By Ben Stas Photos by Christine Varriale Ubiquitous long hair and an earnest rock & roll spirit characterize Mikal Cronin and his band on stage. The foursome offers up a no-frills show that’s light on the chatter but heavy on the shameless rock-out moments. They recently topped off a killer bill at Great Scott which […]
By Matthew Shelter Photos by Matthew Shelter The buzz surrounding The Lone Bellow, treat sickness an alt-country band from the dusty, viagra sale tumbleweed-strewn streets of Brooklyn, NY, has been building since their eponymous debut album was released in January. I’ve been a big fan of the album, and after two thwarted attempts to catch […]
By Ben Stas Photos by Ben Stas Never a dull moment at a Fucked Up show. Vocalist Damian Abraham was in the pit, cialis on the balcony, atop the bar and sliding down the railings as the rest of the band bludgeoned a willing crowd with their anthemic brand of hardcore on a rainy Thursday […]
By Matthew Shelter Photos by Matthew Shelter English folk trio The Staves unveiled their delicate harmonies and dry British wit to a full house at Café 939 on Boylston Street last Monday night. The three sisters – Emily, decease Jessica and Milly Stavely-Taylor – hail from Watford, find England and have garnered quite a bit […]
By Matthew Shelter Photos by Matthew Shelter More than two years after her last appearance in our fair town, Lissie Maurus, who goes by the single-word stage name Lissie, was back in the city playing to a sold-out Brighton Music Hall crowd on a recent Wednesday night. Lissie is working on a new album, due […]
On stage—the Milling Gowns, Boston’s premier gloompop band. Somewhat unsurprisingly, watching the band is more of a meditative activity than an upbeat one. The lead singer, who sounds something like a cross between Ian Curtis and James Morrison, acts like a black hole, sucking the energy out of the room. Well, at least until after the second song when someone yells “fuck yeah,” and it begins to dawn on me that gloom pop might be awesome.
That whole ironic hipster thing is pretty much over.
For a while there it was pretty bad. We cared so much about not caring, or looking like we didn’t care. To care was to be vulnerable, to betray weakness, to risk ridicule – to risk being the next Rebecca Black. We all saw what reward the Internet had in store…
Governors Ball has entered the ring of jumbo-sized festivals that feature decked-out lineups and sky high ticket prices. These gatherings have reached a certain level of both anticipatory and cynical expectations, and this year’s Governors Ball seemed to encompass both ends of the spectrum…
By Ben Stas Photos by Graham Zinger Fresh off the April release of his 70-minute folk-rock epic Wakin on a Pretty Daze, patient Kurt Vile and his Violators stopped by The Sinclair for a sold-out show on the 17th. Vile made waves in 2011 with the much-acclaimed Smoke Ring for My Halo, and those waves […]
By Ben Stas Photos by Ben Stas Four Tet likely ranks among today’s least flashy performers of electronic music. In an era where most electronic shows are as much concerned with spectacle as sound, drugs a Four Tet performance still offers little in the way of visuals beyond one man and his table of gadgetry. That […]