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Melissa Ferrick: Back with a Band |
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Dec 02, 2006 at 12:00 AM |
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Sat. Dec. 2 Is "in the eyes of strangers" Melissa Ferrick’s rockingest album yet? "I hope so," the singer-songwriter-multi-instrumentalist says from her hometown, Newburyport. "Although there are no electric guitars, whereas in the past there w ere. I started working in January as far having the songs together, and started demo-ing on my own. It seemed like a lot of medium to medium-fast tempo songs. I knew I wanted to make it with a band, not do it by myself again. And then everybody fell into place, me, (producer) Ethan Allen, time at Q Division studio. It was domino effect." Ferrick is taking three of those players drummer Daren Hawn, bassist Sara Lee and keyboardist Julie Wolf with her on the current leg of her 13-date tour, which stops at Somerville Theatre Saturday Dec. 2. "What happens," says Ferrick, of the show, "is it starts with new material with band, I play solo in the middle, four-to-six songs, then with Sara, then Julie, then Daren. I’m really trying play the record. This is the first time I’ve been able to tour with a band for the first time in my life." |
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First there was Spinal Tap, now Boston brings you The Upper Crust! |
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Dec 02, 2006 at 12:00 AM |
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Sat. Dec. 2 How can you not love the Upper Crust? They're the Boston-New York hard rock b and who dress as faux French noblemen (pre-Revolution) who talk in snooty British accents and write songs about the miseries of being rich and privileged. It started as, let's face it, a gimmick devised by ex-Titanics/Flies singer-guitarist Nat Freedberg (aka Lord
Bendover) and now ... it's still a gimmick, albeit one that's spanned parts of two centuries. (The 1990s into 2006) Now, there's a mockumentary about this quintet called "The Upper Crust: Let Them Eat Rock,'' by Rodman Flender and it's screening Saturday at midnight at the Coolidge Corner Theatre. It's presented by the Boston Underground Film Festival and hosted by the director, aka Bachus Maximus. The film is divided into two five year periods showing the improbable rise of the Crust and the ... well, not fall, exactly, just changes. These guys still exist, still sound like a punk AC/DC, still look like rough fops in powdered wigs and still whip off sly. witty remarks and retorts. All to beer-sotted crowds, aka the peasantry. The movie is $9 and as a bonus, you get an 18th century-styled performance from Black Cat Burlesque to start. (Local trivia: The Upper Crust pizza parlor on Harvard st. is practially next door to where the Upper Crust movie is showing. Somebody, do a cross-promotion! Quick! It's almost showtime!)
290 Harvard St., Brookline 617-734-2500 coolidgecorner.org
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Free Speech Celebrated for Free with Cokie, Nina and Linda |
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Dec 01, 2006 at 12:00 AM |
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Fri. Dec. 1  Roseanne Barr has this HBO one-woman show on right now and it's a hit or miss affair - a bit gnashing, grinding and shrill, but sometimes dead-on funny and accurate. She does a rant about hating George W. Bush and then stops herself to wonder if she can still say that in today's climate. Like, do we still have free speech? It would appear so, at this writing. Cokie Roberts, Nina Totenberg (in photo) and Linda Wertheimer have been awarded the 2006 Louis P. and Evelyn Smith First Amendment Award, and they'll be at the Old South Meeting House to receive it and discuss their careers in the news biz on Friday Dec. 1. Roberts is presently a senior news analyst for NPR; Totenberg is its senior national correspondent and Wertheimer is its legal affairs correspondent. (It's kind of an all-NPR sort of thing, although all the honorees have toiled in the for-profit network end, too.) The Ford Hall Forum is the presenter of the award and the series of which this is part, "Partners in Public Dialogue." This should be a lively exchange about reporting the news in an era where the media is forbidden to take photos of returning caskets from Iraq - out of respect for the families of the dead, of course. Starts at 6:30 p.m. Moderated by Callie Crossley. Free.
310 Washington St., 617-373-5800 fordhallforum.new.edu
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Curses! Foiled Again! "The Spelling Bee" goes naughty for a night |
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Dec 01, 2006 at 12:00 AM |
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Fri. Dec. 1 Why have we been reluctant to tout the Tony Award-winning play "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" which is in our midst, at the Wilbur Theatre, through the end of the year? Simple: An aversion to spelling bees. Le t's just say we didn't get real far in this schoolboy rite of humiliation - and yes, we became a writer (go figure). We just haven't been able to recommend the musical no matter how good it's propped up to be. But we can advise you to attend the Friday Dec. 1 8 p.m. performance. Why? Because it's a dirty bee! Yes, that's right. Director Jay Reiss, who originated the role of Vice Principal Douglas Panch on Broadway, says "During rehearsals, I would occasionally cross the line a bit with the definitions and sentences and use some material that was pretty filthy. The case would crack up and director James Lapine would say 'That is so wrong.'" And genius. It's been done in New York and San Francisco productions and now Boston gets an 17-plus "Bee." We don't know what the words and definitions are, but wouldn't tell you if we did. It's all about the shock and surprise and the humor. Tickets: $75-$25. (The normal show is up regularly Tues-Sun.)
246 Tremont St., 617-931-2787 ticketmaster.com
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Well, damn it, Go See the Damnwells! |
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Nov 30, 2006 at 12:00 AM |
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Thurs. Nov. 30 W e love the Dixie Chicks for all the usual reasons (sound, looks, politics) so we'll go with what the Chicks' Martie Maguire says about the Damnwells, re their CD, "Air Stereo": "I was absolutely hooked, and once my husband started listening, too, that CD was never out of our car stereo. I pushed hard to get them out on tour with us and they blew the audience away." The Brooklyn-based Damnwells - hot on AAA radio - are also the subject of a five-year documentary project which is being submitted to film festivals. And they headline the Middle East Downstairs Saturday Nov. 30, for what promises to be a night of kick-ass country-rock with Frank Smith (a band not a man) and the Russians (a band not from Russia). Show at 9. Tickets: $12.
472 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, 617-864-3278 mideastclub.com
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