Friday, February 26, 2010

FRI 2/26: Art, Americana, Garage, Dr Horrible, Rock, Comedy


I wish I could complain about the weather today after a tree branch and a cable fell on my 89 bus out of Davis last night. We only stopped for 15 to 20 minutes before the fire department took care of it and the branch smashed up another car. Pretty cool...

Happy Friday!

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FRI 2/26

4pm to 6pm
"Combat Paper Project": Opening Reception
at President's Gallery, Tower Bldg, about 621 Huntington Ave, Boston (MassArt campus)
FREE

Talk about cathartic! Veterans take their combat uniforms apart and turn it into paper to create art. If you haven't heard about Combat Paper, I read this article last year.

Some 'combat papermakers' will attend the opening.

I wish I knew exactly where this gallery is, but I recall the Tower lobby has a map/directory...

FRI 2/26 (& SAT 2/27)

7:10pm
The New England Americana Festival
at Church, 69 Kilmarnock St, Boston (Fenway)
$10 / 21+

12:15pm -- Highway Ghosts
11:10pm -- Girls, Guns, and Glory
10:30pm -- Coyote Kolb
9:50pm -- The Rationales
9:10pm -- Golden West Motor Lodge
8:30pm -- John Colvert
7:50pm -- Route .44
7:10pm -- They Will Hate Us
Whether it rough 'n ready country a la Merle Haggard or buzzing hurly-burly somewhere between Crazy Horse & The Kinks or dirt-road roots-rock, the twangy-rock love fest continues with 8 more bands on the second of three night. It's a solid night with a big, meaty middle including The Rationales, Coyote Kolb, and '08 Rock N Roll Rumble winners Girls Guns & Glory.

FRI 2/26

7:30pm
"Geezer's Garage Nite"
at Granite Rail Tavern, 16 Cottage Ave, Quincy (near Quincy Center)
$5 suggested

Feat: Preacher Jack (8:30pm), Geezer Deluxe (11:45pm), Kenne Highland & Friends (11pm), Ten Foot Pole Cats (10:15pm), MeteorMight (9:30pm), Joey Fingers (8pm), Bayou Boy (7:30pm)

I personally love hanging out and drinking in Quincy. I'm confident that I've even been to the Granite Rail on a pub crawl, so it's difficult for me to remember much about it. The main attraction for me is the belated birthday party for Preacher Jack who turned 68 a couple weeks ago, which means he's being rockin' the piano for more than 50 years. He's a great guy and a wonder to see.

The rest of the night should be a good bunch of blues and rock for hanging out and drinking in Quincy.

FRI 2/26 (& SAT 2/27)

8pm
"Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog"
at School of Education Auditorium, 2 Silber Way, Boston (BU campus)
$7

Do you remember Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog? It was really cool a couple years ago, and I actually watched the whole thing on YouTube last night. Even after the hype, it was pretty darn good and maybe the best web-only production I've ever seen. When Joss Whedon spearheads a team to create a villain-superhero musical that stars Neil Patrick Harris and Nathan Fillion, how it can it be that bad?

These intrepid BU students will stage their own production this weekend. The original run time is about 45 minutes; it should stretch well past an hour with any interemissions between acts, and they will probably require more transition during the performance.

This ain't Shakespeare, but it's is a charming story of the love triangle between Dr. Horrible, Captain Hammer, and the lovely Penny.

Also SAT 2/27 at 2pm and 8pm; and there will be "a sing-along at the matinee performance"

FRI 2/26

8pm
Logan 5 & the Runners, LipTease, Brite Lite Brite
at Cafe 939, 939 Boylston St, Boston (Back Bay)
$8

It's kind of strange to hear this kind of rhythmic, body-moving music at a venue with no booze, but there are many bars nearby. You can practically stumble out of the Cactus Club into Cafe 939. Heck, you might even have some ecstasy...

It's a electro/synthy night to various degrees. Logan 5 & the Runners are the reason why I feel like posting this gig. They've got a driving, glammy Brit-rock vibe with an array of vintage and sly vocals. It's like having a really good-looking buddy who dresses really well and likes New Order, but he's also a rugby player for example.

I'm guessing L5ATR might go on last with Liptease pump out funky electro with live drums that reminds me of Daft Punk minus the digitized vocals. Brite Lite Brite have received a positive mention in Spin magazine for their breathy, chick-singer acoustic-electronica.

FRI 2/26

The Appreciation Post (Midnight), The Organ Beats (11pm), The Bynars (10pm), Art Decade (9pm)
at TT the Bear's Place, 10 Brookline St, Cambridge (Central Sq)
$10 / 18+

One of my favorite sounds is when you take loud, fuzzy powerpop and add lots of cool keyboards to the mix. We've got a few bands like that in town, and two excellent examples are The Appreciation Post and The Bynars. The Appreciation Post are celebrating a new EP called "Work/Sleep", which can be downloaded for free. (Do it!) Someone pointed out that the cover is an homage to the cover of "Action & Action" by The Get Up Kids. Hey, both look pretty cool to me.

It's little ironic, but I don't think there's a keyboard player in The Organ Beats. The band name is still fits the theme, their sound leans more rock than pop and you can't go wrong when Noelle (from Damone) is singing. Art Decade has got some pleasant indie-rock too.

FRI 2/26

9:30pm
Union Square Round Table: "Starch Party"
at PA's Lounge, 345 Somerville Ave, Somerville (Union Sq)
$8 -- 21+ / $11 -- 18+

There's a lot you can do the "Starch Party" theme. There's a lot humor that can be found in potatoes, and an overstarched shirt is a classic comedy element... Or I could be totally wrong.

This is a pretty fun and funny way to spend an occasional Friday. You may get a feeling that the weird, talented guy down the street has assembled a bunch of his friends to put on a variety show in a basement. It's not a basement, and there's an adjoining bar.

Some of the expected performers: Chris Braiotta, TD Sidell, Ben Dryer, Keira Horowitz, Nick Branigan, Caitlin Roy, Erik P. Kraft, Gretchen Gavett, Katie McCarthy

For the second show in a row, Patrick Bryant of WMBR's "Subject to Change"; he does this thing called Somerville Speakout, which is readings of real (I think) complaint letters.

Musical guest: Banditas give some easygoing rootsiness and female harmonies.

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