Cryptacize's songs are puzzle boxes, suitable for storing something small and probably evil. Catchy, nostalgic pop elements are shifted just off-kilter enough to be eerie, embellished frequently by guitarist Chris Cohen's TV-commercial jingles for a minor-key alternative universe. Both Cohen and Nedelle Torrisi sing on their album, Dig That Treasure, but Wednesday evening's rather brief performance at the Middle East Upstairs emphasized Torrisi's disarmingly pristine satin voice.......

When we last saw Devotchka, they occupied a stage the size of a coffee table, and Bostonist was relieved that TT's didn't collapse under the weight of their sousaphone. Returning to Boston on Sunday night, they brought reinforcements, annexing the Paradise Rock Club with horn players and an actual sit-down, read-sheet-music string section. When frontman Nick Urata wasn't crooning, falsettoing, and shaking his sub-Morrissey quiff, he swapped guitars and bouzouki and, during "Curse Your......

When we arrived at the Middle East on Saturday night, Brad Caetano was on stage alone, with borrowed equipment, drumming up a storm over his looped guitar. Throughout AM/PM's opening set, which was later fleshed out with bass and saxophone, Bostonist could hear the usual Downstairs conversations roaring in the back of the room but, up front, the mood was that of a seance, interrupted only by appreciative mid-song applause. We, too, found ourselves......

Books Sarah Boxer bravely prowled through the blogosphere to share its treasures with us in Ultimate Blogs. Of course, Go Fug Yourself makes the list. Brattle Theatre (via Harvard Book Store), 6:00 pm, $5. Edit: Event has been moved to Harvard Book Store --If you've been reading Bostonist for a while, you might know how we feel about the potential of wind power. A while ago, we read this barnburner of a book about......

Just before midnight on Saturday, Bostonist was surprised to see Annie Clark flanked by people with musical instruments. Marry Me, her first album as the pseudonymous St. Vincent, gave us the impression that she led a cheerful army of synthesizer-wielding robots, but there she was, in the non-synthetic flesh, with a bassist and a drummer and other humans. Her songs about augury and landmines retained that spooky, clear-eyed quality and, when she wasn't singing......

Books Susan Choi draws on real-life, high-profile crimes for her literary works. Her last book was American Woman, based on the kidnapping of Patty Hearst, and now she's inspired by her father's real-life experience as a former colleague of the Unabomber in her latest, A Person of Interest. Brookline Booksmith, 7:00 pm, free. Movies Child of the Big City and Daydreams are two silent films from the vanguard of pre-revolution Russian cinema. The former......

Music --The Magnetic Fields, on Valentine's Day? Could anything be better for a first date, or any sort of date? They even work well for a broken heart. Well, only if you got tickets in time. Check the Craig, as this one is a hot ticket. Somerville Theatre, Davis Square, 8:00 pm, $27.50. Good luck getting in! --Drown your Valentine's Day sorrows with a night of indie rock and dancing at Viva Viva's Valentine's......

Sarah Borges and the Broken Singles Dante's at Firefly BBQ 9:30pm 350 East Main St. Marlborough MA Sarah Borges let out a warm laugh. "I feel like I'm spinning plates," she said. Since the Taunton native and her band, the Broken Singles, released their debut full-length, "Silver City," in 2005, the band has been busy. But it was the June release of "Diamonds in the Dark" that really set things into high gear. Thousands of......

Music Hallelujah the Hills will continue their commitment to banishing collective psychosis with indie rock. With Faces on Film. See today's earlier post for the glorious details of this show. Middle East Upstairs, Cambridge, 9:00 pm. Comedy If actor, comedian, occasional HuffPo blogger Rick Overton seems familiar, it's because he was God. Really. He's been in scads of movies and TV shows, and he played God on "Joan of Arcadia." Comedy Connection, Faneuil Hall, 8:00......

Hallelujah the Hills with Faces On Film, Reports, DJ Patrick Grenham Middle East Upstairs Friday, January 4, 9 p.m. $9 advance / $10 doors 18+ TGIF is an infamous phrase, but some of us prefer to say "Hallelujah" come Fridays. This Friday, the Middle East (the club, not the geographic location) brings you the opportunity to Hallelujah the Hills with the band of the same name, who'll be joined by Faces on Film, Reports,......

First Night Monday, December 31 Everywhere (see below) All outdoor events are free. All indoor events are accessible with a First Night button ($15) Official First Night site Wizard-rockers Harry and the Potters will bring the magic to the First Night proceedings. At first, Bostonist was skeptical because, although the masses love their Harry Potter, that gimmick was bound to get old. And then we were thrilled to discover that they play straight-up, fuzzy......

On December 12th Berklee College of Music hosted a show (broadcast live for Sirius Canada) dedicated to the music of Canadian artists - rapper k-os and rockers The New Pornographers were billed as the headliners. The Canadian music scene has been on indie radars for a while now, and this show proved that the attention has been well deserved. The show began with performances by Canadian Berklee students, and while all the students showed......

Every genre demands different gestures of its audiences: indie rock calls for gentle, rhythmic nodding; goth needs pale, waving arms to embrace and release imaginary bats; orchestral music requires a posture of thoughtful reverence. On Friday night, Witchcraft's fans showed their appreciation by holding out their hands, each palm facing up with fingers crooked as if holding an invisible object that, Bostonist imagines, might be an orb of Arctic ice, periodically crushed in a......

The last word that should be used to describe Boston is "cheap," but housing prices compared to New York City's are a steal. The cellist for the Magnetic Fields, Sam Davol, has moved his family up to a new pad in Boston's Chinatown above Jumbo Seafood Restaurant. Of course, "cheap" is relative. The New York Times did a piece on how Davol and his spouse decided a move to Boston would allow them to quit......

Fun Fun Fun Fest 2007 Recap from Super!Alright! on Vimeo. Austinist attended a town hall meeting about proposed noise ordinances that could undermine the city's future as the Live Music Capital of the World, and lamented the possible loss of Texas's only feminist bookstore. Throughout the week, they interviewed a bunch of indie fashion designers and D-I-Y websites—Etsy, Ornamental Things, 31 Corn Lane, and Aorta Designs—for the upcoming Stitch Fashion Show. They also did......

Last night Seattle based rockers Minus the Bear played the second of their sold out Boston shows at the Middle East Downstairs. The show proved to be an eclectic mix that pleased the enthusiastic crowd. Ela (pronounced ee-lah) opened the show with a set of straight forward indie rock. Their sound was minimalist and down tempo with a moody edge. Considering they played two hours before the headliner, the turnout was strong and band......

Mary Timony's brand of lo-fi indie rock is well-suited to today's dreamy pop scene, but the sassy strut takes us back to the 90s/Liz Phair/Save Ferris days - now and then at the same time. For good reason: Timony became a fixture in the blossoming lo-fi scene of that decade gone by. Frontwoman to Boston three-piece Helium, Timony shared a label with Phair, rocked the stage with the guys and became the voice of the......

June marks the first time Golden Bear has ever played beyond Texas state lines. The Austin-based five-piece has been busy honing its indie rock sound in the Lone Star State, generating a fanbase and some serious critical buzz. It seems to have paid off: SPIN recently featured the band as one of its bands of the day, The Daily Texan at the University of Texas named its self-titled 2006 debut one of the ten best......

Bostonist enjoys taking a stroll through the music community section of Craigslist every now and then. It's always entertaining to see how the rockers are describing their sounds these days (today's listings, for example, include "baby makin' music" and "a blend of indie rock with break beats") and sometimes we happen across something that otherwise would have flown under our radar. We're curious about whether there will be more responses posted to one of today's......

After the total lunar eclipse spiced up the night sky this past weekend we've got enough of the visuals. This week we're committed not to go see live music but to go hear live music. This week we're welcoming a few new contributors to the list, have a listen, will ya? Monday 3/5 Badly Drawn Boy It's okay to admit to liking British singer-songwriter Damon Gough, aka Badly Drawn Boy. He may write lyrics......

Tuesday was a difficult day for the city of Boston. How frequently do you find yourself having to choose between the Clipse and This American Life? More importantly, how do you choose? Pusha or Dan Savage? Malice or Kori Gardner? The Reupgang or Ira's Gang? The Middle East tried to mitigate these concerns by adding a Monday Clipse show several weeks out, but it was too little, too late for those who'd already bought......

Frigid temps all week. Hot shows all week. Put them together and you've got a warm soul. Brave the cold and make it out this week, it will totally be worth it. Looking for a little inspiration while you're sitting at your desk this week? Plug in the headphones and pop on over to tourfilter to check out the HypeMachine powered mixtape. Look in the upper right corner and click mixtape, sort it by......

Between fake terrorist alerts and scandals big and small, this just might be the Best Best of the -ists ever. We're exhausted just thinking about it. First up, SFist, who saw their little 'ole site be the center of what was a nice little scandal (even getting their editor on TV) only to find their scandal dwarfed by the even bigger scandal caused by their Mayor boffing one of his aides' wife. We're not......

In case you haven't heard the next week promises to show us the winter we've been missing out – only minus the snow. Cold temperatures (below freezing every day!) will be the rule according to the current outlook. Perfect time to head out to your favorite music venue. There's no better way we can think of to stay warm. This week you'll find the old, the new, the nerd, and some classical among the......

When we're the only one in the office we like to crank the juice up to the max on the built in speakers on the computer (they suck, the rock doesn't). The week between Christmas and New Years holiday makes for five days of paid time rocking out to our favorite local bands while we listen to Exploit Boston Radio. The internet radio station is spilling over with local music to get us thinking about......

If you ventured out after Thursday's holiday to participate in the great American tradition – shopping – you likely were subjected to all sorts of Christmas music. From Clay's Merry Christmas with Love to Nat King Cole's classics it's upon us. More and more radio stations are picking up the radio formatting. It may not be "too early" but it's certainly not what you'll find if you check out this weeks shows. And remember......

Why ramble? We've got shows to get out and see. We could put up a whole narrative about the state we were left in after NEMO and BeanTown Jazz swept through this weekend. But not now. Monday 10/2 Built to Spill with Helvetia Built to Spill delivers Indie Rock from when they first hit our radar on college radio and they actually were an indie band. They've been with Warner Bros. for what seems......

If you're not into traveling all the way to the Tweeter Center for Journey and Def Leopard, check out this week's picks. Even if you are into heading down to the big name act's show you'll need something to do the rest of the week. There's no joking about it this week. Fall is here. By the time the weekend hits it's time to break out the cider and make some pumpkin pie. We're......

After a sparse, lackadaisical August, the fall semester has arrived with a frenzied syllabus of film screenings: a slew of new documentaries, our favorite Terry Gilliam movies, a notoriously disorganized film festival, and a guest lecture from Bruce Campbell, chainsaw-wielder emeritus. Thursday 9/7 Four Eyed Monsters Two pale, artsy Brooklynites met through online personals, maxed out seven credit cards to make a movie about it, moved back in with their parents in Massachusetts, and made......

If it weren't for our life as an -ist, we're not sure we'd ever leave our apartment. Fortunately, to fully -ist, one must seek out the new, the fresh, and the unknown. Brand new, or just new to us, that's what we're all about this week. Phillyist keeps it fresh by getting a new motto, learning to prioritize, and taking in an experimental indie rock show. Torontoist does their first post in franglais, gets ready......