TT the Bear's Memory: Ocean Colour Scene, 11/23/96

With TT the Bear's closing forever this Saturday, I wanted to share some of my favorite memories of the iconic Cambridge rock club. Some of my most cherished musical memories took place within its walls. It is going to be missed greatly.

If memory serves me correctly, this was the very first show I saw at TT's. It was dirty, set up poorly, cramped, hot... I immediately loved it.

One of the truly great things about going to shows in the Boston area is how many Brits live in the city. You'll get bands that play arenas and stadiums in England, but when they come to the US they play tiny clubs. Fans that are used to seeing them as little dots from the cheap seats can now see them from mere feet away. The energy at one of these shows is simply epic. There were maybe a handful of Americans just discovering the band at the show, and the rest were die hard Brits. Ocean Colour Scene had just come off a tour opening for The Who, so they brought their arena rock show to TT's tiny, tiny stage.

After the show, a small group of us ended up wandering onto the tour bus. What can I say, the door was open and we were young enough to think it was a good idea. Ocean Colour Scene welcomed us all in and offered us beers. They were very confused when they found out the drinking age in America is 21, and we got the typical "You can fight in a war but you can't have a bloody drink?" response.

To see the remaining shows on TT's calendar, check out their website. There are only three shows left.

TT the Bear's Memory: Letters to Cleo and Sloan, September 18, 1998

With TT the Bear's closing forever this Saturday, I wanted to share some of my favorite memories of the iconic Cambridge rock club. Some of my most cherished musical memories took place within its walls. It is going to be missed greatly.

This was one of those stacked bills that can only happen at a TT the Bear's benefit show. It also included local heroes The Gravel Pit along with The Sterlings and Boy Wonder, who were both great forgotten late 90s Boston bands. Happening back in my college radio days, I mentioned I was going to see Sloan to my contact at whatever company was promoting them back in 1998. He told me he was going to put me on the list, and I said I didn't mind paying since it was a benefit. He insisted, so I figured I'd do the free show thing, which is really what college radio is about.

After driving an hour into Cambridge, I got to TT's to find out there wasn't a list since it was a benefit show. I pleaded my case obnoxiously for at least 15 minutes. It didn't work (TT's was famous for not cutting anyone slack with guestlists and IDs), and I started dejectedly walking back towards the car. Letters to Cleo were one of my favorite live bands in the late 90s, and I hated missing any of their local shows. As we walked by Sloan's tour bus (no other band on the bill could have had a bus in that bill), we saw a crew member getting some equipment. We started talking to him, and told him of our bad luck. He walked us to the door, and successfully argued our way in. Pretty sure Sloan's album Navy Blues shot up to #1 on my old radio station's charts after that one.

One of the most fun things about seeing Sloan in New England is because of the proximity to Canada, a ton of Canadians make the drive down to the show. That same year they were playing venues named Frank Clair Stadium and Niagara Dome back in Canada. For the cost of a 6-8 hour drive, a Canadian fan can see them play the 320 capacity TT the Bear's. That leads to some pretty energetic and thrilled crowds at their shows.

I can't remember anything specific about the Letters to Cleo set that night. I saw them at the same venue roughly 5-8 times in a few years, and more than 20 total. Sets tend to bleed together with that much frequency. I'm more than a little bummed they're not scheduled in this week's round of farewell shows. This one stands out more because I shouldn't have gotten in, and that makes it that much of a better show.

To see the remaining shows on TT's calendar, check out their website. There are only four shows left.

Ransom Pier - "Turn Your Head"

While writing about music, you want that great band backstory of how a band formed years ago, and has been playing shitty gig after shitty gig, and now after years and years of hard work are finally getting their big break. Well, welcome to the digital age and discovering great bands five months after they form.

Hailing from Queens, NY, Ransom Pier formed in February of this year and already have an absurdly good single out. "Turn Your Head" is the tale of randomly spotting an ex at a bar and wanting them to notice you. It reminds me a bit of Treat Her Right's "I Think She Likes Me." Singer Hayley Harrington's voice gives this great bluesy touch over a sparse but still rocking roots track. It's perfect for fans of Lake Street Dive that want a little more grit in their music.

Listen to "Turn Your Head" below. You can also check out Ransom Pier on Facebook, Twitter, and their own website. Their debut EP is due in August. You'll find some Northeast live dates below.

August 13 - Arlene's Grocery, NYC w/Psychobaby

August 18 - Wellfleet Harbor Actor's Theater, Wellfleet, MA w/Eleanor Dubinsky

September 26 - The Bitter End, NYC

TT the Bear's Memory: Those Darlins and Deer Tick, February 4, 2010

With TT the Bear's closing forever this Saturday, I wanted to share some of my favorite memories of the iconic Cambridge rock club. Some of my most cherished musical memories took place within its walls. It is going to be missed greatly.

This was by far the craziest show I attended at TT's. Those Darlins were headlining, and for a while leading up to the show it was advertised that they'd have a "special guest." An hour before the show, they finally announced the special guest was Deer Tick, who had just outgrown the small confines of TT's. Since John McCauley and Nikki Darlin were engaged at the time, and Deer Tick are based less than an hour from Boston, this was kind of a no brainer.

Deer Tick only played an 8-song, 30 minute set, but it really sticks out. First, they came on stage wearing dresses procured from Those Darlins. I believe the drummer, Dennis Ryan, was wearing a ladybug print dress. After a song or two, McCauley announced that the band had bought everyone in the club that night a beer. It took a while for anyone to believe him, but it was true: There were 300 prepaid beers at the bar waiting. That pretty much set the tone for the entire evening. A definite highlight of Deer Tick's set was a duet with Nikki Darlin.

Those Darlins came next and brought the rawk. Live they have much more power than on their albums, and they held their own following a band with a bigger fanbase on their home away from home. Towards the end, during a cover of "Shakin' All Over," Deer Tick returned to sing, crowd surf, and drink some more. McCauley in particular was wearing a flannel shirt tied to his waist, and soon revealed that was his only attire while crowdsurfing. 

To see the remaining shows on TT's calendar, check out their website. There are only five shows left.

First Listen: New Releases for July 17

Filled with surprises and whimsy!

Album of the Week

Artist: Jason Isbell
Album: Something More Than Free
Quick Description: Jason Isbell's (formerly of the Drive-By Truckers) latest solo offering
Why You Should Listen: Jason Isbell has a modern alt-country/roots sound with a classic country sensibility, and the two match up better on this album than anything he's worked on previously.
Overall Thoughts: This is my album of the week for a reason. It's a little less polished, a little more raw, and it just works. Feels like an important, killer album by someone who is really hitting his stride musically.
Recommendation: A wholehearted required listen this week.

Artist: Iron & Wine and Ben Bridwell
Album: Sing Into My Mouth
Quick Description: An album of covers from Iron & Wine and Band of Horses's Ben Bridwell.
Why You Should Listen: You enjoy cover songs and softly-sung folk music; you think the world needs more Talking Heads covers.
Overall Thoughts: It takes a lot for me to dislike cover albums, so with that in mind this is a good-to-sometimes-great album of covers by two people who have a lot of reverence both for each other and the source material.
Recommendation: Worth a listen for sure, you'll know if it will work for you very quickly.

Artist: Samantha Crain
Album: Under Branch & Thorn & Tree
Quick Description: Another excellent folkish record from Samantha Crain, who has yet to release anything underwhelming.
Why You Should Listen: Crain is an underrated folk/roots talent; you have a thing for musicians with arresting vocal talents.
Overall Thoughts: Crain hasn't done me wrong yet, and the downside to Crain is that she's not doing dark folk or wearing her sexuality on her sleeve or doing anything significant to get noticed beyond letting the music speak for itself. That's worth noting in and of itself, but it means you might miss this one.
Recommendation: Don't miss this one, plain and simple.

Artist: The Bird & The Bee
Album: Recreational Love
Quick Description: An airy retro-pop album by a band that hasn't released original material in six years.
Why You Should Listen: You enjoy retro-pop; Inara George hasn't faulted you yet; production values matter to you.
Overall Thoughts: I'm a big fan of this group, and, on first listen, Recreational Love feels like a misstep. It's almost as if they're too caught up in their own thing at this point, and that perhaps the six year lapse is reflective of too much tinkering. I reserve the right to change my mind, but I wanted to love this and it didn't work.
Recommendation: Be careful, but this might just be for super-fans.

Artist: The Chemical Brothers
Album: Born in the Echoes
Quick Description: Leading electronic act releases their eighth album.
Why You Should Listen: You have kept up with The Chemical Brothers but wish their pre-Dig Your Own Hole stuff was still the rage (the rave?).
Overall Thoughts: A massive step back. Not only does this not sound modern, but it sounds like early Chemical Brothers through a distorted lens, and it just doesn't seem to work. A total slog.
Recommendation: Skip this one.

Artist: Wilco
Album: Star Wars
Quick Description: Wilco's surprise free album.
Why You Should Listen: You like Wilco and free things. You like free things but don't always like Wilco. You don't like free things or Wilco, but like good alt-rock.
Overall Thoughts: This is the most un-Wilco record in a long time, and that is almost a welcome thing. It seems like the band decided to just have a little fun, and it really shows. A solid album.
Recommendation: A worthy listen and, even if you're not a Spotify user, the album is free so it's worth a shot.

Artist: Ratatat
Album: Magnifique
Quick Description: Instrumental rock you can groove to.
Why You Should Listen: You like instrumental indie rock that isn't metal or dark; you've liked previous Ratatat efforts.
Overall Thoughts: I get that this isn't for everyone, but it's actually a fairly high quality listen on a whole. I remember when "Wildcat" was all over Sirius radio, and I didn't care much for it, but this album was a very pleasant surprise.
Recommendation: Worth a shot. You'll know by the second song whether this is something you'd enjoy.

Artist: Tame Impala
Album: Currents
Quick Description: Latest, buzzed-about album from the indie psych-rock artist.
Why You Should Listen: You like old psych-rock with a modern twist; you miss The Elephant Six Collective but also wished they took themselves more seriously.
Overall Thoughts: Tame Impala is difficult for me because I want to love what happens here and it always feels a little too much. Tame Impala shows real talent and serious songwriting chops, but you have to have a tolerance for what is being done here, and I know I don't always have it.
Recommendation: Listen, but be wary. This is probably the most buzzworthy album of the month of July.

Artist: White Reaper
Album: White Reaper Does it Again
Quick Description: Debut album by punk rockers on Polyvinyl.
Why You Should Listen: You don't think this week's new release slate is loud enough; you can't get enough of punk music that you aren't sure as to its place on the irony scale; you wish you were 10 years younger than you are.
Overall Thoughts: This is a weird album for me, and I guess I liked it? It's just a strange listen in the context of this week as well as the post-punk that's been around lately and the stuff I've loved recently (like Chumped). It's also somewhat weird that this is on Polyvinyl, but I suppose that lends it some extra cred? I don't know.
Recommendation: Man, I don't know. It's good, it's worth a listen, but you might not even want it this week.

Artist: Public Enemy
Album: Man Plans God Laughs
Quick Description: Legendary rap group Public Enemy is back with their first album in seemingly forever.
Why You Should Listen: Because it's Public Enemy.
Overall Thoughts: Arguably, Public Enemy should be more relevant than ever, and yet this album doesn't come across as urgent or modern, and I think that's ultimately a shame. Especially in an era where Wu Tang is tearing it up, this album just feels really out of place regardless of any messages that may exist within. A misstep I honestly didn't expect.
Recommendation: In a week without a key rap/hip-hop release, and given that it's Public Enemy, give it a listen, but don't stay with it longer than you think you should.

Artist: Kingsley Flood
Album: To the Wolves
Quick Description: Blog favorite band with another quick-hit EP.
Why You Should Listen: You like what we post here; you like music local to the Boston area
Overall Thoughts: Kingsley Flood is increasingly bringing it on every release. They're quickly becoming one of those underrated gems that people aren't discovering fast enough. While this EP doesn't have anything quite as catchy as "Set Me Off," you're still looking at four really well-crafted, roots-tinged songs.
Recommendation: Even if you haven't liked what they've put out so far, this is a quick hit of an EP that's worth a few minutes of your time.

TT the Bear's Memory: Rivers Cuomo, January 14, 1998

With TT the Bear's closing forever this Saturday, I wanted to share some of my favorite memories of the iconic Cambridge rock club. Some of my most cherished musical memories took place within its walls. It is going to be missed greatly.

Back in 1997-1998, Rivers Cuomo played some small, side project shows in the Boston area. The band had a rotating line-up, but this one in particular stands out. Weezer drummer Pat Wilson came out to join the band for this show, and it also included soon to be Weezer bassist Mikey Welsh. To show how far Weezer had fallen out of the mainstream post-Pinkerton, tickets were available to see half of Weezer at a 300 person club. By this point the casual fans had strayed off (an earlier show at TT's in October had some fratty guys asking where the mosh pit was before the band started) and this was just filled with die hards. It was a short eight song setlist, and of course it consisted of Weezer favorites such as "Getchoo," "No One Else," "Say It Ain't So," and "Undone - The Sweater Song." It also closed with "Only In Dreams," which at the time was rarely done live. We were also treated to possible future Weezer songs such as "Rosemary," "Baby," and "The Prettiest Girl in the Whole Wide World" (not officially released until 2008).

After the show, my friend and I wandered into the unguarded backstage area (Oh, my 20s...). There, I bumped into Pat and got him to do a station ID for my college station, which of course I messed up the recording for completely, making it unusable. Back in the main area of the club, I started talking to Rivers while he was packing up equipment. Somehow I mentioned the upcoming album and Matt Sharp, when Rivers said "Matt's not going to be on this album." Upon getting home, I immediately emailed the Rebel Weezer Alliance to tell them. (Back in 1998, Weezer barely had an official web presence, so that void was filled by fan sites. Rebel Weezer Alliance eventually became the official Weezer webpage). It was reported on the next day, and a month later Sharp officially left Weezer.

To see the remaining shows on TT's calendar, check out their website. There are only six shows left.

Live Shows: Lydia Loveless, 3S Artspace, Portsmouth, NH 7/12/15

Photo by Ken Sears

Usually, I wouldn't go see the same band two days in a row. That might have worked ten years ago, but not at this point in my life. However, I knew that Lydia Loveless playing in the afternoon in the bright sunlight of the Green River Festival was not an ideal environment, so I had to make it to their headlining set the next night.

I was a bit concerned when I walked in as the show was starting. 3S Artspace tends to have an employee come out before the show and talk about the venue, their mission statement, and upcoming events. The crowd for the show skewed shockingly older, and most of the crowd was sitting in the few chairs lining the back walls of the room. Seeing as the show was sparsely attended (maybe 50 people in a 400 person venue), he encouraged everyone to move the seats to wherever they wanted. This made for a weird mix of people standing next to people in chairs throughout the show. Plus, I've been to poorly attended shows in the past, and it can really cause the artist to sleepwalk through the show until they can get offstage and still get paid. I remember one Matthew Sweet show at Axis where the guitarist was openly checking his watch during the third song. 

Luckily, Lydia Loveless is not the type of artist to half ass it. Coming onstage and announcing "We are Lydia Loveless," Loveless also told the crowd they wanted to start off with a bang. Their bang was "Out On Love," the band's most melancholy song to date. The set list in Portsmouth was wildly different from the day before, and they tore through their more well known songs like "Head" and "Wine Lips" in the first few songs. They included a version of "Hurts So Bad" that was virtually unrecognizable from the album version. This wasn't in a negative way at all, but the song seems to have evolved quite a bit from when it was recorded for Somewhere Else. At the end of the set, the rest of the band left the stage, leaving Loveless alone for a four song acoustic set that included "Back On the Bottle" and the previous day's set opener "Really Wanna See You." When they all came back for an encore, Loveless stated she wanted to play fun songs. They opened with the not quite finished "European" (which she claimed was about being a pervert) and "All I Know" from the Boy Crazy EP. All said, the band played for just over two hours, in a ramshackle set that saw them having a blast. Even if Loveless had a Spinal Tap moment and let out a "Yeah, Providence" before correcting herself with a more generic "Yeah, New England!"

Coming out and immediately announcing "We are Lydia Loveless" shows how tight this band truly is. Instead of being a solo act, they are truly a unit that would sound wildly different if they replaced any member. The band's bassist tears into both his standard bass and stand up bass with the ferocity of a member of Anthrax. Guitarist and back up singer Todd May plays noise punk throughout what would normally be outlaw country. Jay Gasper brings an emotional feel to every song with third guitar and steel guitar. George Hondroulis is tasked with holding all these bizarre forces together with drums. They laid everything on that stage for the 50 most fortunate people in New Hampshire that night.

NEW FREE WILCO ALBUM!!!!!

Goddamn do I love the digital age. Wilco just released their 11th studio album as a free download on their website. We haven't listened to it yet, but it's free and it's Wilco. If that appeals to you, you've probably already clicked the link and aren't even reading this.

Get your free copy of the new Wilco album, Star Wars, here.

Normil Hawaiians - "Sianne Don't Work in a Factory"

Originally recorded in 1986, the final album from Normil Hawaiians was delayed, and then shelved, never having been released. This October will finally see the release of Return of the Ranters after nearly 30 years.

The first song off the album, "Sianne Don't Work in a Factory," is available to be listened to now. For the first two minutes it is pure noise rock, the kind of experimental noise you'd hear from an opener at a Thurston Moore show these days. After the first two minutes, it's transitions to some of the most minimalist post punk you will ever hear. It's almost as if Gang of Four recorded a ballad, but take out the funk and add noise. It's incredibly interesting stuff, especially considering it's almost three decades old. 

Return of the Ranters will finally be released on October 16 on Upset the Rhythm, who also plan on reissuing Normil Hawaiians' first two albums More Wealth Than Money and What's Going On? The band will be reforming to perform at the album's release party at The Lexington in London on October 24. For more information on anything Normil Hawaiians related, head over to their website, and listen to "Sianne Don't Work in a Factory" below.

Rayland Baxter - "Mr. Rodriguez"

I owe Rayland Baxter an apology. Back when I reviewed "Yellow Eyes," another song off his upcoming release Imaginary Man, I mentioned that I had dismissed his previous album. After hearing a second song off of Imaginary Man, I was damn wrong to do so.

"Mr. Rodriguez" was inspired by Sixto Rodriguez, the now legendary Detroit folk artist and the subject of the Academy Award winning documentary Searching for Sugarman. "Mr. Rodriguez" is everything I want in a modern country/folk song. While mainstream country isn't even recognizable as country, and alt-country tends to co-opt an old fashioned sound that borders on novelty, "Mr. Rodriguez" takes elements of both to bring you the rare modern folk/country sound. Baxter is a fantastic storyteller in this song, which is going to bring obvious comparisons to both Bob Dylan and Simon & Garfunkel. It's a lush sound that is laid back without ever being boring. This has all the makings of a career-defining album.

Imaginary Man is due out August 14 on ATO Records. You can listen to "Mr. Rodriguez" below. You can keep track of what Rayland Baxter is up to on his website, Facebook, and Twitter.