Bang Camaro at Avalon

 

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

 

The Cinematics

 

Silversun Pickups

 

Photos by Caitlin E. Curran

 

Most overheard comment when OTD first walked down Lansdowne St. last night: "Kings of Leon aren’t playing?!" Yep, KOL backed out at the last minute (minus many cool points for them) but it was truly their loss because the crowd at Best Music Poll was plentiful and apparently fueled by Red Bull - nearly seven hours after they trickled in, as the Cinematics played an ear-splittingly loud cover of a Beck track from Sea Change on the outdoor stage, Axis was packed to capacity as Silversun Pickups began their explosive set 15 minutes early, explaining that they were bored backstage and everyone was there already anyway. Ridiculously awesome live versions of “Kissing Families” and “Three Seed” ensued, a welcome reward for their sweaty, tired-yet-psyched fans. For some, the Best Music Poll can function as the extreme sport of concert-going – the champions are the ones who endure all (roughly) eight hours, and brave crowds, lines and stern doormen to see as many bands as possible. For others, it’s just an excuse to get drunk and listen to good music on a weekday. More on everything that happened – Bloc Party turned Lansdowne into a for real block party, and Bang Camaro put all of their Guitar Hero-head fans to shame - via Will Spitz’s full review and innumerable amounts of awesome photos (and video!), coming soon.

 

 

6/7/2007 12:48:51 PM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

Amy Winehouse
at Avalon
May 7, 2007
Photos: Kelly Davidson

Screamin' Jay Hawkins always maintained that "I Put a Spell on You" was the product of a plastered night in the studio, but if so he was one motherfucking miracle of a drunk. He was a frustrated opera singer, and even on "Spell" he had the elocution of a baptist -- that is, when he wasn't howling like a jive voodoo priest. We've always wondered if he made up the drunk story to protect the part of his dignity that prized technique. Besides, even Screamin' Jay probably knew that the star of "I Put a Spell on You" was that infernal, inebriated baritone sax lick -- the song's actual drunken protagonist, belching and stuttering like a fat man stumbling cockeyed down the street.

Coming out of Avalon last night, Amy Winehouse's supporters weren't quite sure: was she really, really drunk or does she just always sing like that? Whatever the answer, what a weird gig. Outside, you've got competing radio-station SUVs: WFNX and Mix 98, which gives you a sense of what an odd bank-shot Winehouse's career requires. Anyone so inclined is welcome to argue the hype, since her live vocals bore so little resemblance to what she put on wax -- between her slurring and her cockney, that freakishly soulful rasp of hers barely got a note in edgewise. No matter what's in her cup, she's no Screamin' Jay. But for fuck's sake, the concept. We'd long ago given up on the idea that we'd ever see real-deal soul in the top 40, let alone a fully-staffed showband in the club. Credit Cee-Lo for bringing the scent of green back to R&B and for reminding people that 13 pieces will fit on a stage. And then join us in bowing before Mark Ronson for making the exact perfect connection between singer, backing band, and material. The sound of Back to Black -- those firecracker snares; that flatulent, busted-carburetor sax -- is just unfuckwithable, and it could only have been put together by someone who'd grasped the tenuous link between the DJ-friendly rare-groove marketplace and Daptone's modern soul revival. (If you had returned from the future and told us back then that Daptone would be on the goddamn radio, we'd have bet the mortgage you were lying.) There are probably not three people on earth who could've pulled it off as a pop record. As we yawned our way through Amy's set -- imagine, like, if they had a Diamanda Galas night on American Idol -- we wondered how long it will be before her label pulls her tour support and the band goes back to playing for connoisseurs. Even if Winehouse blows it, we hope Ronson has made his point about the stability and marketability of the music: Christina Aguilera's handlers would have to be deaf, dumb, and blind not to have her do this kind of material on her next record.

Also, someone let us know if we just imagined this: was that Amanda Palmer screaming "Show us your nuts!" at Patrick Wolf?

5/8/2007 10:47:53 AM by On the Download | Comments [3] |  

This, dudes, is going to sell out quickly. We'll have VIP tix to give away eventually, but do you really want to rely on OTD's spotty blogging schedule to get into this?

FNX/Boston Phoenix Best Music Poll Concert 2007
June 6 at Avalon, Axis, Bill's Bar, and outdoors on Lansdowne Street
Tickets $32.50

Bloc Party
CYHSY
Kings of Leon
The Bravery
Silversun Pickups
Say Anything
Shiny Toy Guns
Cinematics
Snowden
+ winners of 2007 Boston BMP Poll TBA

DOWNLOAD: Bloc Party, "I Still Remember (Unplugged, live on FNX)" (mp3)
[download more from this session]

DOWNLOAD: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, WFNX interview (mp3)
[download more from this session] 

DOWNLOAD: Silversun Pickups, "Lazy Eye (Unplugged, live on FNX)" (mp3)
[download more from this session]

DOWNLOAD: Say Anything, "Alive with the Glory of Love (Unplugged, live on FNX)" (mp3)
[download more from this session]

4/27/2007 12:25:56 PM by On the Download | Comments [1] |  

Chris Cornell
April 19 at Avalon
Photos: Carina Mastrocola

As you can tell from the setlist, Cornell is playing shit from all phases of his career -- Temple of the Dog?! -- but that opening/closing with prime-era Soundgarden ish has us hungry for a reunion. Kim Thayil, where you at?

4/20/2007 1:10:05 PM by On the Download | Comments [3] |  

Elvis Costello at Avalon
Tuesday, May 15, 2007 at 8:00 pm
Tickets are $55
On-sale Saturday, April 7, 2007 at NOON

Velvet Revolver at Avalon
Wednesday, May 16, 2007 at 8:00 pm
Tickets are $55.00
On-sale Saturday, April 7, 2007 at NOON 

John Mayer and Ben Folds at the TD Banknorth Garden
Tuesday, July 17, 2007 at 7:30 pm
Tickets are $49.50 and $59.50
On-sale Saturday, April 7, 2007 at 10:00 am

4/3/2007 10:12:46 AM by On the Download | Comments [1] |  

Photos: Carina Mastrocola

The Pogues began a multi-night stand last Thursday at Avalon, in what is generally recognized as the official jump-off for St. Patrick's Day weekend, which in Boston Irish circles lasts about two weeks, give or take a month. Pogues fans have been back in force for the group's last two tours, which marked the return of their original vocalist: a tall glass of Guinness stout. The Guinness, which was given pride of place on a stool at the front of the stage, was spotted periodically sipping from Pogues mascott Shane MacGowan.

READ: Phoenix review of the Pogues at Avalon

3/13/2007 9:20:01 AM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

Killswitch Engage

Dragonforce

Chimaira

He Is Legend

Killswitch Engage, Dragonforce, Chimaira, and He Is Legend
February 24 at Avalon
Photos (c) Carina Mastrocola

If you flipped through those photos casually, we want you to go back and check out how focussed Dragonforce's beer-through-a-straw game is. We are awed. Also, they fly. Holy shit.

Killswitch were without guitarist Adam D. due to a severely herniated disc sustained on the last KSE tour. ("If I didn't get emergency surgery, I was risking the possibility of paralysis below the waist," he emailed fans not long ago. "I opted to get surgery instead of crapping my pants for all eternity. I think it was a sweet move.") Which didn't stop the show from selling out a week in advance. Nor did it stop Boston metal royalty from showing up, including Shadows Fall's Brian Fair, the Seemless guys, and . . . Aerosmith's Tom Hamilton? Without photographic confirmation we'll have to take Carina's word on it, but she triple-pinkie-swears it was him.

(Also, was that Killswitch's lawyer we saw bro-ing down with the Bang Camaro dudes later that night? Big tings for dem boys...)

In the meantime, in lieu of the usual get-well-soon-gifts -- sweatpants, porn, Oxycontin -- Adam D. is asking for a different sort of care package:

I would like to personally thank the KILLSWITCH ENGAGE fans for all of the signs, chants, blogs, and love...it means a lot to a fat crippled retard like myself. Hopefully, I won't be gone for too long. But, until my return, I will need all of your beef jerky for strength. Please send me all of your jerky to my 'Jerky Across The World' campaign, and together we will rally for good health through dried meet products. Please send donations to:

The Adam D. Jerky Across The World Campaign
c/o Mike Gitter
Roadrunner Records
902 Broadway, 8th Floor
New York, NY 10010

2/25/2007 9:36:20 AM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

After the jump: a shitload of photos by Carina Mastrocola from Saturday night's emo-rap confab at Avalon. Suggested drinking game: full beer whenever you see an article of Johnny Cupcakes gear.

2/19/2007 9:15:42 AM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

Incubus and Albert Hammond Jr.
January 30 at Avalon
Photos (c) Carina Mastrocola

Sez our lovely ace photographer Carina: "There were so many kids there looking to buy tickets who didn't end up making it inside because it was sold out. I've seen incubus a bunch of times in arenas so it was absolutely awesome to see them at Avalon in a much more intimate setting. They played new and old songs...not enough old if you ask me. There were a couple of camera men who said they were filming the tour for some sort of a DVD. Tried getting a pic of the set list but my view was obstructed. If memory serves me right . . . "

INCUBUS SETLIST:

1/31/2007 1:17:18 PM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

Social Distortion
October 16 at Avalon
Photos by Nicole Tammaro

10/18/2006 8:41:08 AM by On the Download | Comments [1] |  

Bouncing Souls, Street Dogs, World Inferno Friendship Society, Whole Wheat Bread
October 14 at Avalon
Photos by Carina Mastrocola

10/15/2006 5:27:38 PM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

If you're working press at the BMAs, they hand you the list of winners when you walk in. Which usually makes for a serious anticlimax. But we can't front: maybe it was just that a bunch of bands we actually like won shit or played or bought us drinks, but this was the best year of the Avalon-era music awards. We know, big whoop: That and an undisclosed sum of money might someday get this event to break even mean something. Awards for best moments at the Boston Music Awards 2006 (held earlier this evening at Avalon) go to . . .

• Dresden Dolls, declining to appear at the podium despite winning every award ever given, including best outfits of the evening: Amanda rocking severely hot '50s airline-stewardess chic; Brian in a ratty black bear costume that resembled Dropout Bear's nappy-head cousin. Brian in the bear suit might be the best stunt ever pulled at the BMAs.
• Beat Researcher DJ C, on the decks during pre-ceremony jumpoff, spins New Kids on the Block straight up: try requesting that on Mondays at the Enormous Room.
• Lenny Darkbuster. After coaxing the dropout bear to stage dive during Gang Green's lifetime-achievement-award set, Lenny hops on the mic during "Alcohol" and nearly unplugs the bass cab in the process. Dave Tree takes this as his cue to briefly stop snapping pictures with a disposable camera from the side of the stage and put in his $.02 on backup vox, too. Security?
• Campaign For Real Time winning "local debut album of the year." That's a lot of qualification, which their album doesn't need. But the right band won, which never happens. You can tell they were the right band because Nick Z was wearing an original Anthrax Spreading The Disease tour t-shirt. In good condition.
• On the program it was clearly marked "comedy routine," but it still killed: Robby Roadsteamer storms on stage dropping f-bombs, announces an award he's nominated for, mercilessly insults the other nominees, calls the BMA's "plastic," heckles the hecklers, then absconds with the trophy, leaving his sidekick Aaron the King Wizard to deliver a hilarious (because it's true) monologue about the lack of black faces on stage -- partly at the expense of EJ Labb, the show-opening gay-white-girl rapper. "The only black people in this motherfucker are me and the bear," he screams. "Get the fuck up here, bear!" Wethinks the "comedy" departed from the script, since there was an uncomfortable pause after Aaron left the stage; eventually the Snowleopards were announced as the actual winners for local song of the year, whereupon they were handed one of the Dresden Dolls' spare trophies. For all we know, Robby's still got theirs. Recommended course of action: ban Roadsteamer from playing shows. Hire him as permanent BMAs emcee.
• Holly from Humanwine ends three decades of OTD angst by informing us that in Ireland, Carly is actually quite a common name for boys. Humanwine: our new favorite band.
• Damone, still killing shit. Synchronized headbanging game: focused.
• Bang Camaro, killing even more shit. [Sidebar: Let's say there's 30 dudes who rock like fuck. Let's say you're an editor who's going to put them on the A&E cover of the Globe. Would you pose them a) swathed in spandex, cheap hookers, and booze, in the gutter; b) swathed in leather, grabbing their crotches and fondling each others' asses, at the Ramrod; or c) in suits, holding fruity cocktails, seated at the Enormous Room. Right: "anything, ANYTHING except C."]
• Ben Sisto, still trying to be friends with people. Get over it, dude. Nobody likes you.

We're working on getting some video and lots of photos. But now we're going to bed. In case you care . . . Boston Music Award Winners 2006!

Best New Local Act: Humanwine
Best Female Singer Songwriter: Melissa Ferrick
Best Male Vocalist: Josh Ritter
Hard Rock Act of the Year: Godsmack
Jazz Act of the Year: Hiromi
Local Album of the Year: Aberdeen City, The Freezing Atlantic [God Is Going To Get Sick of Me (mp3)]
Best Male Singer Songwriter: Will Dailey
Best Americana Artist: Lucky 57s
Best World Artist: Boston Afrobeat Society
Best Female Vocalist: Amanda Palmer
Best Folk Artist: Antje Duvekot
Producer of the Year: Matthew Ellard
Best Blues Artist: Peter Gammons [not a typo]
Unsung Hero Award: Duke Levine
Local Debut Album of the Year: Campaign for Real Time
Song of the Year: Damone, Out Here All Night (mp3)
Best Live Act: The Slip
Local Male Vocalist: Jake Brennan
Local Female Vocalist: Sarah Borges
Hip Hop Act of the Year: Mr. Lif
Best Punk Act: Dropkick Murphys
Best Pop Rock Act: Dresden Dolls
Album of the Year (Major Label): Guster, Ganging Up on the Sun
Local Song of the Year: The Snowleopards, Stuck in the Middle (mp3)
Album of the Year (Indie Label): Mission of Burma, The Obliterati [Donna Sumeria (mp3)]
Act of the Year: Dresden Dolls

9/28/2006 2:41:08 AM by On the Download | Comments [8] |  

READ, LOOK: The Gossip, Erase Erata at the Middle East.

READ: Mates of State at the Middle East.

READ, LOOK: Jose Gonzales and Zero7 at Avalon.

9/16/2006 11:52:24 AM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

Sexy: back.

Justin Timberlake
Sexy Back club tour
August 26 at Avalon

Setlist:

Cry Me a River
Senorita
My Love
Like I Love You/Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nirvana)
Until the End of Time
Lovestoned/I Think She Knows
Take It From Here
What Goes Around
Last Night
Rock Your Body
Sweet Dreams (Eurythmics)
Sexy Back

Image police prevented us from getting good shots, even of the cameraphone variety. If anyone sees stuff on Flickr/YouTube -- or if you were there and have something you want to share -- email us at onthedownload@phx.com. Full report coming soon on main PHX site. . .

8/27/2006 9:31:05 AM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

You would think someone would tell us this beforehand, but no, we found out the same way you did -- by opening up the paper and seeing the ad. Because young Spitz didn't bother to scroll to the bottom of the LiveNation email list this week, which clearly stated that Justin Timberlake is playing Avalon on August 26. Holy crap. We can't front: there are gonna be like a dozen people over here dialing for tickets on Saturday morning, because with a show like this, a) you can't take chances, and b) if we later get on the guest list, we can Craig's List tix and double our annual salary.

We're not sure what we're more psyched about -- that . . . or this, Atlantic promobot or no Atlantic promobot:

DOWNLOAD: Justin Timberlake & T.I., "My Love" (mp3, via FluoKids)

 

8/4/2006 2:28:40 AM by On the Download | Comments [1] |  

Sorry, but they're already all sold out!

 

1. See Piles at Charlie's Kitchen in Harvard Square with American Business Machines and Dead Like Death.

DOWNLOAD: Piles with Animal Hospital's Kevin Micka, "Divided Binomials"

2. See our buddy Wayne Marshall at Enormous Room's Beat Research with DJ Flack. Wayne sez, "I plan to mix all sorts of things into a dembow salsa stew, if you will, merging recent reggaeton with classic nuyorican soul and throwing in a pinch of dub for good measure. I may even break out some ol' raps. I'll also be joined by an exciting band outta Brooklyn, Aa (say 'BIG A little a'). They mix up a tangle of percussion, synthesizers, and "screamoy" vocals to make music that defies category, and they've apparently cooked up a special set just for us Cambridge folks. They also do their own light show! Should be a blast."

3. Read Lemon Red's tour blog over and over until you can smell the Jager on DJ Gorky's breath.

4.


5. Cry

7/17/2006 5:30:35 PM by Cami | Comments [0] |  

All photos (c) Byron Smith

Panic! at the Disco
July 2 at Avalon, Boston

OTD ran into one of our older fishwrap colleagues at P!@TD -- clearly the old chap had been sent on assignment to figure out, on behalf of his daily tabloid, what all the fuss was about. From his expression, he was unmoved. Same old story: the mens don't know but the little goils understand. And my lord. Over at the NYT, Kelefah's trying to bestow emo-album-of-summer status upon Panic's junior understudies, Cute Is What We Aim For. Thing is, Panic's not quite ready to flash-in-pan and move on yet, and their current tour unveils very simple strategy: pull every stunt you can think of, play every song you know. A Suicide Girls-esque vaudville troupe, a mid-set intermission and costume change, a set that looks like a cross between the video for Smashing Pumpkins' "Tonight, Tonight" and High School Musical, costumes that would make a Decemberists album jealous, gorgeous chamber-rock covers of "Tonight, Tonight" (inevitable) and "Karma Police" ("it's by Radiohead," they helpfully explained to the younguns), a glow-in-the-dark drum kit, arrangements for cello, xylophone, piano, and banjo? Their name in lights? A final bow at the lip of the stage?

They weren't just gimmicky, they were also really good, and unless you parse their lyrics you'll miss how much they pack into them -- and trust us, their fans are smarter than you on this, because even when taking in Panic's jumbled run-on-sentence verses, the kids shout ever word. These are songs that take up as much memory space as an Eminem song and traffic in a similar type of self-reflexive,  don't-bother-saying-it-about-me, I've-already-said-it-about-myself deconstruction. It also helps, as the 13-year-olds next to me pointd out, that the singer has "oh my god, what an amazing ass." It's true. He does.

7/3/2006 9:29:13 AM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

From the inbox:

Energized by the success of their fiery set at London's O2 Wireless Festival this past weekend, recording marvels Gnarls Barkley are pleased to announce a host of new U.S. tour dates.   

JULY
18, 19          San Francisco, CA               The Fillmore
20              Costa Mesa,  CA         Pacific Amphitheatre
23, 24          Los Angeles,  CA                The Avalon
 
AUGUST
2               Minneapolis, MN         First Ave
3               Chicago, IL                     House of Blues (Lollapalooza pre-party)
5                      Chicago, IL                              Lollapalooza 
7                      Detroit, MI                              State Theatre
11                    Boston, MA                                Avalon
12                    Philadelphia, PA                          Electric Factory
17                    New York, NY                      Central Park Summerstage

SEPTEMBER 

15              Austin, TX                      Austin City Limits Festival

PREVIOUSLY: Nick Sylvester reviews Gnarls Barkley at NYC's Webster Hall

6/30/2006 4:12:14 PM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

From top: Charlatans UK, Aberdeen City, Aberdeen City, Nada Surf. All photos (c) Carina Mastrocola.

(Second in a series of reports from last night's Phoenix/FNX Best Music Poll blowout on Lansdowne Street.)

The Charlatans haven’t really had the chance to jump the shark — not here, and not in the UK, where their songs never managed to plug into their homeland's gigantic hype machine. Still, last night on the Street Stage, the Charlatans weren’t holding any grudges. Tim Burgess, with his warm voice and sexy swagger, certainly does a decent Mick Jagger impression — or was he going for Liam Gallagher? Couldn’t be sure. Doesn’t matter. Unlike Mick, the Charlatans still look pretty cool for a bunch semi-aged rockers, all aviator shades and leather jackets and killer floppy hairstyles. No craggy faces, either. They’re comfortable — god knows they’ve been at it since 1990 — and they’re good at their own thing: lush, bluesy Britpop. Judging by the girl standing in front of me, who was slamming Coors Light and shaking ass, the Charlatans were living up to their underappreciated name by midset. The more Burgess thrust his hips and urged the crowd into a hand-clapping session, the more she loved it. “Blackened Blue Eyes,” off their latest, Simpatico, and You’re So Pretty – We’re So Pretty,” the first cut on 2001’s Wonderland were piano-drenched and danceable, especially on a warm (dry!) night in the middle of Lansdowne Street.

Outside Axis, a couple of kids were screaming “ABERDEEN CITY!!” at the top of their lungs — a sweet reception for this year's Best Local Album winner. For what it’s worth, the band certainly appreciated the support. Bassist and singer Brad Parker was sweet and appreciative when he talked about how nice it was to be back in Boston after their tour. Awwww. I felt like a proud Mom welcoming my son back home from a grueling semester at sea or something. Unforch for his real Mom, lucky for us, that whole schoolboy act was dropped as soon as he started howling. Abcity's melodic, post-punk angst-rock is clever and dark, and Parker leads the group in a sounding desperate and elegiac but big and grand at the same time, not to mention completely orchestral — I can only imagine how good they’d be in Symphony Hall. (NEMO: be good for something and hook this up.) Their behavior might not be apropos for a night at the Pops, though: during “Pretty Pet,” Chris McLaughlin dragged a floor tom away from Rob McCaffrey’s drum kit and pounded his brains out — in between making some insane noises on his guitar that were somewhere between an electric violin and a screeching baby. All in a night’s work, of course. The crowd was loving it most during “God Is Gonna Get Sick of Me,” one of the standouts on The Freezing Atlantic, though set-closer “Mercy” was an orgiastic conclusion to their musical restraint. I watched Parker and guitarist Ryan Heller bang the hell out of what looked like a neon cowbells while McLaughlin humped a huge amp so fast and so hard it nearly fell over. Then he tried to climb a platform on the side of the stage, and the security guards yelled at him. Then they threw drum sticks at us. Wow. I was spent.

All night I’d been looking forward to Nada Surf at Avalon. When I got there around 11 pm, the band had already ripped into "Hi Speed Soul," one of my faves off 2003’s Let Go. They sounded great, and Nada Surf are nothing if not a talented and oft-underrated pop band, but on stage, they are just short of foolish. They were so dull in the flesh when compared to their music, which is gorgeous and catchy and made perfect by Matthew Caws’s pretty croon. Except I was more obsessed with how long it must have taken bassist Daniel Lorca to grow out his waist-length dreads than I was with watching the boys play. Maybe I was just tired out by Aberdeen City, because during “The Blankest Year,” which has so many hooks it takes my breath away, the random dude and chick in front of me were practically swing dancing. She was an Emily Strange goth girl in pink fishnet sleeves, he was Josh Jackson during the best years of Dawson’s Creek, and maybe they were drunk, but Nada Surf was probably delivering them into the same cab that night. If the band couldn’t bring themselves to fling sweat or smash guitars, it was the least they could do to play the musical score to the weirdest concert hook-up I have ever witnessed. I think we all went home happy.

— Sharon Steel

5/19/2006 1:40:19 PM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

All photos (c) Carina Mastrocola

(First in a series of shitloads of photos and maybe even some words from last night's Phoenix/FNX Best Music Poll party.)

Brit Pop and Pop Punk don't have a lot in common, and Charlatans UK and The Academy Is... didn't get any closer by playing on the same street during last night's Best Msic Poll extravaganza. Aside from having to change their names at some point in their respective careers to avoid lawsuits -- the Charlatans added the UK to distinguish themselves from the American Charlatans; the Academy added the "Is..." for similar reasons -- the correlation between the two bands is effectively nil. The Brits' set came first, closing down the outdoors stage on Lansdowne, and they took their signature reggae/dub-pop/textured sound to the streets. Even with a semi-shoegaze attitude -- three-fifths of the band were wearing jackets and didn't break a sweat -- they delighted the crowd by playing the Simpatico hits "For Your Entertainment" and "Blackened Blue Eyes." A lot of their earlier stuff showed up in the latter part of the set, and the contingent of older fans cheered loudest during those songs. Aberdeen City at Axis -- make that Aberdeen Fucking City, they rocked -- and Nada Surf at Avalon (yes they played "Popular," yes it rocked) served as pallete cleansers before I caught the Academy Is. Their sunny music and distorted guitars were a far cry from the subdued and somewhat dour Brit Pop jangle of a few hours earlier. The difference was also in the crowd: the Avalon floor was packed with about 856,982 chicks and one dude, all younger peeps. William Beckett had them eating out of his palm right away, prancing about the stage while the poppy power chords of "Attention" and "Classifieds" swirled beneath his crisp, high-pitched vocals. But the overall teeny-bopper atmosphere trumped the loud music, making things unbearable after about six songs. And punk music without screamed vocals or an element of anger/hatred is just plain wrong, even if it gets the chicks.

-- David Boffa

5/19/2006 12:25:09 PM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

Tickets to this thing go on sale this Thursday. Watch this space for pre-sale links.

Now let's talk about the Best Music Poll ballot for a second. For reasons that are lost to history, the one category where OTD really holds an sway in the nominations are in the metal categories. And so first of all, we'd like to apologize to Doomriders, who made the local metal album of the year (perhaps the national metal album of the year), and did not get nominated for a damn thing in this year's BMP. It would be great if we could blame this on some facelss set of judges or arbiters of good taste, but as it happens, them was us, and OTD just plain forgot. About our favorite metal record of the year. For the entire two hours it took to eat pizza and come up with the BMP list. Oops.

There's nothing we can do about it now, the ballot having been locked, loaded, set in stone, and stocked with audio clips, photos, links, and other sorts of thing you usually can only find only at OTD.

So for everyone who ever glanced at the ballot and went, "What the hell happened to my favorite ______ band," well, we feel your pain. We're also taking the only recourse available to anyone in such a situation. We're launching a write-in campaign for Doomriders.

It's the least we can do.

That said, the rest of the ballot -- which is to say, the parts OTD didn't flake out on -- are pretty rad. For the first time this year, you can listen to audio clips of (almost) every artist in the poll, which means even if you didn't have an opinion on the world music category before you came, you may have one by the time you leave. We've also linked the local artists to their profiles at phoenixbandguide.com, where in many cases you can download OTD-worthy exclusive mp3s. (In fact, we're gonna steal some shit from over there and pass it off as our own later this week.)

Vote or die, bitches.

DOWNLOAD: Doomriders, "Black Thunder" (mp3)
VOTE: 2006 Best Music Poll

4/11/2006 6:35:29 PM by On the Download | Comments [2] |  

Dropkick Murphys
At Avalon
Sunday, March 19
Photos by Dave Tree
except Rick Barton photos, by Nicole Tammaro

Well, he did for a night anyway. Rick Barton was the Dropkicks' link to an earlier era of Boston punk: he'd been in the Outlets, he was a songwriter as well as a guitarist, and over the long haul, he's been the guy we've missed most from the original lineup. McColgan was already history when the Murphys played their first annual St. Paddy's Day show -- not at Avalon, but in the East Village, at a record-release party for The Gang's All Here. And of all DKM's ex-members, Barton seemed to be the most remorseful for the way things were left. So when rumors surfaced last year at this time that he would rejoin Dropkicks for a few songs, we thought for sure the time had come for Barton and Case to bury their hatchets. Then: nothing. This afternoon, recalling that aborted reunion, Barton said only that he'd wanted to play last year but they couldn't work out the details.

This year, however, the dream came true. The band gave Barton a call, they rehearsed a bit backstage, and -- wearing his signature DKM costume, which was always a suit, and not workingman's garb, even though by trade Barton is a house painter -- the old bastard joined the Murphys for a blistering five songs: "Do or Die," "Barroom Hero," "Firestarter Karaoke," and "Skinhead on the MBTA." Casey, introducing him, reminded the audience that "this is the guy I started the band with." Afterwards, Barton said he was cleansed of all his Dropkicks demons. This afternoon, speaking to a friend of ours who relayed the conversation over IM, Barton was ecstatic and swore us to secrecy on a couple of upcoming projects that will be bombshells when the details get out. Stay tuned. But dude: Rick Barton is back.

3/20/2006 5:19:16 PM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

Dropkick Murphys, Red Alert
At Avalon, March 18 (Early show)
Photos by Daisy Romero

The Dropkicks hometown throwdown is nothing if not a family affair -- it's a wonder Ken Casey has any tickets left to sell after taking care of relatives and friends. For the Saturday-afternoon affair we sent former Crash and Burn frontman Bill Brown, because for one, he's been taking his daughter Teresa to hang out with DKM for years. From the stage, DKM shouted out their guests the Farrar family, for whom they've recorded a benefit single. And, y'know, it was typical Murphys: legions of bagpipers, Irish step-dancing girls, tons of kids. Bill's also about to join the extended DKM family; he's heading into the studio with Murphys female foil Stephanie Dougherty to begin recording a bunch of new tunes for her new project, Stephanie Dougherty and the Deadly Sins, which also features Ronnie from the Transplants on bass (and, at least on the demos, Dustin from Damone on drums).

3/19/2006 4:33:38 PM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

Dropkick Murphys, Horrorpops
At Avalon
St. Patrick's Day, March 17, 2006
Photos by Melissa Ostrow

Every show at the Dropkick Murphys homestand is all-ages (not just the afternoon throwdown that took place Sat afternoon). Because that's what punks do. And verily, with the passing of every March 17, as the Dropkicks gets older, their fans seem to get younger. So while it was interesting to see the band trying their hand at Rod Stewart's golden oldie "Maggie May" last night, it was doubly heartening to hear them hurtling through an excoriating cover of "Minor Threat" (by, yup, Minor Threat) toward the end of their long set. Not only did it school the assembled young'uns in the face-melting power of hardcore punk properly played (and how!), but it showed that, even for a ten-year-old band, some of whose members are now heading into their late 30s (cough), some punk verities are timeless.

-- Mike Miliard

[Saturday recap coming tomorrow; more from Mike on DKM's long, long St. Patty's Day -- and notes on that other Irish punk band's show -- in next week's paper and online (early!) on Tuesday.]

3/18/2006 11:52:19 PM by On the Download | Comments [0] |