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The BGN News Archive
We beat the rain on Thursday night on our way to The Jungle. Secret Spirit was playing and we're hot on them at the moment.
The Lipstick Boys were on first, they were cranking out some hardcore West Coast Style. The sound was echoing and blunting their punch somewhat. They covered Agent Orange’s “Bloodstains”, you know, “Fast cars, cheap thrills”. That song seemed to give them an extra boost and after that they sounded clearer, beating out the echoing sound. Those last four or five songs hit their mark. We’d like to see them in another setting to see what they do.
Secret Spirit had two extra peopleoin the band to increase their sound output to fill any room, so they had no problem with the sound system. Their overwhelming sonic blast reminds us of Labor Hex, as does their dynamic lead singer. We saw them just two weeks ago and we loved the first song they played, so we were ready to get it on video this time. (Video below.) That strong melodic hook in the vocal in the middle of the crushing guitar attack just gets to us. They've describe themselves as, "melodic punk rock from future punk dads". The more we get familiar with the songs the more we appreciate them. Their full throttle assault, however, can be understood immediately. The singer puts everything into it and like last time goes tag team with the guitar player. They switch and the guitar player is fresh to yell his throat raw for a few songs. The arrangements are well done. The guitarists change the way they play the backgrounds several times in a song. They will go from staccato to hard strumming and from smooth to jerky rhythms. You can hear that in their song “Fault Lines” and check out that cool guitar figure from 6 to 17 seconds. They're lyrics about the memories of a LA trip, which sound so romantic, is unusual for a hardcore song. They ended their set like last show with the same lullaby called “Mother Fucker”. For a straight ahead blast of rock you can’t go wrong with Secret Spirit.
Saturday the Quincy Porchfest was happening. Boy, has that concept caught on. We thought it might have started in Somerville but according to Wikipedia (basis of all truth) it started in Ithaca, NY in 2007. One driveway line up was Glider, Charlie Don’t Surf, Baabes, The Fringe, The Stigmatics and the Thigh Scrapers. We were indoors at the Midway to catch up on Death Pesos.
The first band on stage was Waiver Wire from Worcester. They describe themselves as pop punk but the sound seems to have more in it than that. They had a hard attack with clear vocals. With those vocals you could catch some of the lyrics which had substance. They threw in some sound clips between a couple songs. One was Seinfeld’s George Costanza going, “These pretzels are making me thirsty”. They had one song about Boston traffic and Massachussetts roads. So does 1.4.5. (Pahk Ya Cah! ). They seem like a fairly new band. They have three songs on Soundcloud that sound like what we heard.
We found the next band, Heavy Hands, very interesting. They are stoner rock but with an added concept of ‘desert rock’. We were introduced to this by Sundrifter, who we first saw two years ago. The music did indeed evoke the desert landscape. The drummer downplayed the snare. As a matter of fact he repositioned the snare with the tom tom. With that he concentrated on the toms giving a rolling beat rather than a snare snap dividing up the measures. The bass player added to that with lines that throbbed with that rolling beat. The guitarist gave either a background wash of distortion or some heavily echoed riffs. The singer kept things mid-range in volume and tone while adding heavy echo in the mix. They often went soft/loud or fast/slow to keep things from getting monotonous. The whole package worked its magic on us. We gave into the dreamy vibe. This is a band worth checking out!! They have two efforts on Bandcamp. The newer EP, named Lies and Half Truths is the one to listen to . “Desert King” reflects the things we have been talking about here.
We first saw Death Pesos in June of 2017 at O’Brien’s. They've changed a bit since then. They seemed more garagy to us then but since that they've beefed up the sound and are very much a stoner band. They banged out some mighty riffs. They often doubled up on the riff with the bass and guitar and that got the whole sound into Blue Cheer territory. Pete on guitar has honed his chops in these two years also. His playing is faster and more intricate. The one main attraction we have with this group is bassists Larry Frisoli’s singing. It was strong, clear and had character. He adds some undefinable something to the lyrics, which could be funny and pointed, that made you listen. We loved when those vocals were embedded in the monster riffs. That’s the Death Pesos thing. And in other news..... Here is an interview (via skype) with Peter Prescott of MiniBeast/MOB on a show called The Watt from Pedro Show “Death doesn’t mean that much to me That’s dealing with real life straight on. Many of us are facing
this issue and this song is so vivid that it can be a feat of courage
to even listen to it. And here's a reminder to listen to Al Quint’s long time Sonic Overload podcast; it’s punk both new and old.
The Boston Beat podcast continues to post weekly. The latest is a punk one with Unnatural Axe interview with Richie, Tom and Frank. There’s lots of good interviews in there to check out: The Boston Beat. The seventh annual Rat Beach Party is coming to the C Note again. It’s Labor Day weekend. You know the drill; if at least one of your bandmates played the Rat you can play the Party. They are calling for bands now...…. you can check that out here. Here's some good shows coming up this week..... June 27 (Thursday) Powerslut, Thrust Club, Radium Girls at The Jungle June 28 (Friday) Labor Hex, Ultra Major, The Endorphins at O'Brien's June 28 (Friday) State Line Records Night at the Midway Round 1: Stray Bullets, Secret Spirit (NH), Stolen Wheelchairs (PA), Doc Rotten (NJ) at The Midway June 28 (Friday) State of the Union, Kid Gulliver, TBA at Thirsty First Tavern Lowell June 29 (Saturday) The Old Edison, Coffin Salesman, Time & Place, Loser's Circle at The Midway June 29 (Saturday) The Mystery Lights, Future Punx, Boston Cream at Thew Middle East Up June 30 (Sunday) Crow Follow, Smallesttownensemble, Big Giant, Cold Expectations 3-7 at The Midway And further out there is...... July 5 (Friday) Chet's Last Call: A Story of Rock and Redemption - Documentary is at the Somerville Theater. It starts at 9:30. TIX HERE July 5 (Friday) Cal Cali Band, GLiDER, The Kenne Highland Clan doing Gemini On A Full Moon at KOTO Salem
July 6 (Saturday) Zip-Tie Handcuffs album release show. Also on the bill is CreaturoS, Daddies, and Banana at Great Scott July 6 (Saturday) The Hi-End, Nat Freedberg, The Worried at Sally O'Brien's July 9 (Tuesday) Some Kind Of Nightmare, Losers Circle, Nick Barbarian, And Live Nude Girls at Thirsty First Tavern Lowell. July 11 (Thursday) The Thigh Scrapers, Baabes, State of the Union and The Laces at The Jungle 5 Sanborn Court Union Square Somerville. July 11 (Thursday) 61 Ghosts, Thee Fightin' Fish, Pop Gun at Opus in Salem July 12 (Friday) Freeloader is haviing a CD release party at The Plough and Stars. Who is Freeloader? Freeloader is: Nat Freedberg, Jim Haggerty, Charles Hansen, Jim Janota. Also on the bill the Savtones. July 13 (Saturday) Day Three of the Rama Lama Diong DSong thing: Unnatural Axe, Nice Guys, Atlantic Thrills, Andy California, Johnnie and the Foodmasters at Cambridge Elks Lodge $12 6:30 PM TIX: https://bit.ly/2QoVVVV July 13 (Saturday) Fable Grazer, Karen Zanes, Joe Perry (SOTU) solo at The Hearing Room in Lowell FB Page July 14 (Sunday) State of the Union, The Only Things, The Tsunamibots, Pop Gun matinee at The Midway 3-7PM July 14 (Sunday) The Messthetics, Trinary System (Roger Miller) at Great Scott July 18 (Thursday) Cruel Miracle, Blindspot, Justine & the Unclean at The Jungle Union Sq Somerville July 18 (Thursday) The Chats, Louzy at the Middle East Down July 20 (Saturday) Thee Fightin Fish, Warthog (Ramones tribute), Charlie Don't Surf (Clash tribute), and Meat Depressed at The Midway for a 3-7PM show July 20 (Saturday) State Line Records night at the Midway Round 2: Hudson Falcons, The Sprained Ankles, Michael Kane & the Morning Afters, Dressed for the Occasion, Coffin Salesman July 20 (Saturday) Spring Heeled Jack, Party Bois, Diablogato, Catbite at The MIddle East Down - all ages!! July 20 (Saturday) Dogmatics, Jittery Jack & Amy Griffin, Stop Calling Me Frank at the Back Room at The Burren Davis Sq Somerville 6-9PM folks!!! July 20 (Saturday) Thalia Zedek, GLiDER, Sara &the Scaliwags at The Square Root in Roslindale July 21 (Sunday) A Bunch of Jerks, The Stigmatics, 1.4.5, TRiPLE THiCK at The Midway matinee 3-7PM July 26 (Friday) Oxblood Forge, IL Mostro and Wrought Iron Hex at Koto Salem July 26 (Friday) Diablogato & The Gala at Askew in Providence RI July 27 (Saturday) M.O.T.O., Jerry's Got Jokes, Cook Bag, The Trades, The Runouts at The Midway matinee 3-7PM July 27 (Saturday) Les Sans Culottes, Muck & the Mires, Fireking, Hambone Skinny at The Midway - night time show July 27 (Saturday) The Knock Ups, Motel Black at The Jungle Union Sq Somerville July 27 (Saturday) The New England Ska Summit; Bim Skala Bim, Copacetics, Hempsteadys, El Grande at Once Ballroom
July 28 (Sunday) Joe Harvard Memorial - 5-10PM Middle East Up. Keep checking the FB page for updates and info July 31 (Wednesday) Black Leather Lagoon, Poison Boys, Thee Fightin' Fish at The Jungle Union Sq Somerville July 31 (Wednesday) Heavy Hands, Voting Yes, The Lightweight Champs, TIFFY at The Midway August 1 (Thursday) Special Movie Night at the Brattle with Chet's Last Call: A Story of Rock and Redemption -showing at 7PM (in betwen showing of Rock'n' Roll Highschool) The Brattle Theater. August 1 (Thursday) Chet's Last Call After Party at Once Lounge - 9:40 The Classic Ruins, 10:10 The Hopelessly Obscure with Cal Cali, 10:50 Randy Black and friends, 11:40 Esther Rose and friends...PLUS Lots of special guests - the 10 singers who are in the film will perform and Kenne Higland is the Host for the NIght. -- at Once Lounge August 3 (Saturday) Rawstrum with Tensor at Sally O'Brien's August 2 (Friday) Cleaver/Walker/Messerly (Of Wussy) with special guests Thalia Zedek and Chris Brokaw of Come at The Midway August 3 (Saturday) Townies, Bystander, Louzy, Rusty Mullet this is a 3-7PM matinee show August 3 (Saturday) Oppositional Defiance, Red Mantis, Death Pesos, Wrought Iron Hex at The Midway August 8 (Thursday) Green Piece, Sorry w/ slo-anne & The Callouts at The Hong Kong August 8 (Thursday) Otto Records present 145 & The Thigh Scrapers at The Plough & Stars August 10 (Saturday) Billy Connors Project, 61 Ghosts, Little Billy Lost at The Square Root in Roslindale August 10 (Saturday) No Small Children, PowerSlut, and The Knock Ups, at Once August 14 (Wednesday) GLiDER live on Heavy Leather Topless Dance Party ! scat-tv FB page for links August 14 (Wednesday) Deke Dickerson, Bloodshot Bill, Jittery Jack, DJ Easy Ed at Once FB Page August 15 (Thursday) 1.4.5., Crunchtime and Glider at The Jungle Union Sq Somerville. August 15 (Thursday) The Queers, Stubborn Hearts, Meat Depressed, The Parkwoods at Alchemy in Provi RI August 16 (Friday) Cocked N' Loaded, Hey Zeus, Scissorfight at Great Scott August 17 (Saturday) Stop Calling Me Frank, Muck and the Mires, The Dirty Truckers Boat Party! 3:30- 7PM FB page for info and tix August 24 (Saturday) The Humanoids, Bossnova, Oxblood Forge, Renegade Cartel night show at The MIdway August 31 (Saturday) A Crash Course For The Ravers LIVE Saturdays 1pm to 4pm at WMFO and transmits on 91.5FM Medford. This week we have RICHARD MIRSKY! August 31 (Saturday) Time & Place, PowerSlut, The Daylilies, Lonely Leesa & The Lost Cowboys at The Jungle - Music starts at 8PM September 8 (Sunday) Somerville Rock And Roll Yard Sale - Union Square - 11 AM – 5 PM FB page for more info September 19 (Thursday) THE ZULUS at The Paradise FB page for tix etc September 21 (Saturday) Lyres and Glider at Once (TIX) September 26 (Thursday) Baabes, GLiDER, Sara & the Scaliwags, Lily Black at O'Brien's October 5 (Saturday) Mudhoney, Pissed Jeans at Brighton Music Hall 6PM doors. October 12 (Saturday) Lyres, Tiger Bomb, Glider at Sun Tiki Studios 375 Forest Avenue, Portland, Maine 04101 FB page October 20 (Sunday) Stiff Little Fingers, The Avengers at Brighton Music Hall doors 7PM October 23 (Wednesday) 999, The Clap, Vixen 77 at The Fire Philly PA FB Page October 25 (Friday) 999, The Clap,the Parasitix, The Transmission Now at the Catasauqua American Legion 215 PA FB page October 26 (Saturday) The Fleshtones, GLiDER, Muck & the Mires at Once Ballroom October 26 (Saturday) 999, The Clap, The Bobby Lees, Blank Spots at Coney Island Baby in NYC FB page October 29 (Tuesday) 999 & The Clap at Randy Now's Man Cave 134 Farnsworth Ave, Bordentown, New Jersey 08505 FB page 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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Adam Sherman has been doing the solo thing as well
as playing with the Billy Connors Project. He's just released another
four song EP. 
June 27 (Thursday) Let's
Go! Author Event & Cars Tribute Concert at 9 Wallis in Beverly
July 6 (Saturday) A Crash
Course For The Ravers LIVE Saturdays 1pm to 4pm at 
July 13 (Saturday)
Tiger Bomb, The Gala, Lockette, Gene Dante
& The Future Starlets at Koto Salem 
July 27 (Saturday) The
Hi-End, Classic Ruins, The Stigmatics at The Square Root in
Roslindale
August 18 (Sunday) Possum,
Martin/Morell/Fredette, The Chelsea Curve, Tsunami of Sound
matinee 3-7 show at the Midway
October 23 (Wednesday) Flipper
with David Yow (Jesus Lizard) "40th Anniversary
Show" at The MIddle East Down
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