I’m excited to announce that Boston five piece Viva Viva have not only released a shiny new limited edition hot-pink vinyl EP (with free mp3 download) but are also playing a show this Sunday, May 27th at Public Assembly.
I was first introduced to Viva Viva down at the Converse Rubber Tracks studio and I’ve been absolutely in love with their gritty blues rock inspired music since. They have taken Boston by storm winning Rock Artist of the Year at the 2011 Boston Music Awards (and Live Artist of the Year nominee), a critics-picked “Album of the Year” from Time Out Boston. Now it’s time for them to show NYC what’s up. As a chick that grew up in Boston I couldn’t be more stoked to see them this Sunday. If you love what you hear above then listen to the rest of What’s The Kim Deal? over on their SoundCloud page and then join me this Sunday at Public Assembly.
Buck 65 - Live late-night, curb-side acapella in Boston //
This past Sunday, the self-titled “what’s-his-face of rap” opened up his first set with Gee Whiz, accompanied by the sultry nonchalance that exudes from Marnie Herald’s vocals.
Buck 65 is a Nova Scotian poet. He was born Richard Terfry; he was born a performer. Imagine if Tom Waits and Johnny Cash had a love child under the Zulu Nation. Throw in a combination of Chaplin-esque and Talking Heads choreography, and you begin to scratch the surface of Trefy’s stage presence. His originality and sincerity are invigorating.
When the Middle East staff announced “we’ve reached the curfew,” the Buck didn’t stop there. As requests for an encore poured in, Terfry politely asked the crowd to give him a few minutes to pack up, and to meet him upstairs. An indescribable Sunday-night curb-side acapella ensued.
Xavier Rudd & Izintaba (Tio Moloanto (bass) and Andile Nqubezelo (percussion)) created their own musical Dreamtime in Boston last night, capping off the US leg of his Koonyum Sun tour.
Rudd pours so much spirit into his performance, it’s hard not to feel enlightened after experiencing one of his live shows.
Mixing aboriginal-influences with african percussion and bluesy rock, it’s also hard to sit still. Hence, Wilbur Theater turned into a two-story dance party.
Anyone who can handle two didges while playing drums, throw in some chimes, and then switch out to a mesmerizing slide guitar funk…well, that deserves a tip of the hat to say the least. And given the roar of the standing ovation he received last night, it looks like Boston agrees with me. What a master!
Get a little taste (below) of Xavier et al. jamming out with Good Old War toward the end of the night. Rudd finished strong with “Let Me Be.” Unfortunately, I couldn’t stand still long enough to capture it — you’ll just have to go see him for yourself.
If you caught last night’s Red Sox vs. Yankees game last night, you may have spotted Dr. Dre chilling in the box with Lebron James. Rumors were that Jay-Z was going to show up at the game as well, but he was stuck in New York seeing Chicago the Musical with Beyonce instead.
This one goes out to all you metal heads out there. Stryk Nine is an experimental metal core band out of Boston. If you’ve got the balls to listen to metal, these guys have got what it takes. They are going to do well for themselves this year, why not join in the fun? Start head banging, become a fan on Facebook and support METAL! http://www.facebook.com/pages/Stryk-Nine/10494937500?ref=ts
I was recently home for Thanksgiving and while hanging out at my friends place in the burbs of Boston I ran in to our mutual friend Nicholas Nauman. It took us both a second to realize who one another were. Then I blurted out, “Wow, you look so different” to which he had basically the same response. Probably due to the fact that we had not seen each other since we were Jr’s or Sr’s in high school. At that time Nick had very short hair, which he now wears in long golden curly locks with a matching beard. As for me, I also have long hair now and lets just say although I’m not a tank the college years could have been kinder to me. Thank you freshmen 15.
Nick is one third of the Brooklyn based indie band KEEPAWAY. The band’s other members include fellow classmate and multimedia artist Mike Burkaoff as well as Frank Lyon, who I can’t claim to know anything about, but I’m sure is talented if hes hanging with these two. They have been getting some great press on Pitchfork and Fader for their track “Yellow Wings” featured above. Tip of the hat to you boys. Love this track and the EP is banging.
