Alexisonfire, The Receiving End of Sirens & A Wilhelm Scream
@ Axis
11.6.05

Let's start off with A Wilhelm Scream, a band that has been around for years and only been good for the last three of them. You may or may not have heard of Smackin' Isaiah, (this used to be the name of the band) if you're from around here, because these guys come straight out of New Bedford Ma, but if you haven’t there is really no need to check them out. What you should check out is A Wilhelm Scream (new name for a new band) new full length "Ruiner," it's the way punk should sound. Also if you want to hear their older stuff, check out "Mute Print."

This Band plays with so much energy it's sickening. One of the best parts about this band is there is no image, nothing but straight up kick ass rock and roll. I had been meaning to see these guys live since I heard "Mute Print" like two years back. This band's chemistry is awesome live. Check them out if you ever have a chance.

Next up was The Receiving End of Sirens. Prior to this show I had not heard anything by this band; I think I was the only one at the show who wasn’t a fan of theirs. Unfortunately I wish I had, because since seeing them I have fallen in love with their record "Between the Heart and the Synapse." This band had the crowd going insane; it was clear who everyone was there to see. Check this band and then go see them live, it's something I wish I had done years ago.

The band that I was waiting for all night and had not seen in 3 years since they played the PAL in Fall River Ma, an amazing show might I add, and the show that single-handedly got me into this band.

Alexisonfire took the stage by storm at the Axis. The singer was wearing a tactless white T-shirt and short cut-off jean shorts... amazing! It was clear that not many people knew this band, but it didn’t matter, because I'm sure that they will have a hell of a lot more fans around here after the show they put on. If you haven’t heard Alexisonfire yet and you want to check them out I would suggest their latest record, "Watch Out." And for fans of the band Moneen I would check out the upcoming split of Alexisonfire, on Vagrant records coming out in late November. - Brian Shea

The Bloodhound Gang
@ Avalon
10.28.05

This concert was definitely the best concert I have ever experienced in my whole life. I have never been more entertained than I was last night. It was simply amazing.

The show started at 6:00 with some band that I have never heard of before, and wish to never again, but they only played for about 15-20 minutes or something ridiculous like that so it was okay. It was the only downfall of the show. Then Program the Dead came about and were wonderful. Matt Koruba was sick so he was sipping tea on stage while everyone else was downing beers, but his scratchy throat made the music better than I have ever heard it. Next was Electric Eel Shock which were really fun. They were absolutely crazy and it was awesome. Gian pulled a Red Hot Chili Peppers and came out with no pants on, just a sock, and then took the rest of his clothes off, well except for the sock and played the show that way. They were hilarious and most of their songs were just three words repeated over and over again, but they made it funny so it was cool. Aki was absolutely insane the whole night but in a good way.

When Bloodhound Gang came out it was mayhem. The first thing Evil Jared did was rip off his wife beater, no surprise at all, second thing he did was throw up in Jimmy Pop's hat and throw it in the crowd, again no surprise. All of them were hilarious. It was almost like seeing a comedian and being at a concert at the same time. Jimmy Pop and Dj Q-Ball threw in random rap songs like Golddigger and 99 Problems, it was hilarious. Then Evil Jared thought it would be a good idea to funnel a 750mL of Jager, and throw up four times on Jimmy Pop including once on his face. It was disgusting, but in a good way, if that makes sense at all. The folks at Avalon then told them that they had to leave at about 10:00 because of a Halloween dance or something, and the whole gang was ripped. They stayed on stage for like a half hour, and we all stayed on the floor until Evil Jared (the last one on) was ripped off the stage and punching the guys that were carrying him.

I was really pumped that they didnt play all new stuff. I mean their new CD is good, but I was worried that it was all they would play. Nope. They had a good variety in there. They played things like Chasey Lain, Three Point One Four, Fire Water Burn, Kiss Me Where It Smells Funny, Lift Your Head Up High, I Wish I Was... So I Could Get Chicks, Along Comes Marry and from the new album they played Foxtrot of course, Uhn Tiss Uhn Tiss Uhn Tiss, No Hard Feelings and some others. They left stage for a few minutes and all came back with helmets on Jimmy Pop and DJ Q-Ball with drums on top of their helmets, Evil Jared with a cowbell on his, and Lupus and Willie the New Guy both had cymbals. Willie the New Guy played the helmets while the rest of the guys sang You're Pretty When I'm Drunk and it was really amusing.

So the Bloodhound Gang = the best concert I have ever seen, and I highly recommend if you like them at all, even just a little to go see them. And also, get their new CD, and check out the two other bands, Program the Dead, and Electric Eel Shock. Amazing! <3 - Beka

Saves The Day
@ Avalon
10.27.05

Chris Conley looks like he’s in the Marines. Is he? He also keeps saying the title of the latest Thermals record. Which is weird. Is he my drill sergeant? He hasn't threatened me with bodily harm yet… that's… a start.

Fine. They’re playing a great set. A lot of stuff off of Through Being Cool which seems surprising. The crowd is going crazy, just like the old days. Wow that kid got mauled by security.

What’s that you just said Chris? You’re playing "Anywhere with You?" Was that an audible "awwwwwww" I just heard from the crowd? Not an "awwww" like on Full House when Michelle apologizes to Stephanie for killing Comet, no, an "awwww" like "what a buzzkill. What’s next? 'What Went Wrong?'"

Thankfully "What Went Wrong" (in all of its cavity searching lyrical content glory) did not make an appearance. More songs from Stay What You Are and Through Being Cool. Wait, what's he doing alone on stage? Could it be? Is it gonna be something from I’m Sorry I’m Leaving? No. Nope. It’s "Three Miles Down." Ok. Maybe he’ll do another one alon-- here comes Ted.

The set ended. It just did. They only played about fifteen songs, which for Saves the Day, equates to roughly an hour long set. That's it. No real banter at all. Nothing extraordinary to speak of. It had been three years since I last saw Saves the Day, honestly, this was kind of a let down.

They only played three songs off of In Reverie and in many people’s opinion, they were three too many. The band has to know how much people just don’t like that record. Personally I don’t mind it at all. I think the bass lines are incredible and the song structures are their best to date, but the lyrics and melodies aren’t as strong and some of the songs leave a little to be desired.

But this isn't an album review.

The show was all right. It was great to see one of my absolute favorite bands from high school again for the seventeenth(?) time. I've seen them play far better shows before.

Next time you come to Boston, do more acoustic songs, play at least a ninety minute set, and do what the crowd wants you to do. Please. PLEASE. Thanks. - NL

Ambulance, LTD.
@ Paradise Rock Club
10.26.05

This show was possibly one of the best shows I’ve been to since I've been in Boston , excluding Bloc Party. I enjoyed myself because it was very intimate and not crowded at all. The show was at the Paradise Rock Club, which I had never been to before, but now am in love with. Faces On Film played first, and was not the best band I’d ever seen, but not the worst. The band sounded a lot like My Morning Jacket and the singer sounded ALOT like the dude from Modest Mouse. They didn't have a very good stage presence and everyone pretty much hated them. After a cigarette break to try to erase FOF's performance from my brain, I came back in to a pleasant surprise. We Are Scientists, a little-known-up-and-coming band from NYC, were on stage and immediately I was in love. The band, as my roommate describes them, sound a lot like if Franz Ferdinand and The Bravery had a child. They had an incredible on-stage presence and were absolutely hilarious between songs. After I bought their imported single from the merch booth and had my picture taken by some W.A.S. street team girls, Ambulance LTD finally took the stage. I finally learned that their name is pronounced "Ambulance" and you actually don't say the "L-T-D," but I still don't know why it's there. Their performance was not exactly crowd-friendly, but was still excellent. I got the vibe that they weren't exactly in the happiest mood to be playing, but their set still kicked ass. They played most of their album "LP" and the singer sounded impeccably like he does on the record. They even did an encore of "Sugar Pill" which was most excellent. The crowd danced, and everyone went home pleased as punch. It was worth the $12, and I am still absolutely in love with We Are Scientists. - Corey Major

Bunnybrains
@ Sommerville Theater
10.19.05

I've played in noise bands before. It's fun. You can do whatever you feel like doing. It's probably one of the only times that that mentality is not only completely acceptable, but also encouraged. I felt like being loud so I smashed a piano. I felt like being quiet so I finger-picked a twelve string guitar. I felt like being a jerk so I screamed into two microphones until people's ears hurt and they left. Playing in noise bands is great, I highly encourage everyone to do it at least once in their life. It requires no talent or skill or ideas really. You just make it up as you go.

Well, luckily, Bunny Brains are a troupe of professionals. They put thought into their act beforehand. This was made evident by the fact that they were all wearing ridiculous masks and dragging around a large blue tarp. Clearly they are a thinking-man’s noise band. When the PA was shut off for some reason, they just grabbed some drums and hit them rhythmlessly while almost audibly screaming gibberish. They all appeared to be in their late twenties to thirties so obviously they have age and experience on their side.

What's that? What are a bunch of mid-thirty year olds doing in a noise band? Well, I mean, come on, they’re not the only ones, I was thirty… no… I was only eighteen when I had a noise band… wait a minute…

Some people say noise is a reaction to the meaninglessness of the world. I can tell you that's a lie. It’s just fun.

It’s fun to do.

It’s not really fun to watch.

But as I sat there watching their overwhelming bombardment of ridiculousness I had two thoughts; 1) To hate this is obvious and stupid. That is exactly what they want. They want to be hated and misunderstood and/or taken as something they’re not… mistaken for doing something great. And 2) To like this is pretentious as hell. All the people cheering are either cheering sarcastically or cheering because they’re convinced that this is great because it's something unusual. Well it's not unusual. Noise has been around since instruments have been around. Noise bands have been in circulation for over twenty years and in the last ten years there have been so many of them that music critics had to start separating them into sub categories such as noise-core, grind, drum and bass, noise-pop, bad acid core, thump… etc. Everyone who likes this only likes it because it's cool to like things that no one else likes and no one else will like it because it's impossible to sincerely like.

So I just sat there and laughed. - NL

Death Cab For Cutie
@ The Orpheum
10.17.05

I was fourteen the first time I heard Death Cab for Cutie. It was January and the roads were already snowy. My feet were wet and cold. I had just gotten back from a long day of junior high and sat down in front of my parent’s spectacular Gateway 2000. I was searching the internet for new music and after a few minutes I stumbled across this website that listed the top ten records of the previous year. I don’t remember how exactly I ended up at the website, I was probably using Hotbot to search the internet. I know I had a Juno e-mail account. Anyway, the site claimed that there were two "best albums of the year," Built to Spill’s Keep It Like a Secret and Death Cab’s Something About Airplanes. What’s more the site had two songs from each record for download. I downloaded away. It must have taken at least a half hour to download those four songs, maybe an hour. I remember thinking "These bands gots funny names’ they does." For some reason I felt particularly unintelligent and slightly southern that day. When the downloads completed I listened to all of them. I’m pretty sure the Death Cab songs were "Bend to Squares" and "Amputations." I remember thinking "These is all right I reckon, but cha can’t play videogames tosem" and filing them away in my parents Gateway 2000 that would start on fire the next winter.

Why didn’t I get into either band at age fourteen? Why did I pretty much forget about them and go on listening to the Foo Fighters for another year? I know now. I didn’t care about the carefully crafted songs or the introspective lyrics. I just wanted to rock. And neither band rocked in the way I needed to be rocked at age fourteen. I started loving Death Cab for Cutie when I was sixteen. When I was seventeen they were my favorite band. When I was nineteen Built to Spill was my favorite band. And so I subscribe to the theory that certain bands are designed for certain age groups in a sense. You can’t completely appreciate something if you’re not old enough to understand it. Though at fifteen I did buy My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless and I still don’t understand it, but anyone who says they do is lying and/or on drugs. That doesn’t mean I didn’t love it. I did. I listened to it every day. I just appreciate it more now.

So Death Cab is touring again. Woo-hoo. In 2004 I saw them six times in four states. They were excellent each time. Their new record Plans is a solid record (to say the least…and I did). The difference between this show and four of the previous five times I’ve seen them was primarily the size and type of audience. I will not and cannot dislike a band because of its fans and/or success. I am one hundred percent thrilled for Death Cab for Cutie. They have worked hard for the last eight years and deserve everything they get. It just annoys me that I have to sit in front of fifteen year old girls who talk through the entire show about how good Something Corporate is (not very was their conclusion, though I could have told them that and saved an entire song) and why dating a redneck sucks (I could have spared them here as well, all he did was watch Nascar and eat beef jerky).

The band played a twenty song set that spanned their four latest records (they didn’t touch Something About Airplanes). It just seemed that most of the crowd was only into things from Transatlanticisim and Plans. This point was made evident to me when several guys in backwards camouflage Red Sox hats sat down during "Company Calls," "Photobooth" and "A Movie Script Ending." They weren’t the only ones who were sitting down either.

Yes, Death Cab’s hardcore fans were there. They were the ones who cheered mercilessly when the band lunged into "Title Track" during their encore. It just seemed that they were few and far between in a sea of teenagers who watch the O.C., guys in Abercrombie sweatshirts and girls trying way too hard to get with Chris Walla (which is...no comment).

I wasn’t surprised. It sounds like I was, but I wasn’t. Some of my friends have consistently made it a point to make jokes such as "I don’t wanna go to that show… it’s gonna be full of little girls." I had always taken these with a grain of salt knowing they were partially true but also always hoping that I would never be outnumbered. This time however, I was.

Death Cab played a strong set that ended with "Transatlanticisim" which was my only real complaint because they’ve closed with that song every show for the last two years. Other than that it was a stellar performance. The band shined brightly during "Different Names For The Same Thing" and "What Sarah Said." The main thing tonight did, for me anyway, was cement the fact that Death Cab for Cutie is now a major label band. They are mainstream and as popular as I thought they deserved to be when I was sixteen. Now that I’m twenty-one, I sort of wish they could have been mine forever. They’re not and that’s ok. They will continue to create great records and put on fantastic shows. That’s all that really matters. I just felt like writing a long-winded review that had nothing to do with the show and everything to do with me because you’re not supposed to write about yourself in reviews and I have a penchant for rule-breaking. Plus it’s 4:23 a.m., have a sense of humor. Jerks. - NL

Kevin Devine
@ ICC (Allston, MA)
10.14.05

Kevin Devine is an experience. The first time I saw him live it was an epiphany. He weaves stories into chord progressions. He sings from the bottom of his heart. Every song he played that night was amazing. Some of them broke my heart, some of them made me laugh, most of them did both. I bought his second solo record (Make the Clocks Move) that night and got on a train the next morning to go home for Thanksgiving. That record was the only thing I listened to for the next two months. I went to see him every time he came back to Boston over the course of the next couple years. Now it’s 2005 and he’s touring in support of his strongest record to date (Split the Country, Split the Street). This show was the first time I had seen him perform sans a band in six or seven months. He still has it, and honestly, I don’t think he’ll ever lose it; 'it' being urgency, vigor, anger and life. Kevin Devine is the only singer/songwriter I have ever seen perform solo that has the presence of an orchestra or a freight train. Unfortunately, due to the show starting late and several other issues that always arise at the ICC, he only played seven songs. "Cotton Crush" sounded fantastic, even with just an acoustic guitar. "No Time Flat" was amazing. "Wolf’s Mouth" was superb. The real highlight of the set, though, was closer "Ballgame." People who were just getting in while he was playing it were singing along. It truly was a joy to see Kevin again. That performance will hold me over until he headlines here in November. - NL

The Suicide Girls & Tsu Shi Ma Mi Re
@ The Middle East
(10.12.05)

"EXCITING ROCK AND POP!" is the description of the music of Tsu Shi Ma Mi Re that was given to us by Mari, the lead vocalist and guitarist of the band, when we approached their merch table Wednesday night. Most people went into this unique show at the Middle East with no idea what the opening band held in store. Unquestionably, the description that the band gave us accurately explained their type of music. Mari, Yayoi and Mizue kept smiles on their faces throughout their entire set, and danced around excitedly to all their songs. Their music has elements of pop and punk; the songs are fast, upbeat, and are even fun to sing along to when you don't have any idea what they lyrics are saying. The entire crowd seemed to be dancing or bobbing their heads during Tsu Shi Ma Mi Re's one-hour very colorful set. They did an outstanding job of keeping everyone thoroughly entertained while they anticipated the Suicide Girls.

How do you review a cabaret show? The dance numbers were fantastic. The choreography was extraordinary. The performers were cute, beautiful, sexy and everything in between. The musical selections were consistently fitting and surprising. Costumes were excellent. It was a very well thought out show. It’s not often you see two beautiful women acting out a scene from Reservoir Dogs while taking off their clothes. Then again, maybe that’s for the best. The real magic of the Suicide Girls Burlesque show was that it was indeed just that, burlesque. It was entertaining on more than just a sexual level. It truly was a fun show to watch. It was humorous, dramatic and fun. You leave the show wanting to be friends with the girls; they are talented, funny and intelligent women, not just eye candy. - Emily Willmer & NL

Nada Surf
@ The Paradise
(10.8.05)

There’s more than one way to write a rock song. Nada Surf has proven this time and time again. Their set at the Paradise was cohesive yet emotionally fragmented. Over the course of four LP’s Nada Surf has shown an almost uncanny ability to hit every tier of the emotional spectrum. Their performance at the Paradise was no exception. The band opened with “Blizzard of ‘77” from their album Let Go. Matthew Caws (lead singer/guitarist) captivated the audience with a simple chord progression and melody. They moved into lighter territory with “Concrete Bed” and “Happy Kid” the former off of their new LP The Weight is a Gift. The set reached a climax when the band performed their current single “Always Love”, a reactionary song driven by the straightforward chorus “always love/hate will get you every time.” The message was clear and the crowd was responsive. The band did a double encore, featuring “Your Legs Grow”, certainly one of the finest love songs of the decade. This was the fourth show Nada Surf has played in Boston in as many years, and every one of them has been a stellar performance to a sold out crowd. Do yourself a favor and pick up their new CD and get a ticket the next time they’re in town, you won’t regret it. - NL

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