Cheap Thrills: 10/20 to 10/25

Well, I got a weekly list out this week... My apologies to e-list subscribers who received an empty "table of contents". :-)

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MON 10/20
* Boston Skeptics in the Pub: "How Tigger Lost His Boing: Molecular Quackery"
* the morning benders
* Chris Robley, Audrey Ryan

TUES 10/21
* Winedown: "Passing the Baton"
* Sam Adams Beer Bowl
* Oscar Castro-Neves

WED 10/22
* John K. Hodgman w/ Jonathan Coulton, "More Information Than You
Require": Reading
* Jay Reatard, Cola Freaks, The Tampoffs, Vancougar
* "Body of War": Free Screening

THUR 10/23
* DMZ, The New Frustrations, Red Invasion
* Willard Grant Conspiracy, Chris Brokaw, Drew O'Doherty
* "The Battle of Algiers": Free Screening
* Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, Pants Yell!, Cotton Candy

FRI 10/24
* Movers & Shakers, Where the Land Meets the Sea, Cold Beat
* Viva Viva, Ergot Rot, The Needy Visions
* "Iron Pour: Magic, Fire, Music, and Dance"

SAT 10/25
* Monster Mashup Ghost Party

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MON 10/20

7pm
Boston Skeptics in the Pub: "How Tigger Lost His Boing: Molecular Quackery"
at Tommy Doyle's, 96 Winthrop St, Cambridge (Harvard Sq)
FREE

Now this is how drunken pseudo-science discourse is done! Sid Rodrigues is the organizer (organiser?) of the original "Skeptics in the Pub" group in London. He work in molecular genetics, but I don't know how he's going debunk the theories in "Winnie the Pooh"...

Go upstairs for the communal skepticism.

MON 10/20

8pm
the morning benders
at Puma Store, 333 Newbury St, Boston
FREE

How many of you have heard of the morning benders? I don't think I have before this week. They have a strong sense of songwriting. I get a feeling that their fanbase mainly consist of young girls, but I could totally be off-base... It's going to be a good acoustic set, if you can get in.

They even recorded about a dozen acoustic songs in their apartment. It may not be the best place for the new fan to start, but it's a free download...

MON 10/20

10pm
Chris Robley, Audrey Ryan
at ZuZu!, 474 Mass Ave, Cambridge (Central Sq)
FREE

The press clips compared Chris Robley to Elliot Smith and Lennon, and I was skeptical enough to want to drink in a pub (see above). There is some Elliot and John in Robley's songs, but it's not impersonations. Although he is from Oregon's Portland, and he's playing with Audrey Ryan from Bar Harbor.

Audrey probably doesn't care about the 'other' Portland, but I can have New England pride and declare her to be the true reason to go out on Monday night. Her high, hyponotic melodies carry the thoughtful lyrics around the room and land to tickle your ears.

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TUES 10/21

7pm
Winedown: "Passing the Baton"
at Harvard Book Store, 1256 Mass Ave, Cambridge (Harvard Sq)
FREE

Stop by for a little wine and conversation with Frank Kramer (store owner for the last 30 years) and Jeff Mayersohn (new owner). I wouldn't go out of my way, but I find Frank's story very interesting: He took over the book store in his early-20's(?) after both of his parents died and didn't expect to be in the book business for this long.

TUES 10/21

9pm
Sam Adams Beer Bowl
at Milky Way Lounge, 403 Centre Street, Jamaica Plain
FREE / 21+

From what I've heard the quantity of free booze is not as great as I remember from my Milky Way experiences, but there will be 'tastings' of various Sam brews from 9pm to 10pm. Three lanes will be alloted for a 'bowling tournament' -- with prizes -- starting at 9:30pm (first-come, first-serve).

Beer deal of the night: 22oz. mug of Sam Adams Oktoberfest for $4.

TUES 10/21

8:15pm
Oscar Castro-Neves
at Berklee Performance Center, 136 Mass Ave, Boston (Back Bay)
$10

Berklee is celebrating "50 Years of the Bossa Nova", and who isn't really? Guitarist Oscar Castro-Neves was right in there with Joao Gilberto and Antonio Carlos Jobim when bossa nova exploded. I saw a video of him singing in English, then I read he has lived in the US since '71 -- but he's the real bossa nova deal...

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WED 10/22

6pm
John K. Hodgman w/ Jonathan Coulton, "More Information Than You Require": Reading
at Coolidge Corner Theatre, 290 Harvard St, Brookline
$5 (tix available at Brookline Booksmith)

He have dropped the "K", but as a fan of his first book (and Mac commercials as "PC" and McSweeney's pieces and "Daily Show" appearances) I will call him John K. Hodgman. After the absurdist, Pythonesque humor of his first book, "Areas of My Expertise", I'd read anything he writes. Hodgman returns to his hometown of Brookline for a reading from the 2nd book with Yale buddy & singer-songwriter Jonathan Coulton pitching in with a little music here and there.

WED 10/22

9:30pm
Jay Reatard, Cola Freaks, The Tampoffs, Vancougar
at Middle East - Upstairs, 472 Mass Ave, Cambridge (Central Sq)
$10 advance / $12 day of show / 18+

Friggin' awesome punk rock from around the globe (and Boston) with headliner Jay Reatard. Extra points to an all-female band from Vancouver calling themselves "Vancougar". If you don't know how to get advance tix at the Middle East, ask there or email me.

WED 10/22

6:30pm
"Body of War"
at 'The Loft', 939 Boylston St, Boston (Back Bay)
FREE

This is a heartbreaking story of Thomas Young, a soldier who was serving in Iraq for a week before he was paralyzed. Phil Donahue co-directed so you can imgaine there's a lean to the left, but I believe the core of the documentary is a view into Young's life after Iraq.

Members of "Iraq Veterans Against the War" will facilitate a discussion.

(I assume The Loft is above Cafe 939...)

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THUR 10/23

DMZ (10:30pm), The New Frustrations (9:30pm), Red Invasion (11:30pm)
at Church, 69 Kilmarnock St, Boston (Fenway)
$10

There's no other place to be tonight. I don't care if the Sox are playing in the World Series -- they have TV's. I don't care if it's your mom's birthday -- the food is fine in the restaurant. This is the '76-'78 lineup of DMZ, Boston's first great punk band. Somehow they're doing a show at Maxwell's in Hoboken on the weekend, and this is their first show with this lineup since a reunion about 15 years ago.

The New Frustrations and Red Invasion will rock you, but DMZ is the only thing that matters tonight.

THUR 10/23

10pm
Willard Grant Conspiracy, Chris Brokaw, Drew O'Doherty
at The Lily Pad, 1353 Cambridge St, Cambridge (Inman Sq)
$10 / All Ages

Okay, I geek out for old-school punk rock (see above), but this is a spectacularly good night of music at a venue with superlative acoustics. The Willard Grant Conspiracy don't reside in Boston anymore, we can be proud that they started here. Who knows who will play with WGC mastermind Robert Fisher, but I'm amazed one can experience them in such an intimate setting. If you don't already love them, fans of American Music Club and Tindersticks will dig this. Chris Brokaw played with Thalia Zedek darkish-rock band Come, and he's pretty awesome in general. I think you'll like Drew O'Doherty also.

THUR 10/23

7:30pm
"The Battle of Algiers"
at Bartos Theatre, 20 Ames St, Cambridge (MIT campus)
FREE

It's considered a cinematic masterpiece. This is a story about a military force from a first-world country as an unwelcome occupier of a Muslim country with torture of the citizens and many guerrilla attacks.

Umm, France... in Algiers... during the '50s...

THUR 10/23

8:30pm
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, Pants Yell!, Cotton Candy
at Oxfam Cafe, Miller Hall basement, 210 Packard Ave, Medford (Tufts campus)
$8 / All Ages

For the electro folks. There are rather detiled directions on Oxfam Cafe's MySpace. I think they'll work.

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FRI 10/24

9:30pm
Movers & Shakers, Where the Land Meets the Sea, Cold Beat, Lovers, Muggers, and Thieves
at Middle East - Upstairs, 472 Mass Ave, Cambridge (Central Sq)
$9 / 18+

FRI 10/24

9:30pm
Viva Viva, Ergot Rot, The Needy Visions
at Milky Way Lounge, 403 Centre St, Jamaica Plain
$8 / 21+

Ergot Rot as Rotten Rex, doing an all T Rex cover set...

FRI 10/24

7:00－11:00 p.m.
"Iron Pour: Magic, Fire, Music, and Dance"
at MassArt Courtyard, 621 Huntington Ave, Boston
FREE / All Ages

w/ The Accordion Death Squad, Many Mansions; Truman Peyote, Peace+Quiet, and much more excitement...

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SAT 10/25

3pm to 4pm
Monster Mashup Ghost Party
Somewhere in Boston
FREE

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Link of the Week:

A site with slang and cultural touchstones from around the country.
Find out how people talk or correct someone else's entry.

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Quote of the Week:

"A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business."

-- Henry Ford

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th-th-that's all, folks.

~r