Around the time in the early 90s when I became aware of bands such as Acid Mothers Temple, Ghost, Zeni Geva and The Boredoms, I’ve come to live by one simple rule. If a Japanese band is playing in your town, go see them. It’s not that complicated, it doesn’t overrun your social calendar, […]
FOTOBOM: MASSIVE ATTACK @ THE WANG THEATRE
Looking backwards over two decades can be a belly-gazing exercise in self-indulgence, but the Mezzanine XXI tour succeeded on nearly every level. The pioneering trip-hop record from Massive Attack was gussied up for tours of Europe and North America, with this stop being rescheduled when the entire tour was postponed in March. Not content to […]
FOTOBOM: THE WHO @ FENWAY PARK
Without disparaging the good name of The Pretty Things, The Who really put the term ‘rock opera’ on the musical books when they created not one but two enduring works in Tommy and Quadrophenia. So what do you do when you’ve done countless tours and it seems like you’ve done it all? You go full […]
FOTOBOM: PSYCHO LAS VEGAS 2019
A multi-day metal fest in the middle of the summer, in Vegas? What could possibly go wrong? Well, aside from punishment to your bank account, liver, and skin if you weren’t smart about routine SPF applications, most things went right. Set in the city where dubious decision making is a key branding strategy, the […]
FOTOBOM: NEWPORT FOLK FESTIVAL
The times, they are a changin’. That was true in 1964 and it still rings true today, but sometimes the pace can seem glacial… as long as the tangerine menace is occupying the Oval Office, the clock hands regarding the progress of basic human rights appear to have been dialed back a few centuries. […]
FOTOBOM: THE ROLLING STONES @ GILLETTE STADIUM
“If you want to live a long life, join the Rolling Stones.” Keith Richards said that seventeen years ago, and it’s still as true as ever. Just chew on this tidbit… the Stones have been touring America for twice as long as the members of the star-crossed 27 club were actually alive. They’ve been […]
SOLID SOUND FESTIVAL 2019 – WILCO, THE FEELIES, COURTNEY BARNETT, THE MINUS 5, CATE LE BON, TORTOISE, JONATHAN RICHMAN, MDOU MOCTAR, ETC
Before I start, can we just talk about Nels’ guitar solo in “Impossible Germany” for a minute? I think it changed something deep inside of me, on the molecular level. That Cline is a brilliantly fearless and inventive guitar player has been well established but his 300-odd seconds of six string frenzy set a […]
FOTOBOM: KIKAGAKU MOYO, SARAH LOUISE @ THE SINCLAIR
Psychedelic must be the most abused term used to describe a certain type of rock band, a moniker cavalierly tossed about to bands who match up worse than chocolate and cheese (hey, is Ween a psych band too?). But these cats from Japan? Ok, feel free to tag them as psychedelic. Long hair, beards, […]
FOTOBOM: JAWBOX @ THE SINCLAIR
“I was gonna say that we’re going to play an old song, but…” J Robbins quipped halfway during Friday night’s show. Vaunted DC quartet Jawbox decided to join the throngs who shake a couple decades worth of dust from their road cases and get back on the stage. Not counting a small hometown warm […]
FOTOBOM: FLORENCE + THE MACHINE
Coming through on the second leg of her High As Hope tour, after over 70 concerts Florence and her well-oiled machine show no signs of flagging, nor any disinterest in the material from that record. With good reason – there’s some cracking material on the ‘never in one spot for too long’ Welch, and […]
