SAT 5/30: EarthFest, Sailing, Zombies, Rock, Pop, Soul, Art etc

Alright. Here is the Saturday post. More to come...

Oh! Doctor Who episodes at the Brattle on Saturday too!

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SAT 5/30

Noon to 5pm
EarthFest
at Hatch Shell, Charles River Esplanade, Storrow Dr, Boston
FREE

Feat: Soul Asylum (4pm), The Lemonheads (2:45pm), Seven Mary Three (1:45pm), Shawn Mullins (12:40pm)

WTF? I guess this is what happens to free concerts during a recession. I didn't like "Cumbersome" by Seven Mary Three when it first came out! The only way I could stand to hear that song again is if they rearranged it with a ska beat or something like that.

Other than 7M3, it's pretty good time warp back to the 90's. The Lemonheads have never played at the Hatch Shell according to Evan Dando, but he's not the most reliable source for any information about his band or himself...

There is still an area for kids but no secondary "local" stage. Local band Red Summer Sun (fka Quarterlifecrisis) opens, but I'm not a fan.

SAT 5/30

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

Enjoy a free sail in the harbor. If you want to sign you up for lessons, you can -- or you could just check it out and enjoy the ride and free refreshments. Again, this on Lewis Wharf by the Marriot; look for the riverboat.

As they say, "No sailing experience necessary. All ages welcome. Sailors of all abilities are welcome."

SAT 5/30

2pm
Boston Zombie March V
meet at South Station to Newbury St to Boston Common
FREE

There is some info at the Facebook page, but I looked back at what I had for last year's march on the same weekend. I think they did go down Newbury St last year, but the zombies definitely invaded EarthFest. Go to South Station and follow like a good undead party person. Or keep an eye out for extraordinary people-watching on Newbury or the Esplanade.

SAT 5/30

8:30pm
Static of the Gods, The Hollow Sound, Pezzettino
at Cafe 939, 939 Boylston St, Boston (Back Bay)
$10 / All Ages

Local music mavens at Ryan's Smashing Life have put together another pair of good shows; this time at Cafe 939 where the room is clean and sounds great but there's no adult beverages. I'd consider going for Night #2, which offers three excellent female-fronted bands.

I'm particularly intrigued by Pezzettino from Milwaukee with a singer-songwriter on accordion; there's a lot of good stuff there! When I saw Static of the Gods, they made quite a turbulent, melodic, riff-tastic noise for three people. It's a really cool sound that shouldn't be subject to lazy comparison by me; just listen and decide. The Hollow Sound is a indie-rock mix of Emerson and Berklee grads.

SAT 5/30

Twelfth of Never (Midnight), What Time Is It Mr Fox? (11pm), The Milling Gowns (10pm), Ginger Ibex (9pm)
at Cantab Underground / Club Bohemia, 738 Mass Ave, Cambridge (Central Sq)
$8

There's a compilation CD coming out called "Sky So Grey" that features all of these bands and other local groups that dwell on the dark-grey side of the musical street. What Time is It, Mr Fox? has some interesting lyrics over modern-cabaret musical stylisms. The Milling Gowns have called themselves " orchestral gloom pop" and that fits, especially with the instrumentation based around piano and viola. In fact, Ginger Ibex includes the pianist and violist from The Milling Gowns.

SAT 5/30

Budos Band (Midnight), Jenny Dee & The Delinquents (11pm), Jordan Valentine & The Sunday Saints (10pm), Rocksteady Super Soul Revue (9pm)
at TT the Bear's Place, 10 Brookline St, Cambridge (Central Sq)
$10

If you don't know The Budos Band yet and like soul music, you better get acquainted to stay hip. This all-instrumental, all-funky, horn-heavy, percussion-powered, afro-soul band are bowling over crowds wherever they go.

The funny part will be when you like Jenny Dee & The Delinquents and Jordan Valentine & The Sunday Saints better than Budos Band. It will seem like Boston is ready to explode as the new soul capital of the USA. (And let's not forget about Eli 'Paperboy' Reed starteing to make a splash on a larger scale.)

Not much info is available about Rocksteady Super Soul Revue except the band features members of various punk groups like The Men, Victory at Sea, Lost City Angels, and The Prime Movers.

DJs PJ & Sean from Soul-Le-Lu-Jah spin between sets.

SAT 5/30 & SUN 5/31

Noon to 6pm
Chelsea Art Walk
around Chelsea
FREE

This is the first of what will hopefully be an annual event. There's an excellent arts scene in Chelsea, but it's difficult to know about it. If you don't have a car, it's so inconvenient to get there -- well, there are several buses and a commuter rail station. If you're there, you may not even know where to go -- there's a map [PDF] of the studios (about 9 locations) and shuttle buses will be running continuously both days.

SAT 5/30 & SUN 5/31

Noon to 6pm
East Cambridge Open Studios
around East Cambridge to Inman Sq [PDF map]
FREE

Like Chelsea, there are about 9 locations. In Cambridge, there's a group exhibition in the old Pompanoosuc Mills Furniture space at One Kendall Square (where general Open Studios info could be found). And a bike tour of the open studios is meeting at Dana Park (74 Magazine St, Cambridgeport) around 1pm on both days.

SAT 5/30 & SUN 5/31

Various Times
"Birds & Bards" Festival
at Boston Nature Center, 500 Walk Hill St, Mattapan
at Forest Hills Cemetery, 95 Forest Hills Ave, Jamaica Plain
at Franklin Park, 1 Circuit Dr, Boston
at Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Jamaica Plain
Mostly FREE

The weather may not be great , there's lots of outdoorsy/artsy stuff.