show review: diarrhea planet at the sinclair

the t-shirt i bought last night/the best t-shirt i'll ever own

gather 'round, kids ... let me tell you the story of a band called diarrhea planet, who have inspired air guitarists and drummers, made uptight prudes scowl at the mere mention of their name, and melted faces across the country.

i first discovered the six-piece revelation back in 2011ish, along with some of my other favorite nashville acts like natural child, JEFF the brotherhood, and pujol, but didn't witness their epic live show until last year. they played great scott, which is the size of a shoebox, and my friend and i were among the ... oh, four or so women in attendance. after having my mind completely blown by the four-guitar assault, i knew i couldn't go a full year without seeing them again.

this time around, they moved to my favorite venue in the area (the sinclair) and i was pleased to see that the female contingent was higher (though it was mostly just dutiful girlfriends ... sigh).

i arrived at the tail end of the first opener, local band salem wolves. they had great stage presence and solid chops, but weren't quite my cup of tea music-wise. straightforward, bad religion-esque punk would probably be the best way to describe them.

next up was western medication, a fellow nashville outfit and possibly my new favorite band. live, the vocals made me think of king tuff and white reaper, but not so much now that i'm listening to their album. and i still can't put my finger on what the music itself reminds me of. smith westerns, maybe? stone roses? it's driving me insane. regardless, i'm a big fan.




(update: i just read a youtube comment after i typed that paragraph about how they sound like smith westerns. can someone pay me for this?)

and finally, the main event ... the one, the only, the planet of diarrhea. if you haven't had the pleasure of experiencing one of their concerts, i can only liken it to a 45-minute roller coaster ride of stage-diving, fist-pumping, guitar-shredding goodness that leaves you wondering where you are and what just happened to you in its aftermath-- in the best way. the fact that nearly all of the members trade off vocal duties makes for an exciting and dynamic show as well. at one point, i was covered in beer (and god knows what else) and could not care less because i was headbanging and screaming "STREET RIP!" the power of diarrhea planet, man.

this wasn't my first rodeo, so i knew to stay as far as i could from the front of the crowd, where punk bros-a-plenty moshed the night away. 

guitarist jordan even got in on the action towards the end, simultaneously surfing and playing. siiiick.

if you're still not sold, i'll leave you with one of my favorite d-planet videos, a homage to nickelodeon classic pete and pete. aw yeah.

show review: walk off the earth at the paradise

over the past three years, some of you might have heard me raving about walk off the earth, a canadian indie band that became famous with a youtube cover of gotye's "somebody that i used to know" that featured all five band members playing one guitar. while it was undoubtedly amazing, it was their back catalog of innovative cover videos that launched me into full-blown obsession mode for a few months. like this reggae-fied rendition of wiz khalifa's "roll up:"



i had the pleasure of seeing them live in orlando back in 2012, and they put on a killer show, so i was really stoked about the chance to see them last night in boston as they toured in front of their upcoming album, sing it all away. it was fantastic!

they played a perfect mix of original songs from their last album REVO, cover tunes -- including pharrell's "happy" and madonna's "material girl" -- and of course, tracks from the new record. as this is their second major-label release, i was curious if and how their sound would change. i was pleasantly surprised to find that while they've certainly gotten a little more adventurous with melodies and tempo, they still have that buoyant, exciting energy that i love.

most of all, you can feel the passion that WOTE has for playing music, and get the sense that they'd be just as happy playing on a street corner as they would to a completely packed rock club. plus, the entire band just oozes talent, and all of the members switched instruments throughout the night with ease. sidenote: gianni and sarah, two of the lead vocalists, are kind of the cutest rock 'n roll couple ever, and i love them. also, sarah is super-pregnant with baby #2, and she rocked the hell out of this little black number. get it, girl!

my favorite part of the evening, without a doubt, was the encore. of course, they had to reenact the performance that got them their big break. but halfway through the song, they switched into a flawless medley of covers, including miley cyrus' "wrecking ball," "rude" by magic!, and avicii's "wake me up."

following that, they launched into a perfectly sunny song from their last album, called "summer vibe." beach balls were tossed into the crowd, random people came up onstage to dance, and general merriment ensued.

basically, a walk off the earth concert is like a giant beach party where everyone is singing and dancing and smiling and just feelin' fine. i haven't had that much fun at a show in forever. if you like music and happiness, go see them!

around town: the barbazons at the middle east

last night was one of those rare occasions where i truly enjoyed every single one of the bands that played. if you weren't there, y'all missed out on a killer time. so lemme tell you about it.

ATLANTIC THRILLS

solid garage rock jams from providence. the lead singer reminded me of tim lincecum and so i just stared at him the entire time, basically.

BEWARE THE DANGERS OF A GHOST SCORPION!

oh my god, i can't remember a time i've been so energized and excited by an opening band that i hadn't heard of before. like, legit, i kept mouthing "holy shit!" during every tune. i'll be honest -- when they took the stage, all donning black tees with scorpions on them and black bandanas over their mouths, i rolled my eyes. two songs into their set, and i'm frantically texting my show companion -- who hadn't arrived yet -- "this band is KILLIN' IT. get over here." not a word was uttered nor sung the entire time, but i was totally captivated by their aggressive, slightly sinister, surf rock sound. i'll let the music speak for itself:




DOUG TUTTLE

and then for something completely different, doug tuttle and his band (which included apollo sunshine's jesse gallagher) took the stage for some super chill psychedelic tunes, bruh. having consumed two mixed drinks at this point, i swayed back and forth pretty much the entire time and think i said "i want to smoke a joint to this."  loved their whole vibe. listen and you'll see what i mean.




THE BARBAZONS

who i actually came to see in the first place! my favorite local band, these guys and gals were known as the fagettes until about a month ago when they made the decision to adopt a less controversial name. anyways, it's always a bit of a throwback for me to see them, since frontman ryan major used to play guitar in this '70s-style punk band called red invasion that i used to go see in high school. jesus, i sound old. :(

in addition to introducing their new name, the barbazons were also celebrating the release of their new LP, avec plaisir. it came out on wednesday, and i think i've listened to it about three times already. it's a great listen from beginning to end, but "on drugs" is my standout favorite.



they have amazing energy and their '60s-inspired, jangly tunes just make you wanna daaaance. there were tambourines and maracas and saxophones. by the end of the show, ryan was probably drunk and definitely shirtless, venturing into the crowd while posturing and posing with total mick jagger swagger.

best show i've been to in a dog's age!

around town: new highway hymnal and hallelujah the hills at the paramount center

i decided to make it a point to see more live music this year (like i used to back in my high school and college days), and i've gotta say, it's greatly improved my life so far. there's just something about the experience of seeing a band -- whether they're local garage rockers or an up-and-coming indie group -- that is so life-affirming and exciting and fun. last night was one such experience that was particularly unique, and i haven't blogged in like, foreva-eva, so i figured i'd write about it.

the show was apparently the first of its kind at this small theatre space in the paramount near downtown crossing in boston. this theatre typically hosts, y'know, plays and artsy performances rather than raucous rock shows, so my buddy brendan and i weren't quite sure what to expect when we passed through the doors and were greeted by a fancy-looking bro that directed us to the show upstairs. the best way i can (and did) describe the venue: "this is like, out of a movie. one of those teen rom-coms where the main characters go to the local hot spot to see some really cool band play." between the exposed brick, the cute makeshift bar in the corner, and little tables with black tablecloths scattered throughout the room, it oozed classiness. i dug it. but onto the show!

new highway hymnal, a local psych-shoegaze-garage trio, opened. i'd seen them open for bass drum of death a couple of years ago and was super-impressed by their musical prowess since they all look soooo young. their songs have all of the things i love: fuzz, distortion, male/female vocals, and great melodies. also, the female bassist was rocking these awesome ripped black tights that i really wish i could pull off in my daily life.

let's talk about the crowd for a second too, because it was kind of weird. it was a mixed bag of emerson students, cutesy couples, and older dudes with beards that rivaled brendan's. we were fascinated with one of these dudes in particular, who was engrossed in his smartphone for much of the night, and made up wild stories about how he was obviously sexting a honey he met on a dating website for grateful dead fans. obviously.

oh, yeah, hallelujah the hills! i'd also seen them once before, and actually discovered them in kind of a strange way. i used to intern for lead singer ryan walsh's brother right before i moved to boston, and he mentioned them after i told him about my plans. i immediately fell in love with their triumphant group vocals, odd lyrics, and songs that you can't help but sing along to, like "wave backwards to massachusetts." they have a super upbeat energy and funny onstage banter; you can just tell they're having a great time. 

at one point, ryan regaled us with a story about how he was on the train during one of the snowpocalypse storms. while trying to point at something, he inadvertently stuck his finger into a stranger's mouth ("full insertion.") he assured us that, even though we were breaking in this new concert space and it might feel a bit strange, nothing could be more awkward than that moment. 

as you can see, they also had this running montage of video clips playing on a screen throughout the show. according to ryan, it was supposed to be a "pink floyd-type thing." trippy, mayne. sometimes it was amusingly distracting, but it certainly added to the whole quirky vibe of the night. 

OH, and i wanted to steal this amazing white light-up arrow that they had onstage (in the bottom right of the picture above). i was eyeing it the whole night and i don't think i can rest until i find it or a reasonable replica. holler at yo' girl if you can assist with this mission.

unique new york

last night, i returned from a weekend trip to new york city...as always, it was a blast. i hadn't been in approximately 3 years, which is WAY too long considering that like 75% of my friends live there. so, a few months ago when my good friend gleni asked me to be her friend-date to a superchunk show in september, i figured it was a fantastic excuse to make my way back to NYC. highlights & pictures below!

immediately upon my arrival, i navigated the subway with a nice british woman who was on my boltbus from boston, and met up with my loooongtime friend jacob (seriously, kickin' it since sixth grade). as an appropriate first stop, we grabbed some hipster lattes and macchiatos at gorilla coffee in park slope and i felt really uncool.

after a brisket and potato salad dinner at dale talde's brooklyn BBQ joint pork slope, i enjoyed some whiskey sours and manned the jukebox with gleni at this great little bar next door called the high dive. they had all these homemade mixes, so my selections included urge overkill's "sister havana," brian jonestown massacre's "vacuum boots," and the replacements' "bastards of young." nailed it, even if we were the only ones paying attention.

on saturday, i had a mini-reunion and mega-ramen at momofuku noodle bar in the east village, with three of my friends from marist. pork buns and spicy miso ramen 'til i die, basically. it was lovely to see everyone, and the food was delicious! 

after lunch, gleni and i strolled through washington square park, where we saw a rainbow (top of the post), and this really cool dude who was entertaining passersby with marionettes he had made. in the second picture, the woman standing with him is his inspiration for the marionette! it was awesome and uniquely new york. 

then, we strolled through the west village and went to the big gay ice cream shop, which really needs no explanation. i got the "bea arthur," and gleni got the "salty pimp." solid.

we pressed on to the DUMBO art festival (that stands for down under the manhattan bridge overpass and has nothing to do with the disney elephant). it was a gorgeous day, and there were some really cool pieces!

before we headed to the show that night, we refueled with some kiiiller iced coffee at caffe vita on the lower east side. we were in search of a bite to eat (which ended up being this incredible sesame pancake with peking duck at vanessa's dumpling house) when i saw the sign below and just had to take a picture.

while i was trying unsuccessfully to get a good shot, this kid comes up to me and asks if i would take a picture with him. i did it, asking if it was for a dare or something. 

"sort of," he says. "are you in college?"

i laugh. "no! i'm old." 

"you don't look old!"

he comes back a minute later with his little posse, asking if i'll do him a big favor. 

"will you give me a kiss on the cheek?"

"it's for a skateboarding video!" his long-haired friend pipes up.

clearly, i HAD to do it at this point, right?

beaming, he walks triumphantly away, yelling, "you made my night! NEW YORK, baby!"

i'm so glad i could make this young man's cougar dreams come true, but i just know this photo is going to resurface someday. or next week. 

finally, the original purpose of this weekend...SUPERCHUNK! i had seen these guys before a few years ago, and once again, they did not disappoint.

the best part of superchunk shows is that the audience is literally all 40-something dudes trying to relive their early '90s glory days. i don't really know why. ladies, superchunk is great! listen to them. anyways, there is never a line for the women's room, and most of the guys are all married 'n junk so the creep factor is minimal. but seriously, you haven't lived 'til you've shouted along to "slack MFer" with a bunch of balding, middle-aged men. you just haven't. there were, however, 3 women in their late 30s in front of us having the BEST time, and gleni and i immediately saw ourselves in 10 years.

eleanor friedberger from the fiery furnaces came out to sing a few tunes, and i think there were 2 encores. it was crazy and fun.

we stopped for a nightcap on the way home at this laid-back bar called the magician, which had a great vibe. one of my favorite things about new york is that i can never see it all when i visit. i'll be baaaack!

around town: artbeat somerville & outside the box festival

i'm relishing the chance to actually spend a weekend around here, since i was back in NH last weekend, going to cape cod next weekend, and then back to NH the weekend after that. where is this summer going, guys?! i don't like this one bit.

anyways, i've been trying to jam-pack all of the boston goodness into one weekend that i can. currently coming to you live from peet's coffee in lexington centre (yeah, that lexington, where the revolutionary war started?). it's a beautiful little town with lots of shopping, dining, people that probably eat organic, people that ride bikes, and ADORABLE DOGS. it's pretty sleepy for a twenty-something, however, so i feel like living 3 miles away in arlington is like the best of both worlds. 

so, yeah, lexington. i'm going to walk around later and maybe hit on a historical reenactor and who knows what else. but let's talk about saturday!

i'd made plans to meet a friend for lunch at dave's fresh pasta in davis square somerville, but didn't realize that the place had like, 2 seats, so we moseyed over to orleans just down the street. it was decent, but they were only serving brunch, and you know when you just REALLY want a sandwich? that's where i was at. but french toast always has the power to transcend my food mood, so it was fine.

we decided to go to the vintage store buffalo exchange afterwards, not realizing that some random festival was happening. but it was kind of cool! there were people dancing to gangnam style, a parade with tuba players and people on stilts, and other such whimsy. i realized shortly after that this was "artbeat," an annual festival in somerville. here's a few random pictures from that:

weird hippie tent

does anyone know if this cow has always been here? 'cause i've never noticed it.

parade!

AND THEN. i had some time to kill before the concert on boston common, so i decided to stroll in the 95-degree heat from park street station to the prudential center. i'm walking down boylston, minding my own beeswax, when i see like a hundred 13 year-old girls standing in front of the mandarin oriental hotel. "who are you waiting for?" i inquire. "BIEBER!!!" about 3 of them scream at me. i waited around for a bit in case sir biebs dangled a baby out of his suite window or something, but no such luck.

bitches waiting for bieber

maybe his tour bus? maybe not? the world may never know. or care.

on a serious note, it was incredibly moving to see that life is back to normal after the bombings, but that the memory is still fresh and thoughts and prayers still abound:

okay, so finally onto the good stuff. what i'd been waiting all day for. one of the highlights of my '90s-loving life. a FREE concert with buffalo tom and the lemonheads (oh, and the mighty mighty bosstones too, but...not a huge fan and didn't stay for them, sorry not sorry). this was all part of this awesome, free, weeklong music & arts festival called "outside the box". just walking around the common, i pretty much cried tears of joy because i'm so happy to be back. you'll have to drag me kicking and screaming away to get me to leave again, man. yeah, the winters are miserable, but when it's good -- like yesterday -- it's just so. friggin'. good.

buffalo tom was awesome! they played "soda jerk" and i danced, and then evan dando (lead singer of the lemonheads) came out and sang with them. somewhere, angela chase was smiling.

then the lemonheads played. can we talk about how evan dando is still totally dreamy at 40-whatever he is? and still totally on drugs, probably? and wearing long-sleeved shirts when it's almost 100 degrees out?

if i could put emojis in blog posts, the heart-eyes one would go here.

the radio station chick literally introduced them as "the ever-still-hot evan dando and the lemonheads." ouch! 

all in all, an EXCELLENT day.