Aloud (11:30 pm), Thick As Thieves (10:15 pm), The Motion Sick (9 pm)
Thursday, January 29 (tonight!)
Great Scott, 1222 Comm Ave, Allston
$10 / 18+
Everybody does it: "They're like Belle & Sebastian meets ABBA meets Nine Inch Nails." Wow, that sounds like a killer combo! Your buddy may not have it right, but it's a good shorthand method to let you know what to expect.
Whatever the listener might think, the musicians often have a completely different version of their sonic genealogy. A band's influences may be so diffused that you couldn't fathom what its members think about their sound (unless they fill it out on MySpace).
Like trepanation, choice of cover song can be a window deep into the mind of a musical artist. You might see the musical core that bonds the band; or you may see someone's most craven, crowd-pleasing instinct. Tonight is the first monthly "Influenza" show, and the intent behind the covers is clear.
Each band will devote half of its hour-long set to songs written by major influences. Band members are often divided about whether they'll consider playing the B-side from a Japan-only release by their favorite ska band, but tonight the cup runneth over with cool songs that some people may recognize.
"Influenza" is especially sick tonight, because two of this Bostonist's favorite bands are performing: Aloud and The Motion Sick.
Aloud, a no-nonsense rock machine with big melodies and big ideas in the lyrics, is partially responsible for creating this Influenza series. We're guessing the band might play "Message of Love" by The Pretenders and something off of "London Calling" from The Clash.
The Motion Sick will always have a fond place in our heart because of its delightfully slanted power-pop that rarely travel into typical "love song" territory. The band gave some song hints on its blog, but we'd like to hear "Leave the Biker" by Fountains of Wayne or "Anna Ng" by They Might Be Giants.
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