Participate! 31 days of concert photos in July

I thought it might be interesting to try to get out to see live music every night in July; but I’d probably die after the first week trying to juggle that and my work schedule. So I’m looking for cohorts to contribute. Look for interesting happenings (or try something random) once (or more) a week and note the who/what/when/where on this shared Google calendar. (If you can’t edit it, send me your gmail address is and I’ll send you an invite.) Let me know where to find your photos (Flickr, your blog, MySpace, wherever) and I’ll link to everything throughout each week here on Exploit Boston! and then a big roundup at the end of the month. It would be great if the photos were mostly of Boston bands, but that’s no precise requirement.

Looking for inspiration? Check out the awesomeness that is Tourfilter for listings of bands coming to town. There’s the main Boston concert listings page and then the page that lists upcoming shows for all the bands playing on Exploit Boston Radio.

Photos! The Finals at WBCN 30th Annual Rock & Roll Rumble

David Minehan / The Neighborhoods

Until this year, I skipped every other WBCN Rock & Roll Rumble since moving to Boston in 1994. I’m glad I finally ended that tradition and made it out to some of the shows at this year’s 30th annual rumble. The finals night was no exception. The winners, Girls Guns & Glory, played their best show I’ve ever seen (and I’ve been to a bunch). I finally got to see A.K.A.C.O.D., the union of Dana Colley (former Saxaphonist for Morphine), bass player and singer Monique Ortiz and drummer Larry Dersch. Low-rock awesomeness! Despite being a big fan of Girls Guns & Glory I thought there might be a chance that The Great Bandini would win it all. In the end, the rumble belonged to Girls Guns & Glory. Not bad timing for them: next week they’ve got their CD release party for “Inverted Valentine” downstairs at the Middle East on May 2nd. (Not so subtle hint: go, go, go!)

Marc Pinansky from Township prepares the tiara

The Neighborhoods, who won the first Rumble thirty years ago, performed at the end of the night to a very enthusiastic crowd. After the music was over, Marc and John from Township, the 2007 Rumble winner, crowned Girls Guns & Glory as the 2008 Rumble winners. Yes, there was a tiara.

To view all the photos I took at the WBCN 30th Annual Rock & Roll Rumble, check out the photo set at Flickr.

Photos in this entry: David Minehan, The Neighborhoods; Marc Pinansky, Township

Video! Session Americana at the Lizard Lounge

There aren’t enough words to really describe the awesomeness that is Session Americana. Fortunately they’ve got a few more weeks of their Tuesday night residency at the Lizard Lounge so you can see for yourself. The night starts around 9:30pm with a short break half-way through. After things start up again they play through the night until 1am. If you’re a music junkie like me, Session Americana is about as close as you can get to a religious experience — americana style.

Here are a few videos I took at one of their Lizard Lounge residency nights in April. They’ll be at the same spot at the same time each Tuesday until May 20th. If you want proof that Boston isn’t just another music scene, see this band live. The next best thing is buying Beer Town, their most recent album released in 2007.

Session Americana covers Aimee Mann’s “Deathly”

Session Americana covers Rodney Crowell’s “Ain’t Living Long Like This”
(They change the title; but I’m pretty sure it’s the Crowell song they are singing since most of the other lyrics match up.)