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
This past weekend, I was lucky enough to attend the National Association of Campus Activities’ annual Northeast conference. The conference consisted of a variety of different events, including education sessions and time slots where schools could show off their programming councils and campus activities boards. During the afternoons, NACA held showcases where various bands, comedians, a capella groups and other entertainers performed for conference attendees.
For me, one of the coolest things about the conference was that after each showcase, performers would set up booths in one of the exhibit halls where each was able to introduce people to their music, talk to attendees, and discuss booking with those who were interested.
I was able to meet a lot of really talented performers, including Boston’s own Darlingside, rapper Kosha Dillz—who has toured and performed with artists such as Matisyahu, Snoop Dogg, Cage the Elephant and Aesop Rock—and a ton of great acoustic singers. I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect, but I was so happy to discover that virtually every artist I encountered was eager to meet and talk with attendees, and they all seemed to love answering questions and hearing what people had to say about their performances.
It’s not often that I get the chance to talk to performers that I admire—I’m usually at large festivals where large security guards with their arms folded across their chests ensure that that’s not an option. However, looking back at my attendance at smaller shows, it’s safe to say that I’ve had only positive interactions with the bands that I love. Collecting autographs from members of Hellogoodbye (it was my 15th birthday, okay?), getting Yuri from Gogol Bordello to sit still and smile for a picture. I got so much fan-girl joy out of being able to experience all of these moments with my favorite performers, and it seems to make them happy to see their fans so enthusiastic, too.
A photo of me and Forrest, frontman of Hellogoodbye. I was bad at selfies back then.
I think that sometimes people take for granted how important going to live shows is. Live shows are incredible for a variety of reasons (cool stories, great energy, meeting people, battle wounds from moshing too hard), but one of the greatest remains the fans’ ability to show support for the bands that they love. Especially since downloading music illegally is so easy, a lot of performers really count on touring to act as their main source of income.
But ‘support’ shouldn’t just be taken to mean financial assistance. If fans didn’t come out to shows, bands wouldn’t have anybody to perform for. Musicians don’t just want to record an album, try to sell it, and leave it at that; they get their joy from performing and seeing their fans smiling, rocking out, and enjoying the music. In case you’re not satisfied with any of the above reasons, there’s always the fact that you may discover a new artist that you really like since headliners often bring other bands along with them on tour. Finally, going to live shows is just fun. There is nothing quite like the energy that can be created between a band and a sea of their fans.
So get out there and go get to know these people that you’ve got blasting on your ipod all the time! There are always great performances to be seen here at BU Central – including rapper Killer Mike’s upcoming set this Saturday at 9P.M.—and there are a ton of other awesome venues near the BU campus where you can always catch a show, including Paradise Rock Club, Brighton Music Hall, and House of Blues Boston.
For a more comprehensive list of upcoming live shows in the Boston area, be sure to check out websites such as Songkick, Tourfilter, or The Phoenix’s live music calendar.
Hope to see you at some shows!
Allison
p.s. Here’s the video for “The Ancestor” from Darlingside, so I don’t leave you all with a media-less post. These guys just played a sold-out show at Club Passim and seriously, seriously rock.
One of the biggest misconceptions that I’ve heard about Southerners regards the kinds of music that they listen to. If you ask anybody living below the Mason-Dixon line (yes, I suppose that you can also include Texas), they’ll present you with an array of artists and styles that reflects tastes not all that different from people living in the rest of the country. But if you ask anybody else (read: Yankees), the only kinds of music that we play down in the bayou are jazz, pickup-truck-and-beer country ballads, and banjo-pickin’ finger-lickin’ good ole’ bluegrass music.
Now, I’m not going to refute the fact that a lot of us think country and bluegrass are awesome (one of my favorite songs—”Callin’ Baton Rouge”—is by Garth Brooks, and I used to own a banjo. But that’s another story). However, many places in the South—especially where I’m from in New Orleans—produce bands that experiment with all styles of music, from indie to hip-hop, electronic, and rock. One of the most exciting musical trends that we’ve experienced in recent years has been New Orleans Bounce music, or just “Bounce” for short.
Bounce originated in New Orleans sometime between the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. For most of the time since then, it has been a phenomenon localized largely to New Orleans, but which eventually spread to other Southern urban centers such as Atlanta. Growing up during the early 2000’s, I remember DJ Jubilee’s “Get it Ready, Ready!” permeating virtually every school dance or Jewish Community Center sock hop (yes, we had those) that I attended. The song—still probably one of his biggest hits, and the song that everybody still requests when DJ Jubilee plays his monthly Bounce show at the popular La Maison music club—is a fast-paced, high-energy blend of repetitive beats and melodies. And like most Bounce songs, it is highly infectious.
One of the most important aspects of Bounce music is the call-and-response style that songs often use. In “Get it Ready, Ready!” Jubilee calls out dance-move directions to the audience the entire time (“Now walk it like a dog!”—trust me, you all want to see that one). The call-and-response separates Bounce from a lot of other music that I’ve heard because it is super interactive for the audience, and therefore super, super fun.
People in New Orleans eat this stuff up like it’s a Thanksgiving turkey. And, from what I can tell, people up here do, too. This past April I went to see Big Freedia—one of New Orleans’ most beloved Bounce artists—perform at Brighton Music Hall. I guarantee you that most of the people in that room had never been to a Bounce show before. But when Freedia got up there, people were so eager to shake their booties in front of everybody that they were running towards that stage like Ryan Gosling was waiting for them at the finish line.
Honestly, it’s kind of hard to fully describe the awesomeness of a Bounce show experience. It’s hip-hop on speed, it’s participation, it’s shaking your ass. But it’s also just kind of ridiculous. And that’s the best part. Even though Bounce knows this, it doesn’t give a crap, because Bounce just wants to have fun.
If you want to experience some Bounce goodness for yourself, make sure to head on down to Brighton Music Hall (again!) to see Nicky da B open for Tilly and the Wall on Friday, October 12 (you may purchase tickets by clickinghere).
This post just barely scratches the surface of the Bounce phenomenon, and there were a lot of parts that I wasn’t able to get to in order to give you a better picture of how it all began in the first place. Stay tuned to the BU Central blog if you want to hear more about Bounce and it’s rise to fame (or infamy)!
So it’s the first week of October and we all know what that means brown leaves, candy corn until your stomach hurts and amazing concerts!
Last March I had the great misfortune of missing one of my favorite bands, The Smith Westerns, play a sold out show at The Great Scott. But alas I’ve been gifted a second chance by the music gods (or my bosses who booked the show). What perfect timing too because these Chicago rockers always remind me of the glorious shift from summer into fall, probably as a result of their Dye It Blonde album cover.
After doing the festival rounds this summer The Smith Westerns are heading on over to BU Central Saturday October 22nd at 9 pm. So here’s a little preview of the sounds that will be shaking the GSU basement:
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.
37. The atomic number of rubidium. The number of plays William Shakespeare has written. Probably the amount of times I’ve eaten Chipotle in the past few months. But also, the number of concerts I have attended so far in 2010.
This doesn’t include festivals, because that would just get ridiculous, but it’s a pretty big number. Live music is something of a hobby for me, in case you couldn’t tell. There is just something amazing about being in the same room with an artist you admire. But when you see as many shows as I do, you have to keep a list of the best ones, the performances that went so far beyond your expectations that you leave the venue speechless.
Last year, a group of my friends and I decided to make a list of our top ten albums of 2009. The list also included 5 “discovery” albums, albums not released in 2009 that we found ourselves listening to over and over again, and also our top 5 shows of the year. That list probably took me longer to write than the final paper I was working on at the time.
So for this year, I’ve already started keeping track, and last weekend, I saw the fourth addition to my top 5 shows list.
Gayngs is a 23-person band made of of members of Bon Iver, Megafaun, Solid Gold, Andrew Bird’s band, and P.O.S. of Rhymesayers. The touring band is a little smaller, made up of about 9-10 people, depending on the location of the show. As a pretty huge Bon Iver/Justin Vernon fan, I immediately bought tickets to their show at the Paradise the day they went on sale.
The show was phenomenal, to say the very least. I somehow ended up in the front row, three feet directly in front of Justin Vernon. Seriously, I wanted to cry. There are very few words that properly describe this experience, so check out this video and these tracks.
