The Beastie Boys at Bank of America Pavilion
August 6
All photos: Caitlin E. Curran

On the heels of their largely instrumental Sunday night set at the Opera House, the Beastie Boys turned the motherfuckin’ party out last night at the Pavilion. Dudes were ageless, bounding around the stage trading rhymes and instruments like a hip-hop swap meet for the full duration of their hour-and-a-half, career-spanning set. They possessed the absolute aplomb of a group who’s been getting down for more than two decades, but without any trace of the jadedness or boredom that often comes with the territory. Highlights: songs from every album, including hardcore jams (“Time for Livin’ ”?! — killer) and just about every hit they’ve ever had (including this one, but not this one); Mix Master Mike straight killing it, and whoever was cutting the live video feed giving us plenty of close-up over-the-turntables shots; the wah-wah-heavy instrumentals from The Mix-Up making the beer line feel like a porno set; shout outs to Saugus, Salem, Gloucester, Newton, et. al.; Mike D’s bright red and white captain’s uniform. Folks went apeshit, and when Adrock announced that “Boston is the hypest . . . and I’m not going off on some rock shit,” it felt right-on.

--Will Spitz

 

8/7/2007 11:30:30 AM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

From Girl Talk, via his MySpace blog:

On Wednesday, I had a show in Boston opening up for Widespread Panic.  I had never heard this band before, but I knew they were in genre of "jam band."  I don't know anything about the jam scene really, which is part of the reason why I wanted to do the show.  I knew it was going to be weird, which I guess was also part of the allure of doing it.  My shows from 2000 to 2005 were oftentimes like this, playing with an unrelated band whose audience could a damn about me and I get it up there and try to have a party. 

 

A few people emailed me prior to the show, wanting to attend but not wanting to pay the ticket price for an abbreviated set.  I arranged for some of these people and some friends to join me on stage during the performance.  When I arrived at the show, the organizers were completely against having dancers on stage with me, even though there was a ton of space.  We agreed to have them jam out in the space between the stage and the audience the barricade.

 

They wanted me to do two sets, one opening the show and one in between Widespread Panic sets.  I always play one extended set so I wasn't too into this idea, but they said it was the only way I could perform. I agreed to do it.  My first set was scheduled to be from 6:30 PM to 7:15 PM.  My back-up dancers were pre-gaming pretty hard in the backstage trailer prior to the show, starting at 6:00 PM.  The venue could probably fit 5000 people, and when I took the stage, there were about 50 in attendance.  I was into the show, on a "this is ridiculous but kind of amazing" level. One of the girls who initially contacted me through Myspace ended up passing out drunk in front of the stage at 7:00 PM.  Security tried to help, and she ended up pissing herself.  Then, her friend was trying to explain what happened and barfed all over the place. 7:00 PM,  so insane!  Security then kicked all of my friends out.  My set was cut short, and then, they told me that I wasn't allowed to perform another set.

 

I wanted to apologize to anyone who was ready to jam out to another set.  Thanks for anyone who came out to the show; that was hardcore to pay that over-priced ticket and party at 6:30 PM.  I'll be back in Boston for a real show in September.

7/24/2007 2:08:33 PM by Caitlin | Comments [1] |  

Brad Delp, who committed suicide earlier this year, gets a proper sendoff August 19 at the Pavilion, with a benefit show that'll feature an original-members reunion of Boston (Sib Hashian, Barry Goudreau, Fran Sheehan, Fran Cosmo, and Tom Scholz), plus sets by Godsmack, Delp's Beatles tribute band Beatlejuice, and guest spots from Cheap Trick's Robin Zander and Extreme's Gary Cherone. Tickets are $35 (plus fees) and go on sale June 21 at 10 am.

From the inbox:

The families of Brad Delp along with Lynn Hoffman , VH1 Host, will “COME TOGETHER” to share a special musical night that will honor and remember this extraordinary man and his beautiful music.  On behalf of the Delp and Goudreau families, this concert titled “COME TOGETHER” will take place on August 19^th, 2007 at the Bank of America Pavilion, Boston, MA. 

The “COME TOGETHER” concert is the result of both the Delp and the Goudreau families’ desire to honor Mr. Delp’s legacy as a musical icon and will benefit the newly formed nonprofit Brad Delp Foundation.

In addition, a film about Mr. Delp will be aired during the concert that was written and directed by Delp’s daughter Jennifer, a graduate of the prestigious USC film school.  Never before seen footage of Mr. Delp will be shown that expresses not just the lead singer of the hugely successful band BOSTON; but of the man himself, and of those who loved him and called him their friend.

6/18/2007 12:51:18 PM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

The Gossip

The Dresden Dolls

Rufus Wainwright

Debbie Harry

Erasure

Cyndi Lauper (and friends)

True Colors Tour
June 17 at the Bank of America Pavilion, Boston
Cyndi Lauper / Erasure / Debbie Harry / Rufus Wainwright / Dresden Dolls / the Gossip
All photos by Carina Mastrocola

(One question: when the did Debbie Harry turn into Blanche from The Golden Girls?)

6/18/2007 11:19:39 AM by On the Download | Comments [0] |