Yellowbirds (@yellowbirdsband) @ Great Scott:
Yellowbirds played Great Scott last night, proving that psych inspired slow pop is alive and kicking. Absorb the clean, spaced out vocals of Sam Cohen. The Berklee alum started Apollo Sunshine, the “neo-psychedelic/indie rock trio” which received nods from both the New York Times and the Boston Globe years ago.
The Sunshine fell apart, but Cohen refused to retreat into the darkness of early retirement. He worked as a session musician for a few years, working for some pretty big names which wouldn’t add to his indie cred, but which earn him massive respect nonetheless (#GoogleIt.)
And soon, out of the slow hum of stagnation, the Yellowbirds blossomed with a warm plume of ear affections.
See what Cohen and the Yellowbirds are up to on their debut release titled Colors. The show was the one year anniversary of the album’s release, and thanks to Amazon, you can listen at your leisure.
The Skatalites (@skatalites) @ T. T. the Bear’s:
The Skatalites have been rocking steady for forty years.
They’re not second wave or third wave ska–with the boardshorts and bleached blonde, blowout gel hairdos–but the original heroes of ska. When rocksteady and reggae were all melting in a Caribbean-English pot of Jamaican soul prowess, The Skatalites became part of the tsunami that would send ripples through the airwaves for decades to come.
When I found out they were rocking T.T. the Bear’s, I knew I had to pay my respects. So with a nod and a ripe skanking, I tip my hat to the pioneers. As long as they’re playing Central Square, the reggae gods are appeased. Just don’t piss the reggae gods off because they’ll send tornadoes of weed smoke to the Earth.
Wait, you’re okay with that?
Consider A Horse, The Roaches, The Cultured, and Stay On Top @ Midway Cafe: You might not sense it, but we’re all in the orbit of an explosive newborn planet called the internet age. As a music artist ebbing in the pull of this unforgiving gravity, your band may not get the fuel to stay in orbit if you don’t have the right rockets.
You got music? Whatever. You better have a constant presence on Twitter, Soundcloud, Bandcamp, Facebook, Tumblr, “the blogs,” iTunes, compact disc, vinyl, cassette tape and your Mom’s car stereo.
Sound’s like bullshit huh? It is.
Zoom in on this part of the planet over here, The Midway Cafe. They’re the one with the big middle finger.
On the salty side of Jamaica Plain, splayed out on an area of Washington Street which my former New Yorker roommate warmly calls “Little Brooklyn” (don’t tackle him), The Midway Cafe hosts everything from Queeraoke dance nights to brutal death metal, and no one ever has a Twitter handle. You pay a cheap cover to climb in, the drinks are cash only, and all the shows are free.
Consider a Horse, The Roaches, The Cultured and Stay on Top are featured between these paragraphs with the only trackable presence they have on the biosphere.
Sounds good to me. Don’t go changin’, Midway.
