My first exposure to Oakland’s Machine Head was waaaaay back in 1994 when the now classic Burn My Eyes was released. I was on the Roadrunner Records mailing list and occasionally got postcards about new releases (Yes, regular old snail mail used to inform people about new music). [Read more…]
The Press War Hits Cambridge’s Middle East on January 25th!
Boston’s The Press War is hoping to broaden your musical palette when you hear the term Indie/Pop/Punk in reference to their sound. Take opener “Pandering” off the New Again EP as a prime example as it takes the Pop sensibilities of Husker Du and merges it with the driving force of Bad Religion’s finest moments. [Read more…]
Kristen Ford Homecoming Hits Middle East January 3rd!
It’s time Boston/Cambridge! Kristen Ford is finally returning home. We ran a piece back in May of 2014 when Ms. Ford was about to say farewell to this fine city so we’re just as excited as you are to see 2015 start off with her homecoming. [Read more…]
Boston! Combichrist loves you. Now die! (Live at Paradise, 4/8/14)
Editor’s note: Running a blog by yourself can be hard. Especially coming up with new content to compete with every other Tom, Dick, & Jane out there. Sometimes you can’t cover everything you want and in some cases, by the time you get around to covering something you really, really want to time and relevancy pass you by.
This was the case with a write-up I started on Combichrist’s Boston stop of the “We Love You” tour in April of this year. Life just got in the way. I covered the album release in advance along with “From My Cold Dead Hands” before that but by the time I got to finishing this piece, the first leg of the tour was just about done and I felt the late show review was irrelevant.
But I digress.
Yesterday Combichrist announced the second North American leg of the “We Love You” tour (No MA date. Obviously because I didn’t post my piece!) with openers Blood On The Dance Floor as direct support. If you know the history of the allegations about this band and its front “person” then you can imagine the uproar it caused from longtime supporters of Combichrist. In a bold move and a rare show of integrity in this day and age, Combichrist listened to you and subsequently released this statement on Facebook.
I was a fan of the band before but a move like this guarantees I’ll be a fan for life along with countless others already in their legion. As a “thanks”, I felt it was appropriate to share what fans will bear witness to this fall with my account of the show back in April. If you thought Combichrist showed balls yesterday, just wait ’til you see them live:
“For a band that makes hyper aggressive industrial music like Combichrist, the band were anything but on Tuesday evening at Boston’s Paradise Rock Club. They were quite the opposite, actually, as smiles were shining from ear to ear despite chants of “Hate! Dishonor! Love Destroy!” Combichrist having fun as a band? How very un-industrial! Appearances by Unearth’s Ken Susi during “Follow The Trail Of Blood” and Nick from support act New Year’s Day (who got “hazed” during encore “What The Fuck Is Wrong With You?”) only added to the fun vibe. Joe Letz proved to be a real monster behind the kit bringing to mind the Ginger Fish poundings on Antichrist Superstar but less mechanical, more maniacal. Andy LaPlegua is the definitive front man commanding the audience from the second his masked lit up face makes an appearance during “We Were Made To Love You”. And who doesn’t love a good reprise? That’s right, kiddies, Combichrist brought it back to the beginning as a chant of “Hate! Dishonor! Love! Destroy!” reared its’ ugly little industrial head at the tail end of closer “Sent To Destroy”.”
All in all, a show not to be missed and one which I can only imagine will be ten times greater when they return stateside this fall.
Catch Combichrist on the second Blood On The Dance Floor-less leg of The “We Love You” tour here, We Love You is, of course, is out now through Metropolis Records.
Now die.
Kristen Ford bids Boston adieu at the Middle East on May 24th!
Courage comes in many forms. There’s facing your fears head on, quitting a job you hate to take care of your kids, running into a burning building while others run away, or leaving behind the city you know and love to live in a van and tour full time. While those are some extreme ends of the courage spectrum, it’s the latter that we’re talking about today because that’s scary and that takes a lot of courage. Which is what brings us to Boston’s own Kristen Ford who will be saying goodbye to Boston for a while but not before gracing us with one last show at the Middle East (Tonight!) which also serves as a record release for her new album, Dinosaur.
For over four years Kristen Ford has been a staple of the Boston indie rock scene. Whether singing the national anthem at Fenway, playing all over the area with her band or organizing various queer dance parties or open mics, Kristen has constantly given back to the place she calls home. On Dinosaur, Ford is poised to break out of Boston and conquer the world. Just listen to her subtle vocoder vox on “El Camino” that breaks into cries of “Music’s gonna save my soul” or the soul scorching guitar cries that complement Ford’s heartfelt words on “Be Your Girl” and tell me that Dinosaur isn’t an album destined for great things. If ever an album was meant to be taken live on the road cross country, it was this one.
Produced by Jesse Ciarmataro (AKA Quill, who will be one of the support acts this evening along with Goli and the George Woods Band) and Dan Cardinal at Dimension Sounds in Jamaica Plain, Dinosaur will be available at the show tonight. However, if you’re impatient you can grab it over on bandcamp now. When you get tired of Boston Calling (And you will!), head on over to the Middle East in Cambridge to say goodbye to Kristen and wish her luck (And maybe buy some merch, too?). Doors are at 6:30 (18+, $10) and tickets are available here. For more on Kristen Ford, head on over here and here.
Where You Should Be This Weekend: The Irrepressibles at The Middle East 3/15/14
Music doesn’t get much more jaw dropping than the kind that The Irrepressibles make. Take the lush tones that Bright Light Bright Light create and combine it with the raw sonic power that Antony & The Johnsons emit vocally (With a vibrato that’s to die for) and you’ll have a small idea of what multi-instrumentalist Jamie Irrepressible brings to the table.
Just one listen to “Not Me” should be enough to get the hairs on the back of your neck standing at attention but if that doesn’t enthrall you, try out the evocative piano-driven sounds of “Two Men In Love” coupled with the stunning video filled with undeniable visuals of, well, love. It gets even better from here, kiddies.
The last of their series of 3 EP’s drops on March 24th but you can catch a preview when the “Art-Pop orchestra” known as The Irrepressibles hit Cambridge’s Middle East on Saturday night. For more on The Irrepressibles, head on over to the official Facebook page.
Skinny Puppy “Shapes for Arms” live at Boston’s Royale 2/15/14
First of all, I’d like us all to bow our collective heads and observe a moment of silence for Pennsylvania and the Trocadero who not only postponed their scheduled Skinny Puppy show due to some nasty weather but eventually cancelled the thing all together (There will not be a rescheduled date). Boston and the Royale, however, persevered through a second snow storm last week and bore witness to the spectacle of the “Shapes for Arms” tour (Sorry Philly!). It was a sight to behold indeed and nothing seemed to keep both old school and new school goth and industrial fans away (Although I wish the weather would’ve kept the two overly obnoxious, drunk, and aggressive large gentlemen who terrorized stage right home for the evening)
But enough about the weather. Onto the theatrics!
Cevin Key and Ogre never fail to amaze and the latest stage show Skinny Puppy put on was no exception. With a set mixing a fair amount of oldies with new favorites, SP also delivered sonically as well as visually. With the backdrop of a radiological disaster at its core and Ogre donning almost as many outfits as Lady Gaga (Albeit way more gruesome), Skinny Puppy put on a show that was not only one of their best but one that will not easily be forgotten (Thoughts of this being the top show of 2014 is already swirling around my head…).
After instrumental opener “Choralone”, SP ripped into “illisiT” off of last year’s brilliant Weapon and didn’t relent on any of the 14 songs that followed. New tracks like “wornin” and “paragUn” meshed easily with classics like “The Choke” and “Worlock”. The highlight of the evening, however, was probably the encore of “Assimilate” which saw Ogre donning a costume of…himself. Probably the most “loose” song of the evening, it was also the best seeing Ogre uninhibited along with Cevin Key, cigarette between lips, just wailing away behind his boards.
Metropolis Records labelmates Army Of The Universe opened up the show with some visuals of their own (Laser guitars!) and an electro thump rock sound that guarantees showing up early to this show is a good thing.
If “Shapes for Arms” hasn’t hit your neighborhood yet make sure you check it out when it does. You won’t be disappointed. For tour dates and more head on over to Skinny Puppy on Facebook and please be sure to “like” us on our page.
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