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Wilco plays into the rain Saturday in Lowell
LOWELL - A starting lineup was beamed on the scoreboard Saturday night at LeLacheur Park, but instead of listing pitchers and hitters it was guitarists and drummers as rockers Wilco took the field.
A wealth of possibility for the Luxury
Sitting in the dining room of the Longhorn Steakhouse in the Fenway, chowing down on a Texas Tonion and adding to the happy birthday cheers of a nearby diner, the members of local pop-rock band the Luxury are pretty distant from the spoils to which their name aspires.
Wilco (the interview) ... Jeff Tweedy talks about the tour, the album, and his music
When asked why his band Wilco decided to play minor-league baseball stadiums this summer, Jeff Tweedy says simply, with a laugh, “Why not?’’
iPod Shuffle with Kevin ‘Noodles’ Wasserman
KEVIN “NOODLES’’ WASSERMAN, guitarist for the Offspring Wasserman’s shuffle is true to his roots. Out of 14 days’ worth of music on his iPod, the Offspring’s guitarist came up with a list of classic punk and rock bands and a pair of funnymen who influenced the California rabble-rouser’s hard, fast, and comic edge. “I have moods where I’m not really ...
Paul Potts on his music and celebrity
Television has been very good to Paul Potts, the amiable 38-year-old classical pop vocalist. Before his winning run on the 2007 edition of “Britain’s Got Talent,’’ he bankrolled a trip to Italy to take singing lessons in 1999 with money he won on a musical quiz show. Last week we chatted with Potts, who performs at the Berklee Performance Center ...
Albums come alive when bands now hit the stage
“Astral Weeks’’ “Aja’’
Once again, Judas Priest brings ‘Rage’ to the stage
Ian Hill, founding bassist for British heavy metal legends Judas Priest, says he would have “laughed his head off’’ if someone told him at 17 that he’d still be hell bent for leather in his late 50s. But his last laugh is a happy one as Hill and his bandmates hit the Comcast Center this Tuesday.
The end of the line for Vibe
A sadly familiar tune played out in New York Tuesday when Vibe, the urban music and lifestyle magazine, announced it would cease publishing effective immediately. The closure follows on the heels of the shuttering last year of snarky rock mag Blender and the migration of roots music periodical No Depression from dead trees to Web-only. Rolling Stone has shrunk, and ...
Roots-reggae pioneer keeps it ‘Real’
As one of the pioneers of roots-reggae music, Winston Rodney, a Bob Marley protege better known as Burning Spear, has long been a respected figure in music, counting everyone from Bono to B.B. King as fans.
’80s band package tour provides three times the power pop sleaze
MANSFIELD - Sugar poured? Check. Roses inspected for thorns? Yup. Flame produced? Oh, yeah. Def Leppard, Poison, and Cheap Trick made for a mostly hot, sticky sweet triple bill last night at the Comcast Center.
Richard Cheese is a true Lounge lizard
After nearly a decade of “swankifying’’ popular songs on such albums as “Aperitif for Destruction’’ and “I’d Like a Virgin’’ with his band, Lounge Against the Machine, Richard Cheese is hanging up his tiger-striped tuxedo.
Michael Jackson, pop icon, dead at 50
Michael Jackson, the child singer who became the world’s biggest pop star before his personal life became grist for the tabloids, died yesterday at the age of 50.
These three bands aren’t f-f-f-foolin’ around
Last summer Def Leppard and Poison were “feuding.’’ This summer they’re on tour together. Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott says that kind of back and forth - Elliott was quoted as saying Def Lep was superior to Poison; Poison, comically, took exception - is common.
Passion Pit shakes with "Manners"
Surfing the wave of next-great-band hope is never easy. Odds are better that you’ll wipe-out than glide safely to shore.
No Doubt hasn't lost its bounce
MANSFIELD - It’s been eight years since No Doubt’s last studio album. Since then lead singer Gwen Stefani has produced two successful solo albums and two kids. But evidence of either was scant during the band’s exuberant regrouping Saturday night at the Comcast Center.
Passion Pit shakes up the Paradise
Surfing the wave of next-great-band hope is never easy. Odds are better that you’ll wipe out than glide safely to shore.
Charlie Robison weathers pain of divorce on newest album
If Charlie Robison were making an album about his 2008 divorce from the Dixie Chicks’ Emily Robison today, it would be a completely different record. Luckily for fans of bittersweet break-up records, the country-rock singer-songwriter chose to write and record his fourth album, “Beautiful Day,’’ out Tuesday, literally in the midst of the dissolution of his marriage.
A look at a.p.e. radio
If you’ve always wondered what your favorite artists listen to when they’re not making their own music, there haven’t been many outlets to find out. Several high-profile acts have hosted radio shows over the years both on the terrestrial airwaves - Steve Van Zandt and Alice Cooper are currently spinning the platters that matter to them - and on the ...
Aerosmith, Dropkick Murphys raise heat in Mansfield
MANSFIELD - Fire, cancer, pneumonia, knee replacements, drug addiction, hepatitis, and whatever undisclosed surgery guitarist Brad Whitford is currently recovering from. Aerosmith is clearly unstoppable.
Earth, Wind & Fire, and Chicago band together
The third time should be the charm tonight at Agganis Arena as legendary R&B purveyors Earth, Wind & Fire and veteran pop group Chicago team up for another joint venture.
Paisley's country is delivered with energy
MANSFIELD - It may have been a Friday but Brad Paisley had no trouble convincing the three-quarters capacity crowd assembled at the Comcast Center that it was an "American Saturday Night."
Aerosmith and the Dropkicks to share the stage
Two great Boston flavors will hopefully taste great together next week when the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame hard rockers of Aerosmith team up with the beloved Celtic punks of the Dropkick Murphys for a show at the Comcast Center.
Rockin' the outfield
Since musicians and jocks are often at odds in stereotypical high school cliques, it must feel ironic to bands when they end up playing in sports arenas and stadiums. But practice and teenage angst can pay off well for misfits and ballplayers alike, and two of summer's most enjoyable pastimes are increasingly colliding as popular bands are rediscovering the joys ...
The Decemberists are all in
Colin Meloy of the Decemberists understands that when you make a concept album, you go big or go home - you build "The Wall," not the fence. With the release of the ambitious story-cycle "The Hazards of Love," Meloy and his cohorts in the literate indie-rock quintet are clearly all in.
Time to make the music
Since 2002 the quirky pop-rock band They Might Be Giants has been alternating its regular albums with ones aimed at kids, including recent Grammy winner "Here Come the 1,2,3s." The duo - John Linnell and John Flansburgh, who grew up together in Lincoln - plays two shows on Saturday at the Berklee Performance Center. We chatted with Linnell by phone ...
PJ Harvey challenges with material and mood swings
Water is a recurrent image in PJ Harvey's music. Whether that water is destructive, redemptive, or simply an element in a larger picture, it flows readily.
Decemberists immersed in 'Love'
"The Hazards of Love" isn't the Decemberists' first shot at a concept album. The literate indie rockers, led by singer-songwriter Colin Meloy, dabbled in suites and longer-form pieces on previous records, including 2006's critically acclaimed "The Crane Wife." But "Hazards" is the group's inaugural full immersion.
A concept whose time has come - again
Picture this: A young couple confronts a changing world and wrestles with issues of religion, politics, patriotism, and family.
Jane's Addiction, Nine Inch Nails give crowd what it deserves
MANSFIELD - It was an odd pairing from the outset, and Wednesday night at the Comcast Center in Mansfield the double bill of Jane's Addiction and Nine Inch Nails didn't really make any more sense. But it was certainly entertaining.
Jane's Addiction, Nine Inch Nails give crowd what it deserves
MANSFIELD - It was an odd pairing from the outset, and last night at the Comcast Center in Mansfield the double bill of Jane's Addiction and Nine Inch Nails didn't really make any more sense. But it was certainly entertaining.
Gomez's Olly Peacock branches out
British rockers Gomez finally follow up their US breakthrough, 2006's "How We Operate," with their sixth studio album, "A New Tide," and a date tonight at the House of Blues. The disc shares a rootsy warmth with "Operate," but also branches out in funkier, more adventurous directions. We chatted with drummer Olly Peacock from his Brooklyn home about the new ...
Phish back in the swim at Fenway
"The Star-Spangled Banner" felt like an appropriate opener for the Phish show at Fenway Park Sunday night, as the members of the Vermont rock band reconvened with one another and their nation of fans to pledge allegiance to the jam.
Cohen still brings it, with nuance and grace
A review of Leonard Cohen in concert could consist of nothing but perfect couplets from his esteemed body of songs, each a world unto itself, and still not get at the depths of what transpired onstage. The quiet power, the original hipster cool, the resonant voice simultaneously evoking angels and demons, the unerringly tasteful nine-piece band attuned to Cohen's every ...
Phish back in the swim at Fenway
"The Star-Spangled Banner" felt like an appropriate opener for the Phish show at Fenway Park last night, as the members of the Vermont rock band reconvened with one another and their nation of fans to pledge allegiance to the jam.
'Let the Dominoes Fall' is a raging takedown of hard times
Rancid roars back to life after a six-year hiatus with "Let the Dominoes Fall," an album that reminds listeners of the virtues of economy and conviction. The Bay area punk-rock quartet blazes through 19 tracks in less than an hour, offering short, familiar blasts of percolating ska-punk rhythms (some under two minutes) and righteous indignation.
Bangles blast back to the '80s at House of Blues
At the House of Blues Wednesday night Bangles singer-guitarist Susanna Hoffs made a confession that was hard to believe. "I qualify for AARP," the petite and ageless Hoffs sweetly told the crowd after goofing up some background vocals during a "senior moment."
Dave Matthews shows up all over
Ye olde ballyard is going to have a very different vibe this weekend as the jam-band hordes descend on Fenway Park for the Dave Matthews Band shows tonight and tomorrow and the Phish reunion concert on Sunday. Forget about the scent of peanuts and Cracker Jack. The definitive fragrances wafting over the outfield will more likely be patchouli and cannabis. ...
Dave Matthews Band honors late saxophonist on heartfelt new CD
The first sound you hear on the vibrant new Dave Matthews Band album, "Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King," out Tuesday, is a contemplative sax line. It feels relaxed, offhanded, simultaneously pensive and joyful. It sounds as if the musician were just sitting on a fire escape somewhere playing for his own pleasure and someone surreptitiously captured the moment.
Julianne Hough's song and dance act
There is a track on Julianne Hough's debut album called "My Hallelujah Song" in which the two-time "Dancing With the Stars" professional champ sings about being grateful for a long-awaited sense of fitting in somewhere. In real life, that somewhere is Nashville and thanks to her recent win of an Academy of Country Music Horizon Award, the 20-year-old Utah native ...
They still know how to Tap into the fun
The 1984 improv comedy "This Is Spinal Tap" contributed dozens of classic one-liners to the comedy and rock 'n' roll lexicons. While cranking up the volume was one of the film's hallmark jokes, the trio of comic actor-musicians who play the fictional British metal band didn't need to go to 11 Saturday night to simultaneously tickle the funny bones and ...
The Shins offer a nod to the past
You can tell a lot about a band by the artists they choose to cover, as their influences and aspirations sometimes shine through the spaces.
A pre-holiday pop parade with Keane
With his choirboy face and infectious grin, Tom Chaplin probably got away with murder as a kid. As the indefatigable leader of Britpop band Keane, Chaplin expertly combines those two assets with a voice spun from pure silk and yearning. If you know the words to a Keane song, as many at the Bank of America Pavilion did Thursday night, ...
Keri Hilson songwriter is now Keri Hilson superstar
Keri Hilson partially attributes her success as an artist and songwriter to her hometown of Atlanta.
Jeff Tweedy and Wilco turn leaked CD into a positive
When the forthcoming Wilco album - excellently titled "Wilco (the Album)" - recently leaked online, far in advance of its June 30 release date, the band began streaming it for free on its website (www.wilcoworld.net). Although conventional wisdom argues that this would damage release-day buzz, according to Billboard.com the opposite is happening: Leak-related Web traffic is raising awareness of the ...
The Dead Weather and Tinted Windows join the supergroup ranks
Musicians have been banding together forever in the hopes of creating an entity greater than the sum of its parts. This summer is shaping up to be a particularly fertile time for supergroups like Chickenfoot, which will be in good company when indie collaboratives such as the Dead Weather and Tinted Windows come to town. Here's a look back at ...
Chickenfoot: four legends, one supergroup
The lineup reads like the setup for some bizarre musical joke: Joe Satriani, Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony, and Chad Smith walk into a bar . . .
iPod Shuffle: Vicki Peterson
Vicki Peterson , guitarist for the Bangles, who play the House of Blues next Wednesday. Tickets are $25 at www.ticketmaster.com.
Music lovers rock on despite recession
To save money and make a dent in his debt, Justin Ordman, 26, of Allston is forgoing road trips with friends. Donna Conway, 48, of Malden has put the kibosh on shopping sprees. Cheryl Tong, 51, of Revere is eating out less.
Passion Pit lets exuberance flow on new CD
Refreshed and uplifted. Those are two things that the best pop records leave you feeling, and that's definitely the end result of listening to "Manners," the debut album from Passion Pit.
Prime concert viewing doesn't require prime prices
As both an everyday music fan and music journalist, I've been going to concerts in the Boston area for 28 years. I probably have sat in every seat available, from the front row to the very last, behind the stage. Clearly, somewhere between those two spots is where you want to be.
Live Nation offering discout concert specials
Live Nation, the region's largest purveyor of outdoor summer concerts, is offering some discount specials to ease the economic sting of a night out. "We've tried to be responsive," says Don Law, president of Live Nation New England, of the specially priced four-packs of tickets and "recession rocker" rates available for more than 30 shows at the Bank of America ...