| almanac mp3 archives |  |
| live show photo archive |  |
| 'my life or some dream' original mp3 compilation |
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| bands i've been in |  |
| the 'nac faq & contact info |  |
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| hype machine 'nac page |  |
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| almanac events on sponty |  |
| the almanac last.fm page |  |
closing night tonight!
ending wednesday, april 28th
the 8th annual independent film festival of boston
@ the coolidge corner theatre
wednesday, april 28th
little boots
dragonette
fan death
@ the middle east downstairs
wednesday, april 28th
gogol bordello
devotchka
jesse malin
st. mark's social
@ the house of blues
wednesday, april 28th
naked on rollerskates
liberation day
croquet
highly personal trash
@ tt the bears
wednesday, april 28th
kate nash
supercute
@ great scott
thursday, april 29th
frightened rabbit
maps & atlases
bad veins
@ the paradise
friday, april 30th
the big east, banana phonetic,
strange tribe, sun cut flat,
and tin soldier
@ church of boston
friday, april 30th
reading/signing with author
(+ boing boinger) cory doctorow
7pm @ the harvard coop
friday, april 30th +
saturday, may 1st
internet madness @ mit, cambridge
friday, april 30th
union square roundtable
with jonny cohen,
david bryant's somerville speakout,
and much more
@ pa's lounge
friday, april 30th
the everyday visuals
the lights out
the flying machines
aloud
@ tt the bears
friday, april 30th
corinne bailey ray
@ the house of blues
friday, april 30th
the album leaf
sea wolf
@ the paradise
saturday, may 1st
white rabbits
here we go magic
@ the paradise
sunday, may 2nd
taylor hawkins & the coattail riders
township
@ great scott
monday, may 3rd
yeasayer
sleigh bells
@ the paradise
tuesdays in may!
may 4th, may 11th, + may 18th
john shade + the neave quartet
3-week residency with guests
nina violet (on the 4th),
vikesh kapoor (on the 11th),
+ the low anthem's jocie adams (on the 18th),
@ the lizard lounge
tuesday, may 4th
cartoonist dan clowes
6pm @ the brattle theatre
tuesday, may 4th
john doe + exene
(from x, of course)
dennis brennan
@ the paradise
tuesday, may 4th
gregory & the hawk
lady lamb the beekeeper
@ tt the bears
tuesday & wednesday
may 4th & 5th
public image ltd.
@ the royale (formerly the roxy)
wednesday, may 5th
dom, magic magic,
and the royalty,
with passion pit dj set
featuring ayad + jeff
@ great scott, allston
wednesday, may 5th
minus the bear
@ the wilbur theatre
wednesday & thursday
may 5th & 6th
jonsi (from sigur ros)
death vessel
@ the house of blues
thursday, may 6th
the joy formidable
the dig
@ harpers ferry
thursday, may 6th
shout out louds
freelance whales
@ the paradise
friday, may 7th
ok go
earl greyhound
robert francis
@ the paradise
saturday, may 8th
local natives
@ great scott
tuesday & wednesday
may 11th & 12th
dr. dog
deer tick
@ the paradise
wednesday, may 12th
with humanwine, kelsey jarboe, erica russo,
rick berlin, ryan greene, dave tree,
josh stedman, amy toxic, amy mills,
duncan wilder johnson, jessica lynch,
alvan long, kevin clancy, ian deleon,
and tim bailey
all ages, 7pm @ the somerville armory
thursday, may 13th
massive attack
neon indian
martina topley-bird
@ house of blues
thursday, may 13th
small brown bike
bridge and tunnel
your skull my closet
wallcreeper
@ great scott
friday, may 14th
david bazan (solo)
living room show in beverly, ma
saturday, may 15th
the lindsey buckingham
appreciation society
performs fleetwood mac's 'tusk'
@ the lizard lounge
saturday, may 15th
two door cinema club
bad veins
millionyoung
@ great scott
monday, may 17th
cotton candy (mark robinson
and evelyn hurley)
veronica falls, + reports
@ charlie's kitchen
monday, may 17th
hooray for earth
twin shadow
@ the middlesex lounge
tuesday, may 18th
"music 2.0: tools + tech for musicians, marketers, + managers"
free with rsvp at above link
6pm @ microsoft's n.e.r.d.
monday, may 17th
buzzcocks
the jollyrots
@ the paradise
monday, may 17th
pearl jam
band of horses
@ the garden
tuesday, may 18th
spectrum (featuring sonic boom
from spacemen 3 + e.a.r.)
with the broken river prophet
@ the middle east upstairs
thursday, may 20th
magic man
magic magic
arpline
some say fire
@ tt the bears
friday, may 21st
hurricane bells
the fatal flaws
reverse
thick as thieves
@ tt the bears
saturday, may 22nd
the needy visions (lp release!)
tulsa, mmoss,
life partners,
+ maine coons
@ the temple in j.p.
saturday, may 22nd
holly miranda
@ tt the bears
sunday, may 23rd
they might be giants
two children's shows @ 12 + 3pm
@ the regent theatre, arlington
saturday, may 22nd
killing joke
@ the paradise
tuesday, may 25th
the smittens
allo darlin'
one happy island (cd release party!)
hearts!attack
a smile and a ribbon
horowitz
@ the lizard lounge
wednesday, may 26th
imogen heap
@ the orpheum
wednesday, may 26th
reverend horton heat
cracker
miss derringer
@ the house of blues
friday, may 28th
mono
the twilight sad
@ the middle east downstairs
sunday, may 30th
boston-area blog bbq shindig!
details to come
@ bridge sound & stage, cambridge
sunday, may 30th
the besnard lakes
land of talk
the drew o'doherty trio
@ tt the bears
tuesday, june 1st
stars
@ the paradise
wednesday, june 2nd
kings of convenience
franklin for short
@ the paradise
wednesday, june 2nd
ryan bingham & the dead horses
@ tt the bears
wednesday & thursday
june 2nd & 3rd
the national
@ the house of blues
friday, june 4th
broken bells
the morning benders
@ the royale
friday, june 4th
brian jonestown massacre
young sinclairs
@ the paradise
friday + saturday, june 4th + 5th
the conan o'brien 'prohibited' tour
with reggie watts
@ the wang theatre/citi center
saturday, june 5th
matt pond pa
wintersleep
@ great scott
saturday, june 5th
the psychedelic furs
she wants revenge
@ house of blues
tuesday, june 8th
junip (jose gonzalez' band)
forest fires
@ great scott
tuesday, june 8th
concrete blonde
@ the royale
thursday, june 10th
the trashcan sinatras
the candles
@ tt the bears
friday, june 11th
buffalo tom
@ the paradise
wednesday, june 16th
damien jurado
kay kay + his weather underground
marc pinansky
@ tt the bears
friday, june 18th
the new pornographers
the dodos
the duchess + the duke
@ house of blues
friday, june 18th
reigning sound
movers & shakers
triplethick
@ tt the bears
saturday, june 19th
evelyn evelyn
(amanda palmer + jason webley)
@ the house of blues
saturday, june 19th
james taylor
carole king
@ the garden
sunday + monday
june 20th + 21st
isis
melvins
totimoshi
@ the paradise
wednesday, june 23rd
hole
@ the house of blues
friday, june 25th
modest mouse
morning teleportation
@ the house of blues
sunday, june 27th
mary chapin carpenter
madeleine peyroux
@ boston's symphony hall
thursday, july 1st
she & him
@ the house of blues
sunday, july 11th
jeremy jay
@ tt the bears
monday, july 12th
wolf parade
the moools
@ the house of blues
wednesday, july 14th
squeeze
cheap trick
@ the boa pavilion
saturday, july 17th
crowded house
@ the house of blues
monday, august 2nd
the gaslight anthem
tim barry
@ the house of blues
friday, august 13th
deerhunter
@ the royale
monday, august 16th
tears for fears
@ the house of blues
thursday + saturday
august 19th + 21st
tom petty + the heartbreakers
my morning jacket
@ the comcast center
saturday, august 21st
boston band crush presents...
ONE NIGHT BAND!
@ the middle east downstairs
tuesday, september 7th
tortoise
@ the paradise
sunday, september 12th
blondie
@ the house of blues
tuesday, september 14th
rush
@ the td garden
saturday, december 4th
killing joke
@ the paradise
|
Thursday, December 31, 2009 Year-End Giveaway: Mucho Merge Records Merch! Let's send off the year with an Almanac giveaway, shall we? As 2009 fades into the sunset, so does the year-long celebration that marked the Merge Records' 20th Anniversary. The beloved North Carolina-based label, which has helped soundtrack nearly the entire second half of my life, commemorated in a variety of ways: with some special releases, a 5-day live music blowout in July, and the massive, subscription-only SCORE! CD service. That insane undertaking finished up last week with the shipment of the final volumes (#13 and #14, for those keeping, um, score), along with a sturdy box to gather them all together. The collected discs are a thing of beauty, indeed...  If you look closely, you'll see 17 CDs and a book: 14 lovingly-curated Merge mix discs, 3 special compilations (Merge remixes, Merge cover songs, and a Scharpling & Wurster comedy album), and the Merge Records Companion book, which pulls together the cover art for every release they've had so far. Impressive is an understatement, especially when you look at the list of those who were invited to create those mix discs: Peter Buck, Phil Morrison, David Chang, Georgia Hubley, Jonathan Lethem, Alex Ross, Zach Galifianakis, Marcel Dzama, David Byrne, Miranda July, Kara Walker, Amy Poehler, Mindy Kaling, and Andrea Zitel. Something new showed up in my mailbox every month this year, like clockwork, and gave subscribers a close look at the Merge-related musical tastes of that varied list of celebrity fans. How the label is going to top this for their 25th anniversary is a true mystery. Sure do hope they try, though.  While I won't be sad to see 2009 in my review mirror (in summary - it sucked), there was one standout highlight: That five-day fest, aka XXMerge, down in Carrboro, NC, where I traveled all the way from my Boston home. Not just the musical high-watermark of my '09, but maybe my life, no foolin'. I spent too much time enjoying myself to properly document it here on the Almanac, but I did twitter a fair amount, and took a whole mess of photos. Can't look at them without wishing I was back inside the Cat's Cradle, hanging out at the OCSC, or on the kickball field. So much freakin' fun. Alright, enough with making you envious... on to the point of this here post, which was not just to mark the end of SCORE! and Merge's wonderful 20th year, but to pass on a little anniversary present to an Almanac reader: A whole pile of Merge-related merch that I've gathered together with help from the label, and from Algonquin Books. Have a look...  Yes, one lucky sucker will be gifted with the following... So there you go, probably the best giveaway I've ever thrown down. I'll say this in my best Rod Roddy voice: All this can be yours for the low, low price of sending me an email titled "Merge Merch!" to giveaways [at] bradleysalmanac [dot] com before 12 Noon on Monday, January 11th. Two conditions: Tell me what your absolute favorite Merge-released album is, (note - this condition was added on the morning of January 1st, for my own amusement, no worries if you've already entered without naming one), and also be sure you live in the continental US or Canada, as the postage is already going to set me back a bit (remember, the Almanac runs on love, not pesky ads). I'll pick one random winner that very afternoon. Ok then, off to your email program with ya. Oh, and Happy New Year and all that best wishes stuff. Oh, and one more thing - Thank you, Merge. For helping me make it through this year, and so many that preceded it. Keep the good stuff coming. Labels: xxmerge  Saturday, July 25, 2009 The 'Nac at XX Merge: Gone Mergin'!  Greetings from below the Mason-Dixon line, y'all. In case you haven't been following me on Twitter, I'm down in the Chapel Hill, North Carolina area for XX Merge - the 5-day 20th anniversary blowout celebrating the magic made by Merge Records. They're one of my favorite labels, perhaps the fave, and when this thing was announced earlier this year I was compelled to make the journey down south from Boston. Actually, the Boston area is well-represented here at XX Merge, with at least a dozen attending fans I could name off the top of my head, and likely many more I haven't met. Warms the heart, it does.  As I write this, we've hit the festival's halfway point - it kicked off on Wednesday at the Cat's Cradle in Carrboro (the event's main venue), and what followed were three consecutive nights of massively varied, rarely disappointing, passionately delivered sets by artists who are clearly grateful to be here, and to be part of the Merge family. 17 bands so far, with at least 16 more to go: a free outdoor show this afternoon in the parking lot behind the wonderful Orange County Social Club, then one more Cat's Cradle show tonight, and a grand finale at UNC's Memorial Hall tomorrow evening. Then home, where I will clearly require a post-vacation vacation.  One of the best parts of this shindig is the lack of a mapped-out lineup for all four of the Cat's Cradle shows - you only know what time the first band's on, but you don't know who they'll be, or who will follow them, unless you're looking for clues on the merch table or the equipment setup. It's added a lot of extra fun to this thing, and has also helped keep the crowds solid for just about every act. I'm planning (ok, more like hoping) to write up a post on each day, but for now I'll just share a few links for you to experience XX Merge vicariously, through my eyes and others... By the way, I can feel your envy from here... best not to bottle that up. You can take comfort in the fact that this party is being very well-documented, with at least five-camera video being shot, participating bands being interviewed, and from what I hear, special acoustic take-away performances being laid down. Esteemed director Jem Cohen is involved, so there's little doubt the footage will see the light of day, somehow, somewhere, somewhen. And hopefully sometime before XXV Merge. Which, given the absolute blast I've been having, I'll be at as well. More later... back onto the humid Carrboro streets I go... Labels: xxmerge |
sparklehorse
live at the paradise
in boston, mass.
on monday, february 26th, 2009
recent posts on the 'nac...
- Boston Giveaway: MAGNETIC FIELDS vinyl + documenta...
- It's Here: The 2010 Independent Film Fest of Bosto...
- Tuesday in Somerville: a New Pornographers "Get To...
- TONIGHT!: BLACK TAMBOURINE listening party at RIVE...
- Ticket Giveaway: Ted Leo + the Pharmacists in Bost...
- Ticket + Vinyl Giveaway: Serena Maneesh
- Last Night's Playlist (Tourfilter DJ Night @ River...
- Free Songs On A Stormy Sunday
- [MP3s] In Memory of Mark Linkous: Sparklehorse in ...
- 2009: My Favorite (Boston-made) Music
latest comments...
on the mp3 player
on the screen
on the nightstand
other boston-area music blogs
- anti-gravity bunny
- the ash gray proclamation
- aurgasm
- band in boston
- beginning to see the light
- boston band crush
- boston music spotlight
- boston through my eyes
- clicky clicky
- drive blind
- enough cowbell
- forgotten disc friday
- the giant panther
- heads up boston
- hip to be square
- i heart noise
- melophobe
- morkelson
- music down to your soul
- new artillery
- one in a million media
- onward charles
- pelly twins
- pilgrims of sound
- playground boston
- pocket|trax
- rock n roll boston
- ryan's smashing life
- soho the dog
- stereo typing
- the stu reid experiment
- under 21 in boston
- under the rotunda
- zed equals zee
boston music media
boston live show / event info
music blogroll
- between thought & expression
- brainwashed
- brooklyn vegan
- captain's dead
- the catbirdseat
- cerulean's love of music
- chromewaves
- coolfer
- comets, stars, & moons
- donewaiting
- ear farm
- excellent online
- exitfare
- extrawack!
- fluxblog
- for the records
- gorilla vs. bear
- hard to find a friend
- harmonium
- heartache with hard work
- the hype machine
- i am fuel, you are friends
- idolator
- i guess i'm floating
- ijamming
- information leafblower
- junkmedia's world of sound
- kingblind
- lacunae
- largehearted boy
- the late greats
- leaky sparrow
- little hits
- more cowbell
- music for robots
- muzzle of bees
- my old kentucky blog
- pitchfork
- quick before it melts
- said the gramophone
- scenestars
- shake your fist
- sixeyes
- skatterbrain
- song, by toad
- the sound of indie
- stereogum
- the rawking refuses to stop
- too much rock
- torr
- unfinished
- yeti don't dance
music audiocasts
surf-worthy
- amie's flickr page
- andi's nonsequiturs
- bitter-girl
- brian wood
- bridget's journal
- ckelly's ink
- the dead part of you
- falfa's milk
- the great leap forward
- heath's media diet
- hedgehog's dilemma
- the icebox journals
- jim's flickr page
- jen's jenville
- jen's blossom
- joe sizzle's
- kimprobable
- march to the sea's musings
- marm0t's livejournal
- mickipedia!
- miller's memorables
- mishie's tear
- off on a tangent
- rsl's ostracons
- the shy turnip
- sooz's dot com
- steve's f.r.h.m.
other frequent haunts
boston-centric
- boston.com
- boston phoenix
- boston online
- boston common
- boston blogs
- citybeams boston
- craigslist boston
- exploit boston!
- boston wireless
- surfacecity's boston
- tourfilter
- the middle east cafe
- tt the bears place
- the plan @ great scott's
- wmbr concert report
- wzbc concert report
- phoenix movie listings
- coolidge corner theater
- brattle theater
- red sox / dirt dogs
- sox: surviving grady
- patriots / go pats
- celtics
- mass pike traffic
( < | > random list )
some cele-bloggers
