Music seen at Space Gallery, September 30, 2007
By CHRISTOPHER GRAY | October 3, 2007
There was sort of a collective groan when the clueless among us (I plead vacation) found out that a third band would be playing at SPACE, given that the moderately sleepy concert wasn't even going to start until 10 pm on a Sunday night. Luckily, that groan turned into a “whoa, Bruce Springsteen” when An Evening With... started their set. The four-piece, who rarely play out and will hopefully be releasing an album someday soon, is fronted by Jeremy Alexander and also features Cult Maze’s Peet Chamberlain, Seekonk percussionist Jason Ingalls, and Satellite Lot's Aaron Hautala. Alexander has an emotive, quintessentially gravelly Americana voice, and his band’s subtle, full-bodied sound matches him wonderfully. More, please.
The Watson Twins, best known as the backing band of the much loved and hated (that’d be me) indie siren Jenny Lewis, offered a dreamy set of alt-country tunes that in some instances — particularly a cover of the Cure’s “Just Like Heaven” — took on some shoegaze overtones. Or maybe that was just the haze everyone was in watching two really cute, really tall girls sing with really pretty voices.
The half-set of Magnolia Electric Co. I made it through was rock solid. Diminutive frontman Jason Molina’s lonely-dog wail was complimented by energetic (and jocular) backup, with Molina playing tons of unfamiliar songs because he’s written far too many for anyone to keep up with. And unlike that other prolific Americana hero we had in town a few weeks ago, this dude seems to have fun with it.
Related:
Work ethics, Magnolia Electric Co. | Josephine, Repackaged treasures, More
- Work ethics
You can file Jason Molina with the über-prolific. Magnolia Electric Co., "Lonesome Valley" (mp3)
- Magnolia Electric Co. | Josephine
Even though it arose in part from tragedy, Josephine , the latest from Jason Molina and his band Magnolia Electric Co., may be one of Molina's lightest releases.
- Repackaged treasures
Repackaging music in box-set format and in newer, more-deluxe versions is a marketing ploy that’s been around at least since the dawn of the CD age.
- Junior miss
Former glam-rocker Jesse Malin’s 2003 solo debut not only offered proof that he could make it as a singer-songwriter — it was the best thing he’d put out.
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Could a deaf person really feel included in a jazz concert?
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It’s the first year a long time where I truly felt like I didn’t listen to enough music.
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Most music fans discovered the Watson Twins — 31-year-old identical sisters Leigh and Chandra — via their backing vocal appearance on Rabbit Fur Coat , the 2006 solo debut from Jenny Lewis.
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From $16 paperbacks to $120 collector’s items, we’ve come up with a range of selections that should cover everyone on your list — from former classics majors and music fans to future art critics and lovers of high-fashion soft-core.
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A preggers Sally Ellyson sings warm drizzles for NPR outcasts and soccer dads.
- Guest lists
What small, private lists like this remind us is that big, honking institutional lists are largely fictions, mirages of a consensus that no longer exists, if it ever really did in the first place.
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The end is nigh! And I’m not talking about the mortgage market.
- Less
Topics:
New England Music News
, Jenny Lewis, Bruce Springsteen, Chris Gray, More
, Jenny Lewis, Bruce Springsteen, Chris Gray, Jason Molina, Jason Ingalls, Jeremy Alexander, Less