It's Saturday! Now What?

Now that it's officially the weekend, I don't want anybody to get bored. Because bad things happen when you get bored (unplanned pregnancy, spontaneous combustion, etc). So anyways, here's some of those music shows that the kids like so much. Here they are, by genre:

Punk
Who: Face to Face, Strung Out, Cerebral Ballzy, and The Darlings
Where: Paradise Rock Club, Boston
When: 6 pm
How Much?: $20 for advance tickets
Why???: For my money, this is the best show this weekend. Face to Face is a seminal punk/pop-punk group from Southern California, and Strung Out plays their own brand of metal-infused, fast-paced skate punk. Should be a grand old time if you have 20 bucks to shell out. Plus, it's ALL AGES!

Indie Rock
Who: The Shills, Grass is Green, Mrs. Danvers, Julia Easterlin
Where: Middle East Upstairs, Cambridge
When: 8 pm
How Much?: $10 for day of show tickets
Why???: If you're over 18 this could be a fun one. The Shills play an eclectic mix, evoking many genres and bands. If you don't mind a band that's hard to get a read on, genre-wise, then you should enjoy these guys. They're a local group who's been known for their impressive on-stage precision and energy.

Old-School Indie
Who: The Feelies
Where: Middle East Downstairs, Cambridge
When: Two Sets, First at 9:30 pm
How Much?: $20
Why???: The Feelies are a legendary and influential indie rock band that can trace their roots back to 1976. They played their first show since 1991 last year at Battery Park, opening for none other than Sonic Youth. Their music has been cited as an influence by R.E.M., which is pretty hard to argue with. Keep in mind, this one's 18 and up.

Song Of The Week: Big D and the Kids Table

Hey! Sorry I've been a little absent recently, but what can ya do. Anyways, here's a little tune by Big D and the Kids Table (straight outta Boston), it's called L.A.X. It's about any number of things, but most importantly its about not selling out and not forgetting what's important even when you make it. At least that would be my interpretation. Anyways it rocks but I have to warn you, if you don't like the fuck word, you won't like this song very much at all.

Song Of The Week: Bad Religion

This week's entry is from melodic hardcore legends Bad Religion. The video premiered yesterday and it's for the song Wrong Way Kids, off BR's latest album, The Dissent of Man. Footage used in the video was compiled from throughout the band's lifespan, dating back to 1981 at the earliest. The song is typical Bad Religion fare, fast, hard, and melodic. Here's my thanks to the guys for 30 years of service to their fans, and hope for many more to come.

Song Of The Week: The Gaslight Anthem

This week's song is an unreleased gem from New Jersey americana-punkers The Gaslight Anthem. They played it live in Australia, and the video made its way around the online punk community pretty fast. There are rumors of  a Gaslight release for 2012, so I'm already looking forward to seeing this song on the album. It's called Biloxi Parish, and has a blues riff and feel that evoke the alt-blues stylings of the White Stripes. Frontman Brian Fallon promises the crowd the next Gaslight album won't be a blues album, but if that means more songs like this, I'm okay with it.

Stream a New Track from the Have Nots!

Boston's very own ska-punk brawlers have a new album due out May 3rd and they have graciously offered to stream the first track off the disc on Punknews.org. You can check it out here: Have Nots' Punknews Page

The Have Nots have been playing their officially un-cookie-cutter style of ska-punk (read: no horns!) for some time now. Their first album, "Serf City USA", was critically acclaimed and their sound evokes early Rancid/Operation Ivy as well as NOFX.

They have toured with Boston legends like Dropkick Murphys and the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. They also played a couple shows with the Street Dogs this past November at the Paradise Rock Club in Boston.

The title track of the new album "Proud" doesn't deviate much from the band's signature sound, although it feels decidedly more like a rock'n'roll track than a ska one. Lyrically, the song deals with a son's desire to make his father proud, even post-mortem. It will be interesting to see whether the rest of the album will follow the rock'n'roll path or dip more into the ska foundations of the band.

Subhumans Preview

In case anyone was unaware, the Subhumans will be visiting Boston this evening to play the Middle East Downstairs. I wanted to take this opportunity to enlighten anyone who isn't aware of them as to who they are and why it's absolutely worth it to come out and see them on a Wednesday night.

The Subhumans were founded in Wiltshire, England in the year 1980. For those of you keeping score at home, that means it has been 31 years since they first came on the scene. Although they weren't active for the entirety of that time, it's pretty damn remarkable that they're still alive, let alone playing shows.

Vocalist Dick Lucas

The Subhumans have a staunchly anarchist political view, and LP's like "The Day the Country Died" and "From the Cradle to the Grave" are established anarcho-punk classics. Although the band has only released one album between 1998 and now, they have remained a touring entity and have produced a live album and live DVD.

One of the most impressive things to me about the Subs is that they have a spotless record as far as punk goes. They have only released albums on indie labels and continue to play local venues and support independent music. They're a group that generally goes about things the right way (they're actually a DIY group!), and their live show is amazing. If you live within 25 miles of Cambridge, there is no excuse to miss them tonight.

Song Of The Week: Teenage Bottlerocket

This week's entry comes from Laramie, Wyoming's own Teenage Bottlerocket. With a sound fueled by old Ramones records and energy drinks, TBR has been a standout in the punk scene for years now. Formed in 2001 by brothers Ray and Brandon Carlisle and their friend Zach Doe, the group has toured with national acts like NOFX and the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. The video this week is for a song called "In The Basement", and it features the best-behaved basement crowd of all time.