Blog Archives
Barnstar! Rocks Club Passim
Yes, the exclamation point is part of the band’s name – I like the POW! statement it makes (at least to me) about this terrific band.
Barnstar!
Barnstar! is a group of extremely talented local musicians playing bluegrass music. Read the rest of this entry
Club d’Elf Soars
Club d’Elf is an amazing ensemble that never seems to consist of the same members twice! I’ve seen them three times so far, and the only musician who has performed in all three shows is Mike Rivard, the bass and sintir player.
Mike Rivard
It is difficult, if not impossible, to describe Club d’Elf’s music in one word – other than fabulous! Read the rest of this entry
Willie Nile, A Great Storyteller
Willie Nile is one of the best singer-songwriters you don’t know, yet he’s been around long enough that he opened for The Who and recorded in the same studio at the same time as Yoko Ono and John Lennon.
Willie Nile, Johnny ‘Pie’ Pisano, and Peter Hoffman
Music maven that I am, I wasn’t familiar with Willie until a couple of years ago when I saw a picture of an elementary school friend playing with him. That was reason enough to check him out in a live performance. Now, I will see him every time he plays in the Boston area, especially if he’s at Club Passim.
Willie Nile
Ringing in 2014 With The Felice Brothers
In 2010, I started going to concerts on New Year’s Eve and it’s become a tradition that I intend to keep (as long as there are shows I’d like to see).
This year, the show was The Felice Brothers, who I’d seen open for Mumford & Sons, and The Low Anthem, who I’d never seen, at Brighton Music Hall.
Both Bands Together on Stage at Midnight
An Evening of Excellent Downhome Blues Was Just What I Needed
I was in the mood for some blues last night – the holidays have been quite stressful this year and I hoped that hearing the blues would lift my spirits. It did that and more!
I first saw Sue Foley perform almost twenty years ago at Antone’s in Austin, Texas, and loved her. I saw her again at a blues festival in New Hampshire about eleven years ago and not since. I had never heard of Peter Karp, but figured since he and Sue have partnered, he had to be good. Johnny D’s is quite possibly my favorite venue in the Boston area and was the perfect place to host this terrific blues band.
Peter and Sue
An Overview of Boston-Area Music Venues
I thought this would be a good time to post some lists. One I’ve been thinking about for a while is to my ten favorite shows of the year. That’s going to be a hard list to make since I’ve seen about 125 shows so far.
In this first list, I’ll tell you about many of the venues where I’ve seen shows, and what I like as well as dislike about them. This will be in alphabetical order so as not to imply that the top of the list is my favorite venue – I’m also forcing you to read the entire post! Aha, an ulterior motive!
This list is not complete because there are venues at which I have not attended shows – Iron Horse in Northampton, The Center for the Arts in Natick, T.T. the Bear’s and The Middle East in Cambridge. I have also not included music festivals because I don’t believe anyone attends a festival because it’s held at a particular venue or outdoor space. Read the rest of this entry
Concert Announcements? Surely You Jest (Don’t Call Me Shirley)!
Here is is, another weekly post about concerts announced this week. There weren’t many shows announced that caused me to say ‘wow’ this week.
Marc Cohn at the Somerville Theatre – Thursday, February 13
Nicole Atkins at Brighton Music Hall – Friday, February 14
Brett Dennen at The Royale Boston – Friday, February 28
Tony Bennett at Providence Performing Arts Center – Saturday, March 8
Lorde at The Opheum – Friday, March 14
The Melodic (I’ve never heard of them but the description sounds very interesting) at The Narrows Center for the Arts – Sunday, March 30
Simon Townsend at The Narrows Center for the Arts – Friday, April 11
Alejandro Escovedo at The Narrows Center for the Arts – Saturday, April 19
Delbert McClinton at The Narrows Center for the Arts – Tuesday, April 22
Sherwood Forest Never Looked Better!
I love good theatre – I grew up in New York where there was never a dearth of quality shows to see. Boston’s theatre scene is on a much smaller scale, but one things we do have that’s high-quality is the American Repertory Theater. The shows being produced this season range from the story of LBJ’s first year as president to a production of ‘The Tempest’ with Teller doing magic. The current production, which I saw in preview, is ‘The Heart of Robin Hood.’
This play is a re-imagining of the legend of Robin Hood – I am not going to tell the story because I don’t want to spoil it for any of you who may see it. And see it you should! Read the rest of this entry
A Night of Unexpected Enjoyment
You know how ‘they’ say that if you have no expectations, you won’t have any disappointments? I try, but don’t always succeed, to approach every art experience that way.
Last Thursday, I scored a couple of tickets to see Chris Trapper, who I have seen perform a few times, and other bands that were completely unfamiliar to me, at Red Star Union, a venue I first heard about a week ago.
More Excellent Concert Announcements!
The good show announcements never end!
Gandalf Murphy and the Slambovian Circus of Dreams at Bull Run Restaurant – Friday, January 24
Bettye LaVette at Johnny D’s – Tuesday, February 4
Girls Guns and Glory/Sarah Borges at The Sinclair – Friday, February 7
Lake Street Dive at Narrows Center for the Arts – Saturday, February 8
Lake Street Dive at The Sinclair – Friday, February 21
St. Vincent at House of Blues – Thursday, February 27
Habib Koite at Paradise Rock Club – Friday, March 7
Barrence Whitfield at Johnny D’s – Friday, March 14
Lady Lamb the Beekeeper (supporting Typhoon) at The Sinclair – Saturday, March 22
Tinariwen at Paradise Rock Club – Tuesday, March 25
Mike Gordon at House of Blues – Friday, March 28
Carolina Chocolate Drops at Somerville Theatre – Saturday, March 29
Johnny Clegg at Somerville Theatre – Friday, April 4
Hurray for the Riff Raff at The Sinclair – Saturday, April 5
Roomful of Blues at Bull Run Restaurant – Saturday, October 4
suze reviews the blues 