When you’re not enjoying one of our amazingly free LIVE events, you should be hitting up the legendary venues within your reach right off of the Charles River Campus. Here are some of the shows I’m looking forward to this semester with a few tracks by some of the artists below. There are tons of venues in the Boston area (BU Central included), so check ‘em out and explore the local scene.
Solange Knowles at Paradise Rock Club – February 19th
Passion Pit at Agganis Arena – February 9th
Alt-J at Paradise Rock Club – March 2nd & 3rd (*both shows are sold out #sadface)
The Rocket Summer at Brighton Music Hall – March 27th
Local Natives at House of Blues – March 30th
Andrew McMahon (from Jack’s Mannequin) at Paradise Rock Club – April 8th
Wavves & FIDLAR at Brighton Music Hall – April 8th
Cold War Kids at Paradise Rick Club – April 10th
Alicia Keys & Miguel at Agganis Arena – April 10th
If any of y’all have chilled in BU Central while I’ve been on shift, chances are you’ve heard Geographer before.
The band has described their sound as “soulful music from outer space” and that certainly isn’t far from the truth. The use of synthesizers and cello in addition to standard band instruments gives them a distinct place within the Indie Rock genre, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they totally blow up in 2012. The fact that two band members are Berklee graduates is just the cherry on top of their immaculately-produced tracks. Standout songs “Kites” and “Verona” from 2010′s Animal Shapes EP are posted below.
Geographer will soon be touring with labelmates Miniature Tigers and The Chain Gang of 1974 when they hit up Brighton Music Hall on March 24th. Tickets can be bought , but I know I’ll just pick mine up at the Paradise Rock Club box office any day now and skip the service fees. I’ve been pretty obsessed with the band for several months now, so I’m hella excited for this ish.
One of the best things about living in a major city? Easy access to concerts! I spent much of my freshman year getting acquainted with Boston’s numerous venues , and I intend to keep that up this year. My schedule may now be a bit more rigorous, but y’all can bet on me getting to as many shows as I have time for.
Here’s three dates I’m looking forward to most this fall!
NEON INDIAN - I had the good fortune to catch the Texan foursome at a festival last year and experienced one of my most intimate connections with music. The indie electronic band just released their second album, featuring the extremely danceable single “Polish Girl.” They’ll be playing Brighton Music Hall on 10/20 with tickets only $16 if ya pick em up at the venue (or even at Paradise Rock Club, which is essentially a part of BU’s West Campus). Event info can be found here.
THE NAKED AND FAMOUS - These New Zealanders burst onto the hipster scene last year with their unique brand of indie rock. I was a bit late to the party with them, and it wasn’t until early August that I finally gave their debut a listen. I became instantly obsessed and it didn’t take long for them to totally dominate my Last.fm account. The group plays Paradise Rock Club, my personal favorite venue, on 10/25 and tickets run for $20 if you pick em up there. Event info can be found here
M83 - This French electronic band has been spewing out quality dream pop for over a decade now, and I am beyond stoked to see them hit up Boston in support of their recently released sixth album. I completely lose myself in their music, and that is essentially guaranteed when I’ll be swaying with the crowd at the House of Blues on 11/20 (the event was recently moved from Paradise Rock Club due to consumer demand). Tickets are only $18 if pick em up at HOB! Event info can be found here.
It’s been a busy Wednesday, but I’ve finally stolen the videos from the US Royalty show off of iPhone Dan’s iPhone. Luckily, I managed to not sing along in the background, cover the camera, or film the entire thing in the wrong format! I’m getting better at working with these newfangled technologies. Anyways, the show:
Brighton Music Hall (nee Harper’s Ferry) was a pretty good venue for this sort of show. It wasn’t packed, but there was a good amount of people there, and since the space was so big, nobody was crowding or jostled. Also, since we are dorky and got there before doors opened, we got a prime spot right up front (I am a wee person, and it is difficult for me to see from behind normal height people. For more information on this topic, see: the Decemberists concert).
I’d never seen US Royalty live, and to be honest, the album–MIЯRORS–doesn’t do them justice. They sound great on it, but when they’re 8 feet from your face and totally rocking out on the tambourine (10 points), the sounds feel more real (does that make sense? Supposedly I’m an English major. We’ll see) and their energy translates really well into a live show.
John Thornley (lead), who recently shaved an epic Fleet-Foxes-esque beard, has a great voice for the music they play; he’s got a good range and the right balance of mellow and resonant for their sort of rolling-and-smooth-yet-energetic sound. Also, he rocked a tambourine like his life depended on it, which is all sorts of awesome.
The bassist, Jacob Michael, was too far away for me to see most of the time, but had a very mellow air about himself. Generally, my ear for bass kind of goes in and out during a song, but Michael stayed solid and consistent. And wore a great hat.
They had a very melancholy-looking keyboardist, whose name isn’t anywhere I can find. But not melancholy in a bad way. He was just very focused looking. You’ll see it in the videos. He’s totally in it. And very melancholy looking.
Finally–drummers Luke and Amos Adams. Some of the cleanest, most fitting drumming I’ve heard in a while. I don’t know anything about drums, but they had both a set and some hand-drums (bongos? I really have no idea). Usually I’m not a drums type of girl; I like drums (and drummers) but I tend to hear guitar more. Nicely-vested Adams and his white-shirted brother, however, definitely dominate the sound more than your average drummers and kind of finish things off cleanly and nicely.
Video time? Okay.
“Fool to Love (Like I Do)”: Tambourine. Two of them. I’m in love.
“Monte Carlo”: Especially strong on the drums. And maracas! Maracas! It’s too good. Actually, everything is really strong here. Especially the “aaaaaayyyyyy ohhhhhh aaaaaayyyyy oohhhhhhh” part.
“Equestrian”: Please note melancholy keyboardist. They really brought it at the end–stellar on all counts.
Also, they were all dressed really well and they’re all ridiculously good-looking. Just sayin’.
Coming next week: The Low Anthem, Part 1. And maybe some other stuff.
Happy Wednesday!
This year so far has just been a jumble of live shows. Well, not yet it hasn’t, but it’s about to get crazy. I can barely keep things straight (not saying much) and I keep confusing which bands I’m seeing which days, but I am positive that I’m seeing U.S. Royalty tomorrow at the Brighton Music Hall–which means more live videos! Also, after consulting my iCal,I know that I’m seeing the Low Anthem on March 4 at the Old South Church and then again on the 12 at the abandoned pasta sauce factory where they recorded the album? What? Anyways, the point is that the acoustics at both venues will be great, which means…live videos!
Anyways, while I don’t have anything yet from any of the aforementioned shows, I do have some tracks to lay down for you:
US Royalty, “Equestrian”
I’m kind of hoping they play this. It’d be great live, right? The vocals are solid, and they’ve got a very comfortable groove going on between the bass and drums and guitar, and the parts where they have just the vocals without the instruments for a second are perfectly placed. Is anyone else reminded of Santana a little bit by the guitar riff? Maybe? No? Okay. If you’re looking for a bit more of them, the show tomorrow is only $10, and they’re on myspace.
Moving on, the Low Anthem!
Seeing them in two awesomely unique venues, also pretty cheap shows. You may have heard the song I’m about to post (“This God Damned House”), and I might have to post it again, because if they play it in either place (church or abandoned pasta sauce factory…again, what?) I’m pretty sure the echoing will make this all the more haunting. The simplicity is what makes it, I think–nothing fancy, just some subtle unidentifiable instruments and a kind of dry-sounding voice (but not in a bad way). According to Wikipedia, trustworthy source of all things interesting and odd, the song I’m posting is a “staple” of their live performances; it was written by a former band member who “left the band to pursue simple living in a yurt in Arkansas”*. Which makes it all the more awesome. Also, their site is really well designed and they’ve got great album artwork.
“This God Damned House”
That’s it for this week. Thanks for reading! Check back next week for videos!
