HIGHER POWER: The Blind Boys of Alabama play Symphony Hall March 27. |
If freezing your ass off builds character, music fans should prepare to develop way too much character over the next few months. Although the winter months traditionally signal a slight slump in the awesomeness index for concerts, 2009 is proving to be a great big exception to the rule. Legends, newbies, talents far-flung and homegrown, new spins, old tricks — this concert season's got it all. Sorry everyone, you're just gonna have to go out.
DAS EFX | HARPERS FERRY, 1.16
Don't get mad at Skoob and Dre for fumbling some lines at this past summer's Peace Fest on City Hall Plaza. As anyone who's ever tried to internalize the polysyllabic pontification on "They Want EFX" or any other early Das Efx joint well knows, these dudes pack mouthfuls. However, sources in New York report that the Brooklyn duo absolutely conquered a recent Knitting Factory show, which means their upcoming Harpers gig might even quell fans who want not just Yo! MTV Raps classics, but EFX from the deepest trenches of their catalogue.
RAKIM | HARPERS FERRY, 1.17
An easy way to shut down a conversation between an adolescent who believes Lil Wayne reigns supreme and a 20-something who thinks Nas is king is to say, "Both of you shut the fuck up – Rakim fathered every last one of them." There's a reason that Rakim packs the surname Allah: he's the undisputed king of this rap kingdom — always has been, and always will be. Anyone who dares contest that should hold his or her blog comments until the almighty street griot spins his timeless rhymes through Allston. If they still dissent, then, in the words of Rakim, they can stick a dick in their ear and fuck what they heard.
DEPARTMENT OF EAGLES | BRATTLE THEATRE, 1.18
If the bad news is that all these smooth-harmonizing, guitar-layering, scruff-having Blitzen Trappers, Fleet Foxes, and Bon Ivers might be fast turning us into our dads, the good news is when these bands play shows, there's a high likelihood we'll get to sit down the whole time. Hence, we're excited for this Department of Eagles date coming up. Not only will our backs, worn from years of hauling a messenger bag around for some reason, find relief in the sturdy seats of the venerable Brattle (a fitting venue for this band's often filmic glow), but we'll doubtless get to hear a good portion of In Ear Park (4AD) live. And won't that be something to tell the kids about? Uh-oh.
MISSION OF BURMA | SOMERVILLE THEATRE, 1.24
You may have heard, as we've been all bloggy about it, that the old Armory building, just outside of Davis Square on Highland Ave, is being transformed into a (dare we predict) rad community arts center by the folks who own the Middle East. In the spirit of swooping in and making this happen, evergreen indie heroes Mission of Burma will play a benefit blowout at the Somerville Theatre with the Neighborhoods (hoorah the past!) and Faces on Film (hoorah the future!). Probably want to grab your tickets for this, say, now.
SCOTT WEILAND | PARADISE, 1.25
If, come the 25th, you find yourself repeatedly stubbing your toe, losing your keys, slipping on stairs, getting caught in traffic, etc. — it's not that Mercury has gone into retrograde (though it will in three short days), it's just that Scott Weiland is across town playing songs off of that "Happy" in Galoshes album-thing he let fly last year, and the cosmos is scattering the utter confusion of it all as best it can. We'll be honest: we have no idea what's going through this dude's brain right now, but that might be reason enough to check this out.
THE KILLERS | AGGANIS ARENA, 1.26
It's safe to say that a band has done pretty well for itself when it has to field inquiries from the grammar police. "Are we human/or are we dancer?" might not have been the greatest line with which to ring in their third album, Day and Age — considering it doesn't make any sense. Of course, if the biggest complaint one can fire at their increasingly glossy brand of epic alt-pop is against their syntactical shakiness, they've probably got not much to worry about, and we've got plenty to look forward to — including openers M83.
NIGHTMARES ON WAX | PARADISE, 1.26
Not a big deal was made over the most recent album from Leeds-based producer George Evelyn a/k/a Nightmares on Wax — but it's probably just because his music, at its best, understates itself. Flashes of dub, crisp wisps of reverb, thick textural clouds, ghostly samples, and beats that always get their way abound on Thought So . . . (Warp), but live, EASE sets it off more than his sometimes burdensome "chill out" rep would permit one to expect. This could be the freshest Monday of the year.
