Notes from a Genius

LadyLamb the Beekeeper, what can I possibly say about her that I haven't said already. I've probably seen her about 8 times since 2009 (when I was first introduced to her as the opening act for Dr. Dog and she almost literally blew me away, the way she played all kinds of instruments and her voice was so powerful, especially for being so young, at the time). I think I have professed my love for her, before, but if not, my obsession with her was solidified this past weekend, when she played a homecoming show to coincide with the release of her new/second official album "After" which is a stunning achievement and a show of mature growth, musically, for her. Her set was amazing and I encourage everyone and anyone to go see her as she tours for the next couple of months. You will not be disappointed. You Are the Apple   Billions of Eyes   Milk Duds   Heretic   Vena Cava   Bird Balloons   Sunday Shoes   ( Aly ...

I have waited 20+ years to see Juliana Hatfield (Three) and it was definitely worth the wait. She played her debut show for this rejuvenated band/reunion tour, for which they played their first and only (until last month) album in its entirety, from start to finish- "Become What You Are," and then played some of her solo hits as well. I have had a crush on her since the 1990s and she lived up to expectations, live. Here's a look at the setlist from her show in Cambridge, MA (the day after her show at Port City Music Hall, in Portland, ME) and aside from her cover of the Minor Threat song (which I wish she had played) it looks very similar. First Set-Album "Become What You Are" performed in its entirety Supermodel   My Sister   This Is the Sound   For the Birds   Mabel   A Dame With a Rod   Addicted   Feelin' Massachusetts   ( snippet, song stopped after a few lines ) Feelin' Massachusetts ...

Last week, my sister brought me to see her, arguably, favorite bands (at the moment, because this is an accolade that seems to change every few months or so) at a small club in Boston. This band is from Scotland, and they play indie rock with a hint of shoegazing via Mazzy Star and My Bloody Valentine and pieces of Sonic Youth as well. All seem like the recipe for favoritism in regards to my sister. She's been raving about them for months now and promised or told me I would be going with her the next time they came to Boston. And she delivered. They were everything she has claimed them to be...and louder! It was a great show, with an equally great opening act, which I never caught the name of. There's A Girl In The Corner   Last January   That Summer, at Home I Had Become the Invisible Boy   Drown So I Can Watch   I Became a Prostitute   It Never Was the Same   In Nowheres   Alphabet   I Could Give You A...

The return of Sleater Kinney, and I got to share the experience (with my sister, who actually turned me onto them when she was a college student at Bates College, working at their radio station, WRBC, which we used to listen to together when she was in high school). They have always been arguably one of my Top Five favorite bands of all-time, sharing space with Pearl Jam and Nine Inch Nails, but that's beside the point. I've seen them in concert, I think, now 5 times (one time, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs opened for them at a club in Boston, back when the band YYYs were just a small band with one EP out). They were the quintessential riot grrl, indie punk band of the entire 1990s and early 2000s, before going on hiatus in 2006 to many fans who didn't understand the desire for a break. Their first self-titled album came out in 1995 to a music scene in dire need of straight-up, honest music, especially since Kurt Cobain's suicide in 1994. Then, they put out Call the Doctor in...

"Honeymoon" starring: Rose Leslie, Harry Treadaway written and directed by: Leigh Janiak This is one of the few promising films in this posts. It takes a simple concept: a couple on their honeymoon and spins it into a fear-inducing trip in the middle of nowhere. We meet Bea (Rose Leslie) and Paul (Harry Treadaway), who are newlyweds and encompassing symbolic fears and emotional distress of marriage that perhaps many people feel when they embark on this journey. That's the interesting piece to this horror film, besides the mystery behind why Bea is sleepwalking all of a sudden and where the hell she goes when she sleepwalks. The setting is the bride's family cabin in the middle of the Canadian woods. Bea and Paul certainly have the chemistry of a would-be real-life couple in everything down to how they interact and respond to each other. They seem familiar with each other just like a real-life couple. Then, things start going awry when Paul finds Bea in the wo...