Results tagged “greatscott”

        

"Practice makes perfect, but if people aren't perfect, then why practice?" Those were just a handful of confounding words uttered by Japandroids' guitarist and vocalist Brian King during the duo's set at Great Scott on Sunday night. Call 'em paradoxes, oxymorons, conflicts of interest, contradictions - all apt terms for describing the Vancouver band's show. Thankfully, the results were less on the side of catastrophe and - as King would constantly proclaim as the inevitable goal for Japandroids - more or less rocking.

           

Cymbals Eat Guitars may be one of those bands you just "don't get" until you see them live. Like so many fuzz-infected groups coming out of New York, it's often hard to tell who's another Sonic Youth-meets-Dinosaur Jr. knock off and who's got a unique voice based off of a few sonically-impaired tracks posted on MySpace. It's a challenge so many musicians struggle with today, and with the renaissance of feedback-encased garage rock the stakes are especially high. For many, the case of Cymbals Eat Guitars is still on "to be determined" status, but for those who caught the band members at Great Scott last night saw them deliver.

Metalheads, punks, and Boston music fans rejoiced last week at the announcement that local metalcore quartet Cave In are ending their hiatus with a new EP and a little gig at Great Scott on July 19th. Word quickly spread throughout the Internets about the "reunion" [as an aside, Bostonist would like to note that the band never broke up, and reunions are usually the result of a break up], and the band issued a little statement on their Myspace.

Tonight Of Montreal will freak out at the Paradise. Tickets are sold out, but it's definitely worth scalping/selling limbs on the black market for. Reports from last night’s show compare the festivities to ingesting mass amounts of elicit drugs. 7 PM, SOLD OUT, 18+

Last week we checked out Wild Light at Great Scott, maybe for the last time at such a small venue. Because they're starting a tour with the Killers. Judging from the band members' immaculate dress, huge guitars, and super-tight pants, they're ready for the big stage. Somewhere in their crazy rock-star schedule, singer/guitarist/general-musician Jordan Young got a chance to answer some questions for us.

18+, 9pm, $9

We wish we had something smart to say about Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears, or beautiful pictures to post of them, but technology and time have thwarted us, so all we can offer is a dark, crappy cell phone image and a small but effusive amount of praise formed nowhere near as elegantly as the band's powerful melodies.

           

Illinois is getting pretty comfortable in Boston. Last Thursday at Great Scott marked the band's fifth Boston show in as many months, with one more to come in April. Illinois took the stage after Magic Magic, and proceeded to destroy.

18+, 9pm, $9

9pm, $8

Former Bostonians of the Week Walter Sickert and Edrie of The Army of Broken Toys are involved in tonight's eminently weird screening of The Why, an indie film by Eli Higgins, Anthony Pedone and Stephen Floyd. Walter and Edrie will perform live along with Jaggery and Goli; the music of all three groups is featured in the film. Proceeds from the show go to help complete the work. Support local independent film tonight at Great Scott.

Tonight, 9pm, $9

Longwave revs up for its impending shows with OK Go and Bloc Party by playing Great Scott tonight. Expect slick, impressive pop with tight melodies and sweeping chords. Showing modern indie chops but occasionally venturing into 80s rock choruses, Longwave demonstrate that a band can sound radio-friendly even in a waning age of radio. Local boys Wheat (easier to listen to, harder to Google) actually appeal to us a little more, with a more down-home alt-rock style.

You might expect a "frightened rabbit" to have inferior stage presence, but the Scottish group (half brothers, half not) put on an engaged, high-energy show that blasts its balanced tunes from enjoyable to ecstatic. The band's live skills were particularly apparent when juxtaposed with the slight nervousness and discombobulation of openers Pants Yell! and David Karsten Daniels, While both openers showed musical chops, with Pants Yell! in particular being pleasantly reminiscent of early Weezer (minus a member), both had moments of stiffness and disconnection that never happened for Frightened Rabbit.

Flight of the Conchords is a popular HBO show featuring the awkwardly hilarious interactions of musicians Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie. Allston's Great Scott held a viewing party featuring episodes from the show's upcoming second season last Friday night. The venue threw open its doors to a frozen-solid crowd and offering an open bar and free food in exchange for hearty (and possibly drunken) laughter. Lured by the promise of seeing the second episode of the new season a full week and change before it aired on HBO, FoTC fans descended into the bar to gather up free notebooks and posters covered in hairy New Zealanders’ faces.

Brothers Scott and Grant Hutchison make up half of Frightened Rabbit, a dirty, anthemic rock Scottish band that will bring its controlled yet confrontational sounds to Great Scott. Many tunes will surely be from latest album Midnight Organ Fight, dubbed by one Pitchfork writer the best album of 2008 so far back in September (in the end, it came in at number 33).

Ticket information

9pm, $8

Jazz critic Bob Blumenthal reads from Jazz: An Introduction to the History and Legends Behind America's Music, and Branford Marsalis is going to join him. However, word is from Harvard Book Store that Marsalis will only talk about jazz, not perform it. The event will be at the Regattabar at the Charles Hotel (via Harvard Book Store), 7:00 pm. Free.

--In a show rescheduled from September, Blonde Redhead will provide art-damage rock, and maybe some literal damage. Really. The last time Bostonist saw this band, they were crashing into each other onstage. DCist spoke to Kazu Makino about their album's name (23) and a few other things. The Paradise Rock Club, 7:00 pm, $20.

Already feeling the pressure of holiday family time? Leave the house. Run away. Tonight's events will help add some spice to your Santa.

The Fiery Furnaces with MGMT, Michael Goodman and The Mike Great Scott Monday, December 10 9:00 p.m., $15.00 (18+) [ Tickets ] It's pretty cold out in Boston these days, but what better way to warm up than with some Fiery Furnaces? Sibling bands are sort of over, but Eleanor and Matt Friedberger are still going strong with their latest release, Widow City. Released in October, the 70s-inspired album is a little less concept-driven and...

No Second Troy Monday, December 3, 9:00 pm, $8, 18+ Great Scott, 1222 Commonwealth Ave, Allston (T: Harvard Ave.) Band's official site Here in the -ist-a-verse, we like to let you know about bands that other -isters have tipped us off to. No Second Troy (Yeats, represent!) caught the eye of DCist recently. They'll be at Great Scott tonight, and they have a wistful, whimsical video for "Into Your Sun" making the rounds. The video...

Tourfilter DJ Night River Gods (125 River St., Central Square) Thursday, November 29, 9 p.m. -1 a.m. Free! If you're not already a member, you should definitely join Tourfilter.com. It's a music fan's dream: a comprehensive site that lets you track your favorite bands and get e-mail updates when they're coming to town--or, in the case of local bands, playing near you. The site's also a great way to get to know new bands, since...

Hiss & Chambers The Pill Great Scott, 1222 Commonwealth Ave., Allston 10 p.m., 21+, $7 The Pill website | Hiss & Chambers myspace There's a glam element to Hiss & Chambers, the Portland-based four-piece set to headline The Pill's regular festivities at Great Scott tonight. The sound is indie dance at its strongest, full of the driving beats and tight riffs that feel as if they would motivate the creme de la creme indie kids...

$10 // 7 PM // 18+ except for 11/3, 21+