Posts by Andrew Bruss

Seeing as the venue was right across the street from the place where Paul Revere got the memo before taking his famous ride, the sextet’s front-man, Colin Meloy, even made a point to comment on the fact that their pre-civil war surroundings were probably built by “enslaved Nubian units.”

Having gone from being an unknown Brooklyn band playing in bowling alleys, to selling out major clubs in every corner of the country, the group has recently emerged with a new album that’s been listed in Rolling Stone as the number one college album in the country.

TV on the Radio successfully transferred their studio-oriented material over to the live spectrum, although the group has become the indie scene’s new “flavor of the month” and the degree to which their new place under the spotlight will last, has yet to be determined.

The Secret Machines effectively took the spectacle of arena-rock and scaled it down for the size of a club, as their “In The Round” tour blasted through Boston’s Avalon Ballroom.

Tool’s sold out performance at the Tweeter Center was an apocalyptic sing-along that had to be seen to be believed. Maynard James Keenan and Co. started off the night’s first act with “Stinkfist,” the opener off 1996's Aenima. Early on, Maynard was lacking the explosion of energy he’s known for, and stood still. In keeping with his reclusive tendencies, as soon as the photographers ceased shooting, Maynard kicked it up a notch and exhibited the fierce stage presence fans were used to expecting from their favorite messianic front-man.

The east coast half of the two-date, bi-coastal festival presented an eclectic lineup of acts from every neck of the musical woods. Featuring artists like Jurassic 5 and the Wailers, all the way to rap/rockers like 311, and Boston’s hometown heroes the Dropkick Murphy’s; the abundance of represented genres was endless.

Apollo Sunshine kicked off a tour-closing set in Northampton’s Iron Horse Music Hall to a crowd of starry eyed teens whose presence at a gig that started past 11:30 had to have broken a few curfews. The Iron Horse has long been known as the groups “home-base,” so to speak, and seeing as this was the last set the group would be playing before going on a lengthy hiatus, they made sure to put the extra effort into the set for their hometown-fans.

Ben Harper gave his heart and soul to a sold out crowd at Boston’s Bank of America Pavilion, with a set-list full of established fan favorites, and newer material that is gradually working its way into the former category.

TV on the Radio

The generation gap was apparent, yet irrelevant, as Roger Waters rocked through two sets of premier Pink Floyd material to a sold out crowd at the Tweeter Center. In case the name doesn’t speak for itself, Waters most recent "Dark Side of the Moon” tour has incorporated the complete performance of the landmark 1973 album in its entirety, in addition to an entire set of other Floyd classics, while incorporating a few recent Waters originals into the mix.

Having toured with Mavis Staples, Robert Cray, Dave Matthews, Derek Trucks and Taj Mahal, things have been riding all uphill the past year for Grace Potter and the Nocturnals.

As one of the more innovative band’s today, the Secret Machines offer fans a product that differs from the industry norm. Proving the point, the group is about to embark on an

The Roots not only demonstrated a dominance over the field of artistically innovative hip-hoppers, but stand as a living testament to why Hip-Hop is seen by many to be the “new rock n’ roll.”

Taking Back Sunday’s aggressive touring schedule has earned them an increasingly large group of Converse clad soldiers in the emo/punk/pop army. While their stakes gradually rise, so do their standards amongst a demanding mainstream audience.

They reminded us of the work in New Orleans that still needs to be done, but more importantly, of the joy that their cultural roots will forever produce, through the good and the bad. This was no simple task to achieve, and obviously, Galactic is more than just another simple band.

One of Umphrey’s most impressive feats is their uncanny ability to take that cheesy 80’s “soaring eagle” guitar tone you loved back in high school, and actually make it cool again.

Accompanied by the entirety of the Boston Pops, the Kentucky-bred powerhouse tore through a set of tunes that stretched from all ends of their catalog and incorporated the classical orchestra into their pieces with a compositional competence that is rare in the mainstream musical community today.

All in all, the new material was good enough to justify the hype behind their new album, and the amount of time they’re spending making it.

Matisyahu proved that his “Chasidic-Reggae-Superstar” gimmick is just that, but he has the skill, and the material to back his gimmick up.

WFNX Best Music Poll 2006 – Lansdowne Street Block Party, held in Boston on May 18th, 2006. Artists performing included; MC Lars, Ok Go!, Buffalo Tom and Charlatans UK on Lansdowne Street, Dear Leader at Avalon, Aberdeen City at Axis and Nada Surf, The Academy Is…, and The Secret Machines at Avalon.