JimSullivanINK.com - a guide to Boston Arts & Events...with attitude http://www.JIMSULLIVANINK.COM Wed, 22 May 2013 20:38:44 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.JIMSULLIVANINK.COM/content/view/2298/38/ Sat. May 25 The Possum is gone, but the Possum's songs live on. Merle Haggard has saluted his pal George Jones as the greatest country singer ever, and no one's really stood up to argue. Certainly not me. Saw the man once at a racetrack in New Hampshire, after missing him in Boston at the Paradise years earlier because, yep, it was a night for No-Show Jones. (He played the first Paradise show; I planned on going to the second - stupid me - and by then George was sick. Nick Lowe was another disappointed fan out in the lobby that night as I recall.) At any rate, singer-guitarist Dave Aaronoff (Muck and the Mires. the Protagonists) had a cool idea: I thought it would be nice to salute George Jones since he recently passed away, he emailed us. I have been a big fan of his for years. I do come from more of a rock n' roll background, but I have been playing country music with my band The Protagonists for several years now. We cover a lot of George Jones songs in the band. It's true, he was a hell raiser and a bad ass which I love, but he was also one of the great songwriters of the century. I put him up there with Hank and Johnny Cash. His songs tell such great stories of heartbreak, and he wrote many of the best drinking songs of all time. His duets with Tammy Wynette are some of my favorite recordings of his. I never did get to see him live. Aaronoff notes that he heard a bootleg of that first Paradise show (the one I missed) and he says, but I did hear a bootleg of the show and despite the fact that the whole band was sick, they blew the roof off the place. ... So we are going to play some of his songs, and some of our own, and raise a glass (probably quite a few glasses, actually) to The Possum! Hopefully he's up there at the great honkytonk in the sky knocking a few back. With the Darlings and the Invaders. Starts at 9. Tix: $8.1667 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, 617-547-0759 www.lizardloungeclub.com Jim Sullivan http://www.JIMSULLIVANINK.COM/content/view/1236/38/ .Fri. Sept. 27 There aren't that many CAN'T MISS events we stress here at JSink, because there really are so many viable options out there. But this is one: The return to Boston of the Feelies, the Haledon, NJ-band that made the late-1970s and 1980s so much more wonderful with its mix of jangly (pre-REM) guitar, nervous, twitchy rhythms, inspired covers (the Beatles' Everybody's Got Something To Hide Except for Me and My Monkey, Velvet Underground), and a mix of resignation, bitterness, ennui and, yes, joy. They're playing the Sinclair Friday Sept. 27, rescheduled from their April date (the Marathon bomber chase) . The crazy rhythms drove you one way, the intertwining guitar lines of Glenn Mercer and Bill Million another and despite the subtext of anxiety and angst, there was a palpable sense of excitement. The Feelies reunited for a show July 1, 2008 at their old stomping grounds of Maxwell's and have, tentatively, at least, kept it going. Last year, the Feelies broke a 19-year stretch of non-recording by releasing the CD Here Before on Bar/None, with new songs Nobody Knows, Should be Gone, Where You Know, Time Is Right and Blue Skies. Having new music, makes a band that much, well, vital, knowing it's not just laurels and history they're resting on. Frankly, it never seemed that way with the Feelies but just the notion that they're creating new music brings a smile. Life changes; Feelies are still at it. I talked to drummer Stan Demeski and asked him to explain the Feelies. He goes back to basics. “It’s similar to early rock music,” he says, on the phone. “Simple chords and progressions and straight ahead rhythms. Unrelentless drumming and pulse. It doesn’t let up, I was really influened by drum machines. I prefer the sound of a drum set, but drum machines don’t overplay. I like repetition and not overplaying. It’s Glenn and Bill telling us what to do and I’m pretty good at playing the song and doing what people want.” And, he adds, “no real deep lyrics.” I’d argue that point, and Demeski says, yes particularly in the early period. He mentions “Let’s Go” – a song of unbridled enthusiasm and says, “That means a lot to me, but it’s not like ‘A Day in the Life.’” The Feelies have a smart collection of potential cover songs. They recently worked up the Beatles “Everybody’s Got Something to Hide (Except for Me and My Monkey)” from the Feelies’ first album, “Crazy Rhythms.” Also: R.E.M.’s “Boxcars,” “I Wanna Sleep” by the Modern Lovers, “Paint It, Black” by the Stones, “Take It As It Comes,” by the Doors and “Real Cool Time” by the Stooges. They blasted through the Stooges’ “TV Eye” at a recent rehearsal so that might make an appearance.While Mercer makes music full-time, the Feelies are a part-time concern for everyone. Million lives and works in Florida, Demeski is an assistant parts manager in the machine tool industry, bassist Brenda Sauter is home-schooling her child and lives a couple hours away from Jersey. The Feelies world of music has long been stop and go, the band often dead (or dormant) during the past few decades. But it kicked up again in 2008 and released “Here Before” last year. The future: “I think we’re going to continue for a s long as we can as much as we can. I don’t see it stopping.” Did the enjoyment for the playing the music ever take leave during the long hiatus? “It didn’t go away for me,” Demeski says. “I know when the Feelies stopped playing the first time Bill thought it wasn’t fun anymore. It was a lot of work and Bill and Glenn didn’t want to go to the next level, but it’s never really left for.” Up for another run, then? (Demseki was also Luna’s drummer.) “ I feel like I’ve had my run a couple times, but that’s not stopping me from doing it. It’s still worthwhile; it’s still rewarding. We do as much as we can.” Why has the band retained its audience? “It’s a small audience, so it’s not hard to retain,” Demeski says with a laugh. “I think we do something a little bit differnt. We have a lot in common with Buddy Holly. It’s nice music that makes people happy. Well, I don’t know if I’d call us ‘nice.’ It’s fast, repetitive music that makes people happy. Any new music to come? “Bill and Glenn were taking about hoping to send each other music by computer, but I’m not sure they’ve done it. Glenn gave me a CD of instrumental stuff he did, which we very cool. He’s more inspired these days, and Bill had submittedd 10 or 11 for last the last album and we could still consider ones we didn’t use.” Jim Sullivan http://www.JIMSULLIVANINK.COM/content/view/2297/38/ Sun. June 23 The Channel was a rock club nearby The Children's Museum in South Boston and it was one of the best and most diverse places to catch rock 'n' roll in the '80s. I spent, well, several hundred nights there when I was a rock critic for the Globe, seeing everyone from the Jam to James Brown, from the Cramps to P-Funk, from the Ramones to Jerry Lee Lewis . It was a national spot, and a worthy competitor to a Boston concert scene dominated by Don Law and his venues. (To come: An excerpt from this piece I wrote about its history and closing New Year's Eve, 1991 for the Globe.) But here's the new news. Robin Moran, a former bartender there, has helmed a Channel reunion of sorts taking place at Royale Sunday June 23. How do you stage a concert honoring a club that had such a wide range of talent? Well, you're certainly not going to bring back the national stars - those that are still alive and kicking - but what you can do is bring in Boston-based acts that made the Channel a second home. Jon Butcher (in photo) will open the show. And you'll then get Robin Lane The Chartbusters, Farrenheit, Lizzie Borden The Axes, New England, Woody Giessmann, the Stompers and the Fools. I asked Moran how this came about and her thoughts on what was to come. Here's her take: The Channel Reunion Concert began with a phone call to one of my old co-workers Debi Longo. We were reminiscing about our days of working at The Channel. We both said we wished we could go back for just one more night. I had worked in many clubs through the 80's and The Channel was by far my favorite. Although I only worked there the last year and a half that the legendary club was open, the staff was like family. We watched out for each other, partied together and always had each others backs. Where else could you go to work and look up to see your favorite band playing? Local and national, make money and work with the BEST staff. After thinking about this for about a half second, I said, 'Well, why can't we?'' I had produced many small events for venues I had worked for and always wanted to do something bigger on my own. A sort of bucket list and this was at the top. Jim Sullivan http://www.JIMSULLIVANINK.COM/content/view/2296/43/ Tues. June 11 One of our favorite old Tom Waits' songs was Pasties and a G-String, an ode to the old days of burlesque, before the hardcore era surged in and way before the internet turned every possible sexual delight (or perversion) into something a click or two away. The Boston Babydolls, a leader in the new burlesque revival, come from that old-school, but, of course, with new twists. The Babydolls start a second-Tuesday-of-the-month regular gig at Somerville's Davis Square Theatre (Jimmy Tingle's old spot). They're calling it the Teaseday Club (cute) and your host Mr. Scratch will be joined by Betty Blaize, Brigitte Bisoux and others in an evening of provocative R-rated entertainment. Vaudeville and comedy also promised. Burlesque performers from outside Boston may come and join the event as well. Starts at 7:30. Tix: $15.255 Elm St., Somerville, 800-838-3006. www.bostonbabydolls.com Jim Sullivan http://www.JIMSULLIVANINK.COM/content/view/2294/44/ ongoing - June 2 There is still, perhaps, the idea that art and science live on two different ends of the world. One is a creative pursuit and the other driven by research and analysis. Left brain, right brain. Rarely the twain would, or should, meet. Whitney Bernstein a Ph.D. student at MIT/Woods Hole Oceanography Institute, wasn’t so sure. “A lot of people don’t have a good connection to science,” said Bernstein, on the phone from Woods Hole. “They see a scientist as someone in the lab, very analytical. But if you only see a scientist that way it’s limiting. At WHOI, a scientist is very multi-faceted and actually it’s like the process of doing art. In fact, the processes in investigating science and art are parallel.” So, thought Bernstein, why not try and get scientists from Woods Hole and artists from Massachusetts together in a collaborative setting? What might they come up with? “The idea,” she said, “was putting two people together who might think different. It might stimulate new ideas, to put together those practitioners in the arts and sciences to think in a different way and to convey those stories about oceanography. How do you reach new audiences instead of preaching to the choir? How do you convey these ideas in a more visceral or impactful way?” In March 2012, Bernstein – who was later joined by Lizzie Kripke an artist and student in neuroscience, and art student Michael MacMahon – put out the call for something that would become “Ocean Stories: A Synergy of Art and Science” - eight pieces that are at Boston’s Museum of Science’s Art Science Gallery through June 2. . Last May, they staged “matching day” at WHOI’s Clark Building Auditorium. “I was really excited,” Bernstein said, “but I wasn’t sure how it was going to turn out. I wasn’t sure if scientists would want to participate. If I got all these artists, are any scientists going to show up? I set up a round table, and what was fun about that day was just to see people look around and get in conversations and share their work. More than 50 artists contacted her, as did about 30 scientists On matching day, Bernstein said, “Artists brought in samples and scientists brought in samples. I thought, ‘Wow, my brain is blown on both sides.’” The “Synergy” team ended up consisting of eight artists, nine students, one post-doc student and one senior scientist Initially, Bernstein and her partners thought this might result in a small-town affair – maybe a wine-and-cheese opening at a space in the Woods Hole village. “But when I realized the caliber of the artists and dedication people had,” she said, “we wanted to find a bigger and longer home.” The Museum of Science was interested and with seed money from MIT, the project expanded its scope. “Both professions lend themselves to seclusion,” said scientist Jill McDermott, who worked with Jamaican-born oil painter Bryan MacFarlane. Three works hang, “Blues Rediscovered,” “Discovery” and “Underworlds.” “And both require a lot of focused, dedicated energy to succeed. The message I hope we convey is that scientists and artists do not exist in isolation. Artists and scientists are similar in that they both convey complex information to others, but they employ different tools and emphasis. The combination can be very powerful, and convey scientific concepts in a more compelling visual sense than even the nicest illustration in a textbook.” Jim Sullivan http://www.JIMSULLIVANINK.COM/content/view/2293/44/ ongoing - Aug. 4 You enter the main chamber in the Ann and Graham Gund Gallery at Boston’s Museum of Fine Art and you feel as if you should get ready for war. To your right, a trio of fierce-looking, heavily armored samurai warriors on mounted steeds, frozen in mid-gallop, ready to charge into battle. The horses, you notice, also have protective face armor. To your left, staring down the cavalry are five more samurai warriors, on foot, readying for a confrontation. Behind them is a mural depicting an epic wide-ranging battle. These sculptures, and other standalone warriors and their accessories, are the centerpieces of “Samurai! Armor from the Ann and Gabriel Barbier-Mueller Collection,” on display through August 4. An exhibit like this offers us a chance to transport ourselves back in time, to imagine ourselves in the midst of a culture long ago and far away. In this case, we’re in Japan during the expansive era of the shoguns, who served country’s emperors from 1185 to 1868. The samurai began in 792, following the discontinuation of troop conscription, as landowners needed to provide their own defense. The sword-wielding samurais’ role evolved over the centuries, but by 1185 they aided the governing shoguns, enforcing tax collection and crushing rebellions. They lived and died by a strict code – bushido, the way of the warrior, with loyalty and chivalry high on the list – and they accepted suicide by disembowelment as just punishment for dishonoring that code. Not long ago, the MFA held a press gathering for an exhibit tour. Director Malcolm Rogers and co-curator Anne Morse spoke, as did Gabriel Barbier-Mueller. Rogers noted that while the Museum was “famous for our Japanese collection, this is an area we’re not strong.” The MFA’s Art of Japan Gallery features 100,000-plus objects - paintings, textiles and decorative arts – and is considered the finest collection of Japanese art outside of Japan. Barbier-Mueller, 57, is a Dallas-based global real estate developer and investor with an estimated net worth of $1.4 billion. He was born in Geneva, came to Dallas in 1979 and is the founder and CEO of Harwood International. His grandfather was an art collector; his parents were collectors; he, his wife and children are collectors. “Three generations,” he said. His adult daughter Nina Barbier-Mueller Tollett traveled with him to the Boston exhibit. She said she’d grown up with the samurai around her since she was 12. She and co-curator Jessica Liu Beasley installed the exhibit. “Each piece,” said Rogers, “Is a beautiful piece of art conveying the power and might of these warriors.” Jim Sullivan http://www.JIMSULLIVANINK.COM/content/view/2291/45/ Sat. June 1 Jon Lupfer, co-owner of the fab Q Division Studio in Somerville, is comin' right at you with this pitch. You Will Buy Our Stuff!, emails Jon, taking a page right out of HSN. What stuff? you wonder. Vinyl records and CD's, cables, books, posters, speakers, microphones, outboard gear, guitar road and drum cases, hand made amps, hand made pedals. (We're guessing the latter two cater to the hipster crowd and the outboard gear has nothing to do with powerboats.) Explains Jon, of this four hour sale Saturday June 1 (rain date: next day) : It's happening again. A bunch of friendly engineers, musicians and just regular (well...regularish) people with too much stuff on their hands are getting together in Q Division's back lot to clear house, or to pretend to clear house, but really just to trade their stuff for other people's stuff. It's a good time. I'm not sure what's going to be for sale this year, but it's pretty sure to include these [aforementioned] items. What if you get hungry? What if it's hot? We'll be firing up the grill and having some good old fashioned hot dogs and other grillables. It tends to be VERY SUNNY. We recommend sun screen if you think you'll be hanging out for any length of time (and we certainly hope you will)! How about music? Crikey, everyone and his sister has recorded at this spot, anybody on board? This year it didn't work out to be the same weekend as Porchfest, Lupfer says, so we don't have any live music planned, but we might find some music around here somewhere. Hours: 10 AM - 2 PM.393 Highland Ave., Somerville, www.qdivision.com Jim Sullivan