New ‘n’ National | The Airborne Toxic Event | House of Blues | 5/10/13
By: Stephanie Rose
The crowd was packed at the House of Blues and every time the music stopped they roared in anticipation for The Airborne Toxic Event to take the stage.
They played a number of songs off their latest album Such Hot Blood blended with a majority of classic crowd pleasers. The amount of crowd interaction by the band was staggering as they played with their hearts and souls start to finish.
The Airborne Toxic Event get better and better every time they take the stage with their heartfelt performance and unpredictable stage antics. As frontman, Mikel Jollett, sang “Happiness” he leaned into the crowd holding a lucky fan’s hand for balance. It seems to be a habit now of Mikel’s, at least in Boston, to come off stage for the show.
“I feel like fucking spiderman right now,” exclaimed Mikel.
While fans could hear Mikel talking it appeared he had disappeared from the stage climbing up the railing and over to the balcony. At one point he was hanging from the ledge and lifted himself back up walking through the crowd back onto the stage. Early in the show all the members of the band played almost into the crowd at the edge of the stage with their hit “Does This Mean Your Moving On?” Mikel continued to show not only his own vulnerability but appreciation for the fans when he stated, “As an artist this is all we have, all our blood, sweat and tears go into this and I can’t tell you all how gratifying this is so thank you so much.”
The most unforgettable and intimate part of the night was their passionate cover of Magnetic Field’s “The Book of Love”. Mikel climbed into the crowd once again and sat on the barricade leaving fans in awe. As the encore concluded, each band member was given the spotlight with solos and fans screamed with delight. The Airborne Toxic Event is not only a band but a family, sharing smiles, hugs, and love not only with each other but with their fans.
Check out the interview Mikel did last week on Alternative Rock Radio below. The show brings you your very own mixed tape featuring the best of new, old, and local every weekday from 12-3pm.
Alternative Rock Radio brings you your very own mixed tape featuring the best of new, old, and local alternative rock every weekday from 12-3pm only on UNRegular Radio.
Fitz and the Tantrums released their new album More Than Just A Dream and Alternative Rock Radio will be playing a track off of it every day, today we played “House on Fire”.
New ‘n’ National | James Blake | House of Blues | 5/8/13
By: Cassandra Chernin
Last night at House of Blues, I had the honor and privilege of seeing James Blake live. Blake has been renowned for interweaving the genres of soul music and electronic. He is an extremely well trained musician who studied music at Goldsmiths, University of London and has worked with R&S Records – this education is clearly seen through his show.
Blake sits in a dim light, surrounded by fog, and strikes the piano. The stage is silent, enamored, and lost in the sound. And for the 90 minutes he plays and the crowd is taken on a journey.
“The shifting of beats, the intermittent bass, and Blake’s clear tremendous voice singing his melancholic lyrics semed to grip at the heart strings of every person.”
He doesn’t do dance. He takes this genre of music that spits out the now popular and mainstream dance floor hits and transforms it into a collection of eerie melodies. A song can continue on its slow beginning or change entirely – almost a dance beat. Blake manages to take an incredibly hard mellow electronic genre and creates a masterpiece of a show. Complete with soft and hard lighting, he was also joined by a drummer playing an electronic drum set and a guitarist who doubled on a synthesizer.
Photo by: Cassandra Chernin
James played multiple songs from James Blake and Retrograde including even CMYK a highlight that was a great interlude between the slower more mellow tunes. Every time a song ended, you never knew what was going to happen. Many shows follow a similar pattern highlights in the beginning and the end. You never knew with Blake what was going to come next.
As the night ended, Blake played “Retrograde” to roaring applause, crooning out the lyrics “You’re on your own / in a world you’ve grown / few more years to go / don’t let the hurdle fall” as the show came to a close. He returned quickly to play “The Wilhelm Scream” one of his most popular hits.
Finally, James Blake truly showed off his incredible talent as a musician and a singer – singing Joni Mitchell’s classic song “A Casie of You”. Alone on the stage, his voice carried through the House of Blues and wrapped everyone in a euphoric melancholy.
The crowd left House of Blues buzzing over the incredible performance and quality in James’s music. I without a doubt, will see him again soon.
New ‘n’ National | Foxygen | Brighton Music Hall | 5/7/13
By: Cassandra Chernin
“The lead singer of Foxygen is crazy.”
On a stunning May 7th, I headed over to the Brighton Music Hall for the first time to listen to Foxygen. I first heard their newest album, “We are the 21st Century Ambassadors for Peace and Magic” while sitting in my cubicle at work and was immediately hooked. Foxygen’s songs are reminiscent of another time, a retro-rock with psychedelic influences. It’s an album that you can be enjoying the background beats, and guitar licks so much that you have to listen a few times to even get the words (which are equally as important).
The opener was a band called Crumbs, hailing from Australia, whom I hadn’t had time to listen to before the show. They came on in matching creepy clown shirts with black lapels and buttons. The drummer (and lead singer) was rocking an ironic? red cowboy hat and the lead guitarist was rocking an impressive beard. You could tell Crumbs was influenced by the same retro-rock that had influenced Foxygen but hadn’t really figured out how to master their sound. In actuality, they will on this tour learn a ton from Foxygen and it’ll be great when the figure it all out. For right now, they tried to combine all the classic elements of the 60s and 70s and we were left with a ton of screaming and a band lacking in harmonic and musical elements.
Crowds started moving in after Crumbs left but still after a good forty minutes of stage changes, we were still waiting for Foxygen. The sold out show slowly filled to the brim and the heat started. An erie and Game of Thrones-esque intro song played as the stage darkened, and Foxygen emerged in all their 70s glory. The lead singer, Sam France, was wearing an impressive almost red velvet button down that flared at the pants, equally flared. Jonathan Rabo, his partner in crime, was sporting a super shiny button down and a top hat. They were joined onstage by Shaun Fleming on the drums, and two members from Crumbs playing guitar and bass.
France started the show, “This is the heartbreak 2013 tour. We are going to sing some song about emotions…and some about signs”.
He continued to ramble on about a cult and some witchcraft while the band worked to fix the broken bass. After a walk off and then a re-walk on (sans musical intro), Foxygen finally began.
They immediately changed from the calm band I had heard on the album. While there are full guitar solos and screaming on the album, the intensity Foxygen had on stage couldn’t be relayed into a recording. France was fantastic. His weird quirky hand motions, ability to change his voice from incredibly high, to super low as we are really shown in one of their hits “No Destruction”, and his interactions with the crowd made him in my mind, a perfect performer They played some “older” stuff from ‘Take The Kids Off Broadway’ which was made in 2011 with France and Rado during an NY trip that produced that slightly crazy and heavily influenced album by the Stones. Their full length album produced a much more refined sound that made Foxygen one of the bands to watch at SXSW.
Fans loved when they played “On Blue Mountain” as one of their first few songs. singing along with the chorus “I need it. I need it. I need it. I need it.”. The intro notes to their first single, “Shuggie”, came to roaring applause. The entire crowd at this point broke into a dance party during “If you believe in yourself you can free your soul” where the beat picks up and singing along.
France jumped around the stage, playing multiple instruments, sometimes singing, and sometimes just talking the lyrics. He had an immense stage presence, you were drawn to look at him, to watch him, and to really embrace who he was as a performer and a person. His jokes, proclaiming “Wait, guys, can you quiet down for a bit…oh wait no this is really loud,” before a full out jam session made him feel like your friend.
During one jam, France went to bang the cymbal as the drummer Shaun asked “What song are we playing” and purposely knocked over half his drum set. He played the rest of the song with half a set. Foxygen was a fun on stage.
Don’t forget their 70s influence: France continued to to preach that “It’s all about love, that’s the only thing that really feels real” despite his insistence that his heart was broken. After that proclamation, it was no surprise that the new song they played seemed to be more subdued and emotional. Lyrics included “don’t you know it’s not the same now” seemed to be about a particularly harsh break up.
The encore wailing encouraged the crowd to do some intense head banging by the crowd. Due to the schizo influenced stage performance by France and a fantastic sound from the drummer and the guitarist, Foxygen knocked this performance out of the park.
As Sam France didn’t heist to say, “We (as in you, and me, and the whole crowd) are the 21st century ambassadors of peace and magic.”
Taste of Randolph | Randolph Community Middle School | 5/8/13
Written By: Matthew Koentjoro Photos by: Stephanie Rose
The Randolph Chamber of Commerce presented the 2013 “Taste of Randolph” fundraiser Wednesday night showcasing over two dozen sample “tastes” from local restaurants and organizations.
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This year’s event crowned upscale function facility, Lombardo’s, “Entree of the Year” for its offering of sweet and tender pulled pork sliders with crisp cilantro slaw and brisk cider vinaigrette.
The dreamy summer barbeque taste Rocco’s Tavern marinated sirloin tips,
Last year’s dessert champion, tea and pastry boutique Vermarje International, dispensed addictively savory egg-based pecan squares made with homemade caramel that crumbled between the teeth of many smiling samplers.
Numerous restaurants and organizations participated in offering excellent samples including Not Your Average Joe’s, Stir It Up Cuisine, Costco, Shaw’s, Fresser’s, Cedar Hill, and many more. Although this year’s fundraising event may be over, all of these wonderful tastes are available nearby right now and supporting local business could not be more appetizing.
Alternative Rock Radio brings you your very own mixed tape featuring the best of new, old, and local alternative rock every weekday from 12-3pm only on UNRegular Radio.
Tantric were huge in early 2000′s but if you’re a fan know that they are doing a lot of intimate performances and playing small dive bars for fun. Frontman, Hugo Ferreira
LOCAL MUSIC SEGMENT
NEW, NEWER MUSIC SEGMENT
Fitz and the Tantrums released their new album More Than Just A Dream and Alternative Rock Radio will be playing a track off of it every day!
The Great Gatsby soundtrack is one of the best soundtracks in a long time to be released, a favorite of the moment would have to be “Love Is A Blindness” by Jack White
Alternative Rock Radio brings you your very own mixed tape featuring the best of new, old, and local alternative rock every weekday from 12-3pm only on UNRegular Radio.
Last year The Cure closed the second night of Leeds Festival with an epic 33-song set that featured new material, maybe they will do that again this year when they perform at Austin City Limits Festival.
LOCAL MUSIC SEGMENT
NEW, NEWER MUSIC SEGMENT
Fitz and the Tantrums released their new album More Than Just A Dream and Alternative Rock Radio will be playing a track off of it every day!
Alternative Rock Radio brings you your very own mixed tape featuring the best of new, old, and local alternative rock every weekday from 12-3pm only on UNRegular Radio.
Queens of the Stone Age are releasing a new album June 4th called Clockwork and I’m sure a tour will be on the horizon as well.
LOCAL MUSIC SEGMENT
NEW, NEWER MUSIC SEGMENT
The Great Gatsby soundtrack dropped today and our favorite track has to be “Together” from The xx, but check out the whole soundtrack with music by Gotye, Florence & The Machine, and Jack White to name a few!
Fitz and the Tantrums released their new album More Than Just A Dream and Alternative Rock Radio will be playing a track off of it every day!
Alternative Rock Radio brings you your very own mixed tape featuring the best of new, old, and local alternative rock every weekday from 12-3pm only on UNRegular Radio.
SONG OF THE DAY – OBSESSION – ANIMOTION
VIDEO OF THE WEEK – THE FUNERAL – BAND OF HORSES
Alternative Rock Radio brings you your very own mixed tape featuring the best of new, old, and local alternative rock every weekday from 12-3pm only on UNRegular Radio.
SONG OF THE DAY – YOUR LOVE – THE OUTFIELD
VIDEO OF THE WEEK – I WAS A FOOL – TEGAN AND SARA
Stephanie Rose of Alternative Rock Radio interviewed Stephie Coplan today on the show. Check out the interview below as Stephie talks about almost overnight fame, what band she would want to cover her songs, your can’t miss show of the weekend, and what she loves about the city of Boston. If you’re a musician she has some great advice for you as well!
