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Donning his vintage Mighty Mighty Bosstones t-shirt (in black, of course), Sam Black Church vocalist Jet Crandall burst onto the House of Blues stage with the reckless abandon you’d expect from a band 30 years his junior. To be honest, I’d never heard of SBC before they were to play this opening gig for Mighty Mighty Bosstones – but I’d sure heard rumblings. “Sam Black Church is going to be there – you’re seeing a piece of history!” “SBC?? They’re classic! Don’t miss them!” And then there was the sea of SBC logo-laden shirts and hoodies flooding the general admission pit, pressing towards the front of the stage. They are so loved locally, in fact, that superartist Duncan Wilder Johnson began a Kickstarter to complete their documentary “Leave Behind a Groove in the Earth” and was there filming. Serving as the band’s 25th anniversary, this was their first live show in six years and they most certainly did not fall flat. Sam Black Church were unflinchingly hard-rocking, thundering, turned up to ten, and mesmerizing for every lasting moment of their booming 8-song set (including an ingenious version of “Disco Inferno”). Jet was perpetually in motion – in the crowd, on the crowd, back on stage, from one side to the other, ad nauseam; he was so fast half of my pictures were blurry just trying to keep up. Without a doubt, this is one of the best shows I have ever seen – these hardcore heavyweight vets kept the room so engrossed and wrapped up in the SBC whirlwind that the minor typhoon occurring outside was nary a blip on the radar. If you luck out with the chance to see Sam Black Church perform live, you, too, will have the honor of knowing that it is more than worth the two days of ringing in your ears – and 25 years later is never too late to make impeccable mind-blistering music.
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Not long after “On How Life Is” was released I saw Macy Gray in Upstate New York and was blown away – Friday night at The Sinclair presented a second opportunity to see her and she undeniably did not disappoint on this 14th anniversary tour of her debut album. Gray hit the stage (after stellar opener Shea Rose) to a nearly sold-out room and most certainly brought her A-game – along with her bling. No, really – I mean bling – glitter eyeshadow; sequined dress; diamond mic stand; gigantic lustrous rings, necklace, earrings, and bracelets; and a massive, flowing black feather boa – Gray was a disco ball of musical magnificence. Even the band was designed to shine, with each of them wearing a tie lit up with white lights (think: white-lit Christmas tree meets necktie). Right out of the gate she hit us with “Why Didn’t You Call Me” and covered a total of ten out of eleven tracks off of “On How Life Is” (including my personal favorite, the catchy “I’ve Committed Murder”) – she even threw in a couple of numbers from her other albums to fill out a perfect, robust set. Approximately a third of the way through the night, Gray disappeared for a few moments only to return in a bold red, white, and black dress (sadly, sans boa) to wrap up with her hit, “I Try,” a cover of Radiohead’s “Creep,” and finish with “The Letter.” Gray was just as dynamic as when I saw her fourteen years ago – commanding the stage from one side to the next, while chatting up the crowd (or “sexy people,” as was Macy’s choice of words), the whole time not missing a note. By the end of her set, the stage was scattered with feathers from the aforementioned boa, worked off in a night of nostalgia made to feel as fresh as the day it was made. Friday night at The Sinclair, Boston-native Berklee-grad Shea Rose took the stage in front of a room with people loosely scattered about. Her amalgam of funk, hip-hop, jazz, and rock (to name a few) and accompaniment of her three-person band, Rose was the perfect choice to open for Macy Gray. She performed a handful of singles from her latest album, mixtape “Little Warrior,” with the best being her live rendition of “I’m the Sh*t” (which, she clarified, isnot about her). After leading the crowd in chants for Macy, she was on fire going into her last song – and by that time the front of the stage had gotten more crowded as ears perked up and people yearned to get closer to take in the welcome surprise that was Shea Rose. To be honest, I had not heard of Rose before Friday, but after just a few songs I was sold; and to add a bit more sauce to this dish, Rose has taken home honors such as Boston Music Awards in 2012 and 2011 for Pop/R&B Artist of the Year and R&B/Soul/Urban Contemporary Artist of the year, respectively, along with praise from Queen Latifah calling her “America’s next female rapper.” I urge you to seek out recordings via her site, YouTube, or elsewhere – and brace yourself for the spectacular coolness that is Shea Rose. On Wednesday, November 6, 2013, Margaret Cho brought her “Mother” tour to The Wilbur Theatre in Boston. Ferociously honest. Blunt. Direct. No-nonsense. Margaret Cho has never been one to sugar-coat her feelings – or, well, anything. Unapologetically speaking about her penchant for sex, the company of gay men, and her yearning to become a mother in the near future, Cho bares her soul to the crowd, all the while ensuring to not omit slight interjections of imitations of her mother – a part of her stand-up that has remained a staple throughout the years.
Unflinchingly honest, intellectually stimulating, candid, and constantly evolving personally, I have seen Cho about seven times and each time a large part of the material was fresh and different from the previous tour; she will never bore by throwing recycled shtick at you. I have yet to tire of her, as previous comics seem to fizzle out over the years. Having started to foray into the music world and include a few originals into her shows, the night was closed out with an authentic Cho tune referencing a “fat” part of her…female anatomy. “Mother,” indeed – Margaret Cho is the mother of sass and sauce; somehow – I sense motherhood won’t slow her down in the least. “Are we winning?” Michael Fitzpatrick – the “Fitz” in Fitz and the Tantrums, asks from the stage early on in their set at the House of Blues (October 28, 2013), referencing the Red Sox pursuit of a third win towards the 2013 World Series title.
Los Angeles-based Fitz and the Tantrums played a highly energetic set of their neo-soul best, including hits “Out of My League,” “Moneygrabber,” “Break the Walls,” along with an outstanding cover of The Eurythmics “Sweet Dreams.” They touched on a good mix of tracks from both their debut album, Picking Up the Pieces, and their latest, More Than Just a Dream. This was my second time seeing FATT and once again the highlight of the show is seeing vocalist Noelle Scaggs not stop moving – EVER. Singing, dancing, tambourine-ing, interacting with the audience – she was in constant, contagious motion from the second she stepped on stage. Fitz himself is outstanding, but Scaggs just makes the show. In the end, the Sox won their game and Fitz and the Tantrums won over a full house. A word to the wise: a chance to see this band should never be passed up. |
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