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The BGN News Archive
There was a while there where The Von Traps were doing mostly North Shore shows but this last year Boston has finally got a good share of their gigs. Saturday they were at Sally O’Brien’s with SS23 and The Lipstick Boys. The club was only half full but in the audience were members of SkyTiger, Brix’n Mortar, Duck & Cover, The Downhauls and Silver Screams. DJ’s Joanie Lindstrom and Skybar, who are both big Von Traps boosters, made it also.
The Von Traps set was a punk explosion. They blasted from the first note to the last. The first five songs, which they played without a break, hit at maximum force. The fifth song of that set was “Johnny Was an Indian” which is always hard hitting was over the top exciting when they hit the calls of “Hi Oh, Hi Oh”. The Von Traps have the songs to go with the punk attack. “Witch City”, “Gasoline”, “Bite Down” and “Sound the Alarm” all stand out. The way they make the Pleasure Seekers’ “What a Way to Die” crank like it was written yesterday is just icing on the cake. The group played like a unit. There’s no loose link, there couldn’t be to sound like they do. It's punk but not barebones. They all play their share of fills. Skippy’s appreciated fills done with a thick tone was a big part of their sound. You could hear it in “Witch City” most prominently. That was a punk set like we don’t get that often these days.
Openers were SS*25, and this was a 25 year reunion show for them. The early part of the set had covers like “Ever Fallen In Love” by the Buzzcocks and “One More Time” by Joe Jackson. It took till the end of the set for the last two songs to hear what the band must have sounded like back in the day. By then they were warmed up and confident and the energy went up for two satisfying originals. Tad Overbaugh is in the band, he's been playing around town in Tad Overbaugh & the Late Arrivals.
The Lipstick Boys were last up. We saw them last year at The Jungle and O’Brien’s. Like The Von Traps they were all wound up and had energy to burn. They played punk/hardcore. They kept the vocals clean and most of the time they were melodic. Having that over a bed of hardcore guitar was a winning combo for us. Your ear got hooked on the vocals and your body got blasted with the band volume. They did two fun covers. One was of Nirvana's "School" from Bleach and the other was the schmaltzy “Your Love” by The Outfield. The audience wasn’t big but we loved that they were all pushed forward and stuck with the bands right to the end. The Lipstick Boys even did an encore coz people were clamoring for more.
A little further away on Saturday night was the Two Pieces Art Show & Party at "Gallery Poulet" hosted by Wayne Viens. There was an amazing array of artwork from a wide selection of people involved in the Boston music scene. There were at least 20 artists showing their works. Wayne also announced it was a pot luck and there truly was a "groaning board" of awesome homemade goodies through out the night. It was nice to see that everyone contributed!!
The event ran from 3PM - 1AM and the crowd never stopped. Many came and went but more always seemed to show up. It's truly inspiring to see how many multi-talented people there are around us. Stephen Fredette had the most amazing painted tables that were overrun with detail, He sold at least one of his two pieces! Jennifer Maestre and Irene Ferri had interesting pieces; both work with small pieces of wood, Irene's pieced together in intricate patterns and Jennifer's were wood embedded in resin (see photo by Miss Donna) and Ruby Viens' photo collages are a must see. I had seen them in photos but the firsthand experience is totally different. They are imaginative and have impact. She often seems to be making statements about women and beauty. As a young woman in today's world she must be getting some crazy and mixed messages and she that affect in her work.
Bill Jordan had a couple of gorgeous pieces in the show. His photos are so atmospheric and his colors sublime, and well chosen and placed. I'm betting he sold his work!! Always impressive Dave Tree had two pieces of Renaissance religious figure painted on vintage mirrors. And of course Springa was a late entry and his piece, "A Rock Star on a Window" sold. It was a blob of a disfigured green face painted on a window. Someone said it was supposed to be David Bowie. Well, whatever....Congrats Springa.
It was a fun and eye opening event and, though run ragged later in the night, Wayne was thrilled with it all and promises to have more in the future. Don't miss it next time. It's a chance to see work you would never expect to see. It made us proud to be part of the scene here!! And in other news....... We have to pause this week to acknowledge the passing of Reno Daly who died suddenly earlier this week. He played bass with Harlequin.
The EP is in the punk pop ballpark but has other elements going on. One of the main attractions is that the vocals are clea, they don’t go into screamo mode. All the songs have a flow that pulls you in. They open up even more on repeated listenings. We just want to see them live again soon. Meanwhile we’ll be going back to this. Check out the video to the song “Life In a Jar” to the right. And you can get the EP from your choice of sites here. Spotify here. Terry Kitchen who played in Loose Ties back in the day and wrote Next Big Thing about the Boston music scene has a new album called Next Time We Meet. You can catch snippets of the songs here http://terrykitchen.com/discography.php
Larry Newman posted an update on the Asa Brebner tribute CD called "I Am Not Gone": “Almost all the recordings are done, much thanks to the studios and musicians that have spent time and energy creating and recording and producing some great versions of our late friend Asa Brebner's songs. As soon as they are all done Gary Soprano has graciously offered to master them and then we will be in the packaging phase. Stay tuned for more updates. Artists on the CD are: Frank Rowe, Richie Parsons, Linda S. Viens, John Pfister, Trick Wallace, Larry Newman, Randy Black, Tim Jackson, Billy Connors, Cal Cali, Curt Naihersey, Natalie Flanagan, Garyshane Lavenson, Jon Macey, Robin Lane, Charlie Leger, Emily Grogan, Suzanne Boucher, Joel Simches, Kimberly Starr.” Nat Freedberg has put out his third record in a year's time and it's called Record Number Three funny enough. Check it out on Bandcamp. He mines a country/blues sound with not much punk in there, although he does do a version of “Man’s Inhumanity to Man”. He tucks it inside a boogie beat! And for your cupid day pleasure - Color Killer has another whiz bang pop punk tune called “Not Your Valentine”, just in time for Valentine Day! WOW, It bounces along and has those single string Buzzcock like lines and clocks at 1:59. Listen here...you'll want to hear it a few times over!!! Muck and the Mires just released their brand new single and
its another anti-Valentine's theme!! "Cupid's Not A Friend Of Mine"
for airplay, reviews, streams, blogs, screams, and your pure enjoyment of garage
rock n' roll. You can check it out here:
Cupid/Muck.... Mark you calendar for:
May 8, 9 & 10 - Salem Answers-Night: A three day music fest to celebrate and encourage the arts, magic, equality, and diversity of Salem! (listings below) Here's some good shows coming up this week..... February 13 (Thursday) Fashion Show Dance Party celebrating the last night of Dark Days Long Nights. Fashions from VQnC Vintage, Leather Pixie, Made In Boston, Painter Productions, Rod Webber, SweeTree Ink/Dave TREE and Music by DJ Won't, DJ Final Object, DJ Grin. at New Alliance Gallery Union Sq Somerville...FB page for info
February 15 (Saturday) A Crash Course for the Ravers featuring Screw Cart WMFO 91.5 - 1-4PM February 15 (Saturday) Martin, Morell, Fredette, Richie Parsons and Randy Black at the Midway Matinee show 3-7PMFebruary 15 (Saturday) The Gala, Hambone Skinny, Zulu Lulu at The Square Root- this is an ALL AGES show February 15 (Saturday) Xander Nelson & Tiger Bomb at Big Babe's Portland, ME February 16 (Sunday) Stop Calling Me Frank, State of the Union, The New Frustrations, The Steamies at The Midway - matinee 3-7PM February 16 (Sunday) HardCore Stadium presents Fuming Mouth, High Command, Raw Radar War, Suffer on Acid, Mangled - Middle East Up 7PM And further out there is.... February 17 (Monday) Black Beach, Rye Pines, Proper Nouns, Night Beat at Charlie's Kitchen
February 21 (Friday) Set Fire, The Gala, Motel Black, Gene Dante and The Future Starlets at Koto in Salem February 22 (Saturday) A Crash Course for the Ravers featuring Linea Herzog WMFO 91.5 - 1-4PM February 22 (Saturday) Benefit for Horizons for Homeless Children with Electric Streets Queens, Loretta, Battery March, M.O.T.O., and Sewer Buddies - 3-7PM Matinee show at The Midway February 22 (Saturday) Justine's Black Threads EP Release Party w/Two Fathoms Down at Atwood's Tavern - this is a 3-6PM show. February 22 (Saturday) Rum Bar Records Anniversary Show with The Dogmatics - 11:00 PM, Muck and the Mires - 10:00 PM, The Dirty Truckers - 9:00 PM at The Square Root February 22 (Saturday) blindspot, Baabes, Set Fire, Hands 3 at O'Brien's
February 23 (Sunday) Sick Minds, Skytigers, Color Killer, Nine Votes Short - 2-6PM matinee and ALL AGES at Thirsty First in Lowell February 24 (Monday) Rebuilder, Dead Bars, Oh the Humanity!, Towanda at Charlie’s Kitchen February 28 (Friday) Scuzzy Yeti, Death Pesos, 3 Parts Dead, Blue Manic at Club Bohemia February 28 (Friday) LUX LIVES East Coast 2020 with The Evil Streaks, The Demon Seeds, Thee Benevolent Tarots and DJ Kogar the Swinging Ape playing Lux and Ivy's Favorites all night long! at Opus Underground Salem. FB page. February 29 (Saturday) DJ Easy Ed presents: Lynnette & the Sundowners, The Barley Hoppers, Easy Ed's Record Hop at The Midway for a 3-7PM matinee show. February 29 (Saturday) PowerSlut “Fun With Junk” Release Party...AND...WhistleStop Rock Fest featuring he Chelsea Curve, Cold Expectations, Field Day, Heather Rose In Clover, Justine and The Unclean, Lockette, Kid Gulliver, The Knock Ups, The Shang-Hi-Los, and Tiger Bomb! EARLY show 3PM - Midnight mat Once Somerville. Sadly this will also be Powerslut's FINAL SHOW.
March 7 (Saturday) Cortez, Mighty High, Test Meat, Bone Church at OBrien's March 8 (Sunday) Kenne Highland Clan, Mad Painter, The Fools Agenda, Spaces For Two at The Jungle March 9 (Monday) SkyTigers, Brix'n Mortar, Circus Battalio, Rage//Quit at Charlie's Kitchen March 13 (Friday) Murphy's Law at the Middle East Up March 13 (Friday) This is Night 1 of a 2-night Whistle Stop Rock festival in Salem!! Featuring: The Knock Ups, The Cold Expectations, The Chelsea Curve at Koto Salem March 14 (Saturday) A Crash Course for the Ravers featuring Lucretia’s Daggers! WMFO 91.5 - 1-4PM March 14 (Saturday) Dead Kennedys (three originals and NO Jello Biafra) at Big Night Live - here's the FB page- be sure to read everything you CANNOT do there before you go!!!
March 15 (Sunday) Anti-Flag, Grade 2, Doll Skin, Evan Greer at Brighton Music Hall March 18 (Wednesday) Randy Black & The Heathcroppers Plough & Stars Residency March 20 (Friday) Wine Lips, Zip-Tie Handcuffs, Baabes at O'Brien's Pub FB page March 21 (Saturday) Brockton Hardcore Punk Shows presents In Cold Blood, Departed, Sick Minds, Divided Life, Eternal Reach at Dylan's in Brockton. FB page. March 21 (Saturday) POST PUNK II with Chuck Ferreira, Duncan w Johnson, Anthony Kaczynski at Sally O'Brien's March 21 (Saturday) The Return of the Bentmen w/ CMB at Once FB page March 21 (Saturday) The Knock Ups, Motel Black, Pigeon Man, The Runouts at The Square Root March 27 (Friday) Hey Zeus, Labor Hex, Razorburn City at O'Brien's March 27 (Friday) Little Caesar, Diablogato, Little Billy Lost, Pink Mahalares at Koto Salem March 28 (Saturday) Bombpops, MakeWar, Pass Away, In the Meantime at The Hong Kong
March 28 (Saturday) WhistleStop Rock Festival Portland with Tiger Bomb, Heather Rose In Clover, The Knock Ups, PowerSlut, The Chelsea Curve, Kid Gulliver, Justine and the Unclean at Sun Tiki Studios 6PM start!!! FB page March 31 (STuesday) Stubborn Hearts, Nowhere Fast, Lotus Kid, The War In Kids at the News Cafe Provi RI April 3 (Friday) Kid Gulliver, The Steamies, The Winter Project, A Bunch of Jerks at The Jungle April 4 (Saturday) Uncomfortables, DNZL, Joe Division, The Damaged at the 13th Floor Music Lounge, Florence MA April 5 (Sunday) The Grommets, The Fatal Flaw, Trusty Sidekick, Kermit's Finger. MC: Poet Jake Tringali 3-7PM matinee show at The Midway April 8 (Wednesday) Mad Painter Live on the Heavy Leather Topless Dance Party April 11 (Saturday) DJ Easy Ed presents the Cranktones with Sax Gordon, the Fathoms, and Easy Ed's Record Hop 3-7matinee show at The midway April 11 (Saturday) Courtney From Work, The Holts, Rawstrum, OTP at The Jungle April 17 (Friday) FU's, End of Hope, Northern Skulls, & More at O'Brien's April 19 (Sunday) The Undertones at The Paradise April 25 (Saturday) WhistleStop Rock Festival Western Massachusetts - featuring: Heather Rose In Clover, Kid Gulliver, The Cold Expectations, OTP and special guests State Of The Union at HiLO North Adams - FB page
May 9 (Saturday) A Crash Course for the Ravers featuring Glider WMFO 91.5 - 1-4PM May 9 (Saturday) Divine Sweater, Eagle Jesus, Louzy, Jailbait matinee show 3-7PM at The Midway May 9 (Saturday) Salem Answers-Night 2: 7-9 at Koto: Acoustic sets with Live Nude Girls, C.Murray, C.Okeeefe - 9:30 to close at Koto: Diablogato, Brix'N Mortar, Hellbound Hitmen, Skytigers, Motel Black...9:30 to Close at Opus: The Gala U.S., Z28, The Von Traps, The Downhauls FB page May 10 (Sunday) SalemAnswers-Night 3: 7-9 at Koto: Accoustic sets with Carissa Angelo, Opus, Vilanvs, - 9:30 to close at Koto: Stiff Propisition (Glamtastic covers members of Bacterial Husk, Sexcrement, and Brix'N Mortar), Master of Beers (Metallica), Aces High (Iron Maiden), Warthog (Ramones ). FB page May 16 (Saturday) Baabes, The Knock Ups, Mister Vertigo, Motel Black at The Jungle June 13 (Saturday) Lyres and GLiDER at ONCE Lounge early 6:30-9PM show June 14 (Sunday) Fourth Annual Out of the Blue Art Gallery Benefit FB page for more info as it comes. September 17 - 21 The New England Shake-Up! Year Seven! in Framingham FB page CONTACT US AT....misslynbgn@yahoo.com Send us your gig listings, your anything else ya got!! You want your CD reviewed?? Contact us for that too.
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Live shows in a recording studies are fun. Here’s one on Feb
29 at Q Division Studios with The Gravel Pit
and The Mommyheads. "The two have not played
a show together since the late 90's at T.T. the Bear's Place. Both bands have
been mutual fans of one another since the 90's and somehow are still making
music some 32 years into their respective careers...so why not play a show in
Boston in 2020?" well be there! 
February 14 (Friday) The Endorphins,
Moist Boy, the Betties at The Hong Kong 
February 19 (Wednesday) Randy Black
& The Heathcroppers Plough & Stars Residency
February 23 (Sunday) The Gobshites
- Performing Live on WAAF - Carmelita's Bay State Rock
March 7 (Saturday) The Gala, Muck
and the Mires, Dangereens, The Downhauls at The Midway (night show)
May 8 (Friday) Salem Answers-Night
1: This is a music fest to celebrate and encourage the arts, magic,
equality, and diversity of Salem! 7-9 at Koto: Accoustic sets with Pink
Malahares, Coffin Salesman, Jenn Lombari - 9:30 to close at Koto:
Salem Wolves, Oh The Humanity!, Radio Compass, Bad Larry's....9:30
to Close at Opus: Marianne Toilet and the Runs, Losers Circle,
Red Ledger, Hyber, Subourban Sunrise 
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