PLAYGROUND BOSTON

The leading ladies of Boston’s thriving indie rock scene have been assembled into an All-Star lineup to celebrate the release of This Blue Heaven’s latest EP, Spinning and Shining, and we’ve got a pair of tickets AND some CDs to give away! On an evening jam-packed with unbelievable shows, this might be the best front-to-back bill out there! We’re not talking 6 sugar-sweet pop acts trilling their hearts out about pretty things and happy thoughts. We’re talking a diverse application of the 20 metric tons of talent across the 6 bands on the bill. Each band has their own style, each band utilizes their frontwomen to the best of their ability, and each band is fully prepared to rock-the-fuck-out!

The Downbeat 5 - Photo by Pete Weiss

Jen D’Angora is taking some time off from Jenny Dee and the Delinquents to slap The Downbeat 5 back together and inject some trashy garage rock into the party… with maybe a little bit of smooth 50’s style to go along with it.

Jessica Sun Lee fronts The Sun Lee Sunbeam, who unfortunately are playing their second-to-last show before calling it quits as a band. They mix in power pop hooks with a hard dose of punk rock sensibility, and have a couple new songs to throw at you before they go their separate ways and pursue other musical ventures.

Sophia Cacciola of Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling has an abrasive vocal style that contrasts well with the sharp staccato of her drums and the fuzz of her cohort/bandmate/husband Mike Epstein’s uber-effects-laden bass rig. They’re fresh off an East Coast Tour, back in Boston and ready to rock!

The Sun Lee Sunbeam - Photo by Liz Linder

Magen Tracy, who co-fronts St. Helena along with Patrick Teahen, has the voice of a Siren to go along with the piano skills of… some… mythological being… that’s good at playing piano… uhh… analogy crumbling before me… shit. it’s gone. Anyway, she brings her immense talents to bear on the sweet pop sounds of her band, making for a beautiful combination that will leave you humming along to the harmonies long after you’ve left the show.

Leesa Coyne of Naked On Rollerskates writes hooks that are seriously, honestly, and ridiculously impossible to get out of your head. We’re talking days here, people. Her commanding presence on stage, not to mention the impressive chops of the rest of the band, make NORS a can’t-miss live act for sure!

MacKenzie Outlund of This Blue Heaven is the mastermind behind this diabolical scheme, the organizer of this mighty lineup that’s about to descend upon Cambridge this Saturday. Her voice soars over the catchy feel-good pop hooks of TBH’s new EP, which has a distinct summer feel to it. TBH will be giving out some Spinning, Shining toys to the crowd, each complete with a download code for the new EP – so the price of admission gets you a kickass show AND a free album… AND a cool toy? Not bad!

Check out MacKenzie’s blog, where she interviews each frontwoman prior to the show!

This Blue Heaven – “Slow Dance Slow” – Spinning And Shining

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So we’ve got a pair of tickets to give away to the show. For our esteemed winner, we’ll also throw in a hard copy of This Blue Heaven’s new EP Spinning and Shining, AND a copy of their previous record Quicksandglass. To enter, just send an e-mail over to bryan@playgroundboston.com with the subject “SHINY” and you’ll automatically be entered to win! (No spam, we promise.) We’ll select our winner on Friday afternoon – enter now and prepare to be amazed by the talent, beauty, and all-around-awesomeness of some of Boston’s rockin-est women!

This Blue Heaven - Photo by Kelly Davidson

WAIT!

Want another chance to win? Our lovely friends over at Boston Band Crush are also doing a ticket giveaway! Head on over and enter their contest to double your odds of getting into this show for free!

Saturday, August 7th
Middle East Upstairs
18+ / Doors at 7pm
$10 advance / $12 doors

8pm – Naked On Rollerskates

8:45pm – St. Helena

9:30pm – Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling

10:15pm – The Sun Lee Sunbeam

11pm – This Blue Heaven

12am – The Downbeat 5

12:45am – SURPRISE! (you’ll just have to show up to find out)

Beantown Boozehounds - Photo by Nicole Tammaro - www.nicoletammaro.com

The Welch Boys – “Friend Or Foe”

Beantown Boozehounds – “DUI”

Buddha & The Boys – “We’re Goin’ Down The Bar” (Wretched Ones cover)

Thanks to Jacqui for the great videos! See more videos from this show at the fakenameJD Youtube Channel!

The Welch Boys - Photo by Billy Korecki - www.calmovita.com

The Welch Boys

Beantown Boozehounds

Buddha & The Boys

Rock On! Concerts

Middle East

Thursday, July 1st – Church

Agent Bishop has put together one hell of a lineup, especially for a Thursday Night! He’s assembled some of the most talented female musicians in Boston to rock the hell out of Church, and its all happening tonight! We’ve got PGB Favorites all around – ALWAYS a sign of an excellent show! Aloud’s dual vocal attack will blow your eardrums out and leave you screaming for more. Lady Lamb the Beekeeper puts on a stunning solo performance with an angelic voice laid over soulful acoustic guitar. St. Helena are amazing songwriters and talented musicians all around, and Naked On Rollerskates‘ pop hooks is irresistible for dancing and singing along. All-star bill to ring in a new month, what more could you ask for? How about new songs by Aloud and St. Helena, as-yet unreleased tracks off their forthcoming albums, never before played out live!

Thursday, July 1st – Middle East Upstairs

Boston punk veterans The Acrobrats are releasing their latest 5 song 7″ Hair Trigger tonight at the Middle East Upstairs, and put together a solid punk rock lineup to help them celebrate! The new vinyl consists of 4 originals and a David Bowie cover – can’t wait to check that one out! PGB Favorites Burning Streets are right in the middle of a marathon tour, something like 50 shows over the course of 2 months, and are making a brief stop-off at home to rock the Middle East with the ‘Brats before heading out west for the second leg of the tour. Due to a name dispute, The Saints are now The Union Boys, good angry punk rock from up north. 007 Hundred Club rounds out the bill – fast, hard, and really, really pissed off. The whole summer so far has had some unbelievable punk rock bills all over town, and tonight is no exception. Head on down, pick up some vinyl, and rock the fuck out to some great local punk rock.

28 Degrees Taurus celebrated the release of their third studio album, "All The Stars In Your Eyes," this past weekend at the Middle East

Static of The Gods – “Talk You Down” & “Mean Streak”

28 Degrees Taurus –

“All The Stars In Your Eyes & Turn Me On” - All The Stars In Your Eyes (CD Release)

“Pinnacles & Peaks” & “Single Suicide Mode”

Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling – “Episode 4 – The Chimes of Big Ben”

Banditas – “Virginia”

Static Of The Gods - Photo by Mat Tucciarone

Hats off to Mick Murray of In Your Face Photo for the great videos! See more of his local music footage at his Youtube channel! Thanks to Melodymatters as well for contributing the video for the new 28DT songs, his Youtube channel is can’t-miss viewing for Boston music fans as well!

Static Of The Gods

28 Degrees Taurus

Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling

Banditas

Neurological Damage - Photo by Rebecca MacPherson

Neurological Damage – “Sloppy G”

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Neurological Damage frontman Vic Foresta - Photo by Rebecca MacPherson

Catch Neurological Damage with Hail Plankton and Cashed Fools at Church on Thursday, July 22nd!

Thanks to Rebecca MacPherson for these great photos! Check out more of her work at rebeccamacphoto.com

Neurological Damage

Friday, June 25th – Rosebud Bar

Davis Square will doing some serious rocking tonight, courtesy of the best new venue in town, the Rosebud Diner. Very intimate setting, cheap beer, cool bartenders, aaaaand let’s throw in some wicked facemeltery to top it all off. Cocked n’ Loaded has a serious balls-to-the-walls sound, some good old fashioned rock and fucking roll. They’ll be celebrating the release of their latest album, “Take A Shot,” alongside the bluesy rock insanity of PGB Favorites Mellow Bravo, who picked up Track of the Week honors a few weeks back. Jim Healey, proud owner of the best beard in Boston, and DJ Mook round out the music for the night – don’t miss this show!

Friday, June 25th – Middle East Upstairs

Want to keep it a little more mellow this Friday night? We’ve got you covered for that too! There’s a little more of a pop feel to the show at the Middle East tonight, featuring an excellent and diverse lineup of some incredible local bands! This show features excellent female vocalists in each band, a bit of a change from the testosterone-fest over at the Rosebud! (not that there’s anything wrong with that, just a change of pace!) Psych-pop masterminds 28 Degrees Taurus are releasing their 3rd full-length album, and have recruited some very talented friends to help them celebrate – former Track of the Week honorees Static Of The Gods, minimalist caged rage duo Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling, and the lo-fi harmonized sweetness of Banditas! Check out this video of 28 Degrees Taurus taken from a show at TTs earlier this year!

Saturday, June 26th – Great Scott

Looks like a PGB Track of the Week weekend! Yet another honoree, (and PGB Favorites) The Beatings, are supporting local indie rock legends Wheat this Saturday at Great Scott. The Beatings have noise rock down to a science, and have been churning out critically acclaimed records for about a decade now. If you have yet to catch one of their high-energy sets with their infamous 3-pronged vocal attack, this is the perfect opportunity! Also featured on this bill are indie crunchers Foredoes Me Quite and an acoustic set by Joe Touchette III. Check out this Beatings video – yeah the song’s not off their latest album, but its a good song and a cool video… so shaddap and enjoy it!

Blackbutton

“Stare Me Down”

Gun Shot Lover

© 2010 Self-Released

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Blackbutton

Catch Blackbutton’s CD Release Party at the Middle East Upstairs this Saturday, May 15th, with a great lineup consisting of The Shills, Shoney Lamar & The Equal Rights, and Electric Laser People! (Free album download available at ELP’s website!)

Static Of The Gods

“Meteor Flights”

Knowledge Machine

© 2010 Self-Released

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Static Of The Gods

Catch Static Of The Gods this Saturday, May 8th at the Middle East Upstairs with a jam-packed bill featuring The Honors, Vary Lumar, and De Osos! Presented by Team Shred

Upon seeing their live performance, Kingsley Flood immediately impressed me with their self-dubbed “Post-Americana” homage to acoustic blues, bluegrass, and Dixieland jazz, all the while filling their tasteful arrangements with strong lyrical imagery, and Dust Windows, the recorded version of this band’s musical arsenal, did not disappoint.

“Cathedral Walls,” starting in at track three, heralds in the next seven tracks that, during every playback, actually made me stop whatever I was doing and just listen.  “Cathedral Walls” opens with a great mellotron-sounding pad that gives way to vocalist Naseem Khuri’s signature acoustic guitar.  Khuri’s scratchy, Dylan-esque (but in pitch!) voice settles in to set the pace on verse one, and the song just builds from there. Drummer Will Davies enters the first chorus and leaves out a much anticipated second stroke, which, accident or not, gives me goose bumps every time it happens.  What follows is a very satisfying, four-minute, musical payoff. Nick Balkin’s bass part is very mid-rangy, but serves the song in a deliciously utilitarian & reliable way. The mandolin & guitar melodies are very sweet and catchy, and the background vocals are excellently written. Khuri’s final benediction before the chorus is his shortest but most rewarding lyric in the song:  “…. so call it a prayer / call it a lie / but nobody gets out of life alive.”

Kingsley Flood – “Cathedral Walls”

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