Cheap Thrills: 4/19 to 4/25

In an attempt to be mildly relevant, I send this without worrying about it as much and adding a couple things slightly over $10. That's what you get over the Internet for free...

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SAT 4/19
* Record Store Day
* Cheap Thrills a Go-Go! w/ Babes in Boinkland & Ty Jesso
* J. Cannibal's Feast Of Flesh
* "What Is Change?": Music, Dance, more
* The Aardvark Jazz Orchestra
* Boston Horns w/ Barrence Whitfield, Akashic Record
* Hungrytown, Molly Pinto-Madigan

SUN 4/20
* Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, Via Audio, The Peasantry
* Earth Day at Franklin Park Zoo w/ Jeff Corwin
* BU 4/20 Film Festival: Dazed and Confused, Half Baked & Fast Times at Ridgemont High
* "The Big Lebowski" & "Kingpin": Free Double Feature
* Neil Hamburger, Anderson Comedy

MON 4/21
* Winedown w/ Taza Chocolate tasting
* 112th Boston Marathon
* Patriots Day Blowout w/ Foreign Islands

TUES 4/22
* American Music Club, Barn Burning, Ad Frank & The Fast Easy Women
* "Down in Mississippi, and Up to No Good"
* Bootie Boston #2

WED 4/23
* Boston Independent Film Festival -- thru TUES 4/29
* Ross Gelbspan, Talk and Q & A Session on Climate Change

THUR 4/24
* Dennis Brennan
* John Powhida Int'l Airport, Mike Gent's Rapid Shave
* Fury!: New England Metal Fest Pre-Party w/, more
* Harris, Aloud, The Brendan Boogie Band, Jen Murdza
* "Six Views, Same Shape": New Plays, Different Ways -- to SUN 4/27

FRI 4/25
* The Union Square Roundtable
* Sub Rosa

SAT 4/26
* Cambridge Science Festival
* North Cambridge All Arts Open Studios
* Free Sailing Open House

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SAT 4/19

All Day
Record Store Day
across the country (Boston: mainly at Newbury Comics)
FREE

I've always loved independent music stores. Better music... Cooler employees... Best chance to find some special... Record Store Day seems like a chance to say, "Hey, we're still here and we offer more than future mp3's. Thank you, friends!" There will be some free stuff, prize drawings, and (with music purchases) goody bags.

Locally, Newbury Comics has performances at every store. Amanda and Brian of Dresden Dolls will be at Harvard Sq from 2pm to 5pm doing artsy/musical stuff while adoring fans freak out...

Other MA stores include: Listen Up Music (Natick), Nert Of New England (Lawrence), Music DNA (Methuen), and Aboveground Records (Martha's Vineyard).

Just try not to forget about independent stores...

SAT 4/19

11am to 5pm
"What Is Change?": Music, Dance, more
at Boston Common, Charles St. and Beacon St
FREE

Music and speechifying to promote change by the people, for the people -- since our representatives don't "specialize" in that sort of thing, if you get my drift...

Hosted by Akrobatik and DJ Nomadik, featuring: Floorlords, Afro DZak, Letia Larok, Invisible Inc, Lyrical, Joy Daniels, Soul Movement, and more.

SAT 4/19

8pm to 10pm
The Aardvark Jazz Orchestra
at Kresge Auditorium, 48 Mass Ave, Cambridge (MIT campus)
FREE

Good jazz for free...

SAT 4/19

Midnight
J. Cannibal's Feast Of Flesh
Feat: "Dawn Of The Dead", Black Cat Burlesque, Devil In The Kitchen
at Coolidge Corner Theatre, 290 Harvard St, Brookline
$10

Midnight movie madness with amazing 'Celtic metal' (killer musicians playing metallized version of Celtic folk) and burlesque. I had a great time at the last Feast of Flesh, and the movie's sound should even better this weekend.

Free gory goodie bags will be handed out to all. Dress up like a zombie, and you might win one of several prizes...

SAT 4/19

10:30pm
Cheap Thrills a Go-Go! w/ Babes in Boinkland & Ty Jesso
at Common Ground, 85 Harvard Ave, Allston
$5 / 21+.

"Sexadelic Sixties Dance Party for the Now Generation"and awesome go-go dancers, Babes in Boinkland. No relation to this Cheap Thrills organization.

SAT 4/19

10pm
Boston Horns w/ Barrence Whitfield, Akashic Record
at Johnny D's, 17 Holland St, Somerville (Davis Sq)
$10

One time I saw the Boston Horns perform without a singer, and it was still very good New Orleans-style Jazz. Add the super-soulful rock 'n roll raver Barrence Whitfield, and it's da shit... da bomb... whatever excellent "da" works for you. Funk-jazz ensemble Akashic Record set the mood.

SAT 4/19

8pm
Hungrytown w/ Molly Pinto-Madigan
at Loring-Greenough House, 12 South St, Jamaica Plain
$10 w/ advance RSVP, $15 door

Hungrytown is a married couple that make some beautiful music. Their folk-oriented sound has a timeless quality where the original songs could have been written a century ago yet one hears the music in the 21st century. Singer/guitarist Molly Pinto-Madigan of Jaded Mandolin opens; she is young but sounds great too.

These concerts take place in a 40-seat room with superb acoustics at the Loring-Greenough House. Any show will sound special.

For reservations, email: notlobmusic@gmail.com
It's cutting it too close, but tell Jeff that "Cheap Thrills Rob" sent you, and he might give you the lower price even if it's not 24 hours in advance...

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SUN 4/20

9:30pm
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, Via Audio, The Peasantry
at Great Scott, 1222 Commonwealth Avenue, Allston
$10 / 18+

S.S.L.Y.B.Y. are awesome. I'm surprised they aren't playing a bigger venue. (And the website doesn't indicate 'sold out' yet...) The indie-pop goodness flows all night with openers Via Audio & The Peasantry.

SUN 4/20

4:20pm to 10:00pm
BU 4/20 Film Festival
Feat: "Dazed and Confused", "Half Baked", "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" (+ snacks)
at George Sherman Union, 775 Comm Ave, Boston (BU campus)
FREE

This may or may not be open to the public, but I bet you'd be alright if you marginally look like a college student -- or look like you could score some weed.

9pm
"The Big Lebowski" & "Kingpin"
at Milky Way Lounge, 403 Centre St, Jamaica Plain
FREE / 21+

I may be going out on a limb -- but these are the two best bowling movies I've ever seen!

The Milky Way is going to pull down the screen, and I think they're showing "The Big Lebowski" first.

Bowling is usually $25/ hour per lane, but tonight it's only $10/hour to keep the bowling excitement at fever pitch!

Robes and other Lebowski costumes are encouraged.

(Dudes... It's 4/20...)

SUN 4/20

11am to 3pm
Earth Day at Franklin Park Zoo w/ Jeff Corwin
at Franklin Park Zoo, 1 Franklin Park Rd , Boston
$11 / $9 if you bring a laptop to recycle

Honestly -- Jeff Corwin could get eaten by a lion, and it wouldn't bother me that much; but I know "Animal Planet" is pretty popular and he'll probably say something interesting at 1pm. Besides the lions, tigers, bears, etc (oh, my!), there will be various Earth Day activities and entertainment.

Computer Recycling USA will be on hand to collect recycled electronic equipment, and you'll get $2 off your ticket by bringing something. There is no fee for laptops, but they do charge for desktops, printers, monitors, TVs, VCRs...

SUN 4/20

9pm
Neil Hamburger, Anderson Comedy
at Middle East - Upstairs, 472 Mass Ave, Cambridge (Central Sq)
$10 / 18+

Neil Hamburger *looks* funny... He is like the anti-Seinfeld in that his comedy is intentionally unfunny (to make you laugh or get upset or whatever turns you on). The Anderson Comedy troupe will probably try to be funny.

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MON 4/21

Happy Patriots' Day!

MON 4/21

7pm
Winedown w/ Taza Chocolate tasting
at Harvard Book Store, 1256 Mass Ave, Cambridge (Harvard Sq)
FREE

I've heard there are people that like wine and chocolate, especially if they don't have to pay. In fact this could be the Harmonic Convergence of book-lovers, wine-lovers, chocolate-lovers that some ancient civilization prophesied...

MON 4/21

9pm until that slow guy finishes
112th Boston Marathon
from Hopkinton to Boston
FREE to watch

Thousands of people will run farther than anyone has really needed to run since the Peloponnesian wars... Still, it's fun to sit by the course eating and drinking on a sunny day while those suckers torture themselves. I hope someone reading this will bust out of the crowd at Copley Square and run past the winner at the finish line. That would be awesome! Maybe illegal, but still awesome.

MON 4/21

8pm
Patriots Day Blowout w/ Foreign Islands
at Great Scott, 1222 Commonwealth Avenue, Allston
$5 / 18+

It's becoming an (4th) annual tradition to have some cool bands play on Patriots Day. At least one cool band will play: Brooklyn dance-punk dudes, Foreign Islands.

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TUES 4/22

Happy Earth Day!

TUES 4/22

9pm
American Music Club, Barn Burning, Ad Frank & The Fast Easy Women
at Harpers Ferry, 158 Brighton Avenue, Allston
$12 / 18+

Yay, American Music Club is still back together. In my youth, these guys were paragons of hipness that dealt in maudlin lyrics and feral stage shows. The lyrics are still maudlin, but they're much less wild. Still better than most bands that charge $12. Ad Frank & The Fast Easy Women, who travail well in a similar vein, are one of the support groups.

I saw that Ad Frank interviewed Mark Eitzel (of AMC) in this week's Phoenix.

TUES 4/22

7:30pm
"Down in Mississippi, and Up to No Good"
at David Friend Recital Hall, 921 Boylston St, Boston (Back Bay)
FREE

Yes, they play and sing Country-Western music at Berklee. Four singers and a full band with fiddle 'n steel guitar will "make hoe-down" or something like that...

TUES 4/22

9pm to 1am
Bootie Boston #2
at Middlesex Lounge, 315 Mass Ave, Cambridge (between Central Sq & MIT)
FREE / 21+

I have a soft spot for mash-ups -- I guess I like hearing more than one song at a time. It's double or triple the fun in one bumping track. Locals dj BC & Lenlow are top guys in the genre (as much as they're top guys in the genre). They used to do a night at The Independent, and now they're at a real dance club-type place. Boston ska-punks Big D and The Kids Table have collaborated on a mash-up CD, so they'll sing and add live horns to the music around midnight.

The first 50 people also get a free Bootie CD. You can probably score some free stickers too.

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WED 4/23 thru TUES 4/29

Various Times
Independent Film Festival of Boston
at Somerville Theatre, 55 Davis Square, Somerville
at Coolidge Corner Theatre, 290 Harvard St, Brookline
at Brattle Theatre, 40 Brattle St, Cambridge (Harvard Sq)
Mostly $9

As I was thinking about the local film festivals, IFF Boston may be your best chance at seeing something cool that's also really independent. The Boston Film Festival often screens movies that are probably going to be released in at least a few theatres. The Boston Underground Film Festival is mainly comprised of weird yet interesting films that push the envelope but don't have much of a chance of success.

IFF Boston seems to have a happy mix of indie-films that may see a wider audience than film-fests and wild stuff. Tonight's opener is "Transiberian", a murder-mystery on a train starring Ben Kingsley, Woody Harrelson, Emily Mortimer and directed by the guy who did "Next Stop Wonderland" (7:30, $10, Somerville Theatre).

If you look at the schedule, there's quite a few interesting documentaries as usual. "Meadowlark" is supposed to be pretty dramatic; there's several good music docs (Joy Division, Public Enemy, Nerdcore Rising), and there is one about Harry Potter fans (We Are Wizards) and the Project Runway Season 1 winner (Eleven Minutes). Some of the features that look good are: Medicine for Melancholy, My Effortless Brilliance, Phoebe in Wonderland, The Cake Eaters, and Stuck.

WED 4/23

6pm to 7pm
Ross Gelbspan, Talk and Q & A Session on Climate Change
at 2nd floor Amphitheater, University Hall, 1815 Mass Ave, Cambridge (Lesley University / Porter Sq)
FREE

I've heard Ross Gelbspan speak, and he's an incredibly devoted journalist that is now focused on Climate Change. Ross knows about almost anything that's going on in the field and stays pretty even-keeled & factual, though he doesn't always cut off long-winded questioners.

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THUR 4/24

10pm
Dennis Brennan
at Alchemist Lounge, 435 S Huntington Ave, Jamaica Plain
FREE

Dennis Brennan is one of the best that Boston has to offer. He plays all over town in various musical situations.

THUR 4/24

10pm
John Powhida Int'l Airport, Mike Gent's Rapid Shave
at Toad, 1912 Mass Ave, Cambridge (Porter Sq)
FREE

This is the last Thursday of John Powhida's month at Toad. Mike Gent of The Figgs & The Gentlemen was supposed to open every Thursday, but he is really going to be there tonight. I imagine there will be more good music tonight than you usually hear at this excellent music bar.

THUR 4/24

9pm
Fury!: New England Metal Fest Pre-Party w/ Thy Will Be Done, more
at Great Scott, 1222 Commonwealth Avenue, Allston
$5 / 18+

I don't list a lot of metal shows, so this is a 'metal music' might with a live band, Thy Will Be Done. Definitely good music to strain your neck to (I mean that in a good way). Ken Susi (guitar/vocals, Unearth) will be guest DJ, and who knows what other metal mayhem will materialize...

THUR 4/24

9pm
Harris, Aloud, The Brendan Boogie Band, Jen Murdza
at O'Brien's, 3 Harvard St, Allston
$7 / 21+

Also the last night of the Harris residency at O'Briens. They are awesome in my opinion, and it's a darn good line up with Aloud, Brendan Boogie Band (ex-Scamper), and Jen Murdza.

THUR 4/24 to SUN 4/27

Various Times (usually 7pm)
"Six Views, Same Shape": New Plays, Different Ways
at Boston Playwrights Theatre, 949 Comm Ave, Boston (BU campus)
FREE

If you don't like one of these brand-spanking-new plays, you didn't pay for it. Sounds like a win-win situation. Am not sure what the 'different ways' means yet, but you can give it a shot...

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FRI 4/25

9pm
The Union Square Roundtable
at PA's Lounge, 345 Somerville Ave, Somerville (Union Sq)
$8 -- 21+ / $11 -- 18+

FRI 4/25

9pm
Sub Rosa, feat. Rose Polenzani
at Lizard Lounge/Cambridge Common, 1667 Mass Ave, Cambridge (between Harvard Sq & Porter Sq)
$10 / 21+

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SAT 4/26 to SUN 5/4

Various Times
Cambridge Science Festival
at Various Places
Mostly FREE

SAT 4/26

Noon to 6pm
North Cambridge All Arts Open Studios
around North Cambridge
FREE

SAT 4/26 and SUN 4/27

1pm to 5pm
Open House -- Opening Weekend
at Boston Sailing Center, Lewis Wharf, Boston (North End)
FREE

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Contests:

I've been sent info about a couple contests for free tix to IFF Boston (enter by 4/20) and a nice package for any admin assistant you might know (enter by 4/21). Maybe I'll post more info at the blog at some point this weekend.

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Links of the Week:

Do something nice for trees and cancel some of those catalogs you get.

An eco-friendly monitor cleaner.

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Quote of the Week:

"For me, punk is the new idea, always the new idea, forever the new idea. That’s why punk can never die. Because as long as there are people, there will be new ideas flying in the face of convention."

-- Ian MacKaye, speaking at Brandeis last week

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th-th-that's all, folks.

~r