THUR 8/27: Kung-Fu Film, Rock, Etc

Today's good news is that it's almost Friday!

Hey, isn't it great to hear the Remdawg back on Red Sox broadcasts?

If you didn't go to the Ice Cream Block Party on Saturday, I posted some thoughts and pix at Bostonist. (May post something a bit more casual here.)

Update: Anything that's going to make the "Friday list" is on the Calendar.

--------------------------------------------------------------

THUR 8/27 (thru SUN 8/30)

8pm
Films at the Gate 2009: "A Chinese Ghost Story"
at Vacant Lot near Chinatown Gate, about 10 Hudson St, Boston (Chinatown)
FREE

You can't go wrong with any night of this annual outdoor film series of kung-fu movies. It's not surprising since the person who picks the films was a at now-shuttered, and she knows her movies.

Sadly there are the theatres in Chinatown closed about 20 years ago.. When life gives you lemons, sometimes you can make a lemon-chicken entree... The "Films at the Gate" series returns with 4 more awesome examples of kung-fu cinema

I could assure you all of these are top-notch examples from "thoroughly entertaining" to "entertaining sublime", but the curator is a kung-fu movie maven and used to be a projectionist at a couple of those Chinatown moviehouses.

Tonight's feature is apparently a classic about a guy who falls in love with a ghost, so there are elements of horror and comedy besides some incredible fight scenes. (Yes, there is some sword-fighting while flying around in trees -- and more.) Some monster effects are cheesy, and some are supposed to be really amazing.

All films are presented with the original Chinese audio and English subtitles.

Seats are first-come, first-serve; but feel free to bring your own. And there are all sorts of Asian takeout food options in the neighborhood.

The rest of the schedule is:

FRI 8/28 -- "Fist Of Legend"
SAT 8/29 -- "Drunken Master"
SUN 8/30 -- "Shaolin Soccer", "American Chop Suey" (at 7:30pm)

You should check the site for details like pre-movie entertainment and the different location on Saturday.

It's free, but the hat may be passed for a charity.

THUR 8/27

9:30pm
The Macrotones, The Highway, Kuuluuko, Jill & the Peacocks
at Cantab Underground / Club Bohemia, 738 Mass Ave, Cambridge (Central Sq)
$8 / 21+

This isn't your usual night at the Cantab. Most of the downstairs shows are teeming with garage/punk, but tonight's show is anchored by The Macrotones (who claim they're playing at 10:30pm).

One of the sounds that seems to be gaining traction is funky instrumental music loads of horns and percussion like Budos Band or Antibalas. The Macrotones are right in the thick of it by rolling out tasty grooves that brushes up to jazz and Afro-beat.

Also on the bill are The Highway, some guys from Venezuela who've move to Boston and play easygoing, slightly-psych, country-rock. Kuuluuko is a blues-rock duo that seem more rock-edged than The Black Keys for comparison. I assume the jazzy singer-songwriterly Jill and the Peacocks will open up.

(I've been assured this is the correct lineup despite what the Club Bohemia site may say.)

THUR 8/27

9pm
The Lights Out (Midnight), The Future Everybody (11pm), Gene Dante & The Future Starlets (10pm), Golden Bloom (9pm)
at Middle East - Upstairs, 472 Mass Ave, Cambridge (Central Sq)
$10 / 18+

If you go tonight, don't be late! When Golden Bloom's Shawn Fogel opened a show last year, I missed his set and didn't think too much about him even though I liked the recordings. It would've been nice to keep tabs, because the his Golden Bloom album is pure power-pop gold! Truly excellent, catchy stuff. (Oh, and the drummer is probably the author of the best Nirvana biography out there.)

Gene Dante & the Future Starlets took some people by surprise at this year's Rock n' Roll Rumble, but he advanced to the finals with tight modern-glam tuneage and strong vocal chops honed in shows like "The Rocky Horror Show", "Hedwig and the Angry Inch", etc

It should be interesting to see the debut show of The Future Everybody since it includes a couple guys from fondly-missed pop-rockers Scamper. According to available resources they might sound pleasantly familiar to Scamper fans...

Those guys from The Lights Out are so clever for saying this is their last Boston show for the summer. Does that mean they're playing again next month...? Without a doubt they will rock you, rock you! Lean, mean songs overflowing with hooks are delivered with fuzzy, thumping sweetness. You might even leave the club buzzing with energy...