Tigercity / Sucka Brown
Hennessy’s Upstairs Rock Club
Boston, MA
September 29, 2007
Sometimes silly bandnames can function as playful jabs at a band’s ironic musical ethos (see “Drug Rug”), but sometimes, they can also be straight-faced reflections of questionable artistic judgment and flat-out uninspired music. The latter is the case with Boston’s Sucka Brown. Seeing a band like Sucka Brown is a vaguely awkward experience, because there’s nothing really dynamic about their music — songs like “Fame and Money” float along with tepid melodies, smooth moods, and contrived stabs at funky pop a la Maroon 5. Chorus lyrics like “We want fame and we want money” fail at the same ironic gesture as the band’s name: there’s no joke to be had. One look at the band’s website recruitments for their street team or the endless sea of Sucka Brown stickers littering the Boston landscape make it clear that, yes, the band really does want fame and money and no, singing about it isn’t ironic or cute.
Tigercity, though, succeed in the area where Sucka Brown seem to be oblivious, and that’s in an unabashed delivery of smooth pop music. Watching Tigercity perform is like watching a group of hip New York twenty-somethings making onstage love to the blow-up doll of pop music. Vocalist Bill Gillim’s effortless falsetto drips with the unmistakable pop jouissance of Prince. By the time Tigercity went on, the crowd had grown to a sold-out size, many audience members singing along to the slick, disco-injected “Power Stripe,” the seminal ‘80s rocker “Dark Water,” and other popular cuts off their new EP, curiously titled Pretend Not To Love. Lyrical refrains like “Your heart is beating faster / This time we both know what we’re after” from “Other Girls” somehow managed to come off as a disturbingly uncheesy homage to Hall and Oates. The songs translated well from record to stage, brought to life by guitarist Andrew Brady’s thunderous feedback, particularly on the delay-soaked jam of “Let Her Go.” Tigercity, formerly based in Northampton, Mass., is currently one of the rising stars of the New York dance rock scene. No stranger to the Boston scene, Tigercity actually got people in Boston to dance unabashedly for extended periods of time, which, in and of itself, is a notable accomplishment.
-Review by Adam Arrigo; photo by Molly Lorenzo
Jen Kearney & The Lost Onion
The Old Court Pub
Lowell, MA
October 19, 2007
It was a rainy night on the cobblestone streets of downtown Lowell, but that didn’t keep local favorites Jen Kearney & The Lost Onion from treating a crowd of loyal fans to two healthy sets of their trademark blend of soul, funk, blues and rock.
Kearney, who’s been covering an impressive amount of live ground in New England since early in the summer, brought along her dependable and always impressive pipes, surrounding herself with five thoroughly capable dudes to bring the hip shake to the equation, including a small horn section of trumpet and trombone.
Beginning the set with the first three songs from her latest album, Eat, Kearney immediately flaunted her ability to jump among genres, from the organ-driven Wonder-soul of “Pick Yourself Up” to the horn-heavy jazziness of “Warm Bath Eyes” to the summery funk of “Grandpa,” clearly a crowd favorite.
Other than adding in some wah-wah guitar on a few tunes, Kearney remained firmly planted center stage behind her synth, singing her own tunes as well as a few covers that paid homage to the artists who’ve influenced her sound, including Stevie Wonder’s own “Living for the City,” Erykah Badu’s “Bag Lady,” and Prince’s “The Beautiful Ones.”
The one element missing from the otherwise impressive sound was percussionist Yahuba Garcia, who brings a Latin sound to Kearney’s music that’s most realized when he’s not around to fill the spaces between drumbeats. Attempting to patch the void was guitarist Carl Johnson, who contributed a number of impressive solos and slide guitar work.
Between sets, Kearney drifted through the crowd, saying hello to dozens of patrons and proving not only that she’s well known locally but that she’s got the charm to keep making new friends. The audience had thinned a bit by the time she returned for the second set around midnight, but frankly, that was their loss, as the flip side of the evening delivered a much looser and more dance-friendly vibe than the opening half.
“We’re gonna’ do a little rock and roll for you,” Jen declared a few songs into the second set, following it with her best Robert Plant impersonation over the sluggish soft-loud Zeppelin classic “What Is and What Should Never Be.”
By the end of the night, Kearney had played almost every song from Eat and enough covers to keep the few non-loyals in the crowd happy. Best of all, the rain had let up at some point in the evening, making the trip home a lot easier than the trip over.
-Review and photo by Brett Cromwell
Caspian / Constants / Charlene / Junius
T.T. the Bear’s
CAMBRIDGE, MA
October 19, 2007
Despite drizzly weather conditions and an early set time, prog rock act Junius opened the night’s festivities to an especially large group of hyped concertgoers. Blasting off with a riptide of darkly woven, atmospheric art rock, the quartet ignited enough horsepower to rip through walls. Ghostly vocalizations from lead-singer Joseph Martinez were layered over sirens of fading guitar hooks and voluminous backbeats, resulting in a transcendental post new wave sound.
Next up, indie shoegazer act Charlene shifted gears into a spacey, pop-infused sound. Though the band displayed clear proficiency for their repertoire, their generic material fizzled with pop rock predictability, and didn’t translate well from album to stage. Lead singer Matt Mirande struggled to hold audience attention, whether droning through pitchy vocals or making weak attempts at small talk between songs. Between great washes of guitar effects and blasé, poppy rhythms, it sounded as though Charlene was catering a bit too much to accepted trends and not taking enough risks.
Fortunately, the raucous execution of Constants’ hard-hitting post-rock re-energized the dipping audience vibe of the now packed venue. Head-banging their way through shadowy passages of shrieking guitar riffs, the rugged ensemble displayed full mastery of their instruments. Their audioscape was a full mountain range of timbres and odd meters, translating into a heavy, robust sound that had the eager crowd bopping along.
Rounding out the night was Caspian, who had just finished a nationwide tour with Constants and were coming off the road sounding just as tight, determined and assured as their tourmates. They delivered a heartfelt performance to a sea of loyal fans that had clearly waited all night for the Beverly-based rockers to take the stage. The perfect finale for a night of epic rock showmanship, the music that ensued was a bombastic roller-derby of progressive instrumentals and solar-sonic ambiance. The seamless set was marked by the band’s characteristic collage of dual-guitar swells, provided by Phillip Jamieson and Calvin Joss, and a lavish soundscape of evocative effects. By the show’s end, the audience seemed satisfied and elated by the earth-shattering beauty and monstrous thundering of this compelling rock quintet.
-Review by Nathalie Levey; photo by Michael Dahlen
Nat Baldwin / Orion Rigel Dommisse / Sandro Perri / Prince Rama of Ayodhya
Oxfam Café
Medford, MA
October 9, 2007
Tufts University’s cozy Oxfam Café, hidden in a dorm basement, was surprisingly playing host to some of New England’s most talented indie acts on the crisp Tuesday night of October 9. The modest space came alive with the sounds of Nat Baldwin and openers Orion Rigel Dommisse, Sandro Perri, and Prince Rama of Ayodhya.
The Boston-based girl/boy duo known as Prince Rama of Ayodhya (Taraka Larson and Michael Collins) openly welcomed a somewhat reticent crowd of 30 or so, most of whom had succumbed to comfortable couches scattered throughout the room. Yet Prince Rama too found a spot, playing its entire set from a worn sofa. With songs consisting primarily of Larson’s animalistic, vibrant singing over acoustic strumming and Collins’ synth/electronic beats, Prince Rama delivered a persuasive and versatile set, ranging from up-tempo, tribal-sounding chants that encouraged crowd participation, to slower compositions overflowing with an inherent sense of the mystical.
Next, the show shifted from the powered, dynamic set of Prince Rama of Ayodhya to the quiet fragility of Sandro Perri. The experimental singer/songwriter delivered his songs with honesty, despite manifest shyness. His style was that of a feigned weakness: soft, murmured singing over minimal electronic/synth beats and acoustic guitar made for songs both light and introspective, able to retain the audience’s attention.
Following Sandro Perri was the singer/songwriter damsel Orion Rigel Dommisse. Keeping with the established aura of the night (that of a private coffeehouse, informal yet personal), Dommisse’s sharp, sweet soprano alongside electric cello, piano and the occasional saxophone wail lassoed the audience’s interest from the onset. Her allegorical, haunting lyrics were relayed like secrets told by a child, yet with the musical and emotional maturity of an old medicine woman. She transported the audience to her woodland world so completely that the between-set break was a much needed cleansing of the palette.
Finally, Nat Baldwin took the floor with three accompanists: Nate Horton on cello, Caley Monahon-Ward on violin, and Will Glass on drums. The combination was extraordinary, producing full-bodied renditions of songs from Baldwin’s latest release, Most Valuable Player. The full band nicely augmented Baldwin’s crooning and double bass work. He continued the transmutation of his signature instrument live, playing it with an informal intensity: musician and instrument controlling one another. Baldwin’s sincerity and complete submergence in the sound was obvious, yet at the same time, he did not take himself too seriously — his presence was natural, yet humble, allowing the audience to feel intimately connected. This was accentuated by between-song silliness and, despite difficulty counting off songs (due to laughter), Baldwin was able to re-center himself with each renewed song as intently as he began. Although pop structure underlay the songs played, his live arrangements took form as free flowing and unpretentious.
-Review by Taylor Bratches
Syme / The Big Big Bucks / The Ropes / The Cold War
Hennessy’s Upstairs Rock Club
Boston, MA
October 3, 2007
Hennessey’s Upstairs just opened its doors to original music at the beginning of this year, and the venue is already having shows worthy of note with mixing and sound quality comparable to peer venues like The Middle East and T.T. the Bear’s. On October 4, bands from Boston, Providence, New York and Norway played under its roof.
Providence rockers The Cold War started off the show, sounding a hell of a lot like Echo & the Bunnymen, REM, The Veils and the like. The band was passionate about their music and they pounded confidently through multiple post-rock numbers, despite having few people in attendance.
Next up were The Ropes. A couple people showed up to witness their typical New York indie rock mixed with a touch of shoegaze. Overall, their performance was strong but lacked the kind of dynamics or personality that make live shows memorable. Plus, the overenthusiastic guitarist/keyboardist made for a terribly awkward contrast with his seemingly apathetic band members.
The Big Big Bucks, four young and excited Allstonites, went on after The Ropes and rocked out energetically, even though the lead vocalist admitted to being overly drunk and tired. This didn’t seem to hinder their raw, inspired performance, though. Their edgy showmanship effectively complimented their sound, which was mostly fast, rough and punky, and it got the audience members pumped for the last act.
The clear stars of the show, Syme, came all the way from Bergen, Norway, for their first tour ever in the States. After one song, the small crowd gathered in front of the stage for the first time of the night and cheered the band on for the rest of their performance. Their intricately layered sound was part post-rock, part shoegaze, part Radiohead, part Sigur Ros, and part something completely original — even magical. They put on an immense show, and did it all with style and clear, passionate talent. Each band member had his own endearing quality, but the biggest standout was how the lead singer/keyboardist Ketil Endresen danced around with calculated finesse. All in all, it was a fucking tremendous show.
-Review by Roman Lojko; photo by Siv Lie
Tuung / Geoff Farina / Brown Bird
The Middle East Upstairs
Cambridge, MA
October 26, 2007
Entering the Middle East Upstairs on October 26 after being bombarded by the Friday night hustle and bustle of its relative, The Middle East restaurant, was like entering into another world. All seemed to stop as Brown Bird, opening for Karate’s Geoff Farina and Brit-folk ensemble Tunng, timidly began their set, marking the start of a softly sweet, yet poignant show.
After their opening song, Brown Bird’s Jerusha Robinson addressed a half-packed room by saying, “This is weird, no one usually stands at our shows.” Nearly in a whisper, David Lamb, vocalist/guitarist added “Yeah, don’t you just want to take a nap?” The three-piece outfit consisted of Robinson on cello, Lamb on vocals and guitar, and Jeremy Robinson on banjo, though each impressively multi-tasked on an array of other instruments including accordion, tom drum, toy piano, and various percussive instruments. Perhaps most impressive about this, more so than their technical abilities, was the songwriting — each instrument was used sparsely yet precisely. Light feminine wisps of Jerusha’s vocals nicely accenting Lamb’s soft croon, mixed with minimal, balanced instrumentation made for a meticulous and beautifully haunting performance that ended with applause so loud it almost seemed ironic, considering the band’s quiet style.
Following Brown Bird was Geoff Farina of acclaimed indie bands Karate and Secret Stars, who showcased his solo singer/songwriting. Surprisingly, by the time he took the stage he had already lost his audience: half the crowd had filtered out after Brown Bird and the other half seemed apathetic. But Farina did not seem phased: he presented his songs honestly and openly, not trying to be or sound like Karate, retaining a sense of humility from the onset. His songs did not stray much from the typified singer/songwriter sound, and further, most of them were played and sung in the same key, rendering the set a bit monotonous. An uplifting Mississippi John Hurt cover mid-set mixed things up a tad, providing a burst of elation among the down tempo numbers. Farina ended his set with two powerful instrumental pieces, fully reclaiming the audience. He sat for these two songs only, and this simple action transformed him as well as the audience’s expectations: he went from being Geoff Farina of Karate to Geoff Farina, singer/songwriter, gently rocking back and forth, letting the beauty of his impressive acoustic melodies awe and lull the crowd.
Finally London-based indie/folk six-piece Tunng took to the stage, beginning their set with a charged and wild opening, breaking from the placid atmosphere that had up to this point defined the show. The group, comprised of four vocalists (three on acoustic guitar), a percussionist and an electronic laptop wizard, seized the audience’s ears and bodies quickly with an array of percussive elements, such as stomping, clapping, playing homemade wind-chimes/shell mobiles with feet, bells and even a chirping toy bird. While the first song was powered, the bulk of the set recoiled to slower pace, fitting appropriately alongside the previous acts.
-Review by Taylor Bratches |
