Zed equals zee is back in 02139, hurrah! Postings will be light this week, thanks to Verizon deciding they need an entire week to turn the phone service on in my apartment, but I’m psyched to return to a bunch of zed equals zee local faves doing live shows. Tomorrow night (Thursday, August 6th), The Main Drag [myspace] is headlining at the Middle East Upstairs, and The Lights Out are playing with The Divorced at TT the Bear‘s (and if you’re looking for a few seconds of fame, The Lights Out will be shooting a music video at the gig). And on Saturday night, The Motion Sick will be part of the Third Annual 08.08 Party, also at the Middle East Up. And there’s a bunch of shows on my calendar for the second half of the month (like Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling and Gene Dante and the Future Starlets). And I’m really, really looking forward to the musical and community experience of One Night Band, presented by Boston Band Crush, on August 29. It’s good to be home!
Day 6 of the road trip: Toronto, ON to Cambridge, MA!
Okay, so now it’s your turn. What songs remind you of Boston? I wrote about several when I was in town last December, but I’m sure that, if you’re reading this, you have some great suggestions to make. Please respond in the comments!
Live in the Boston area and interested in indie music and how the music industry is evolving as a result of technology? Come to the zed equals zee Happy Hour this Monday, March 30th, from 6 to 8 pm, at the Miracle of Science in Cambridge. Join me and a slew of Boston-based musicians and bloggers, including some of the people behind Boston Band Crush and our special guest, Paul Lamere of Music Machinery, as we discuss the future of music over snacks and beverages. We’ll even be taking over the Miracle’s soundsystem with a playlist of z=z faves for the duration. Please join us!
To quote (and, well, repurpose) Hippocrates: “Life is short, art long.” So I have to appreciate The Hush Now‘s decision to make their self-titled debut available as a free download, in its entirety, in advance of tonight’s release party (February 12 at TT the Bear’s in Central Square, Cambridge). You have a few hours to listen to it in the warm glow of your computer before deciding whether you want to venture out into the cold Boston night to hear The Hush Now play live. Having given it a hearing myself, I think that their shoegazery-but-not-aimless music would be worth the effort.
Clatter Clatter is another Boston-based band with roots at Berklee (gee, you’d think they were educating musicians or something). They just released their debut album, Too Many Boxes, in January. The songs range from gorgeously atmospheric (“Just to Say”), to Ben Folds-style piano-driven tunes (“Downpour”), to almost 70s rock sounds (“Australia”). It’s short notice, but they are playing at TT the Bear’s in Cambridge tonight (Tuesday, February 10th); if you miss them, you can check out their Myspace page for additional upcoming shows, including an opening spot for Youth Group in April.
We’ve spent a bunch of time here at z=z discussing different models for the future of music. Here’s an interesting one. Boston-based Illius Rock runs ‘campaigns’ for artists. Emerging artists ask their fans to make contributions, typically for studio expenses, to shoot videos, touring and the like. In exchange, fans get treats, like exclusive songs, parties, cameos in music videos and the like. Interested in learning more? They’re throwing a launch party tonight (Monday, January 26th) at the Middlesex Lounge in Cambridge, featuring z=z favesThe Main Drag.
[embedded YouTube video; if you can’t view it, click here]
[TT the Bear’s, Cambridge, MA; Saturday, December 6, 2008]
I reallyloveTedLeo. So it was terrific to seem him do a solo gig at the tiny TT the Bear’s in Cambridge, MA (capacity: about 300), even if it was utterly jammed. The setlist focused on his earlier albums and a succession of wonderful covers, including Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark” as a set closer. He also reprised his cover of “Fisherman’s Blues” by the Waterboys; you can hear his version during this NPR interview, and the original is below. The Cambridge gig is the start of the tour, and the rest of the dates are here.
Along with Good Night, States, Brooklyn-based The Bloodsugars will be playing at the All-Asia in Cambridge, MA on Friday, November 21st. Their songs are best described as ‘sweetly catchy,’ like a more dance-y Belle and Sebastian. And like Belle and Sebastian, who come across as all twee on their records and totally rock out on stage, word on the street is that The Bloodsugars have a killer live show. If I wasn’t on the wrong coast, I know what I’d be doing on Friday night (although I will be at this, so you don’t have to feel too sorry for me).
Also check out the lovely video for ‘Purpose Was Again,’ with its Simon in the Land of the Chalk Drawings-style conceit (I’d have embedded it, but the DailyMotion player doesn’t seem to play nice with WordPress).
Lots of bands are described as having a unique sound. At the risk of offending high school English teachers, who remind us that ‘unique’ is definitively singular, I submit that some bands are more unique-sounding than others. Case in point, Morphine. Founded in Cambridge, MA, by Mark Sandman and Dana Colley, Morphine really didn’t sound like any other mid-90s indie bands (or anyone since, for that matter). Sandman’s description of the band as ‘low rock’ is a play on words in at least two ways – the first is for the downtempo, crooning style of the songs. But what really made Morphine sound different from anything else on the radio was the musical line-up, which consisted of Mark Sandman’s baritone vocals, his two-stringed bass guitar played with a slide, Colley’s baritone sax, and drums – a distinctively low-pitched sound. They broke out with their sophomore album, Cure for Pain, and achieved modest college-radio success in North America, together with more mainstream success in Europe. Shockingly, however, Mark Sandman suffered a fatal heart attack on stage in Rome at a 1999 show, and the band disbanded shortly thereafter—a short but notable chapter in Boston and indie-rock history.
zed equals zee is heading west! We’re relocating to Seattle for a year. This blog will still focus on local music – it’ll just be a different version of local. So you have a favourite Seattle band, or are in a Seattle band, please tell us about it in the comments! And if you are a Boston band – say, oneofthesebands – I’d love it if you followed Freezepop‘s example and do a West Coast tour.
Also note that updating will be spotty this week, during the move. But stay tuned!
Sloan’s new album, Parallel Play, drops next Tuesday, June 10th. They are supporting it with a short tour and will be hitting Cambridge, MA on June 18th (yes, I will be there), returning to TT the Bear’s. I saw them the last time they were there – as well as being enormously fun live, they had the best response to Cambridge’s rather draconian curfew that I’ve ever encountered. They announced that they wouldn’t bother with a (manufactured) encore. Instead, they played until the stroke of 1am. Chris Murphy was fronting the band for the last song, and when they finished, he just set aside his guitar, sat down on the edge of the stage, and began to chat with the fans.
[Middle East Downstairs, Cambridge, MA; April 21, 2008]
I heart Dan Bejar. Backed by an able four-piece (plus his own guitar), he put on a relatively brief but typically intense show at the Middle East last night. Much as I liked Trouble in Dreams, I really enjoy the way Bejar’s voice sounds when it is freed of the studio – his albums are so carefully produced that it’s more than usually appealing to hear the sonic variations of the live performance. While I was a little sad not to hear some of my faves from Destroyer’s Rubies (such as “European Oils”), it was a good show overall.
[Middle East Upstairs, Cambridge; November 6, 2007]
Sea Wolf played an modest little show at the Middle East Upstairs last night (no pics, sorry – there wasn’t enough stage light for my poor little camera, and I didn’t want to ruin the atmosphere by using a flash). Despite the intimate setting, they didn’t sound quite as warm live as they do on their full-length CD, Leaves in the River. Alex Church, the principal (singer, songwriter and lead guitar) rocked out quite a bit more than I expected – not quite devil-horns level, I’ll admit, but there was some rockin’, especially on “Black Dirt.” And I particularly liked the old-skool Moog-y keys of Lisa Fendelander.
[Middle East Downstairs, Cambridge; October 26, 2007]
Pansy Division totally rocked out at the Middle East Downstairs. I think they are the perfect pop-punk songwriters, and their hilarious and/or touching lyrics are just an added bonus. I was delighted to hear that they are working on a new album, and they played some new songs, including one that Jon Ginoli introduced by saying, “You have to be a certain age to write a song like this.” Someone in the audience yelled out, “Twenty-eight!” Ginoli gently disagreed with the audience member before revealing the title, “Twenty Years of Cock.” I’m really looking forward to the new album, not least because it means they will tour again soon.
Clatter Clatter
zed equals zee 
