Soccer Mom Record Release Show Tonight @ TT The Bears Place

Tonight Soccer Mom will celebrate the release of their superb, You Are Not Going To Heaven EP. The formidable bill also includes the live return of Emergency Music. Be There.

You can grab tickets here or at TT's tonight, doors are at 9:00

Slowdim with Cathryn Calder [The New Pornographers] + Bird of Youth | T.T. The Bears Place Cambridge | June 13, 2011

We Were There :: Telekinesis|The Love Language| & Slowdim @ T.T. The Bears

There's something utterly unique about seeing bands play inside the confines of T.T.The Bears place in Central Square. Weather it's the history of the room, we once saw Paul Westerberg perform under the alias Thadeus Moonbeam to a packed house of 250 sweaty patrons in 93'. Or perhaps it's the fact that you can find the evenings performers hanging out at the bar pre and post show. Or is it the fact that we have yet to see a sub par performance at 10 Brookline street?

As you may have read on these pages last week we were eager to witness the first ever live performance from Slowdim. The Boston trio ran through their recently released Spirals EP and displayed their penchant for smart indie pop. The band began their set as duo with fronter Paul Sentz and bassist Karina Dacosta covering some the bands quieter material before drummer Ethan Cannon joined in for the remainder of the set which culminated with a jaw dropping version of Don't Cough me Out. An impressive jumping off point from one of our city's most promising new bands.

We were vaguely familiar with North Carolina's The Love Language going into this show, however what had heard we liked. Live the band jettisons the mid-fi sounds of their debut, in favor gothic twang and classic pop hooks. A performance that caused us to make a trip to the bands merch table for a copy of their Merge Records debut, Libraries. Something we should have done months ago, shame on us.

With his drum kit front and center Telekinesis mastermind Micheal Benjamin Lerner took to the stage flanked by Bassist Jason Narducy and guitarist Cody Votolato to put the cap on a Merge-centric evening. Drawing heavily from the excellent and just released, 12 Desperate Straight Lines LP, as well as selected tracks bands self titled debut. The band tore through a raucous and exhilarating set only slowing occasionally for Lerner to pick up a guitar as he did for I Saw Lightning and to assemble his buddies in The Love Language for a blistering cover of the GBV classic Game of Pricks. The evening was put to bed when Telekinesis returned to the stage one last time to play Coast of Carolina which prompted everyone in the room to raise a glass and sing along with Lerner's every word. A sweaty beer drenched Tuesday night never sounded better.

*photos taken with one of our crappy smart phones, due to the SLR being on the fritz.

Slowdim|The Love Language|Telekinesis

Hallelujah The Hills + The Capstan Shafts January 18, 2011| T.T. The Bears

*Photo courtesy of Jon Bernhardt

Since the release of Revelation Skirts, The Capstan Shafts latest hookfest and one of our 10 favorite records of 2010, we've been feverishly checking the bands on-line haunts for an announcement of a Boston area show. So when this pairing with Hallelujah The Hills was announced it was a no brainer, we had to be there. Dean Wells arrived in Boston Tuesday night fronting a power pop trio, not the four or five piece incarnation that he had toured a few months earlier and blasted through 13 songs in about 35 minutes. A charming albeit all too brief performance that left us wanting more.

Somehow over the past five or so years we have inexplicably missed every opportunity to catch Hallelujah The Hills play live. We own all the records and play them frequently but something always seemed to prevent us from catching one of our favorite bands, local or otherwise. Well we're happy to report that we finally put that gross misjudgment to an end this past Tuesday night. With the band about to start recording their fan funded third album next week our expectations were high to hear the yet to be recorded material as well as selections from the bands impressive back catalog and HTH did not disappoint. The bands six members took up nearly every inch of the small stage at TT's for a cacophony of guitars,drums, brass, and strings for a concise and impassioned set. The night hit it's high point when frontman Ryan Walsh regaled us with a story of an unknown benefactor of the bands soon to be recorded Some of Them We Lost 7", a raucous track that treads the line between pop and noise beautifully. Maybe it was that we finally got to hear songs like, Wave Backwards to Massachusetts and A Guide To The Worlds Most Fantastic Monsters in their raw and unfettered states or maybe it was the fact that Hallelujah The Hills are a powerful and dynamic live act. Either way they were well worth the wait.

The Henry Clay People Return to Boston

After wrapping up a lengthy tour with Silversun Pickups & Against Me! California's pop stalwarts The Henry Clay People have announced another batch of dates. This time the band will be headed out with Drive By Truckers. However as luck should have it the band have booked a headlining show at TT The Bears on October 17th. Not that we have anything against the bands that The Henry Clay People have been playing with over the past couple of months, they're just not our cup of tea and we definitely need to see this band in a headlining slot. Tickets for their next Boston area show go on sale this morning through TicketWeb at 9AM.

[Video] The Henry Clay People - Slow Burn
Recorded Live @ Waterloo Records Austin, TX