra funky, classy, and a straight good time! be here early, and don’t miss this…it’s a party…everyone’s invited!

THIS IS IT!!!!
Tickets will go fast so do contact any member of above mentioned bands or get them online @: http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/01004490D4FFB2B7?artistid=1452903&majorcatid=10001&minorcatid=60

Friday, July 2nd – On the Boston Harbor!

Back on New Years Day, Destroy Babylon tore the roof off the Middle East by performing The Clash’s London Calling in its entirety to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the release of the best front-to-back album ever recorded (I apologize for nothing). Due to popular demand, DB will be doing another Clash show, but this one with a few changes thrown in. Yes they’ll be performing London Calling, yes they’ll be throwing a few other Clash favorites into the set… but this time they’ll be backed by the 11-piece afro-funk outfit The Macrotones… and they’ll be doing up the whole thing on a boat in the middle of the Boston Harbor! Both bands will be doing a set of originals as well before joining up and getting all Strummer on us. INCREDIBLE! These rock cruises are an absolute blast, if you have yet to check one out this is a perfect opportunity! If you can’t make this one, definitely check out Rock On’s website for more info on other cruises they’re putting on over the course of the summer. Don’t be late though – boat boards at 7 and departs at 8 sharp – whether you’ve made it on board or not! These things usually end at 11, so if you’re feeling especially ambitious you could hit this up and then head over to Cambridge or Allston to check out one of our other picks for the night…

Friday, July 2nd – Middle East Downstairs

A night of irresistible pop catchiness. Lots of piano, lots of love songs, lots of head bobbing… and some of the most beautiful songwriting in Boston. All four bands on this bill are immensely talented, and fast on the rise in this city. Oranjuly is celebrating the release of their brand new debut album, a labor of love they’ve been working on for 3 years now! Their brand of dreamy pop is reminiscent of Ben Folds Five with a little Weezer thrown in, and a little twist of their own. Wear orange tonight and you’ll get a free download of their new album! Oranjuly will be joined by an incredible lineup sure to pack the Middle East. If you read PGB regularly you know all about The Luxury, click this link here to check out all our past coverage. The star of Spirit Kid is growing brighter every day, their new age take on Beatles-style pop is well worth checking out. This may be the final Boston show for local indie pop icons The Everyday Visuals, as a couple of the guys will soon be leaving our fair city behind for the greener pastures (read: concrete-r wastelands) of LA. Catch them now before it’s too late!

Friday, July 2nd – O’Briens

Sweet garage punk show going on at O’Briens tonight. The band to watch, in our humble opinion, is With A Bullet, a new band just a month or so off their first show. WAB consists of members of Razors in the Night and the Beantown Boozehounds, among others. Definite Jawbreaker sound here, from the raspy vox to the driving guitar riffs – looking forward to watching these guys explode on the local scene! They’ll be joined by trash rockers Triple Thick, fresh off yet another CD release party just a few weeks back. This show also marks the debut of new Allston punk outfit The Nose Jobs, and rounding out the bill will be The Nailheads all the way down from Montreal.

Sidewalk Driver frontman Tad McKitterick- Photo by Seth Drury

Featuring The Lights Out…

The Lights Out – “Gottagetouttahere”

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Sidewalk Driver…

Sidewalk Driver – “Tornado”

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Plus Trucker Mouth, AM Stereo, and Larcenist!

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Sidewalk Driver guitarist Jared Egan - Photo by Seth Drury

Page 1 – Trucker Mouth, AM Stereo, The Lights Out

Page 2 – The Lights Out, Sidewalk Driver

Page 3 – Larcenist

Thanks to Seth Drury for the incredible photos!

Trucker Mouth

AM Stereo

The Lights Out

Sidewalk Driver

Larcenist (FREE album download!)

Friday, June 18th – Middle East Downstairs

Amazing bill! $5 tickets are gone, but still, $10 is a bargain for this one! The Lights Out and Sidewalk Driver are both PGB Favorites for sure, with both having received past Track of the Week Honors, They’ll be sharing a bill with the sweet Southern Rock of Trucker Mouth, AM Stereo, and Larcenist. This promises to be an amazing show!

8:00 PM Doors
9:00 – 9:30 Trucker Mouth
9:45 – 10:15 AM Stereo
10:30 – 11:00 The Lights Out
11:15 – 11:45 Sidewalk Driver
12:00 – 12:30 Larcenist

Friday, June 18th – TT The Bear’s Place

A killer garage rock lineup here. This’ll be the first time Reigning Sound has brought their soulful throwback sound up to our fair city in about 5 years. They’ll be commemorating the release of Triple Thick’s latest album, a glorious explosion of trashy guitars and psych vox. The rootsy good time of Movers and Shakers and the psych madness of Sister Spaceman round out the bill, check out the flyer to the left for set times.

Friday, June 18th – Cafe 939

Just a rockin’ good time. The Thickness is straight-up 90’s style pop punk, with some good hooks and introspective lyrics thrown in. Alien 8 is much of the same, only perhaps a little more melodic and with a little less of an edge. Brunt of It is madness, pure and simple – some riotous ska-core that’s nearly impossible to stay still to. Should be a great time – and it looks like this one ends at 11 so you can go to this one early and then hit up one of the others to polish off your Friday night mayhem quota!

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

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Thanks to John A Macy for the photos – see more of his work here!

Bim Skala Bim

Have Nots

Morgan Knockers

Brunt Of It