WED 10/21: Film, Talk, Much Music

No mention of the T or the weather today...

I did put a video clip in the middle of the post, so don't think it's the end. (Not a bad night to go out and have spontaneous fun.)

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WED 10/21

7pm
Green Guild Green Films
at Coolidge Corner Theatre, 290 Harvard St, Brookline
$5

The program of short films includes "The Carbon Footprint" (locavorism), "Bag It" (USA annually uses 100 billion plastic bags), "One Home at a Time" (weatherizing works!), and a sneak-peak of "The Muddy River Chronicles" about Brookline's missing link in the Emerald Necklace.

Discussions will follow the films with participants like Andrew Belt (Green Guild), Ed "The Plumber" Del Grande (DIY Network), and filmmaker Bob Nesson.

WED 10/21

7pm to 9pm
William Kamkwamba, "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Elegant Design Out of Junk and Spare Parts": Lecture
at Room 120, Bldg 6, 182 Memorial Drive (Rear), Cambridge (MIT campus)
FREE

This guy was on Jon Stewart, and he has an amazing personal story. About 5 years ago, he was a teen living in a famined Malawi village whose family could no longer afford his school tuition. There was a US-funded library nearby, so he would still read books.

He built a friggin' windmill out of retrieved materials to create electricity for the family home.

His Jon Stewart clip:


WED 10/21

9pm
Autumn Hollow Band, Kingsley Flood, The Gamblers' Union
at Church, 69 Kilmarnock St, Boston (Fenway)
$6 / 21+

Autumn Hollow Band is in the middle of a October residency at Church to serve a weekly helping of fine rootsy/alt-country rock. I waxed poetic about Kingsley Flood recently, so I'll post that again:

Every now and then, a band comes up with a really good line to describe their music; Kingsley Flood's goal is to achieve "a sound resembling what would happen if the Band met the Clash in a back alley throwdown." They're doing a good job, because the music bursts and fizzes in an Americana vein that seems to flow naturally. You should hear this band!

I don't know anything about The Gamblers' Union, but I'm willing to bet at least one of the band will wear a red-checkered/flannel shirt and someone will have boots.

WED 10/21

9:30pm
So Many Dynamos, Cinemechanica, Ho-Ag, Thief Thief
at O'Brien's, 3 Harvard St, Allsto
$10 / 21+

Humbly speaking, I've listened to a lot of good music across many genres. Without any expectations when I started listening to Cinemechanica, my ears pricked up to the snarling, angular rock that was rather catchy instead of sounding like notes randomly put together -- which can be cool too. Some of Thief Thief's rhythms remind me of listening to morse code in high-school radio club. Ho-Ag, on the other hand, also finds hooks while still keeping it jagged and noisy.

WED 10/21

Mollycoddle (10pm), Dave Alpert (7pm)
at Toad, 1912 Mass Ave, Cambridge (Porter Sq)
FREE / 21+

It's sad to hear this will be the last Mollycoddle performance, since listening to their beautiful powerpop is far from sad. (Maybe the lyrics are melancholy, but I dig the music.)

The main guy and likely many of these players will change into a new band called The One Smith who'll release a new album next year. (Links to some demos are in this post.) The new stuff sounds promising, but let's hope this isn't the last time these songs will be played.

It should be an impressive "goodbye-hello" performance with a top-notch band. And it night get crowded, so it wouldn't hurt to catch Dave Alpert's pop-rock.

WED 10/21

10:30pm
Thalia Zedek, Chick Graning
at Plough & Stars, 912 Mass Ave, Cambridge (Central Sq)
FREE

Two veteran Boston rockers will undoubtedly play compelling, stripped-down music that will be perfect for drinking.