Author: Marc Clarkin

As social distancing restrictions ease up, concert announcements for national acts have started to trickle in, just really not here. Outside of Tiffany in June and Electric Six in July, I can’t find anything in terms of summer concerts with national acts in Rhode Island or southern New England that I’d want to attend. Some might contend that with those two acts, you don’t need anything else, to which I say, “Touche.” In Massachusetts shows have been going on sale pretty steadily, and I did get a bit loco in the initial wave of announcements. The first week I secured tickets to Tommy Stinson, Bob Mould, Guided By Voices and Wilco. I don’t even like Wilco. 

Till that purchase, I didn’t think the pandemic had much of an effect on me. Local music has been going strong for a couple of weeks in venues like Askew and Dusk in Providence. The Parlour is now joining them in allowing a limited capacity seated crowd. Right now all shows are pretty much on weekends but I’d look for that to expand as things evolve. I also noticed the Greenwich Odeum and the Narrows Center for the Arts in Fall River also are starting to have events with a limited capacity.  

The Return of the Newport Festivals

The cancellation of the Newport Folk and Newport Jazz festivals last year just made summer feel incomplete.  Certainly that could be said about a lot of things in 2020, but thankfully both festivals will be returning this summer!  Normally in our Summer Guide I’d rip through a few acts performing at each festival to check out, but as of this writing, not a single act has been announced. This hasn’t stopped the Newport Folk Festival from being completely sold out per usual. Right now both festivals are operating under the assumption that they will be at 50% capacity.  The Newport Folk Festival, for the first time in its storied history, will be a six-day event with two separate three-day passes (July 23 thru the 25th and July 26 thru the 28th) for maximum inclusiveness. The Newport Jazz Festival will kick off July 30 and run through August 1. Even though the Folk Festival is sold out, they have partnered with Lyte to do a fan-to-fan ticket exchange to counteract scalping. There will no doubt be plenty of ticket movement with two different sets of three-days passes and no info available yet on who is playing what day, so check out newportfolk.org for more info.  

Newport Folk Fest will run from July 23 – 28 at Fort Adams State Park in Newport. Newport Jazz Festival will run from July 30 – August 1 at Fort Adams State Park.  

Summer Jams

These are 11 of my all-time favorite jams to crank in the summer. I stayed away from the Beach Boys and The Lovin’ Spoonful (even though that stuff is great) because everybody already knows it.  

The Undertones, “Here Comes The Summer”

Palmdale, “Here Comes The Summer” (completely different song than The Undertones)

Helen Love, “Long Hot Summer” (both parts one and two!)

The Hold Steady, “Constructive Summer”

The Go-Go’s, “Vacation”

Jesse Malin, “Black Hair Girl”

Cracker, “Big Dipper”

Queens of the Stone Age, “I Sat By The Ocean”

Elvis Costello, “The Other Side of Summer”

Neutral Nation, “bad music beach”

Superchunk, “Learned to Surf”

Upcoming Shows:

Mark Cutler and the Men of Great Courage.

The Men of Great Courage is Mark Cutler’s more roots-based Americana-style vehicle for music. Cutler has livestreamed solo performances throughout the pandemic on Facebook, but it’s great to hear that he’ll be back on stage in front of an audience where he belongs.

Mark Cutler and the Men of Great Courage will busk out the jams for a limited capacity at The Narrows Center For The Arts in Fall River on June 4. The event will also be livestreamed; check out The Narrows pages for more information.

Pony Boy and Hope Anchor

Pony Boy has a wide palette that draws from everything from The Stooges to The Beatles. Hope Anchor packs a post-punk punch with goth highlights around the edge. This show will rock like a Nor’easter!  

Pony Boy and Hope Anchor rock at Askew on June 11.  

Tiffany

I’m kind of amazed that someone who started out as a teenager covering “I Think We’re Alone Now” in malls 34 years ago still has a career for nothing else. Power to Tiffany, gotta respect the hustle. It is also great that the Greenwich Odeum is back hosting live music.

Tiffany will be at the Greenwich Odeum in East Greenwich on June 25.  

Electric Six

This show is so big that Alchemy had to pack up and move around the corner to the former Art Bar on Chestnut St. just to accommodate it. That’s right, Alchemy has moved — no more long stairs to avoid falling down. Alchemy has not re-opened yet, but they will be hosting the hottest show of the summer! As I’ve said in these pages before, Electric Six combines the groove of the Talking Heads with the hard rock of KISS to forge ahead into the next frontier of rock ‘n’ roll. Electric Six at Alchemy at the Art Bar just sounds like more fun than could possibly be legal.  See you there!

Electric Six rocks the new Alchemy in Providence on July 15.

Email music news to mclarkin33@gmail.com

As a kid I hated music like Meat Loaf. I thought it was pompous and overdone, and I never liked having to hear that stupid “Paradise By The Dashboard Light” song at every wedding. It wasn’t till years later that I was reading a review of a Meat Loaf concert that it all clicked and I realized the genius of Meat Loaf and of his songwriter, Jim Steinman. If the record label told him couldn’t have seven choruses in a song, Steinman put nine choruses in. He curb-stomped the idea of the 3-minute, radio-friendly pop song. In that respect, Steinman was more punk than Fugazi. Everything he did had great lyrics and dramatic storylines, and went against what pop songs are supposed to be. In addition to working with the Loaf, Steinman wrote the hits “Total Eclipse of The Heart” for Bonnie Tyler and “It’s All Coming Back To Me Now” for Celine Dion. Sadly, Steinman recently passed away in Connecticut. But through his music, he will live forever. 

The Living Pins — Freaky Little Monster Children EP  

It’s normal for bands to take a little time after their debut and second release. In the case of Austin psych-rockers The Living Pins, that little time translated into a quarter of a century. Was it worth the wait? I just hope nobody was holding their breath. Freaky Little Monster Children is like a basket of shiny psych-rock nuggets. “Jaguar” is fueled by a guitar riff reminiscent of “Honkey Tonk Women” with a chorus that sounds like ’80s UK alternative rock on acid. “Downtown” sounds like the Strawberry Alarm Clock covering the Velvet Underground. My favorite track is “Raven” because the background effects sound like a jungle with searing guitars and the mystery and menace of singer/guitarists Pam Peltz and Carrie Clark’s vocals floating through the moonlight. Freaky Little Monster Children is available now on Bandcamp.  

Guided By Voices — Earth Man Blues (Rockathon Records)

Let’s go from a band that had 25 years between releases to Guided By Voices, who is releasing their fourth album of this pandemic, Earth Man Blues. The press release describes the release as a magical cinematic album following the adventures of Harold Admore. I’d describe it as a great album that contains all the elements of classic Guided By Voices. Earth Man Blues is by far the best album of COVID-era GBV. From the unexpected circus-like breakdown on the opening track “Made Man” through the prog-rock madness of the closing “Child’s Play,” Earth Man Blues rocks like a tilt-a-whirl spinning through a funhouse. “The Disconnected Citizen” sounds like Alien Lanes-era GBV through a lens darkened by the millennium mayhem.  The concept theme pops up from time to time like on “Dirty Kid School” where it sounds like Tommy-era The Who. “Sunshine Girl Hello ” starts off like late ’60s power pop before shapeshifting into an NRBQ rocker; it should not work, but somehow it does. Of course singer/songwriter Robert Pollard has been pulling off tricks like these since back when new episodes of “Cheers” were being filmed, but there is something different with Earth Man Blues. Pollard and the band haven’t sounded this fresh and invigorated in years. I haven’t really settled on a favorite track, but the album centerpiece is “Lights Out Memphis Egypt.” It sounds like an indie prog-rock playing Deep Purple and Black Sabbath covers all within one song. Earth Man Blues captures the classic sound of Guided By Voices, but also sounds like it’s from the future.  

Dinosaur Jr. — Sweep It Into Space 

I go back and forth on whether Dinosaur Jr. is the ultimate reunion success story. Since getting back together in 2005, they have released four albums and played hundreds of mesmerizing shows, but none of those albums are ones I’d ever want to go back and listen to. I wasn’t expecting much from Sweep It Into Space, but just like that, Dinosaur Jr. hits you with their best album since Hand It Over from 1997. Sweep It Into Space was mostly produced by Kurt Vile till the pandemic hit and production shut down.  Singer/Guitar wizard J. Mascis ended up finishing the recording alone.  Sweep It Into Space starts off like the ’70s — loud and out-of-focus, with jams like “I Ain’t” and “To Be Waiting” made to be blasted out of a cassette deck in convertible speeding down the freeway. Mascis said he was listening to a lot of Thin Lizzy when recording Sweep It Into Space, and that comes through in the melodies beneath the thrash. “I Met The Stones” is a glimpse inside Mascis’ mind as he wrestles with anxieties about meeting the Stones.  It might be the oddest subject matter in the Dinosaur Jr. catalogue, but more importantly it RAWKS! The marriage of post-hardcore guitar and hooks on “Hide Another Round” makes for another classic Dino Jr. whammer jammer. “And Me” reminds me of The Head on the Door-era Cure, which, I guess considering Dinosaur covered “Just Like Heaven, ” isn’t a leap too far.  “Take It Back” has a keyboard-driven verse that sounds like something broken off of Phil Spector’s wall of sound before blossoming into a power ballad. Bassist Lou Barlow contributes his usual two songs with the closing, “The Wonder,” being the more compelling. Play this sucker loud!

Email music news to mclarkin33@gmail.com

As spring rolls around in the underground, glimmers of hope abound with vaccines, warmer weather and the gradual return of live music! On the negative is the return of mass shootings, but that is another conversation for another place between people who don’t listen to each other. One of the bright spots of the pandemic is a ton of people have spent it making music!  I’m way behind on reviews, so let’s see how many I get through — more to come at a time and place that is uncertain.

Jodie Treloar Sampson — I Thought I Was Dead, but I Was Really Alive (75orLess Records)

The second EP from Jodie Treloar Sampson is absolutely vibrant! “Water” opens like a campfire lullaby then flows into something more. “Cotton Candy Girl” navigates the nostalgia of youth and how time changes us. It kind of reminds me of post-modern ’70s folk. Timeless is probably more accurate, but I get paid the big bucks to make up genres that don’t exist.  “Pangea” rocks against the continental drifts of a past relationship with searing lines like, “All I know is what I feel and it’s all too fucking real, going to make this good as a death row meal.” My favorite is the ballad “Fits and Starts”  because the sparse instrumentation of the piano and percussion allows one to sway in the glow of Sampson’s vocals. I Thought I Was Dead, but I Was Really Alive is available on all the streaming sites.

Glowing Cloud — All My Psychic Children

Glowing Cloud is a solo project by local musician veteran Eric Smith (Sweet Dreams, The Cold War). All My Psychic Children reminds me of a lo-fi version of Spacehog jamming with My Bloody Valentine on a set of Slowdive covers. The spacey imagery, both lyrically and musically, throughout the EP makes sense given Smith has been a UFO researcher for years. The verse of “Hanging Around” reminds me of an extraterrestrial Mickey and Sylvia tribute band till the chorus blasts into the horizon. My favorite track here is “Kevin’s Gate,” which has a mid-’90s Dinosaur Jr. meets The Rentals. All My Psychic Children is up under Glowing Child on all the major streaming platforms.

The Hold Steady — Open Door Policy (Positive Jams)

The first half of Open Door Policy is excellent, arguably as good as anything that they have done. On “The Feelers,” singer/guitarist Craig Finn narrates a story of a sunrise meetup to set prices that carries to a woman putting out the feelers under a poster of a spaceman saying, “Take me to your dealer.”  Finn’s lyrics are short stories that come alive in the music of The Hold Steady.  “Spices” kicks off with Tad Kubler’s ominous guitar riff as Finn narrates a story of that person who comes back to town, and trouble inevitably follows. The Horn Steady (the band’s horn section) adds a new dimension to the sound on tracks like “Spices” and “Heavy Covenant.”  There are ongoing themes of mental illness and a lot of parades happening throughout Open Door Policy. My favorite jam is “Lanyards,” which tells the story of someone from the midwest who goes out to California to make it in show business, but only lasts four months. It might be harsh to say side B of Open Door Policy falls off a cliff, but it is no side A.   

Wire Lines — Harvest Verses

Harvest Verses, the second full-length from Wire Lines, explodes out of the gate with the punk stomp of “A Wolf for Your Rabbit.” On “All of This Belongs to Me,” singer Kevin Grant proves after all these years he can still somehow nail hardcore scream. I got a sore throat just thinking about trying. “Semtex” is about as infectious of a love song named after explosives as there is. “Lines in The Sand” kicks in a grinding ’90s post-hardcore frenzy. “We Disappear” is a banger that rocks like early Husker Du playing Thin Lizzy outtakes. My two favorites here are “This Ark” and the closing “Spirits.” “This Ark” moves at a breakneck pace with lyrics offering hope on an otherwise stormy sea. “Spirits” has these fantastic hypnotic guitars and just has a different feel from everything else on the record.  Harvest Verses is available on all the streaming services and there may actually be physical copies available too!

The Moodrunners — Self-titled 

The debut EP from The Moodrunners explodes like a neutron bomb of power pop.  It’s like The Jam meets The Strokes, noisier than The Knack, without all the indulgent Elvis Costello lyrics.  The lead single, “Better Skies,” is already blowing up on radio in Japan and is sure to be the anthem of summer. Even on a song that kind of sucks like “Drown,” the energy has an I-bet-this-would-be-good-live vibe. “All In” shreds with arena riffs, stadium struts, and stops and starts, capped off with a sidecar pit sing-along chorus. My favorite is “Scrap Medal,” which combines all the best elements of punk, garage and rock.  It’s like Generation X meets Thin Lizzy meets Dramarama with a sprinkle of ’60s The Who. The Moodrunners are planning to return to the stage this May; keep your eyes peeled for a date. Till then, this biscuit will drop on April 1 on Napster and all other streaming platforms. No joke.

Shows:

As live music creeps back into the nightlife, here are a couple of upcoming shows at Askew. These are the only shows I’ve seen listed for April, but Union Station Brewery has been having live music on weekends. I believe Dusk is also going to start having live music in April.

Sugar Cones, The Portals, and Allison Rose will rock Askew in Providence on April 3. Doors are at 7pm.

Lenny Lashley’s Gang Of One is at Askew on April 17. Doors are at 7pm.

Email music news to mclarkin33@gmail.com

Welp, the ball finally dropped in 2020, minus the usual glitter and confetti, to the thud of a collective sigh of relief. We made it, right? Well here we are, not even a week in and so far the President incited a mob of thugs to storm the Capitol on Twitter. I don’t know what frightens me more, that Pence has taken the reins or that it feels like a relief. There were plenty of reasons over the past year to storm the Capitol and demand accountability from our public servants. Failure to deal with the pandemic, relief for small businesses crippled by COVID, and racial justice reform are just a few issues that come to mind. Instead it took conspiracy theories over an election that certified a clear victor, after all the counting and recounting of votes and more than 60 legal challenges, to mobilize these crackpots. I can only facepalm watching a handful of Republican senators trying to moonwalk over their states rights stance to curry favor with a demented despot. I’m still optimistic that 2021 is going to be a better year. Let’s get this party started paying tribute to a local music legend we lost and look back at some of the best in the worst of 2020. Happy New Year!  

Big Jon Tierney

This one hit hard like one last kidney suckerpunch from 2020.  Jon was an amazing performer who really could perform any style of music and hold his audience by their heartstrings. When I first saw Jon play it was fronting a metal band called Icenine singing these monster rocking numbers like “Truckstop Hooker” that were just awesome! Ten years later he was fronting essentially a Dave Matthews style jam band, which, while not my normal cup of tea, was great for just the sheer power of his big gravelly voice and his soul-stirring lyrics. Jon played a weekly residency for years with Kris Hansen that packed a wallop of frenetic energy, comedy and just a great vibe of positive energy. As great as a performer that Jon was, he was an even better person. I first met Jon sometime in the late ’90s and he had this warm genuine personality that just made everyone feel at ease as his laugh echoed through the room. In the past few weeks I’ve read so many accounts of how great of a friend he was and the lengths he’d go through to help people through their turmoils of life. Jon performed countless shows to raise money for charities, worked tirelessly with people with developmental disabilities in group homes, and had a knack for making everybody feel better and laugh in the face of adversity. I love you Big Jon, and your spirit will always be with us.

Best in The Worst of 2020

2020 was such a weird year. I don’t know how to rank albums or songs because everything was so in flux while going nowhere. Here is my soundtrack for the year. Let me know via email or Twitter (@marcclarkin) what you were rocking to!   

Craig Finn — All These Perfect Crosses (Partisan Records)

This compilation of tunes that didn’t make Finn’s past few albums and stripped-down alternate versions provided a quiet comforting tale of lost characters trying to find their way. As with his work fronting The Hold Steady, Finn’s songs are short stories accompanied by music. The standout here is “It’s Never Been A Fair Fight,” which is reminiscent of growing up with punk rock in the 1980s. My favorite line is “You said there were no rules, but there were so many goddamn rules. You said they’d be cool but then they had so many goddamn rules.” Anyone who grew up in that era knows how true that was.  

Ravi Shavi — Special Hazards (Almost Ready Records) 

This record had so many great tunes like “Going Going Gone” and “Sixes and Sevens,” but my favorite here is “Casino.” “Casino” successfully manages to combine an eerie sultry vibe with riding a wave that breaks into your heart. It is definitely one of my top 10 songs of 2020! 

Bob Mould — Blue Hearts (Merge Records)

The lead single, “American Crisis,” dropped like a bomb in the midst of the unrest following the murder of George Floyd last spring. I recommend the lyric video to get the full frontal assault as Mould and band unleash their rage in a cyclone of hooks and guitars. The rest of the album is good, but nothing that hits as hard as “American Crisis.” 

Nymphidels — Insurgery 

This duo creates jangling guitar pop that isn’t afraid to rock your socks off like on “Reprieve.” I thought about going with the soothing yearning of “Saved You” as the essential track, but “Change” just has too many goddamn hooks to be denied the honor. It is a shame that the pandemic kind of buried this great EP. 

Low Cut Connie — Private Lives

Private Lives is my album of the year. There are so many bangers like “Wild Ride” and the title track on this double album that it is tough to pick the essential track. I’m going with “Help Me” because after 2020 we could all use some help having our spirits lifted up.

Guided By Voices — Mirrored Aztec (Rockathon Records)

Leave it to Guided By Voices; the entire music industry shuts down and they release three full length albums. Sometime I wish they’d leave some songs on the cutting room floor and put out another Alien Lanes, but that isn’t how Robert Pollard rolls. I chose Mirrored Aztec because that is the best album with mega-jams like “Please Don’t Be Honest” and “Haircut Sphinx.”  As for their other records, on Surrender Your Poppy Field check out “Volcano” and on Styles We Paid For the go-to jam is “Never Abandon Ship.”

Fiona Apple — Fetch The Bolt Cutters

Fetch The Bolt Cutters just seemed to drop out of nowhere last spring and for two weeks it seemed like no other music mattered. The pounding rhythms that Apple crafted her poetry around conjures up a magic that is both unique and now. My favorite is “I Want You To Love Me.”

Blackletter — Animal Farm

Animal Farm slays with the feel of a rock opera that really isn’t an opera.  Blackletter mix poetry, Dio-like howls and Blue Oyster Cult playing Deep Purple riffs to create some really magic rock ‘n’ roll. The essential track here is “Invisible Chains / The Waltz” for more reasons than I have space to describe.

Bob Dylan — Rough and Rowdy Ways (Columbia Records)

Rough and Rowdy Ways is a return to rockin’ blues for Dylan after a series of cover records. This album is chock full of barroom jams, but the stunning “Murder Most Foul” is the pick here. Not just because it is Dylan’s first number one song, or the first 17-minute song to be a number one song, but because nearly 60 years into his career Dylan is still breaking ground and creating compelling art. 

Throwing Muses — Dark Blue

Throwing Muses are only about 35-plus years in as a band, but they are still creating tunes that are both vivid and haunting. It feels like there is always something going on in between the spaces of reverb from the feedback squalls of Kristin Hersh’s guitar. The pick here is “Dark Blue” because it is like a painting of sound come to life.

Malyasa BellaRosa — Affinity

BellaRosa has a newer album with her band, the Sugar Cones, called Road Soda that I’ll cover in the next rodeo. I spent more time listening to Affinity this year so that makes The List as Chris Jericho would say. The pick here is the Jim Steinman type ballad, “Wanting More,” just because I’m a sucker for that shit.

Sick Pills — (75orLess Records)

Late Night Death Trip (along with Mould’s Blue Hearts) is my pick for punk album of the year. The first five tracks are all killer and is my favorite Sick Pills album to date. My go-to track is “One More Chance For Love.”

Steadystate — Fast Machine

Fast Machine grew on me like malaria as the shutdown happened last spring and I liked it. Electro-rock groovers like “Slider” were the soundtrack to driving around empty downtowns all over the state.

Jesse Malin — Todd Youth / Ameri’Ka singles(Wicked Cool Records)

Malin released a few singles as a planned album got delayed due to the pandemic. These tunes weren’t even on the same single, but who cares — there were no rules in 2020. These were my two favorites of the singles. I’ll go with “Ameri’Ka” as the essential track since it is about everything that went down in 2020. My favorite line is “Adam got the virus like when Reagan was in charge, history repeats itself, the killers are at large.” Right on, Doctor.

Email music news to mclarkin33@gmail.com

This Julien Temple directed, Johnny Depp produced documentary shines a spotlight on Pogues singer, Shane MacGowan. Crock of Gold starts with MacGowan talking about growing up in Ireland living in a crowded house, without electricity or indoor plumbing, where he worked in the field with his uncle, and how his aunt would bribe him at the age of 5 with whiskey to read the Bible. The one part of Crock of Gold that irritated me was the overuse of stock film by Temple (one of his trademarks from his other films about Joe Strummer and the Sex Pistols) to re-enact MacGowan’s childhood. This is interspersed with MacGowan, his wife Victoria Mary Clarke, and Johnny Depp having drinks in a pub while MacGowan shares things like his belief that “God chose me to save Irish music.” When Clarke asked him why, MacGowan replied with a cackling “because God is Irish.”

MacGowan’s family moved to London where MacGowan got kicked out of schools, began experimenting with drugs, and joined a gang after enduring an initiation where he got beaten with a stick while having a trashcan over his head. During his teens in the late ’70s, punk rock explodes in London and bands like the Sex Pistols inspired MacGowan to start a band of his own, which eventually comes to be called The Nips. After punk rock fizzled out of fashion, MacGowan started a band with Spider Stacy called Pogue Mahone to breathe new life into traditional Irish music fueled by the energy of punk rock. The band name only gets shortened to The Pogues once a TV show the band was to be on discovers that the Gaelic translation of Pogue Mahone is Kiss My Arse. There is great early footage of The Pogues, covers the creation of the iconic Christmas classic “Fairytale of New York,” and ends with MacGowan getting a medal from the President of Ireland for contributions to Irish culture in a star studded 60th birthday concert. Crock of Gold features interviews with MacGowan’s sister, parents, politician/Northern Ireland peace broker Gerry Adams, Nick Cave and Bono, among others. The movie is out in theaters (if that is ever a thing here again) and streaming platforms – check crockofgoldfilm.com for screening options.

Low Cut Connie — Private Lives

If Private Lives is not the best rock album of 2020, it is definitely in the top 5. The double album is a hot pie stuffed with American music. The ballad of “Look What They Did” covers the fall of Atlantic City after being raided by billionaire developers. Swagger-filled romps run wild from indie guitar squalor of “Tea Time” to the New Orleans boogie “Nobody Else Will Believe You.”  “Help Me” has singer/keyboardist Adam Weiner singing about “hanging like a scarecrow” before the gospel chorus kicks in like a choir. “If I Die” belts out the blues. “Stay as Long as You Like “ is even like an ’80s pop ballad. Private Lives stylistically plays like a jukebox, shuffling between genres with Weiner’s lyrics pushing a comforting message of hope through the joys and sadness. In addition to this absolute beast of an album, Low Cut Connie does weekly streams every Thursday and Saturday for their close-lnit community of fans that Weiner has dubbed “Tough Cookies” – check out their social media pages for info.  Private Lives is the soundtrack for the turbulence of 2020.

The Replacements – Pleased To Meet Me (Sire/Rhino Records)

This deluxe reissue of this 1987 classic includes three discs and one album of previously unreleased songs, demos and alternate mixes. Among the highlights are the Mats last recordings with original guitarist Bob Stinson on the Blackberry Way demos before they went to Memphis to make Pleased To Meet Me with legendary producer Jim Dickinson as a three piece.  In a break with tradition, the vinyl offering is a completely different version of the album with some non-album songs sprinkled in, and a mix that has a raw demo quality. Pleased to Meet Me showcases singer’s Paul Westerberg’s lyric creation process as he’ll sing different lyrics before settling on the final version. Pleased To Meet Me also provides a snapshot of the infancy of bassist Tommy Stinson’s development as a songwriter. In a very Replacements-esque fashion, the boxset appears to have no involvement of the band members and was largely compiled by Mats biographer Bob Mehr. Pleased To Meet Me is a treasure trove for any Mats lover on your Holiday shopping list.

Tom Petty – Wildflowers & All The Rest (Warner Records)

Long rumoured to be the works, the deluxe version contains unreleased tracks that were originally intended to be part of Wildflowers as a double album. There is some filler (I’m not sure it was really necessary to buy the 9 vinyl version) but rarities like “Leave Virginia Alone,” the scorching psychedelic romp of “Driving Down to Georgia,” and “Girl on LSD” are pure gold. There is a double album of home demos and a double album of early versions of Wildflowers. The highlight for me is the double live album of tracks, both on and written for Wildflowers. Available in digital and in various CD and vinyl packages, Wildflowers & All The Rest will no doubt light up the world of any Tom Petty fan on your shopping list.

Rolling Stones – Goats Head Soup (Polydor Records)

After a string of four albums considered to be their best, Goats Head Soup is largely overlooked in the Stone’s vast catalogue. I’ve always loved it from the spooky opening riff of “Dancing With Mr. D.” to the longing optimism of “Winter.”  The deluxe reissue contains three unreleased tracks with my favorite being the driving “Criss Cross,” which seems to be the most untouched from the original sessions.  Another of the unreleased tracks “Scarlet” I don’t like as much because you can tell Mick Jagger re-did the vocals. There are a few different mixes and instrumentals, the standout being an instrumental version of “Heartbreaker.” The deluxe version contains a long circulating bootleg called Brussels Affair, which is a solid snapshot of the Stones live from this era. Goats Head Soup and the recent reissue of Keith Richards and The X-Pensive Winos Live at the Hollywood Palladium are to go to gifts for any Stones fan on your shopping list.

Email music news to mclarkin33@gmail.com

Throwing Muses — Sun Racket (Fire Records)

It’s amazing to think that Newport’s Throwing Muses have been together 40 years now. To celebrate, Throwing Muses will release a new album, Sun Racket, on September 4. Sun Racket is packed with singer/guitarist Kristin Hersh’s abstract poetry that floats and flails in the seas of psychedelic guitars echoing into the sunset. David Narcizo’s drumming is the glue that holds the ship together while Bernard Georges’ driving bass lines push it forward. The album kicks off with the haunting “Dark Blue,” which really is one of only two songs with anything resembling a “chorus.” On “Maria Laguna,” I can’t tell if Hersh is singing about someone who has drowned, but I do love the lyric “dotted with sharks, spilling prom dates’ videotapes.”  “Upstairs Dan” is another stormy hypnotic shot where you can’t tell if the character is dying or if they are bracing for a hurricane (Hersh’s house got destroyed when Katrina hit New Orleans). “Kay Catherine” has a waltz feel that starts off with a line about a terrible secret that the abstract lyrics leaves buried in the sand. Sun Racket works as a blast of mysterious noise lying on a bed of uneasy harmony, like a diary that washed up ashore, half destroyed.   

Jesse Malin — ‘Todd Youth”/ “Sally Can’t Dance” (Wicked Cool Records)

On his new single, Jesse Malin pays tribute to his late friend Todd Youth, with a tune by the same name. Malin wrote the song by imagining his friend’s perspective on his last night before losing his battle with addiction.  Some lines in the song like “sold my records and my last guitar, on a night so dark I couldn’t see the stars” capture the desperation that Youth was likely experiencing. HR from Bad Brains, who also had a side project with Youth, opens the song and appears throughout, singing lyrics that Malin borrowed from a couple of Bad Brains songs, such as “Leaving This Babylon” and “Sailing On.” It works as a fitting tribute because Malin, Youth and HR all came out of the early ’80s hardcore scene, even if this track is more at Tom Petty or Mink Deville level of rock. The B-side is a faithful cover of Lou Reed’s “Sally Can’t Dance.”  

Live Music Returns!

Live music has started to return, albeit very slowly, at venues that have the means to do outdoor shows. I recommend seeing it while you can because nobody seems particularly optimistic about the prospect for live music once winter hits. Both Dusk and Askew are hosting live music every weekend outdoors. Dusk is having bands play in the parking lot behind the venue, and Askew has been closing down Chestnut St every weekend. Both venues adhere to social distancing recommendations with table seatings.  Reservations can be made by contacting either club in advance; check out their respective websites/social media pages for more information. Here are some of the upcoming shows to mark on the calendar.

The Copacetics 

The reigning kings of local ska return to get the dance party started on Chestnut Street. Social distancing regulations must be a nightmare for ska bands with horn sections.  

The Copacetics play outside Askew on Sep 4.

Steve Smith and The Nakeds

It would be like the summer of 2020 didn’t happen without a Steve Smith and The Nakeds concert. This is the 47th year of the band and surely one of the oddest. Steve Smith and The Nakeds bring it with a heavy dose of bar rock rock mixed with R&B. I also love going down to the Charlestown Rathskeller, which has their stage out back with chairs and picnic tables.    

Steve Smith and The Nakeds are at the Charlestown Rathskeller on Sep 12.   

Absolute Eddie and Three Points of Madness

Not even a pandemic can kill heavy metal. Absolute Eddie is an Iron Maiden band, so right away I know this show is going to be a hoot. Three Points of Madness mixes metal, heavy alternative and a smidge of prog-rock in their thunder batter.

Absolute Eddie and Three Points of Madness will rock Dusk on Sep 12.  

University of Rhode Island Virtual Guitar Festival 2020

University of Rhode Island Virtual Guitar Festival 2020 will take place from September 25 thru 27. Featured artists include Adam Levin, Raphaël Feuillâtre, Bokyung Byun, Derek Gripper, Yacouba Sissoko, Redmond O’Toole, Zaira Meneses, Scott Borg, Matthew Rohde, Eliot Fisk, Corey Harris, William Knuth and Patricia Price, among others. Check it out at uriguitarfestival.org

Ponyboy 

Ponyboy make their debut doing two sets (one of original material and a set of covers) outside at Askew. Ponyboy have a three-song single due to come out digitally later on this month. I’ve heard some of their stuff and it’s all over the map where one tune will sound like the Stooges, the next one will harken back to the Faces and third one will be something completely different. The band includes Dave Laros and Vic Foley from Blackletter, Bob Giusti on drums, and Eric Hanson on bass. I’m looking forward to this one!

Ponyboy will play outside at Askew on Sep 26.

Bonus Shows:

New Idols will rock Dusk on Sep 20, and Sweet Babylon and others will play Dusk on Sep 27.

Email music news to mclarkin33@gmail.com

On their third full-length release, Special Hazards, Ravi Shavi unleash a collection of 14 songs chock full of grooves, trashy surf and classic pop.  Gems like “Going Going Gone” come off like a letter to an old flame with singer/guitarist Rafay Rashid asking, “How’s the city, how’s your mom, do you still have a car, have you taken your pills, have you smoken a joint?”  The wistful chorus features backing vocals from Roz Raskin. One of the older songs in Ravi Shavi’s repertoire, “Is It True,” is a sunny burst of classic pop buttressed by backing vocals from Raskin as well as Kate Jones and Emily Shaw of The Sugar Honey Iced Tea. “High Hopes” has a Cramps-style guitar-from-the-gutter stomp with a guest appearance by Ian O’Neil of Deer Tick. O’Neil also appears on “Violence,” which has an early 2000s alternative rock flavor. “Absent Minded Fool” is a lament with the feel of a cool flamenco guitar gone wrong. The final track, “Casino,” is my favorite with its eerily seductive lyrics like, “Why don’t you take a gamble, I’ll be your casino,” floating like smoke through the air over a funky garage backbeat. Special Hazards is available now on Ravi Shavi’s Bandcamp page with physical copies on vinyl and CD coming later this year.  

I spoke with Rafay Rashid to discuss pandemic living, how he and guitarist Nick Politelli write, and the villainous undercurrent flowing through Special Hazards.

Marc Clarkin (Motif): How have you been spending this weird time we’re all in?

Rafay Rashid (Ravi Shavi): I’ve been kind of going through it with everybody else. I’ve always felt that the world is ending, and this has just been sort of more concrete or a manifestation of that. I’ve been writing more and doing some side projects. I’ve been trying to spend more time with my friends and family while still, you know, trying to keep the disease at bay. I just got tested a week ago, not because I had any symptoms; I was just curious. I was negative, so hooray, right? No COVID for me!

MC: One of my favorite songs on Special Hazards is “Sixes and Sevens,” where you have a great line in the chorus: “We’re not going to heaven, we’re still stuck in traffic.” How did that song come about?

RR: Well that was the pinnacle of me and Nick Politelli, our guitarist, just writing in a frenzy to create material for the album. We had come up with God knows, like 40 to 50 songs. When we whittled it down, that was one of the ones that stuck. We kind of knew when we wrote it that it was going to stick. It was just a combination of trying to figure out how to be as abrasive as we were on our first two records while reflecting a little bit lyrically. It was more of a statement song in terms of where we’re heading. All the songs were written before COVID-19 or 2020. We actually wrote all these songs lyrically about four years ago. So everything that you hear on the album lyrically has been written well before this time, but yeah, it kind of felt prophetic in a way. Not saying that we’re soothsayers, but I feel like there’s a sense that like everybody kind of knew where this was headed. “We’re not going to heaven, we’re still stuck in traffic” is like, we all have to work through a lot of things in order to get to this idyllic place that our collective imagination brings us.  

MC: “Red Hands” is carried by a funk backbeat that kind of reminds me of earlier Prince. Were there any new things you want to try with Special Hazards?

RR: So one thing about Special Hazards that is unlike the rest of the albums, it was a very concentrated time in which we were working on the album. On this one, because of the way the time schedule worked out with our label, we had a lot of time to work on demos. This was actually sort of a compendium of everything that we worked on while we were trying to catch up with ourselves in terms of releasing stuff to the label — whether it be album covers or waiting for the pressing plants, which take a certain amount of time. So we basically whittled it down to 50 to 60 of our best songs. I think this one was the most collaborative between myself and Nick. “Red Hands,” along with probably about 70% of the songs on the album, were a 50/50 effort between me and Nick, which was cool. So on “Red Hands,” Nick did all the music and I just wrote the melody and vocals on top of it. There was a cynical brooding element to it; our engineer pointed out that this is like kind of our foreboding album.  

MC: You made a video for “Casino,” which, in addition to being one hell of a jam, doesn’t sound like anything else you’ve done. How did that one come about?  

RR: I guess with songs like “Casino,” “High Hopes,” “Red Hands” and “Going Going Gone” we found a thread of a narrative in between these demos that we had done. Then we were like, “Where’s the story here?” even though we’re not really like a story or conceptual album band. We somehow found a story within the everything-and-the-kitchen-sink format. So we just picked the songs that fit the story, which was loose. It was somewhere between a heist and an emotional robbery. So there’s some love songs, there’s some nostalgic stuff, but then there’s some straight-up let’s go ahead and take what we can get type of thing. We did feel like the enemy a little bit — it came from a villainous perspective in a lot of ways.

Email music news to mclarkin33@gmail.com

I was telling my friend Louie that I had to write a music summer guide and he responded, “Guide to what?” Good question, damned if I know. Maybe the best songs to listen to at the beach? That list for local music always starts with Neutral Nation’s “Bad Music Beach” with honorable mention to Someday Providence’s “Summertime in Rhode Island.” Technically there is still The Mummies at Askew on August 23, but you’d get better odds at Twin River on roulette than whether that show happens. Sammy Hagar said live music should return to save the economy. He was willing to sacrifice himself for the benefit of his kids and grandkids. It makes sense. He had no problem sacrificing Van Halen. So … fuck him, I can drive 55. Black Lives Matter. Here are some new tunes to crank up like the fireworks in the middle of the night.  

Bob Mould — “American Crisis” (Merge Records)

Bob Dylan is the best lyricist in the history of rock ‘n’ roll. He even has a lyrically stunning new album out but, with all respect to Mr. Zimmerman and his chart-topping 17 minute song, he’s not the Bob who came out of Minneapolis that the world needs now. I saw Mould solo in January in Fall River and he talked about coming of age as a gay male in the ’80s, when the emerging AIDS crisis was referred to as “the gay cancer.”

“American Crisis” starts off with this lyric: “To come of age in the ’80s was bad enough, we were marginalized and demonized, I watched a lot of my generation die.” And he is just getting started. “Wake up every day to see a nation in flames, we click and we tweet and we spread these tales of blame … world turning darker everyday, in a fucked up USA.” This song makes it feel like he was phoning it in with his old band, Husker Du, on Zen Arcade. Zen Arcade was one of the best records of the ’80s. In under two and half minutes Mould and bandmates Jason Narducy and Jon Wurster power through more twists and turns than the Corkscrew at Rocky Point. In the fadeout Mould chants, “Silence was death, never forget.” Yes. And vote!

steadystate — Fast Machine

I loved steadystate’s debut EP, Two Moons, last year mostly because of the track, “Radiation,” which exemplified great electro-alternative ’80s rock ‘n’ roll. It took a while to appreciate the followup, Fast Machine, because it was kind of like going from Bowie’s Diamond Dogs to Low. Fast Machine is trippy in both a psychedelic and melancholy manner, kind of like the times. I recommend checking out Tyna Calderone’s (from Big Haired Sluts fame) video for the first single “Slider,” which was shot in Providence right after the shutdown on their social media. Singer/Keyboardist Christian Calderon ponders whether “our nightmares will come alive, or will they clean up everything.”  The title track asks, “What’s the point of no return?” while the band paints a foggy ’80s electro-influenced wall of sound. The final track, “D+,” isn’t just my high school math grade, it starts slow till squalls of feedback usher in the beat. Fast Machine is the perfect EP to blast at the beach to chill between New Order and Jesus Jones.

Malyssa BellaRosa — Affinity

Malyssa BellaRosa has been a busy lady between this solo album and another record she’s ready to drop with her band, Sugar Cones. I was expecting a more mellow album in the vein of “these songs didn’t work with the band” type of thing, but Affinity ain’t afraid of a little rocking and a rolling. The opening, “Great Escape,” starts with BellaRosa’s smoky vocals that leads the listener into the titanic chorus about the need to get away. “All Used Up” is a tune that BellaRosa has done with one of her other bands, Malyssa and The Liberators. I can’t say it is my favorite, but I get why it sticks around — when the song goes into the rocking part surfing a killer hook, I get the appeal. “Wanting More” reminds me of Bonnie Tyler with strings. As a huge fan of Jim Steinman’s songwriting, I love this! It only works because BellaRosa has the pipes to pull this off. “By My Side” has the neo-’60s garage strut reminiscent of Edwyn Collins “A Girl Like You.” “It’s Alright” is dirty guitar punk rock rave up. The closing “Groove With Me” is a meditative electro jam to fall asleep to on the beach under the stars.

Sick Pills — Late Night Death Trip (75orLess records)

Got this biscuit in the mail and after glancing at the song titles, I had to reach out to singer/guitarist Chris (Dr. Evil) Guaraldi to make sure he was okay. The song titles include “Wanna Die,” “Waiting To Die” and the title track. It turns out it was inspired by some health problems last year, including a late night ambulance trip. Thankfully Dr. Evil is doing better, and from the suffering came great art. The frantic opener, “Wanna Die” rips in a Husker Du pace before settling into a late ’90s breakdown. “One More Chance For Love” is another punk rave-up with a hook that recalls early The Replacements. “Waiting To Die” reminds me of ’90s The Queers and is infectious as hell — seriously, wear a face mask while listening. The title track has the frenetic backbeat like Funhouse-era Stooges, but at the same time, sounds nothing like them all. The CD version rounds out with a Devo cover in “Gates of Steel” and Q Lazzarus’ “Goodbye Horses” that was featured in Silence of the Lambs. Late Night Death Trip is the album to crank at the beach when one has had too much tequila the night before.

Blackletter — Animal Farm

Singer/Keyboardist Dave Laros told me this record was a reflection of the times and is his effort to make sense of it all. The release party for Animal Farm was to be the week everything shut down, so if the times were weird before, good luck with the next one, Laros. Animal Farm starts off with a ’70s rock strut with bassist Rob Shaggs holding down the low end before guitarist Vic Foley unleashes a bomb of guitar pyrotechnics on the title track that rival anything in Providence at 2am these days. “Vlad The Impaler” reminds me a lot of Blue Oyster Cult when they are not being sweet and singing about the Grim Reaper. “Murder on the Run” is my favorite on the album with Foley’s blues licks playing against Laros’ keyboards till the chorus that kicks any other power ballad to the curb. “Better Rain” reminds me of a cross between ’70s stoner rock and Kilgore Smudge. “Invisible Chains / The Waltz” has the title backward because it starts off with a waltz before undergoing a metamorphosis into early Queen at a freak show.  Animal Farm is the record to put on the ghetto blaster at the beach for those who apply 110 SPF and … it’s not enough.

Email music news to mclarkin33@gmail.com