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The BGN News Archive
The last time we saw the Nervous Eaters was June of last year at Pete’s Grill in Quincy, that’s too long for us. They snuck in a low key gig at the Square Root in Roslindale on Saturday. Like they sometimes do, they elected to take the early slot at 9pm, which was fine for us, we planned to club hop to the Midway for Muck and the Mires and The Gala.
The Square Root was full as the Eaters indeed started at 9. They had a new bass player, Brad Hallen who played in Pastiche and Adventure Set. He’s also a jazz player and it was obvious he was knowledgeable and well-rehearsed. He may play jazz but he knows how to rock, he added that insistent drive that the group has at its best. They started with two new songs: “Riders in the Night” and “Johnny Rock”. Steve mentioned Johnny Cash when introducing “Riders in the Night”. The guitar riffs were big and verging on twangy although the Eaters never really get twangy, but had a faint western tinge to it. These are two songs that will be on the next album. This band is on a creative streak. They just released, Record 10, last year – get the digital copy on Amazon. And there was that Hot Steel and Acid reissue – get that at Ace of Hearts and it looks like volume two of Eaterville on Penniman Records will be coming soon .... and they have been gigging steadily. They took the winter off but it’s back to gigging now. They have a line-up of shows coming including The Paradise and 9 Wallis St again.
As the set went on they covered almost all the ‘phases’ of their long band life. They could do three or more sets just of material from the early, middle and current years. There’s so much material there. They did, “Just Head”, “Last Chance”, “On the Avenue” “Girl Next Door”, “Chad” and ended with “Loretta”. Try to find a better ender than “Loretta”. It pumps, it gets you up, the guitars unleash some acid soloing and it evokes the glory days of early Boston punk. We had the idea to just video Steve’s solos and edit them together but we were too involved in the moment to do it. At the Square Root there was an immediacy to the small amps. You could enjoy the tones and hear Allan’s changing effects, his riffs and counter melodies are the gold standard for accompaniment. Steve had that stinging tone. He would play note for note from the record some time and then add some more. Doing it all on a nice and heavy Les Paul. We feel bad that this gig might have gotten by some people but you should be checking the Eaters Facebook page where they keep updated info. Then it was out of Roslindale and into Jamaica Plain to the Midway. We knew we were going to miss a band and it turned out to be the Downhauls.
We walked in on The Dangereens from Montreal. They already had the audience in the palm of their hand. They looked like a seventies band, a combo of the Dolls, the Stones and Aerosmith. They had a seventies sound but the tempos were faster and the songwriting less centered on riffs, and very much a sweep of chords. They made a whole slew of retro sounds come alive. The open shirts and posing were yesterday’s thing but their enthusiasm was all about the now. You would be churlish to deny them and their on stage party. They are young and maybe still evolving because their Bandcamp offerings differ from the impression we got at the Midway. “She’s so Fine” is a nice garage romp while “Backlight City” is a Dolls-like old school rocker. We and everyone else in the Midway were mighty impressed, entertained and rocked to the max by The Dangereens. They HAVE to come back and do that all over again!!
There was no time to rest your heart beat with Muck and the Mires putting on their non-stop rocking roller coaster. We all knew the drill – they start and when the song is over Linda is already drumming the beginning of the next song. Then people start asking the usual question, “is it me or are they better than ever?” Who can answer that when it’s asked every show? Does it just seem like that or do they get better every time? That’s the same as trying to peg your favorite song. Each song you think, “that’s my favorite” until you think the same for each succeeding song. This is quantum physics Muck-style.
Who would want to go after that? Well, The Gala would. They’ve done it before. We often see The Gala at the end of the bill for some reason and we know they just do their thing and it’s wild and yup, energy wise they just kept going were Muck and the Mires left off. Dressed in frilly white Emily is the center of attention before the music even starts. Just looking at her you know it’s going to be crazy. The Gala sound is organ drenched garage. Live Rebecca on Farfisa organ is sometimes lost, and she was this show, and that’s a shame. They need to rethink the amplifier on that. The stage show is so busy that you only catch the general feel of the sounds that are hitting you. Part of that is because the playing is seamless with very good drum work. Chris on guitar hits his chords in a staccato style which is a bit different from most.
The one song that always does stick out is “Blood Orange” with its chorus of “I don’t wanna talk about it”. There’s few people who front a band that can match Emily. This Midway show was particularly eye grabbing. She was interacting a lot with the guys from Dangereens. The whole band was up front and cheering on every band the whole night. That was another reason to love them. The action on stage was all a bit circus like. There’s an extra bit of show business savvy that other bands don’t have. We’ve seen The Gala many times and part of the fun is to see new people to the band become instant fans. If you went you would be a fan too – so, you should go see them!!! At least go listen to a bit of their album Bad News That was three bands in a row with compelling stage craft and rocking sets. Whoever put that bill together knew what they were doing. And in other news.......
Now comes this announcement that the Boston Public Library is having a session in conjunction with Harvard to coordinate and organize in a public/collective/wiki way. They say: “The Boston Public Library is partnering with Harvard Library for a guided exploration of Wikidata on Saturday, April 18 from 11AM to 3PM. Using forms supplied by project staff, you will generate new Wikidata entities and learn about ways these can be leveraged to synthesize and visualize data.If you want to be part of that go to Eventbrite The whole idea is new. Arthur and his collection has motivated this. That’s exciting. The rest of us with reams of material that may get lost in time can only look and hope some of our material finds a similar home and attention.
They (and the artists) were not making money because of the rise of streaming portals like Spotify and Pandora. Click here for more info in their statement to artists Stop Calling Me Frank are shooting a video shoot at the Midway on March 21 at 10am, be there if you want to be in it! Once is hosting the 6th Annual Pop-Up Record Shop on April 18th at 11am to 4pm. It’s free and full of vinyl.
At what point will it be unwise to go into a crowded club? On March 14 the Hong Kong in Harvard Square is celebrating one year of booking rock shows. It’s turned into one of our favorite places to go. The people running the club are nice and it feels cool being up two flights up over Harvard Square. On the 14th they will have; Doom Lover, Mint Green, Fon Fon Ru. FonFon Ru are from Portland, ME and they sound punky, arty and just wild, perfect for the Hong Kong.
To contribute to the Indiegogo campaign and get the album first, go to https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/next-moving-targets-2020-album-humbucker#/ Powerslut ended like a rocket going up! They released Fun With Junk at the end of February, they had a wild record release - and final - show at The WhistleStop show at Once, and they were getting more attention than ever. But end it did. Linnea Herzog has already put together her new group; Linnea’s Garden. Their first show is May 9 at the Somerville Porchfest (32 Stone Ave 4Pm).
Justine and the Unclean released “Picking a Fight” a short while ago, now they've release two more songs: “Vengeance” and “Sweet Denial” . The three song EP is on Bandcamp. It's got all we've come to expect – the sharp guitars, Justine’s voice and the quality songwriting. It rewards repeated listens. But that’s not all!! Justine is also has another band, the alt-country Justine’s Black Threads. Justine’s voice works wonderful in that context. It seems so obvious after you hear even one song. They have two songs on Bandcamp: “You and Me Against You and Me”, (great title!!), a low key country; and a cover of “Needles and Pins” that takes it back close to Jackie DeShannon’s 1963 version except Justine adds some of her vocal twists and makes it her own. It’s all low key and tasteful. Check out their EPCheap Vacation Bandcamp
Our own John Keegan has a recorded effort; “The Wrong Devil”, a digital single by his group Crow Follow. It has an atmospheric spaghetti western style with a Nick Cave darkness in the lyrics. The vocal is gravely like Dylan/Tom Waits. John’s sax is a big part of it all, he's got low sound like Morphine. It could easily be on a Quentin Tarantino soundtrack! Check it out on Bandcamp: The Wrong Devil. Here's some good shows coming up this week.....
March 13 (Friday) Murphy's Law at the Middle East Up March 13 (Friday) Set Fire, Black Helicopter, Ringtail at The Midway March 13 (Friday) U-Ey at the Buoy, Classic Ruin, Crunchtime at The Square Root 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) Sapling, Heavy Hands, The Freqs, Brian George of Motel Black 3-7 matinee at The Midway March 14 (Saturday) The Hong Kong's 1 Year Anniversary Party w/Mint Green, Doom Lover, FonFon Ru - at The Hong Kong March 14 (Saturday) Eldridge Rodriguez, Minibeast, Blood Built Empire, Sweeping Promises at Great Scott
March 14 (Saturday) This is Night 2 of a 2-night Whistle Stop Rock festival in Salem!! Featuring: Kid Gulliver, Heather Rose In Clover, Justine's Black Threads... And special guests: The Dents!! at Koto March 15 (Sunday) SkyTigers, C.O.B., Captain Martini and the Key Stoners, Colin Moran - a 2PM matinee- at Thirsty First in Lowell. March 15 (Sunday) Anti-Flag, Grade 2, Doll Skin, Evan Greer at Brighton Music Hall And further out there is.... March 17 (Tuesday) Sonic Libibo, Duck & Cover, Skytigers at O'Brien's March 17 (Tuesday) Greg Rekus (Winnipeg), Donny McHale, and Tim Hollhouse at Thirsty First in Lowell @ 8:00 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) Pigeon Man, Motel Black, The Knock Ups at The Square Root March 21 (Saturday) Jonee Earthquake Band, State of the Union, Kenne Highland's Air Force, Tsunami of Sound at The Midway 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 21 (Saturday) Vanity, Strange Passage, Sonomax, Loretta, Invisible Rays at The Democracy Center Mt Auburn St Cambridge
March 22 (Sunday) Rodentt, The Doom Buggies, Classic Ruins - 3-7PM matinee at The Midway March 23 (Monday) Crisis Actors, OVER (PDX), Loretta, Sticker Shock at Charlie's Kitchen March 25 (Wednesday) Louzy, Pigeon Man, Hippocrisis, Wastebuds at O'Brien's March 26 (Thursday) Waiver Wire, Scare City, The Planes, The True Jacqueline at the Hotel Vernon Worcester March 27 (Friday) Hey Zeus, Labor Hex, Razorburn City at O'Brien's March 27 (Friday) Modern Day Idols CD Release with the Hi-End at The Burren March 27 (Friday) Loom River, Billy Connors Project, The Instamatics at the Square Root March 27 (Friday) Little Caesar, Diablogato, Little Billy Lost, Pink Mahalares at Koto Salem March 28 (Saturday) The Burning Lights, Only On Weekends, Blame It On Whitman, and Breaking Up 3-7PM Matinee at The Midway March 28 (Saturday) Downhauls, Motel Black, Von Traps at Sally O'Brien's
March 28 (Saturday) Bombpops, MakeWar, Pass Away, In the Meantime at The Hong Kong March 28 (Saturday) The Zulus at The Paradise 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) Gypsy Moths, Justine and the Unclean, The New Frustrations, Ghost Truckers 3-7 matinee at The Midway April 4 (Saturday) Actor|Observer tour homecoming with Girih & Dreamwell at The Hong Kong April 4 (Saturday) Loser's Circle, Hopeless Otis, The Bad Reminders, Taken By Vultures at Club Bohemia April 4 (Saturday) The Dents, Duck and Cover, The Shang Hi Los at Sally O'Brien's
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 5 (Sunday) Wet Specimens, Chain Cult (dark punk from Greece), Final Gasp, Loretta, Cartridge at The Dorchester Art Project FB page. April 6 (Monday) Knock Ups, blindspot, Gene Dante & the Future Starlets at Charlie's Kitchen April 8 (Wednesday) Mad Painter Live on the Heavy Leather Topless Dance Party April 10 (Friday) Little Man with special guests The Knock Ups, Falling Stars, and Baabes at Thunder Road April 10 (Friday) Citizens Arrest, Maniac, Peace Test, Mangled at Hardcore Stadium Bishop Allen Dr
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 17 (Friday) Dark Thoughts, Conmen, Spiral Heads, PCP + the Knives at The Hong Kong April 17 (Friday) Appendix, Destrucktions, Innocent, Bloodsuckers at the Democracy Center 45 Mount Auburn St, Cambridge FB page April 17 (Friday) The Dogmatics, Stop Calling Me Frank, The Billy Connors Project at Sally O'Brien's April 18 (Saturday) A Crash Course for the Ravers has Kid Gulliver as guests!! 1-4PM WMFO 91.5
April 19 (Sunday) The Undertones at The Paradise April 24 (Friday) StrangeColorSky, blindspot, The Only Things, Silvertongue at The Worthen House Lowell. April 25 (Saturday) Punk Night at The
Office with Color Killer, Loser Birds, Jerry’s Got Jokes, Pigeon
Man, + More bands TBA at The Office 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 April 26 (Sunday) The Macc Lads at Once 7PM doors. FYI: "The Macc Lads are an English punk band from Macclesfield, Cheshire, England. Self-proclaimed the "rudest, crudest, lewdest, drunkest band in Christendom", the Macc Lads used irreverent, foul-mouthed and politically incorrect lyrics; common lyrical themes were binge drinking, sex and fighting." April 30 (Thursday) GBH at Brighton Music Hall 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 FB page
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 14 (Thursday) The Thigh Scrapers , 61 Ghosts, GLiDER, and Sara & the Scaliwags at Thunder Road May 16 (Saturday) Baabes, The Knock Ups, Mister Vertigo, Motel Black at The Jungle
May 22 (Friday) Guilloteenagers, Stigmatics, Acrylic Killers at The Square Root May 24 (Sunday) Negative Approach, ACxDCx , Bandit at ONCE Ballroom May 30 (Saturday) Stray Bullets, Duck & Cover, Disco Rice, Silver Screams at O'Brien's June 5 (Friday) Booze & Glory (punk/Oi - U.K.), The Drowns, Battery March at Great Scott June 6 (Saturday) Straight Johnny, The Cretins, Electric Joey, Bad Sandy at The Midway 3-7PM matinee June 6 (Saturday) Jay Allen and the Arch Criminals Record Release Show at The Square Root 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. June 27 (Saturday) Stop Calling Me Frank, Nat Freedberg, Brad Marino at The Square Root July 3 (Friday) Andrea Howlett’s X-Ray Specs Tribute Show at The Square Root 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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Getting a place, or more importantly an institution, to take in some Boston
Punk material and archive it is a real problem. One aberration is the Arthur
Freedman Audio/Video Archive at Harvard University. Arthur worked to
get his collection a home and succeeded. His collection has been slowly organized.
On March 31 CD Baby will closing their online store. CD Baby
was one of the first online distributors of indie music, it was a place where
new bands could sell their CD’s and digital albums. They're going to concentrate
on “distribution, monetization, and promotion services." They'll
distribute to Amazon and other sites.
The SXSW Festival in Austin has been canceled for the first time in 34 years
because of the corona virus. There were news articles of some regular participants
bowing out, then the inevitable. Now, we wait as cases of corona virus start
to ramp up and see how far it goes.
Moving Targets had a Indiegogo fundraiser for their last album Wires and
they are doing the same thing for their next album called Humbucker.
The've already done some recording. They released this massive blast with a
ringing riff. You have to give it a listen - here 
The Hi-End have so much energy when they play that the stage
can hardly hold them. One of the good things about their new single is that
you can digest the music away from the show. “The Way She Moves Me”
shows them at their best.
March 9 (Monday) SkyTigers, Brix'n
Mortar, Circus Battalion, Rage//Quit at Charlie's Kitchen 
March 14 (Saturday) Dead Kennedys
(three originals and NO Jello Biafra) at Big Night Live - 
March 20 (Friday) Loser’s
Circle with special guests No Accion, Lenny Lashley’s
Gang Of One, and Live Nude Girls at Thunder Road
March 21 (Saturday) The Only Things
"You Can't Rush Genius" Record Release Show at The Worthen
House Lowell FB page. 
May 9 (Saturday) A Crash Course
for the Ravers featuring Glider WMFO 91.5 - 1-4PM
May 16 (Saturday) The Hi - End
Record Release party at The Square Root 
June 13 (Saturday) Sugar Cones,
Diablogato, Bunch of Jerks at The Square Root 
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