A new Dinosaur Jr. record, Dropkicks return to Conan, "Haunted Tooth, Neon Fang," and more
By SARAH TOMLINSON | February 21, 2006
Believe it or not, DINOSAUR JR.are convening at J Mascis’s home studio this month to record material for a new album. They’re keeping a tight lid on things so far, but Lou Barlow reported on his Web site, www.loobiecore.com, that he’ll be gone for two months to work on what he described as “the ultimately once-unlikely likelihood.” The group are also preparing their first-ever DVD, which will have live performances from 2005 — including two December dates at the Middle East — along with interviews and behind-the-scenes shenanigans filmed by Barlow’s brother-in-law, German filmmaker Phillip Virus. . . . DROPKICK MURPHYS will make their second appearance on NBC’s Late Night with Conan O’Brien this Tuesday, February 28, before launching a 19-date tour that will wrap up in Boston with their now-legendary (and long sold out) string of St. Paddy’s Day shows at Avalon, March 16-19. . . . Eleven months after the demise of his long-running dance night, "Number Six," DAN SHEA of local promotions group/record label Bodies of Water Arts and Crafts, is launching a new monthly party tonight (Thursday, February 23). Called "HAUNTED TOOTH, NEON FANG," it will be held at the Reel Bar in Allston on the last Thursday of every month. Shea and Doug Tuttle of MULES will spin dance music with an edge, and there'll be live musical performances — the inaugural night features LIFE PARTNERS and CRYSTAL COCK OVER CANADA. . . In other BOWACC news, look for a new split from RAMONA CORDOVA and Cave In’s STEPHEN BRODSKY this month. The two are planning live shows for this winter and spring. There’s also a new album in the works from NEW IDEA SOCIETY, Brodsky’s collaboration with Euclid’s Mike Law. The two recorded 15 of Law’s songs and one Brodsky original in two days at Andrew Schneider’s Translator Audio in Brooklyn. Law describes the material as more coherent than the duo’s 2005 debut, You Are Awake or Asleep, which they recorded by themselves over the course of two years. “This record is much more focused than the last one. It sounds less like a mixtape. There are themes and everything relates.” The duo have yet to sign with a label or nail down an album title or a release date, but look for New Idea Society dates toward the end of the year . . .A Cambridge institution since 1968, the PLOUGH AND STARS will re-open at its 912 Mass. Ave. location in time for St. Patty's Day. The venue's new owners, Tim Carey, Jennifer Lockwood, and chef Brendan Curtis, plan to offer live music four nights a week, featuring many of the same musicians that regularly played the pub in the past. Look for the RAY CORVAIR TRIO in March and English football on the tellie. "There are no specific themed nights as of yet," says Curtis. "That will evolve as we go." Curtis will be joined in the kitchen by longtime Plough chef Jim Seery and serve lunch and dinner daily, plus a weekend brunch.
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On the Web:
Dinosaur Jr.: http://www.dinosaurjr.com/
J Mascis: http://www.jmascis.com/
Lou Barlow: http://www.loobiecore.com/
New Idea Society: http://www.newideasociety.com/
Dropkick Murphys: http://www.dropkickmurphys.com/
Late Night With Conan O'Brien: http://www.nbc.com/Late_Night_with_Conan_O'Brien/index.shtml
E-mail the author:
Sarah Tomlinson: stomlins@mindspring.com
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