Neon Indian @ The Paradise 5.11.12
You know the lead singer of a band is doing something right when two girls, in different intervals, climb up on stage in an attempt to grope him. Alan Palomo of Neon Indian was that singer at The Paradise on May 11. He handled the persistent women by politely smirking and wiggling free from their grasp while simultaneously adjusting synthesizers and wailing into the microphone. I don’t know whether this… continue reading
M83 @ House of Blues Boston 5.09.12
Apparently, Messier 83 has bass for days. M83 greeted a packed house with a barrage of neon beams, analogue synths, costumed cape-wearing wolves and ear-deafening bass during their performance at Boston’s House of Blues on May 9. Swedish band, I Break Horses, opened for M83 and performed in the same vein as the headlining group: breathy vocals from Maria Lindén and Fredrik Balck accompanied pounding bass lines supplied by their… continue reading
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros @ Roseland Ballroom 5.9.12
I’ll be honest and admit that the first time I heard “Home,” it was not sung Alexander and Jade of Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros. No, rather, a little girl and her father performed the song in what would soon become a viral YouTube video. Intrigued by the poetic lyrics, I looked into Edward Sharpe and took quite a liking to the band’s debut album Up From Below. So… continue reading
The Shins with Real Estate @ The Tower Theater 5.3.12
It is difficult to predict what James Mercer, master of the three-minute indie pop song and front man of The Shins, will do next. Two years after the 2007 release of the band’s Wincing the Night Away, he effectively fired keyboardist Marty Crandall and drummer Jesse Sandoval, leaving fans confused as to the future of The Shins. In September of 2009, he formed the project Broken Bells with Danger Mouse…. continue reading
Fun. w/ Miniature Tigers @ House Of Blues Boston 4.21.12
What’s the best way to describe a Fun. show? Well, it’s a ton of fun. The band hit the House of Blues on Saturday night playing to a sold out crowd. After the recent success of their latest single, “We Are Young,” I was expecting the crowd to be unknowing of the band’s other music, but boy was I wrong. Every person in the crowd was singing along, to each… continue reading
Communion Tour: Austin to Boston @ Cafe 939, 3.31.12
As evidenced by the tour name, Boston was the last stop for a group of artists from Communion Records, a U.K. label co-founded by Ben Lovett of Mumford & Sons. The tour started with a showcase at South by Southwest, then continued north by northeast in a caravan of Volkswagen camper vans. The show was packed full of eager listeners, with most waiting to see headliner Ben Howard. The audience… continue reading
Of Monsters and Men w/ Lay Low @ House of Blues, 4.7.12
Yellow stage lights illuminated hands waving Icelandic flags in a packed House of Blues on Saturday. Some college students may not have heard of the Icelandic group Of Monsters and Men, but those who have constitute a loyal following. These fans supported the sextet – and an accompanying trumpeter – when they played in Boston, following stops in Philadelphia and New York City. The show began at 7 p.m. with… continue reading
Wild Flag @The Paradise 3.31.12
Wild Flag is the favorite band that you thought you were born a generation too late to find. What many are claiming to be a super group (with members of Sleater-Kinney, Helium, Quasi, and The Minders) always prove their own with one anthem after another. This time around, the band offered some solid hope of a new album. Four new songs were ripped through, including “Winter Pair” and “Nothing”, but… continue reading
Other Lives @ Great Scott 2.16.12
I’m not, but I wish I was one of the people to whom Other Lives was something more familiar than “The Band That Will Tour With Radiohead Later.” And no, I don’t mean I wish I knew them as “The Band That Toured With Bon Iver Earlier.” The Oklahoma City 5-piece seems to have struck it rich with their knack for getting selected to support indie and alternative music’s biggest… continue reading
CULTS @ PARADISE 1.21.12
The rush of a sold out show for such a new band might have been the reason for the massive line of early shivering fans outside the venue. Giddy excitement was written all over many faces, but these Cults fans were in for two unexpected openers to say the least. Dirty Fences walked on with the tasseled leather jackets of a bike gang and a 80s punk sound. Pumping fists… continue reading
Avicii @ Pier 94 12.31.11
Heaven has been depicted as a place of perfection, a world of utmost bliss where problems cease to exist and all of the world’s greatest questions are answered. It may not be kosher to make the comparison but I’m having a hard time illustrating Avicii on New Years Eve any other way. The Swedish sensation, Tim Bergling, has been at the forefront of the most recent movement of electronic/house music. … continue reading