SAT 12/11: Music & Art

Attention, there is no snow on the ground to keep you from venturing for fun.

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SAT 12/11 (and SUN 12/12)

Noon to 7pm
Polk Fest 4
at All Asia Cafe, 334 Mass Ave, Cambridge (Central Sq)
$5 / All Ages

There was a gig last night with 10+ musicians, 5 comedians, and a poet; and I thought that was excessive! Polk Records is throwing another Polk Fest with 20 performers over 7 hours on each day. It's a bit better, because this ain't a tiny gallery with no room to move.

Let me clarify: You can "polka", but you might be the only one. There's a bunch of indie/rock/noise and acoustic-based stuff and other weirdness throughout the day. Two artists will be creating on Saturday while all the reverie goes on.

It is a holiday party where people would be saluted for wearing ugly Xmas sweaters and the like. Polk has a compilation of seasonal tunes by a bunch of cool bands that's available for whatever you want to pay online.

Should be a good time. Facebook says this is the scheduled order on each day (first to last).

Saturday:

Ununi, Mudflap Junior Jones, Reverend, Gaetana Brown, Crashing Cars, High Windows, Bent Knee, Matt Kona, Mirror Neurons, Naga Gaga, Stroamata, Brief Awakening, Dadfight, Diamond Mines, Streight Angular, Call of the Drum
-- Live Art by Ian Sanity, James Neville

Sunday:

Tim Novak, Paul Sentz, Madame Psychosis, Assistant Director, Birdorgan, Trusty Sidekick, Daniel Harris, Looks Realistic, The New Highway Hymnal, PFM, Lion Cub, Karen Zanes, School 4 Robots, Ryan Jackson Troika, Night Fruit, Old Hat, Tin Thistles, The New Years Revolution, Ladderlegs, Coffin Choir, Sinbusters

Both nights are good. I've been a fan of Diamond Mines (Saturday) for a long while. The bands I recognize are mainly playing towards the end of the day. I couldn't find anything about "Call of the Drum"; I wonder if it's going to be an ad-hoc drum circle...

At this cover charge, you shouldn't feel bad about going, leaving (with a stamp on your wrist), and coming back later...

SAT 12/11

4pm to 9pm
Triiibe, "In Search of Eden: A Work in Progress": Performances
at 808 Gallery, 808 Comm Ave, Boston (BU campus)
FREE

Feat: Inter-Nec (4pm to 5:30pm), Milo Silva (6:30pm to 7pm), The Hog Stompers (7pm to 9pm)

This multi-media installation that has been in the process of creation for about a month and will finish next weekend. I think it won't ever really be finished in the minds of the triplet-sister performance artists and their collaborators, because this project is concerned about the ongoing process of creation.

Besides the installation work, there is live music today. Perhaps the most special cheap performance of the day may be Milo Silo from Martha's Vineyard who rocks a Mongolian violin. He's definitely been under my radar, but his dad was a longtime Vineyard blues musician and he took care of him when he got cancer a few years ago. It's going to look and sound something like this. An experimental chamber group of college students perform before Milo.

I haven't heard The Hog Stompers before, but I hope to see these guys get more gigs in the future. Their laid-back blues/country vibe is not because they can't play -- this is exactly where they want to be, and I think many types/crowds can get on the hog-stomping wavelength.

SAT 12/11

Family Jewels (7:30pm), Rocking Horse Rodeo (9:30pm)
at Sally O'Brien's, 335 Somerville Ave, Somerville (Union Sq)
FREE

They say it's the Family Jewels' 10th anniversary party, which is as good as reason to celebrate. Former Modern Lover & Chartbuster Asa Brebner and a bunch of other crack players bring back the doo-wop/R&B joy of rock 'n roll before it exploded globally thanks to a hip-swiveling white guy from Memphis. For some, they may wonder, "WTF are we hearing?" I happen to find a bopping ecstasy when I hear those big harmonies on top of the the jumping rhythm.

Stick around of come later for the clean, melodic Alt-country without too much twang of Rocking Horse Rodeo. Hey, it's free...

SAT 12/11

8:30pm
"Mixtape: 1984"
at Rosebud Bar & Grill (behind Diner), 381 Summer St, Somerville (Davis Sq)
$7 / 21+

Feat: The Organ Beats, "Boys of Somerville", Corin Ashley & the Chess Kings, Electric Laser People, Ken Zimmerman

Nate Rogers & Boston Band Crush present a series that periodically celebrates a year in music. I noticed the historic year of 1967 a couple months ago.

Now they've put together a killer lineup to represent 1984 including the "Boys of Somerville" with players from The Luxury, This Blue Heaven, St Helena, Conservative Man, and The Lights Out.

The hit list should include songs from:

Bruce Springsteen, Cyndi Lauper, Queen, Van Halen, Tears for Fears, Huey Lewis, U2, Wham!, The Cars, Pat Benatar, Foreigner, Prince, Bryan Adams, Paul McCartney, The Pretenders, Rush, Billy Idol, etc

Yikes, what a variety of strong yet cheesy year for pop culture -- but not so bad when you compare it to 26 years in the future.

The music supposedly starts at 8:30pm sharp.

SAT 12/11

9:30pm
Hey Mama, Love In Stockholm, HeyLady, Brothers McCann
at Middle East - Downstairs, 480 Mass Ave, Cambridge (Central Sq)
$10 / 18+

It's a bit sad that Hey Mama is playing their last show in Boston, because I think they have the talent, songs, and charisma to break through with wide-ranging bluesy-rocking explosive experience. They really have it going on.

It's a solid show full of soulful, funky, and horntastic bands; so you have plenty of booty-shaking fun in store. I do think that Hey Mama was one of the best live bands I've seen in a while.