Michael Kane and The Morning Afters Photo: Blowfish

More random searching for some punk got us to Great Scott’s on Thursday. We could hear MakeWar a half a block away. The club had the sound cranked way the heck up.
The band is from Brooklyn but had no trendy attitude. They play loud and distorted with strong drums. The vocals have an emo feel to them. More and more groups do this and it seems to work well. It puts feeling into the singing. We liked the set as a whole and could see where familiarity with the songs would increase appreciation of the group.

MakeWar Photo: Blowfish

The club was three fourths full. Most were there for the headliners, Nothington. The band started in 2005 from San Francisco and has toured a lot before taking a five years hiatus. They're now out on the road with a new album. It’s here on Bandcamp

Nothington Photo: Blowfish

They had one more member than MakeWar and the volume suitably went up one fourth. All the material was hard hitting. There was no dynamics; it all was delivered full blast beginning to end- very impressive. If you like punk then all that is required for this band to become a favorite is to give them the time to listen to the material. We got hooked on their song The Lies I Need. They really put over that “one more night” refrain live and it works in the recorded version too. Listen here.
They had a cute Despicable Me character peeking out from the back of an amp.

The good thing is that there are a lot of worthy bands out there. The bad thing is there’s so many good bands it’s hard to stick out and make a mark. It’s a problem for bands but for us it means we get to hear music we like week after week.

We’re always looking for those early Saturday shows. This Saturday Mark Lind of the Ducky Boys set up a noteworthy bill at the Middle East: Hudson Falcons, Jason Bennett and the Resistance, Dan Webb and the Spiders, and Michael Kane and the Morning Afters.

We had just missed the Michael Kane and the Morning Afters at the Rockin’ Bob show at O’Briens in May and people were talking about their set that night. Another good sign was that they have Cheryl Crane x of The Crybabies on bass.

Michael Kane and The Morning Afters Photo: Blowfish

They played straight old school punk…and what else do we want to hear? The lead guitarist plays simple melodic lines a la Buzzcocks. The drummer knew his stuff, he played strong and smart with just enough fills and minimum cymbal action. Kane has a gruff voice that fits the material. After hearing a half a dozen songs in a row that sound like classic punk you begin to feel Kane can just keep writing these songs endlessly…and we’re for that.

They covered Knock Me Down (first video above) by the Outlets and did it justice. They took on Born to Run (second video above) and captured some of the grandiosity of it (Special thanks to the drummer on that.) while keeping it raw and fun. A set like that is welcome anytime. They play around a lot and we could see that they'd be a big asset to any show.

Dan Webb and the Spiders Photo: Blowfish

We’ve been trying to catch Dan Webb and the Spiders again since we saw them at O’Brien’s in October of last year. They did the same impressive job at the Middle East they did then. The bigger stage actually fit them better. They have a big sound and the Middle East sound system did them justice. They have pop elements in the songs and vocals but the instruments attack in a much harder fashion. The sound is equal pop, punk and garage.

It’s easy to just lay back and let the songs sweep over you. They have two and three voices doing tight harmonies. They're so good it’s hard to believe they don’t get more attention. It’s another indication of how many quality bands are out there.

Hudson Falcons Photo: Blowfish

The Hudson Falcons declare themselves “working class rock and roll” and that’s the way they come across. Mark the lead singer was talking to the crowd like he knew everyone and he just about did. It seemed like a back yard barbeque show at times with a handful of children there. We hoped the kids could handle the volume even with the earphone protection.

The Falcons' group attack is all punk but the songs are of a more traditional style. The songs tend to bounce, skip and gallop rather than pound out a regimented beat. There is the Irish influence and the folk that show through in the wordy songs filled with stories. It’s a mix that works and it’s their thing.
Mark the singer is the focal point. He’s a big guy who wears his Strat with a swagger and sings pumping his left foot. They ended with Alternative Ulster by Stiff Little Fingers and that seemed like the perfect cap to the set. Video of that song is above.
We loved the guitarist’s HEY FUCK FACE t-shirt a parody of the North Face shirts that are everywhere. Photo of shirt here.
We called it a day with those three bands but Jason Bennett and the Resistance was still to come. But we all know they are worth checking out often!

And in other news.....

HOT NEWS - The Flaming Groovies are going to play Ralphs on August 22.
Facebook page and Tickets.

Last week we talked to Danny McCormack at the Out of the Blue Gallery about how the Last Ones are taking a year off coz Rick Coraccio is doing the "Great Loop" that's a system of waterways in the Eastern US, 6500 miles and a year to complete by boat. Rick used to write his rock'n'roll journal entries for the BGN when he was in the Lyres. But now he has a blog all about boating on his Ginger Lee. So you can read about his Great Loop prep and follow him as he travels for the next year on his blog The South Coast Boater

The BGN has been online since 2002. That’s like a thousand years in web time. When we started there were a few other Boston centric sites that were also going. Most stopped at some point. D-Filed.com was one. That site had Chris Parcellin contributing pages. When the site folded Chris went on to filming The Boys From Nowhere documentary. Chris has allowed us to republish four of his pages. They are DMZ, Willie Loco, Nervous Eaters and JJ Rassler, done around 2001/02 time frame.

Check 'em out:
Nervous Eaters --- Willie Loco Alexander--- DMZ --- JJ Rassler

Here's some good shows coming up .....

July 1 (Saturday) Electric Street Queens, Loser's Circle, Exit Academy, Whoopi Sticks and Blame it on Whitman are the 4-8PM Matinee show at The Midway

July 1 (Saturday) The Double Whoa 7's (a Misfits tribute), Red Mantis, The Straight Eights and Offworld are at The Midway (night show)

July 2 (Sunday) FOTOCRIME, The Milling Gowns, Bedroom Eyes at O'Brien's

July 7 (Friday) Steep Leans, Today Junior, Black Beach, Spirit Ghost are at The Middle East Up

July 7 (Friday) Cortez, The Humanoids, The Heave Ho and Test Meat are at O'Brien's

July 7 (Friday) Mr. Airplane Man, Tall Teenagers, Andy California and Little Tomb are at The Providence Garage Fest at the News Cafe in Pawtucket, RI.

July 8 (Saturday) Beached Boy, Luau, Clever Girls (VT), Saccharine and Jeff Rowe are at O'Brien's

July 8 (Saturday) Ava Luna, Birthing Hips, The Craters with DJ sets by Ellen from Palehound are at Great Scott's

And further out....

July 13- 16 VIVA EAST Rockabilly Weekender and Custom Car Show in Marlboro, MA check out the info here.

July 13 (Thursday) Tiger Bomb is at Congress Sq Park in Portland, ME 6-9PM

July 14 (Friday) Bim Skala Bim Concert Cruise (Check out FB page for details)

July 15 (Saturday) LYDIA LUNCH Retrovirus, Doomsday Student, (NE) Pats, Peach Ring are at The Elks Lodge on Bishop Allen Dr. Central Square Cambridge- Thank you Boston Hassle!! FB page here.

July 15 (Saturday) Devil Music Record Release Show w/ Oneida and A Band Called E at Great Scott

July 15 (Saturday) Charms, Tiger Bomb and The Knock Ups are at the Chit Chat Club in Haverhill MA.

July 17 (Monday) Township, The Dents, Love Love and Weather Weapon at The Midway- Night 1 of the Midway Dirty 30.

July 19 – July 30: The Midway’s Dirty 30th Anniversary Celebration Spectacular

July 20 (Thursday) Kal Marks, A Deer A Horse (NY), Nice Guys and Zip-Tie Handcuffs at O'Brien's

July 21 (Friday) Stray Bullets, Hobo Chili, Warning Shots and Stop Calling Me Frank at The Midway!! Night 5 of the Midway Dirty 30.

July 22 (Saturday) DJ Easy Ed Night with The Cranktones, The Barley Hoppers and Fearless Leaders at The Midway!! Night 6 of the Midway Dirty 30.

July 22 (Saturday) Negative Approach, Bloodclot, Opposition Rising, PanzerBastard, Buried Dreams and Ritual Blade at The Hardcore Stadium Bishop Allen Dr Central Sq Cambridge. Show starts at 6PM.

July 22 (Saturday) Mr. Airplane Man returns to town. They'll be at The Lily Pad in Inman Square with Thalia Zedek. FB page

July 26 (Wednesday) Thrust Club, sister, Death Cloud and Double Star are at The Midway

July 29 (Saturday) The Real Kids, Muck & The Mires, Watts and Gene Dante & The Future Starlets night 13 of the Midway Dirty 30!!

July 27 (Thursday) The Upper Crust, Supersuckers at ONCE Ballroom

July 27 (Thursday) Hambone Skinny, Detroit Rebellion and Jon Bach are at The Plough & Stars

July 30 (Sunday) Fast Times Nervous Eaters, BarRoom Heroes, The Revilers -4-8PM at The Midway!! Night 14 of the Midway Dirty 30. at The Midway

August 5 (Saturday) Brian Young's A Crash Course for the Ravers has Carissa Johnson - on WMFO 91.5 from 1-4PM

August 5 (Saturday) The Silver Mirrors, Instant Shawarma, The Facc-Tones and The Sound Down Cellar at The Midway

August 5 (Saturday) The Knockups, The Caught Flies, Black Hatch and the Labor Pains are at The Chit Chat Club in Haverhill

August 5 (Saturday) Rancid and The Dropkick Murphys are at the Brockton Fair! 4:30-9Pm check out the FB page

August 6 (Sunday) World/Inferno Friendship Society with Diablogato and Stars Like Ours at The Middle East

August 8 (Tuesday) Poptone...which is Daniel Ash and Kevin Haskins from Bauhaus, Tones on Tail and Love and Rockets are at The Paradise

August 12 (Saturday) The Modern Voice, Black Helicopter, Wrought Iron Hex, Scuzzy Yeti at The Midway

August 13 (Sunday) Pinkerton Thugs all ages punk show at The Middle East = also on the bill The Warning Shots and Duck and Cover. This is a daytime show- 1-6PM Check the FB page for more info as it is posted.

August 13 (Sunday) - This is Bob Colby's 65th Birthday Extravaganza - it is also he LAST show in Boston!! Viva Gina, DYR FASER, The Land of Enchantment, Kingdom of Love, Cold Expectations, Carissa Johnson (solo acoustic), The Very, Randy Black and the Heathcroppers and The Wrong Shapes. At Once in Somerville and the show runs 3PM until Midnite! FB page

August 27 (Sunday) Stop Calling Me Frank, State of The Union, The New Frustrations, The Only Things at The Midway - afternoon show 4-8PM

September 7 (Thursday) Teenage Bottlerocket and OC45 at The Middle East

September 8 (Friday) The Nervous Eaters and Glider (+TBA) at Out of the Blue Gallery Central Sq. here's the FB page to get updates.

September 9 (Saturday) The Stigmatics are on A Crash Course for the Ravers on WMFO 91.5 from 1-4PM

September 10 (Sunday) GBH and The Casualties at The Brighton Music Hall

September 11 (Monday) Roky Erickson at the Brighton Music Hall. WOW!! Get yer tix here.

September 16 (Saturday) Chameleons VOX At the Middle East Also on the bill: Soft Kill , Way Out and The Milling Gowns FB Page

September 20 (Wednesday) X doing their 40th Anniversary Tour- at the Brighton Music Hall

September 22 (Friday) The Ataris and The Queers at The Middle East - this is an early show- 6PM -10Pm

September 28 (Thursday) Stiff Little Fingers are doing their 40th Anniversary tour they have Death by Unga Bunga opening for htem - at the Brighton Music Hall

October 8 (Sunday) Petty Morals are having a Ballroom Blitz at Once Ballroom with a Flea Market and Art Show -also on the bill Muck & The Mires, The Dazies and Lady Pill (set times and more are on the FB page) It's 2PM- 8PM

November 4 (Saturday) Human Sexual Response at HOB

CONTACT US AT....misslynbgn@yahoo.com -Send us your gig listings, your news and anything else ya got!! You want your CD reviewed?? Contact us for that too.

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Dan Webb and the Spiders Photo: Blowfish

Nothington Photo: Blowfish

MakeWar Photo: Blowfish