CONCERTS	2003
Date	Show	Location	Company	/10	Opinion
2/14	Sam & Simon, Scientifics, Dan Silk, Islands	64 Edgewood, New Haven	Lotsa folks	9	Valentine's Day show w a heavy set from the Islands. Amusing encore performance with Phil as their vocalist shouting sumpin about war and imperialism. I think?
2/26	Larkin Grimm, Scientifics, Wind-Up Bird, One AM Radio	Calhoun Cabaret, New Haven	Lotsa folks	9	Fun. Real glad to see the Wind-Up Bird and One AM Radio again. Big monster jam at the end w all the folks playin together.
2/27	Grady Owens, Scientifics, Wind-Up Bird, One AM Radio, Wolves	The Sickle, Providence	James, Eliot, Joe, Hrishi, Jane, Larkin	8	Neat show in a neat space, even if we played sorta shitty. Wind-Up Bird continues to git better n better. Was also my #1 favorite One AM Radio performance thus far, what w a surprise appearance by Jane which made em a four-piece for a coupla songs--sounded great. Wolves were fantastic: fucked shit up real heavy.
3/14	(?), Pussy, Tumblecat Poof Poofy Poof, Gun Shy, Scientifcs, Fucking Sparklies	Old Schoolhouse, Hadley	James, Eliot	10	Pussy was one of the funnier things I've ever seen, made up (as a one-off?) of members of the Breaking World Records crew. We played what I thought was quite a good show (w tripped out accordian accompaniment at one point) and the Fucking Sparklies tore things up sufficiently. Lotsa nice people at this place as usual. Got an interesting CD of a Fucking Sparklies side-project, band's called The Cheaters Club. Real good.
3/17	Engine 2	Partner's Pub, Fitchburg	Dan C., Danielle	10	Always great to see these fellas. Hard rockin covers, rowdy St. Patrick's Day Fitchburg crowd. Fun. My former boss had been drinking there since 5PM and cursed me out before teaching me the workings of the female mind.
3/19	Engine 2	The Compound, Fitchburg	Dan C., Danielle, Tim D.	7	Sound problems but still the usual jolly time. The war started during the show which was mighty intense.
3/21	Quick Fix, Mistle Thrush, Brian Jonestown Massacre	Middle East, Cambridge	Jay Pierce, Lucas, Tim, Jeff	10	Shit howdy this was the best Brian Jonestown show I ever done seen. They were ON, buddy. Didn't care at all about the two openers. First band dealt in a lotta rock cliches and just looked silly. Harrassed the merch guy, J Pierce managed to get some fine CD/LP bargain out of the deal I believe. Good for him.
4/18	Fursaxa, Iditarod, Long Live Death	Women's Center, New Haven	Sam F.	8	Fursaxa was pretty decent and I'm almost positive that she performed with Iditarod at Terrastock, even if people don't agree w me on that. Missed Iditarod cuz I went home to play my new Neil Hamburger single for people, luckily came back in time to catch a chunk of Long Live Death, who were totally crazy hippie burn-out stomp psych. Loved them. My description that I'm overly proud of is that they're kinda the Andrew WK of psych...you wanna laugh for the first five minutes, but then you figure out that this stuff is realer than you are and get completely caught up in it.
4/19	James Sumner Experience, The Media, Wind-Up Bird, No Neck Blues Band	SSS, New Haven	Lotsa folks	7.5	Best show I've ever seen by the Media (usedta be the Islands), hot stuff. No Neck was disappointing, never really locked into anything interesting, just sorta stumbled along in an uninspiring way tho there were hints at times of some sorta sweet groove lurking just below/beyond things.
4/25	The Sun, Sparklehorse, The Flaming Lips	Roseland Ballroom, NYC	Jonah, Cameron, Josh, Judy, Matthew	9	The Sun were bland alt, but I happened to bear an uncanny resemblance to the lead singer so I was accosted several times thorughout the night by audience members who enjoyed "my" performance. Too bad the band sucked. Sparklehorse did a fair mini-set as a two-piece, Flaming Lips churned out yet another flawless show (typical setlist) that was heavy on the rockier songs towards the beginning. The addition of the live drummer allowed them a little more freedom to play around with the songs, which was a positive mini-change from recent tours.
4/28	Nappy Roots, Wilco	Old Campus, Yale	Lotsa folks	8.5	Nappy Roots were real silly, had a big shout-out to the fallen rappers, proving yet again that there may in fact be NOTHING to be said for sincerity. I was mostly impressed by Wilco, especially the drummer and their occasional dips into noisiness. Tweedy was personable, allowed a drunk guy to get up on stage and attempt to play fiddle with the band (finally had to get security to remove him). The extended jamming towards the end of the show and the more adult contempo moments made things drag a bit. Overall a fine performance though, and FREE.
5/3	The Things Themselves, Dave Longstreth, Scientifics, The Media, Sam & Simon	229 Dwight St., New Haven	Lotsa folks	10	Folks endured angry neighbors, a low turnout, and severe allergies to kick it out for a marathon five-and-a-half hours. Everyone played well, everyone was superloose, and outdoors is AOK by me minus the pollen. I ate this many burgers: 2.
5/4	Gravenhurst, Black Forest Black Sea, Landing, Dave Longstreth, Wind-Up Bird	York Square Cinema, New Haven	Lotsa folks	10	Near-perfect show w fine performances from all bands. Hadn't seen Landing since Terrastock back in Oct, so it was real sweet seein them play again--Aaron on drums this time and a set opener that was wicked DOPE. Black Forest Black Sea (ex-Iditarod) I had been unfamiliar with, but was into his quietish guitar stuff pretty heavily by the end. Surprisingly abrasive sounds from the Wind-Up Bird--I liked it. Consumed my third ever SPRITE REMIX during Dave's set and enjoyed it to the extreme, though this beautiful rose is not without its painful painful thorn: I realize that the day will come when I hate SPRITE REMIX more than anything else.
5/10	Dream House (La Monte Young & Marian Zazeela)	275 Church St., NYC	Sam F.	10	This is amazing and should be seen by anyone who can make it to New York before it shuts down June 21. Rather than describing the thing poorly, I'll direct folks here: http://melafoundation.org/gann.htm
5/10	Prewar Yardsale, June Panic	Knitting Factory Old Office, NYC	Sam F.	5	Didn't care much for either band. The first was a Moldy Peaches-style guy/gal two-piece who didn't do much interesting or new (liked that she drummed on buckets tho). June Panic was slow, quiet, kinda twangy. Best part of it was sitting around and at last meeting The Data General, who is a very good man. His band played after June Panic but Oneida was going on simultaneously upstairs so I hadta miss it. I'll buy a CD to make up for that.
5/10	Square Johns, Oneida, Metallica Drummer, I Am Spoonbender	Knitting Factory Main Room, NYC	Sam F, Nick Webb	10	Square Johns was a real laff riot, a coupla older guys and a coupla younger kids playing loud, bluesy metal. After one song the lead singer (in sunglasses and w belly bared) shouted, "I hear a lotta woo-hooing, but I don't see a lot of moshing! C'mon, I know you want to mosh!" Oneida rocked supremely. Mostly new songs, including a long, heavy psych jam. These guys can basically do whatever the fuck they want and it'll work. There is no band in these United States that I would rather see live. I Am Spoonbender was OK, started out lame and then kicked into a nice percussive dance-synthy sorta thing. Although I hated their matching uniforms I woulda liked to see the whole set and felt bad bout leaving after 15min to catch a train.
5/22	Scientifics, The Media	Ely House Center for Contemporary Art	James, Eliot, Dan S, Eric, Joanna, Sam C, Rupa, others	10	Neato art space in New Haven, I'd never been there before. We played a good show and The Media were excellent as usual. Best of all was the fine spread laid out by the gallery…I took full advantage of the food and beverages being offered. Cheered me up following my bronchitis diagnosis.
5/24	Landing, Dave Longstreth, Weeds, Karl Blau, D+, Mount Eerie/Microphones	Dave's house, 45 Hobart St., New Haven	Lotsa folks	9	Really crowded house show/party with a heavy K Records presence, lots of good people I know and didn't know. Landing was scorching hotshit down in the basement, best act of the night (also the only one with drums). Things moved upstairs for Dave and the rest of the bands. As for the Big Three of Karl Blau, D+, and the Microphones, I could take em or leave em--none were that great or that terrible. Just candy, really, with a coupla ha ha lines apiece. PBT news: Met Agent Sweetapple, a super nice dame who knows the straight dope on Fitchburg, Mass. Meanwhile, learned that the Daron/Dick/Gil axis questions the breadth of my wardrobe. Fair enough.
5/31	Jah Spirit	Partner's Pub, Fitchburg	Dan C., Danielle	2	I really shouldn't include this, but whatthefuck. This horrible reggae band happened to be playing in the background while I visited a bar in the hometown, and they were a laugh and a half every time I turned my attention in their direction. The ten-minute reggae cover of "My Girl" was a special highlight for me. It was of course a gas seeing some of the Fitchburg fellas again.
6/13	1986, Bengeorge7, Scientifics, Oatmeal Ensemble, (?)	Hadley Pub, Hadley MA	Eliot, James, Joanna	7	1986 = power pop w a good frontman. Bengeorge7 = awesome performance-arty non-rock that has yet to fail me; Oatmeal Ensemble = all-over-the-map experimentalism; last act was hip-hop that didn't interest me. We played pretty well and it was a fine time gettin down on the percusion w the always-nice Fucking Sparklies guy. What really made the night worthwhile was seeing Roger Clemens win his 300th game and get his 4000th strikeout. Plus the Red Sox beat the Astros.
6/14	Federation Papers, Can Kickers, Bromp Treb Sound System, Scientifics	The Shed, Palmer MA	Eliot, James, Joanna	10	The Shed is one of the best places I've ever seen a show. Every band was excellent, especially the crazed bluegrass/trad/hillbilly asskickin of the Can Kickers (from New London CT). Bromp Treb was spectacular as always, wicked sweet outfit and vocalizin by Josh. Bad mosquito situation tho.
6/15	Sam & Simon, Scientifics	Yuka & Linda's Roof, Brooklyn	Eliot, James	8	I don't think our "unplugged" performance went so well but I really don't care cuz it was good to see all the old college chummies and a blast playing suitcase & tambourine w Sam & Simon. No dry eyes left followin Sam and Jim's shambolic performance of about half of the Abbey Road medley. Perfecto weather.
6/19	Cold Like December, Scientifics, Karl Hendricks Trio, Elora Danon, Pearls and Brass	Trexlertown Grange, Trexlertown PA	Eliot, James	7.5
6/21	Lanky, Scientifics	The Soap Box, Wilmington NC	Eliot, James, Wilson, three girls	10
6/23	Radio Raheem, Scientifics, Never in Red, Once Lost Pictures, Dispensing of False Halos, Tyranny of Shaw	The Alley, Miami	Eliot, James	10
6/28	Scientifics	Cups, Jackson MS	Eliot, James	6
6/28	Scientifics	House Show at Mary's, Jackson MS	Eliot, James	8
7/2	Scientifics	Mama's Blues, New Orleans	Eliot, James, Anna, Don, Chris	4	The other two bands bailed out on the show and we were playing to an empty house. I was tired and sick. Not the best night.
7/3	Scientifics	End of the Line Cafe, Pensacola FL	Eliot, James	7	Seemingly militant vegan café, but nice people nonetheless. I really really wanted a cheeseburger. Audience was tentative in their approval. We slept on the Gulf Coast beach afterward with some folks from the show.
7/4	Sylvia Pane, Scientifics	Hi-Ho Lounge, New Orleans	Eliot, James, Anna, Alan	8	Another low-attended show in New Orleans. The bar/bartender was swell and I learned a lot about the city talking to the guy. Sylvia Pane started out excellent; noisy experimental improvisation. As their set went on and on, though, I was less excited. We were better than average. The guitarist plugged in with us during the finale.
7/6	Scientifics	Southmore House, Houston TX	Eliot, James	7.5	The other band cancelled again and we took advantage of the space's technology to record a live album. It was extremely hot and the crowd was sweaty n kinda lifeless. We played well, though, and kids were into it by the end.
7/7	Scientifics	House Show, San Antonio	Eliot, James, Michael	8	We performed at the house of the guy who owns the Alligator Grill, which was where Jennifer Aniston worked in "Office Space." Ample backyard, and relaxing to play in front of a friendly audience. There was a huge poker game afterward and buckets of frozen margarita. The family was super nice and I enjoyed chattin with the pops.
7/8	Scientifics, Esthing, Octopus Project	Hi-Lo, Oklahoma City	Eliot, James	9	Octopus was blindingly LOUD and awesome semi-artsy rock. This was our best show in a while, great club; too bad I lost my snare stand here. Twas free anyway (thanx Vern!).
7/12	The Lepers, Scientifics, Per Astra ad Aspera	The Powerpad, Omaha NE	Eliot, James	9	The Lepers were a heavy Oneida-style two-piece with a vocalist who wore some sort of microphone backpack. We were really good. I was big into Per Astra Ad Aspera: hardcore w prominent keys and sampler. Kicked my ass. Roady, Power Pad chief, is a king among men.
7/13	Self Inheritance, Fag Team, Scientifics	High Life House, Colorado Springs CO	Eliot, James	7.5	Fag Team was odd. They were clean, quiet, E6-type pop (Essex Green, etc), but it seemed like they didn't want to admit that that's what they actually are…hence the name and jokey posturing. Too bad, cuz they wrote and played some real snappy tunes. The singer looked like Clint Howard. After the show James and I went to a supposed "Dance Party" a few blocks over which was actually just a ploy for some local groupies to seduce members of Self Inheritance with heavy painkillers.
7/15	Mother Brain, Scientifics, Beep	Vibes, Cedar Falls IA	Eliot, James	8	This was above a bookstore in a café/performance space. I shaved in the bathroom and we continued our string of strong shows. Lotsa units moved this evening. $$$
7/16	Strategery, Scientifics	Red Rooster, Aberdeen South Dakota	Eliot, James	10	Fuckin awesome dood, one of the best ever. Looked like it was gonna be bad at first, real sleepy town, but it got raucous quickly, we played beautifully, and people really Got Into It. Amazing crew of locals, owner treated us unbelievably kindly (gave us our own apt to squat in for two days), and we experienced The Gauntlet (eating chip after chip covered in increasingly HOT hot sauce). Crazy fuckers in town, fun folk. We picked up a Steppenwolf tape at a Salvation Army on the way.
7/18	Scientifics, Askeleton, (?)	Eclipse Records, St. Paul MN	Eliot, James	9	Askeleton was probably the best band I saw all tour…one-man project involving lots of triggers and a very rich, full sound. We were seen as something of a novelty I think; fuck it, we were excellent anyway. I had to flee an Ace Hardware down the block after breaking their toilet.
7/19	(?), Scientifics, Rachel Jacobs, (?), (?), Light the Fuse and Run, Transistor Transistor	Ghetto Diaper, East Lansing, MI	Eliot, James	7	Intense punkhouse that attracts huge crowds. People were indifferent towards us, which didn't bother me too much at this point. A horrible girl accompanying Rachel Jacobs was pushy regarding the merch setup, and that did miff me. I was tired and not in the mood for all the basement hardcore tonight, so I wandered and stayed dazed for the rest of the show. Hung out with a hilarious John Goodman sort afterward, watched him scream and beat on drunks, which cheered me up.
7/20	The Aholics, Scientifics, A Is Jump, (?)	Vaudeville Mews, Des Moines IA	Eliot, James	6	A is Jump were friendly power pop, nice guys, included Beep from the Cedar Falls show. I didn't care for the rockstar posing of the last band, tho they were still really tight and lound. Probably gonna be big. We stayed with drunk cokeheads, which made me paranoid and edgy. But not as paranoid and edgy as they were.
7/23	Scientifics	Sea Level Records, Los Angeles	Eliot, James, Joanna, Jane, Culps	8
7/24	(?), (?), Scientifics, The Health	Beckett's Pub, Berkeley CA	Eliot, James, Cameron, Hrishi, Joe, Jeff	10	One of our best shows. I used the Health's drums, which was of course a massive improvement over my own equipment. "Hey" was incredible; Hrishi added a nice instrumental part to it. We went over very well in front of a crowd with a large Yale factor.
7/25	Scientifics, Anchors for Architects	BART stop @ Mission & 24th, San Francisco	Eliot, James, Cameron, Joe	8
7/26	Scientifics	Rachel's place, Eugene OR	Eliot, James	5	Weird hippie stoner scene, some of the people really freaked me out tho I suppose they were harmless enough. Just yknow how their eyes get, all baggy and vacant…creepy. No one was too interested in us as it was more of a party scene and I think we were kinda encroaching or sumpin. I had fun.
7/28	(?), Scientifics, Anchors for Architects	Eliot's new house, Portland OR	Eliot, James	9	We played quite well, also a nicely attended show. People knew Eliot I guess. Met some interesting folks. Anchors for Architects came later and played an incredible quiet set. Versatile fuckers.
7/29	Scientifics, Anchors for Architects	The Voyeur, Olympia WA	Eliot, James, Ben Ewing	8	Shitty attendance, but Anchors were ON as always (super extended noisy jam on their last song) and we combined for a chugging stone-cold groove on "Hey" that beat hell on all else despite clearing the room. Ben Ewing showed up towards the end and it was swell seeing him again. Earlier in the day we'd visited a commune, and while I'd gone into it with a lousy attitude I must say I was impressed by the setup.
8/4	Supergrass	Cane's Bar, San Diego CA	Joanna	7	Who the fuck are these people who pack a club to see Supergrass?? I was baffled by the excitement in this crowd for a C-list Britpop band. At least they played that one song I know about the radio. Not bad, just not great. Fancy bar/club.
8/11	Carmelize, Cobra High, Party of One, Starlite Theorie	Casbah, San Diego CA	Joanna, Julia, Matt Rob	8
8/20	Jentri LoveJoy, The Spanking Factory, The Child Molestors, Bra & Panty Tickle Fight, Uncle Skullfuck PhD	Ralph's, Worcester MA	Dan H, Lucas, Tim, Jay P, Jentri	10
8/22	Jentri, The Furies	Partner's Pub, Fitchburg	Tim D, Lucas, Jay, Jentri, Hillary, Dan C, Danielle, Ryan, others	10
8/23	Earwhig, The Furies	Hubbardston Rod and Gun Club	Lucas, Jay, Mike, Julie, Hillary, others	7
8/26	The Ferns	The Compound, Fitchburg	Dan C, Danielle, Jeremy, David, Ian, Lindsey	6	Just wasn't in the mood to see a show. Real tired. Nevertheless, for some reason I hung out at Denny's til 4.30 AM afterwards, tho I will admit that I has a good time doing that. Jolly to hit the town w Jeremy and David again. Especially outstanding when an old man walked by singin "Rock n roll, rock n roll. Rock n roll, rock n roll."
8/27	Jentri Lovejoy, The Magic Skidmarkers, Velvet Taint, Nu Pond Fondle, The Larry Miskal 5	Ralph's, Worcester MA	Dan H, Lucas, Tim, Jay P, Jentri, Nate, Kristen	8
8/28	Engine 2	Partner's Pub, Fitchburg	Dan C, Danielle, Ian, Lindsey, Melissa, Beth, Margaret, etc.	10	The ALLEGED last show from these guys, tho the bastards announce midway that they've got at least three more lined up. Sons of bitches! I missed a good birthday party for this concert. Luckily I couldn't stay pissed cuz they rocked my pants in severe fashion with all the hits I know and love, plus a new-to-me original. Fun time.
8/31	Engine 2	The Compound, Fitchburg	Lucas, Jay P, Dan C, Danielle, Ian, Margaret	9	They were rockin out hard of course and I rilly liked the new song but y'know for some reason I'm always tired at the Compound which cuts into overall enjoyment. We did get to see a near-fight in the parking lot between some obese female hotel dwellers. The Thunderbird Inn is certainly the finest place to die in Fitchburg, as so many good folks have learned over the years.
9/2	A Modest Promise, Engine 2	The Compound, Fitchburg	Dan C, Danielle, Dayna, Ian, Kane	9.5	There are some nights when you can do nothing but simply bear witness to the true rock power of Engine 2.
9/5	New Pond Fondle	Partner's Pub, Fitchburg	Jeremy, David, Dayna, others	8.5	Hadn't seen these guys in an incredibly long time. Good stuff. Really tight and a lot more rockin than I remembered; I liked how they played with the new bassist. Can't stand the smokiness of Partner's tho. Worsened my sore throat boo hoo.
9/12	High On Fire, Andrew WK	Pearl St., Northhampton	Jay, Lucas, Dan H, Kristen, Cameron	9	This coulda been so much more. Hot on the heels of "The Wolf"s triumphant release, WK was on top of the universe again; too bad this was a shitty crowd. Actual SILENCE between songs, and Andrew definitely wasn't getting any energy from the audience to push him onward. Still, he made a noble effort and gave it all he had, even if he did seem kinda tired and beaten-down. Touching tributes to Johnny Cash and John Ritter that reminded us of the importance of living life to the fullest.
9/16	Gilt the Lily, The Ferns	The Compound, Fitchburg	Dan C, Danielle, Jeremy	4	Goldurnit man I was damn sleepy at this show. Shoulda gone to Barnes & Noble's and read the magazines instead. Just a bad night to be on the town.
9/19	Zyrah's Orange	Partner's Pub, Fitchburg	Dan C, Danielle, Johnny, AJ	4	First song was OK, nice n succinct. After that it tuned into the usual flowery jamband drag. Yawn.
9/20	Devil Music, Cul de Sac, Landing	Middle East Upstairs, Cambridge	Dan H, Kristen, J Pierce, Jentri, Emerson	10	Cul de Sac were super disappointing, never locked into anything energetic or spacey, just muddled along in that dull middle ground. Devil Music I had been unfamiliar with, but they blew me away with a relentlessly dense, instrumental rockfest: violin, drums, gtr, keys. Want to hear lots more (send me a CD, fellers!). This night was one of my favorite Landing shows of all time, perfect mix of dronebliss and the shorter (for lack of a better description) songs, with a surprise-twist newbie that slowly grew into a heavy (HEAVY!) percussive/primal stomp n screech. Aaron was pounding the shit out of the toms/bass drum, Dick had crazy noise goin, and it was thumbs-up awesome.
9/21	Belltone Suicide, As Cities Burn, Noise Nomads, Fat Worm of Error, Tine Hart, Friends Forever	The Shed, Palmer MA	James, Sam C	10	Noise Nomads, Fat Worm, and Friends Forever are a trio to be reckoned with, tho if you tried to reckon w them they'd def kill you good. My faith in rocknroll 100% restored by this show, especially thanks to the Friends Forever total light-noise-action freakout. Astounding!
9/21	Dead Center Universe, Engine 2	The Compound, Fitchburg	Dan C, Danielle, Eric, Ian, lotsa folks	10	I had to rep to the fullest as Engine 2 was battling other bands on this fine eve and needed my vote. Barely made it back in time from the Friends Forever show (almost ran outta gas too), but I drove hard and I drove true with the gaslight beepbeepbeeping at me, and LO i did indeed make it in time to see the fellows pack their ROCK into twenty electrifying minutes. The other band that I saw was silly hard rock, silly mostly cuz the singer made crazy faces while trying to emote.
9/27	Second Class Citizen, Engine 2, Metal Militia	The Compound, Fitchburg	Dan C, Danielle, Aaron, Emerson, Ian, Bridget, Vinny, Beth, Kane, lotsa folks	7	The finals for the Battle of the Bands bloodbath. Man, 2nd Class Citizen and Metal Militia (young kids from Florida?) were of no use to me, yer standard boring riffing and bellowing. Engine 2 were all grim business dude, starting strong with the "dropping bombs" song and kicking shit to the curb at the end w the one-two of "Welcome to the Jungle" and the one about flying. I was hugely disappointed to hear that they were not the victors cuz they totally deserved the crown.
9/28	Gilt the Lily, The Ferns, Engine 2, Rocktagon	The Compound, Fitchburg	Dan C, Ian, Danielle, Kane	7	Twas OK. This was a pre-party for the big metal/hardrock festival happenin in town the next day and supposedly I was wicked partyin with members of Staind, Sevendust, and Powerman 5000 while at this clubshow. Gilt the Lily were not interesting, Ferns and Engine 2 played in easily digestible chunks, and Rocktagon were a pretty good 80s cover band who came out with dramatic music and a magic trick.
10/4	Carlisle, Mittens, The Ponys	Freespace Gallery, Fitchburg	Dan C, J Pierce	8	Three totally enjoyable guitar-pop bands. Carlisle (their first show) prob had the hardest edge to em, threw in a few starts n stops as well, gentle mathiness. Mittens were light n bouncy; reminded me some of the Motor record. Excellent vocals from the 3-gtr/bass/drum Ponys, who at times were strikingly similar to Olivia Tremor Control or Circulatory System (which is a positive). They were my faves of the night, but my main problem with em was that every song felt really different from the last. While it's good not to have a set songwriting formula, there is something to say for sonic cohesion in a show (or on a record). Still, fun and very promising stuff. Got in the car just in time to hear Trot Nixon's game-winning home run against the A's.
10/10	Furies, Seana Carmody, Charlene	Freespace Gallery, Fitchburg	Jay Pierce, Lucas, Dan C., Danielle	10	Charlene are straight-up outstanding rock n roll (in the pounding outerspace sense of things). These guys really oughta put out MORE records…so far their label (Shark Attack) has a perfect track record w its releases. Seana Carmody's unnamed band was very likeable and included a member of Lockgroove.
10/17	Strictly Business, The Furies	Partner's Pub, Fitchburg	Mike, Julie, Lucas, Nate, Jay, Hillary, Emerson, Jentri	9	Never seen Bostonians Strictly Business before (featurin Ken Bernard), but definitely picked up on what they were layin down. I was behind the mixing board most of the night. Because there was a chair there, not because I was mixing. Still, I felt important and my self-esteem rose.
10/23	Open Mic Night	Freespace Gallery, Fitchburg	J Pierce	4	There wasn't much that grabbed me, mostly folks with acoustic geetars, and sad to say that usually if you've seen one you've seen em all. However: Jay claims I missed the best guy of the night, so I'll hafta investigate into this matter. He has a song about a DJ...if yer this guy, lemme know the scoop. This was also the last event at Freespace, which is too durn bad.
10/24	Engine 2	Charlie's, Assumption College, Worcester	Dan C, Danielle, Vinny	10	Again, allegedly the final Engine 2 performance. We'll see about that. Their cover of Moby Dick was a nifty surprise, and I was pleased to witness Vinny in rare form. I left the venue with about five pounds of free candy.
10/26	Dysrhythmia, The Thermals, American Analog Set, Brian Jonestown Massacre	BAR, New Haven	J Pierce, Lucas, Mike from Umass, Dan H, Aaron, Kristen, D Brown, James, Dan S	10	Couldn't get a much better lineup than this at a FREE show. AmAnSet focused on newer material, which I generally feel is ho-hum, but they pushed it noise-wise a bit more than usual as they jammed endings out, so that worked nicely. With what seems to be a stable live lineup, Brian Jonestown are total monster at this point, just a HUGE guitar sound...I wish they'd record a live-in-the-studio record with this band. Surpasses the March show as the best I've seen them perform. They played "Who?" but still no "Super-Sonic."
10/30	USAisamonster, Lightning Bolt	MassArt Courtyard, Boston	J Pierce	8.5	USAisamonster was a bit of a letdown after hearing the records, even if the drummer did have amusing hair. There were two major problems with Lightning Bolt's show: (1) Late October in Boston is not the best time for an outdoor concert (not their fault); (2) Once you've seen Friends Forever, LB is strictly second tier, buddy boy.
11/14	Reed Brewer, The Furies	Partner's Pub, Fitchburg	J Pierce, Hillary, Dan C., Danielle, Jeremy, Phil	8	Got there a little late and just caught the tail end of Reed's show, which was quite good (the music, not the fact that we were late). Furies seemed looser than usual. Partner's was Partner's and I was cracked out on Dunkin Donuts coffee, anxious to get home and watch my Neil Hamburger DVD.
11/26	Earwhig	Partner's Pub, Fitchburg	Dan C., Margaret, Vinny, Jeremy, Eric B, Jamie G, Ian, Danielle	8	I'd seen these guys for only a few minutes at the Terrapin thing a few months ago and they hadn't made too much of an impression. Tonight, however, I must admit I was very impressed with their barband extravaganza…they make a huge noise for a three-piece, and are able to produce some mighty diverse sounds with what they got. Predominantly a covers show, which is always appreciated when at Partner's.
12/13	Tiger Lily	The Compound, Fitchburg	Jeremy, Dan C, Danielle	4	Oh boy a strong, sassy woman in a leopard-print shirt fronts a bar-rock band. Same ol' poop, same ol' shitty songs that EVERY SINGLE chick-helmed bar band feels the need to cover. Will admit that they got better as the group got drunker.
12/19	Reed Brewer, The Furies	Partner's Pub, Fitchburg	Mike, Jared, Tim	8	Reed's first show w the new band & was glad to see that the fleshed-out instrumentation didn’t overwhelm what are obviously good songs.