Is it just me, nurse or is Boston culture getting more musically oriented by the minute? Maybe it’s just Allston Pudding’s fabulous coverage of the scene. Yeah, that’s gotta be it. Regardless, the latest cool music thing in Boston took place last Saturday, at Southie’s playfully cool new temporary park/art installation/home of many an Instagram selfie, The Lawn on D. Curated by local music blog Vanyaland, the festival, dubbed “Sound of Our Town”, featured artists from rapper Dutch ReBelle to rising alt-rock stars and Pitchfork darlings Speedy Ortiz. Their common thread? All of the performers from Saturday’s lineup have roots in Boston.
As part of this celebration of our hometown scene, the fest also announced the nominees for the annual Boston Music Awards, of which (ahem, ahem), we are one.
In keeping with the spirit of handing out a bunch of awards, I’d like to take this time to deliver some awards of my own for the various characters, mishaps, and ever-amazing tunes to come out of the day at Sound of Our Town.
Best disaster – Torrential downpour, Mother Nature
Thanks, Mother Nature, for pouring your fury down upon us in the form of a ridiculously rain-filled day on Saturday. I’ll admit, at first, I was pretty peeved at the obstacle course of puddles laid out for me on the way to the venue, but once I got there, it occurred to me that because of the rain, I got to see a full lineup of amazing bands from the very front row, with ample room behind me to dance. Note to self: you can always count on the weather to keep the flower-crowned fairweathers at home, and it will always be awesome because of that. If you don’t know what I mean by “flower-crowned fairweathers,” here’s a little educational video.
Best band with a 26-minute song in their repertoire – Quilt
If I had to pick one band from Sound of Our Town that didn’t get the audience it deserved for weather reasons, it’s Quilt. They have the jammy riffs and MP3 kilobytes to match the likes of Phish and moe., but their songs are much more easily accessible and crafted with a keen pop sensibility in mind. If you’ve dipped your toes in the jam band waters, but don’t fancy getting swallowed by the wave, swing by a Quilt show next time you’re in town—they’ll blow you away.
Best selfie location – The light-up Cheerio-shaped swings
In the words of the Lawn On D page, “’Swing Time’ is the highly anticipated interactive lighting-enabled swing-set from award-winning architects Eric Höweler and J. Meejin Yoon of Höweler + Yoon Architecture.” In my words, they’re awesome swings shaped like O’s that light up and sway gently in the wind, or not so gently in a torrential storm. And (lucky for you), they’re still on the Lawn for you to selfie to your heart’s content! Hurry though, this “installation” will be taken down come the end of October.
Best band that’s coming back in a few weeks – Speedy Ortiz
Speedy Ortiz put on a rip-roaring set through the rain, and just when I thought I couldn’t get enough, I remembered they’re coming back in a few weeks to the Great Scott supporting Ex Hex. See you there?
Best facilities you’ll want around after you go to the bar – Boston Convention Center
What can I say? I was expecting port-a-potties a la Boston Calling, but the fest just directed people to the neighboring Boston Convention Center. 10 out of 10, would bathroom there again.
Most weather-resistant – Eli “Paperboy” Reed
Seriously, if there’s one guy whose parade is figuratively impossible to rain on (sorry, Mother Nature), it’s Eli “Paperboy” Reed. The Brookline native and his band of merry musicians paid no mind to the weather-soaked crowd and dwindling temperature—their brassy brand of soul had me tapping my foot so hard I thought it was going to fall off.
Best socks – Aimee Mann
No one could beat Aimee in all her polka-dotted glory on Saturday night. Your move, Ted Leo.
