Show Reviews

In the Rock-Paper-Scissors game of life, Cold can’t stop Rock. This was proven in the gothic halls of Rebel NYC, where Generals and Majors and the Mooney Suzuki took flight in an aerial show of guitars and whiskey.

Following an intense performance by Read Yellow, Campaign For Real Time dove head-first into an interactive set that proved why the group is quickly growing to be known as the biggest band to come out of Boston since the Dresden Dolls.

On the heels of the release of their two most recent albums, Jesse Sykes and Sparklehorse made it a lively Tuesday night at the Clubhouse.

Playing against a simple yet intriguingly-utilized backdrop (including five flat-screen televisions showing various different angles on the trio throughout the show), Keane delivered a set with the polish of so many British pop/rock groups. Chaplin’s voice had the crystal clarity of their recordings, rising at times with the grace and power of Freddy Mercury, yet harkening often to the earnest soulfulness of Coldplay’s Chris Martin.

Folk-rockin’ singer-songwriter Matt Costa is one of those musicians who just seem like they should “make it” (and indeed, he already almost has – but in a different role, as a pro skateboarder).

A unique bi-costal tour popped up at the end of the last year. It was announced that the indie buzz band, the Cold War Kids, would be playing intimate New York venues three Wednesday nights in January, before flying cross-country each Friday night to play their hometown L.A. clubs. This approach might infuriate the dozen or so people living in the vacant prairie land between New York and Los Angeles, but it’s a strategy that solidifies the band’s foothold in the two U.S. music Mecca’s in a very short period of time.

On a Boston night, where the hometown New England Patriots were in the process of losing the AFC championship, the Wood Brothers were bringing their unique blend of folksy, jazzed out Americana to a small crowd at Club Passim.

For two nights the String Cheese Incident, Peak Experience and Anon Salon organized one amazing New Year’s party. The Concourse Exhibition Center is a long, yet not too wide, venue that housed three separate stages. From one stage to the next one could wonder from a mostly nude burlesque show, to an electronica D.J. spinning tunes, to the eclectic S.C.I. tapping into their ever varied bag of musical tricks.

Unassuming, modest, radiant, warm; and with a stage presence that hasn’t been seen in awhile are words to describe one of the hottest acts to come into the fold in recent memory.  This quartet based in San Francisco calls themselves Tea Leaf Green.

Seeing the energy of the show was “through-the-roof,” Matisyahu and his Hanukkah extravaganza gave Boston a performance at the Avalon Ballroom that was more than worthy of a cliché “two thumbs up.”

Has My Morning Jacket ever evoked a negative word from anyone? From a revered late night Bonnaroo performance, to countless year end best of lists for 2005’s Z, to the accolades for 2006's live Okonokos, the Kentucky rockers can’t fathom a “this sucks” from anyone.

By continuously “throwing it all out there,” saturating the market with catchy rock tunes that are driven from the heart, and making more top ten of 2006 lists than can be counted, the Hold Steady are showing the rock world what their fan base already knows. They’re not necessarily going to “save rock and roll,” but they’re definitely giving it a long needed jump-start.

Warren Haynes' Christmas Jam has been around for 18 years, but was a strictly provincial affair up until the late 90’s. WarrenBase, the side project section of the indispensable MuleBase, reveals that it was still a loose gathering of acoustic and electric sets, local bands, and the appearance of only one or two major acts before it began to mushroom. Later it moved to the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, and finally the main arena in the Asheville Civic Center, where it'll presumably stay.

he Benevento/Russo Duo rocked their way through a single set at Higher Ground that was heavy on improvisation, but remained focused on the studio takes of their material. Having toured extensively with Phish alum Mike Gordon, Higher Ground has gradually become a second home away from The Duo’s NYC hot spot – The Knitting Factory.

Friday night The Family Band crammed the Roseland Ballroom with all kinds of fans as they say on their new album Colorblind, “Red Yellow Black or White/We all getting down tonight” and get down they did, as the New Jersey natives had a “Homecoming”.

ar from a sellout of the huge arena (complete sections were empty) those in attendance caught a master still on top of his game and with the encore of two of the greatest modern songs ever written – Like a Rolling Stone” and “All Along the Watchtower -few left unsatisfied.

The mighty MTV rolled their juggernaut bandwagon into Manchester, hosting four bands with apparently “spanking new music" – The Maccabees, Fields, Forward Russia! and Wolfmother

Dropping into Vermont four shows into their 13 show tour, Medeski, Scofield, Martin and Wood truly gave the goods during their two set performance. They pillaged through tunes from both of the albums they’ve recorded together, 1998’s A Go Go, and the brand new, Out Louder.

When Michael Franti summons “how you feelin?” people respond. This was clearly the case at Boston’s Avalon Ballroom as Michael Franti and Spearhead had 1,500 bodies jumping to their rockin reggae rhythms, while fans responded with full lung capacity to Franti’s vigorous calls.

Somehow, whenever Edie Carey and Holly Figueroa get together for a show at Seattle’s Tractor Tavern, the weather seems incapable of cooperating. Such was the case for Monday’s show, during which Seattle got a wicked (to borrow from Carey’s Bostonian vocabulary) snow and ice storm, leaving the roads unto impassable.