 |
| Glenn di Benedetto of Parlour Bells as Jane's Addiction. |
Planning out which shows you’re going to check out on any given
weekend in Boston is hard enough; but a slate of performances from
Prince, the B-52s, the Beatles, Amy Winehouse, and the Replacements
presents even more problems than usual. It’s just another installment of
the longstanding Boston tradition of local talent dressing up in the
clothes, and the tunes, of their musical heroes. There are dozens of
shows to choose from, but below is a selection of standout efforts we
feel deserve some extra recognition.
BEST ‘ROAM’ FROM COMFORT ZONE
Anyone can sound like the band they already sound like. Rice
Edmonston of scorching guitar rockers Full Body Anchor chose to tackle
the wiry, danceable charms of the B-52s. It’s a pretty big leap from his
usual style, says Edmonston, who’ll be partnering with a slew of
friends from bands like Varsity Drag and Permafrost under the name
Bikini Whale. “[The B-52s] are one of our favorite bands of all time,
amazingly creative and innovative,’’ he says.
With Louder My Dear as INXS; Gondoliers as Mötley Crüe; and
Neon Angels as the Runaways. Friday, 8 p.m. Radio, 379-381 Somerville
Ave., Somerville. Tickets: $5. 617-764-0005.
MOST KINDRED SPIRITS
Sometimes it’s great to see a band paying homage to their discernible
influences. “Kasabian was an easy pick for us,’’ says Ian McCarthy of
the snarling, Brit-influenced Dirty Bombs. “They were the band
[bandmate] Jason Dunn got me into that made me realize we could pull off
this whole concept we had for Dirty Bombs.’’ Emeen Zarookian’s band
Spirit Kid is probably an even more natural match as the Beatles. He’ll
be performing with members of the equally Beatles-esque Oranjuly, as
well as Girlfriends. “There’s always an element of curiosity like, ‘Can
they really pull that off?’ but in our case we are committed to doing it
and doing it right or else we wouldn’t even bother,’’ he says.
With Lindsey Starr as the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Endless Wave
as Ride. Friday, 10 p.m. at the Pill at Great Scott. Tickets: $5.
617-566-9014, www.greatscottboston.com
LONGEST PREP TIME
“We will be performing a vintage Jane’s Addiction set, pulled
straight from our memories of the Ritual de lo Habitual tour,’’ says
Parlour Bells’ Glenn DiBenedetto. “For Nate Leavitt and I, it is only a
stretch in that we’ll be revisiting an earlier version of ourselves,
when we wanted to be Jane’s Addiction . . . in high school.’’
With Whores at the Door (members of the Acre, Big East,
Blackbutton) as the Pixies; OldJack as Stereophonics; Limbless Lovers as
Siouxsie and the Banshees; and the Dahkness (members of Big East,
Forest Henderson, Backup Factor, Big Sway, and Beat Surrender) as the
Darkness. Friday, 8 p.m. Radio, 379-381 Somerville Ave., Somerville.
Tickets: $5. 617-764-0005.
CLEVEREST APPROACH
It’s a cover show within a cover show, says Pat Healy, who’ll perform
songs by U2 on the ukulele under his normal Uke Springsteen cover
persona as Uke2. “The chord progressions of the songs are similar enough
that the songs easily fit inside of each other,’’ he says.
With Full Time Dreamers as Cobra-Kai, a tribute to ’80s
hair metal. Saturday, 8 p.m. Midway Cafe, 3496 Washington St., Jamaica
Plain. $5. 617-524-9038, www.midwaycafe.com
HIGHEST DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY
“Re-creating or reinterpreting Prince’s sound is not easy,’’ says Muy
Cansado’s Chris Mulvey. “For show-goers, that weekend is all about
pretending you’re someone you’re not. Having that spilling over into the
entertainment is a natural extension.’’ Speaking of entertainment, the
Lights Out will be taking on the catalog of Michael Jackson.
With Sidewalk Driver as Spinal Tap, Brownboot as the Beatles. Saturday, 8 p.m. Church. Tickets: $12. 617-236-7600, www.churchofboston.com
‘TOO SOON’ AWARD
“It’s a blast for both the bands and the fans,’’ says Gregory Most of
the soulful rock act Missing Ships, who’ll be decked out in the
metaphorical beehives of Amy Winehouse and the Dap-Kings this weekend.
“For the bands it’s a chance to put on a musical costume and live in
another’s shoes for an entire album.’’
With Carlisle Sound as the Kinks, Desperate Kingdom as PJ
Harvey, and Ad Frank as Nick Cave and the Ad Seeds. Sunday, 7 p.m.
Church. Tickets: $10. 617-236-7600, www.churchofboston.com
MOST META SHOWCASE
It’s Halloween at dance party Throwed every week anyway, but DJs
performing cover sets as other DJs is about as meta a concept as it
gets. “All of the resident DJs of Throwed are dressing up as their
favorite DJ in costume and performing as they would,’’ spinning both
originals and the songs they’d normally select, Eric Marcelino explains
of the concept. He’ll be performing, and dressing up, as superstar
dubstep artist Skrillex.
Throwed Haunted Mansion, Sunday 9 p.m. Middle East Downstairs. Tickets: $12-$15. 617-864-3278, www.mideastclub.com
SCARIEST SHOW
Michael Jackson’s “Thriller’’ is a song that’s become synonymous with
Halloween, which explains why it’s a natural fit, says Berklee College
of Music assistant professor Tom Appleman. He’ll be producing a live
performance of the “Thriller’’ album, made up of Berklee students,
alumni, faculty, and friends, with an oversize band, choreographed
dancers, costumes, and (we’re assuming) slightly better production
values than you’ll find at most of these indie-rock shows. “I believe
when Halloween comes around people think about Michael’s video and how
scary yet epic it was, as well as how well put together the whole album
is start to finish.’’
“Thriller’’ Live. Monday, 8:15 p.m. Berklee Performance
Center. Tickets: $8-$13 (in advance), $12-$17 (day of show).
617-747-2261, www.berkleebpc.com
No comments:
Post a Comment