WBRU kicked off its 2008 Summer Concert Series with headline act Death Cab For Cutie on May 9th. The concert was scheduled to be held at the Providence Piers, but due to inclement weather, it had to be moved to Brown University’s Meehan Auditorium.

Before Death Cab took the stage, Amanda Palmer, the better half of the Dresden Dolls, warmed up the crowd with her percussive piano and signature vocals. The highlight of the performance, however, consisted of Amanda busting out a Ukulele and playing an excellent acoustic version of Radiohead’s “Creep.”

After a quick set change, Ben Gibbard and his traveling troupe appeared on stage amidst rollicking cheers and began with a quiet but pulsating version of “Bixby Canyon Bridge,” followed by an unflagging performance of “New Year.” A uniform melancholy prevailed throughout the show, but the songs from the upcoming album Narrow Stairs lent a distinctly different flavor. Often starting with long instrumental introductions, the new songs had an unfamiliar sense of gravity. This new dark sound found its best expression in the band’s single release “I Will Possess Your Heart.” However, much of the creepiness of the new CD was overshadowed during the concert by Ben Gibbard’s energetic air and Chris Walla’s soaring solos.

The band played an eclectic set that included songs from every album they’ve released, but the pieces that pleased the crowd the most were all nearly off of Death Cab’s major label debut Plans. “Soul Meets Body” got the most cheers while the first notes of “I Will Follow You Into The Dark” induced many to pull out their cameras to record this memorable moment, making the crowd light up in a sea of camera displays. The inviting but all too satisfied crowd then went on to request an encore and got it: The band played 6 additional songs and finished their impressive set with “Transatlanticism.” Read More

Due to high chances of severe weather on Friday, May 9th, our concert with Death Cab for Cutie and Amanda Palmer of the Dresden Dolls will be moved to Meehan Auditorium, at 235 Hope St. on the east side of Providence. (on Brown University’s campus, by the corner of Bowen St.) Get a map to the venue here. Doors @ 5 p.m., Show @ 6 p.m. (All Ages)

Tickets are SOLD OUT.

The Bravery plays a show not to be missed. If you are one of those lazy “chumps” who didn’t get down to Lupo’s Thursday night, you should have and (you can quote me on this) that is exactly what you are. I don’t care if you had work Friday morning, and apparently neither did the crowd that packed Lupo’s.

I made sure to get there early to see local groups Penrose and Senior Discount. Going indoors at six sucks. Hugely. I know. But that’s the price we pay during the spring/summer, and it’s definitely worth it for the music. Moving into the summer, and in the interest of still seeing the best shows around, we would do best to keep that in mind.

I had Penrose in the studio last week for an interview on HomeBRU’d, so having gotten to know the guys, I was glad to see that they didn’t disappoint in concert. “Slight of Hand”, the almost-overwhelming opener for their recently released album Azimuth, went off without a hitch, but it was “Angels and Monikers” that I found most impressive. If you get to one of Penrose’s shows (and you should), instead of being that arse in the audience that keeps shouting “Freebiiiird!” (and gets punched in the face by the lead guitarist), I suggest you request “Angels and Monikers”. Like Penrose, the song performed live has teeth. Read More

WBRU’s Rock Hunt at The Living Room on Friday night was quite an experience. DJ Shepherd and I started the night with a long and ill-advised walk all the way from the station in East Providence to The Living Room. Having never traveled there on foot before, we became a bit confused as to which direction was which, and found ourselves off-track on numerous occasions, often discovering that we were amid abandon buildings where the sketchy factor was exponential.

After this adventure of sorts, we found ourselves at the Living Room right in time to greet the bands and watch Awesome Brothers take the stage. They had already set up a screen onstage, and as we wondered what it was for, a video began depicting band members Luke and Ashleigh dressed in lab coats and goggles. Ashleigh talked incessantly, and Luke “vomited” spaghetti into her ear. The video was an appropriate precursor to what would prove to be a strange, yet strangely appealing, set that was very reminiscent of an Of Montreal concert. Videos flew by on the screen in time to the beat, all with a quirky-retro emphasis. Luke and Ashleigh put on an increasingly entertaining performance, complete with skilled used of a synthesizer, drum machine and keyboard. Their singing fit the music perfectly and sounded great, and Luke’s guitar complemented the sound well. The result was a show that was fun to watch and music that was more than appropriate for dancing. Read More

It was an exciting night at the Living Room last night! Three amazing local bands faced off in front of a large crowd for their chance to be the winner of WBRU’s Rock Hunt 2008. Awesome Brothers opened the night with a quirky-but-altogether-awesome performance involving crazy synth sounds, driving dance beats and music, and a series of strange but incredibly entertaining videos playing on a screen behind them as they performed. It Was the Best of Times came on second and blew us away with an incredible performance. They produced a complex, talented sound that was a perfect combination of standard, fun rock music and innovative new sound. Someday Providence finished off the night with an energetic performance that got the crowd excited and kept us all dancing. With a pop-rock style and skilled musicians, they put on a really fun set.

However, in the closing words of DJ Shepherd, “there can only be one winner on Rock Hunt 2008.” And the winner was It Was the Best of Times! Look forward to hearing more from all of these bands in the future, and listen to Home BRU’d at midnight on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning when DJ Shepherd will be interviewing It Was the Best of Times!

Brought to you by Dunkin’ Donuts. Now through March 28th, after 2:00pm, hurry in to Dunkin’ Donuts and get yourself a small latte or espresso for just 99-cents. America Runs On Dunkin’.
Brought to you by JamStage, Rhode Island’s Premiere Music Complex. It’s where musicians play.
Brought to you by Narragansett Beer …have a ‘gansett!

Four more great bands made their way through Jerky’s this weekend for the second semifinals show of WBRU’s Rock Hunt 2008. Awesome Brothers, It was the Best of Times, Minky Starshine & the New Cardinals, and Senior Discount all played solid sets, but as the evening winded down, it was revealed that Awesome Brothers had won the night! And who else to announce it but Gregg from Girl Talk! Awesome Brothers will be continuing onto the finals this Friday at the Living Room, along with Someday Providence from last week and the wild card band, It was the Best of Times!

Be sure to stop by The Living Room this Friday (doors 8pm, show 9pm) to see who will be crowned the winner of Rock Hunt 2008!

Brought to you by Dunkin’ Donuts. Now through March 28th, after 2:00pm, hurry in to Dunkin’ Donuts and get yourself a small latte or espresso for just 99-cents. America Runs On Dunkin’.
Brought to you by JamStage, Rhode Island’s Premiere Music Complex. It’s where musicians play.
Brought to you by Narragansett Beer …have a ‘gansett!

If you made it down to Jerky’s this past Friday, you had the opportunity to see four impressive bands from southern New England. For nearly three hours we were blown away by the talents of home-brewed musicians.

First up was Pleasure Pot, hailing from right here in Providence. I was told by a fan that the singer/guitarist Dave Ladin was formerly of Badfish, the Sublime tribute band, and I was pleased to see that his talent and musical style aptly led the rest of the band through a catchy set. Frankly, though, I enjoyed drummer Dan St. Amour’s singing the most, as a welcome surprise midway through the set. In the end, many of their songs sounded similar, but every song added something to the performance as a whole. I was left humming the tunes long after Pleasure Pot had left the stage. Read More

If you didn’t make it down to Jerky’s this weekend, you missed out. We saw four spectacular acts that pushed judges to the closest decision they’ve ever had to make. Look forward to a review of the entire show; for now, know that Pleasure Pot opened with a bang, Someday Providence filled the room with energy and excitement, Das Vertebrats introduced some new, vibrant sound to the stage, and The Coming Weak finished with an incredible performance (and a clever and spirited Jimmy Eat World cover to boot). In the end, the judges selected Someday Providence to continue on to the finals on April 18th at the Living Room, but the decision was made by only one point! In other words, it was an incredibly close competition.

Now you have the second semifinals show to look forward to! It will be held at Jerky’s again, this Saturday, starting at 9pm. Look forward to seeing The Awesome Brothers, It Was the Best of Times, Minky Starshine & the New Cardinals, and Senior Discount.

Brought to you by Dunkin’ Donuts. Now through March 28th, after 2:00pm, hurry in to Dunkin’ Donuts and get yourself a small latte or espresso for just 99-cents. America Runs On Dunkin’.
Brought to you by JamStage, Rhode Island’s Premiere Music Complex. It’s where musicians play.
Brought to you by Narragansett Beer …have a ‘gansett!

One of the biggest annual music festivals is on it’s way to the Tweeter Center! Pick up your tickets for the July 23rd show starting at noon on Saturday, April 5th! You can get tickets at the Tweeter Center Box Office on at ticketmaster.com. They’re only $26! Click here to see the press release.

After many late nights, lots of coffee, fatigued humor and listening to over 100 CDs, we are pleased to announce the Semifinalists for WBRU’s Rock Hunt 2008! Over the next few weeks, you’ll get to see these bands play several shows to compete to be declared the best Southern New England band of 2008.

Semifinalists:
Awesome Brothers
The Coming Weak
Das Vertebrats
It Was The Best Of Times
Pleasure Pot
Pointe Blank
Senior Discount
Someday Providence

Honorable Mentions:
Minky Starshine & the New Cardinals
The K-Rex Struts

Come to Jerky’s this Saturday for the first semifinals show! Doors open at 9pm, and the show begins at 10. Get your tickets at the door for only $5.

The second semifinals show will be at Club Hell on Saturday, April 12th. Doors at 6pm, show at 6:30. The finals will be at The Living Room on Friday, April 18th. Doors at 8pm, show at 9. So keep those days open and come and support Southern New England local music!

Brought to you by Dunkin’ Donuts. Now through March 28th, after 2:00pm, hurry in to Dunkin’ Donuts and get yourself a small latte or espresso for just 99-cents. America Runs On Dunkin’.
Brought to you by JamStage, Rhode Island’s Premiere Music Complex. It’s where musicians play.
Brought to you by Narragansett Beer …have a ‘gansett!

As the anticipation of the Rock Hunt shows builds in your gut, we’ve got a few things to let you know about. First off, Monday will be entirely commercial free, compliments of Dunkin’ Donuts! You can also still pick up your tickets for our first concert series show: Death Cab for Cutie with Amanda Palmer at Providence Piers on May 9th. Tickets are only $20!

Rock Hunt semifinalists will be announced early this week, so get prepped for some great local music shows! The semifinal concerts will be on April 5th and April 12th (Locations TBA), and the final show will be at the Living Room on Friday, April 18th! Check back here for more information and tickets later this week.

I always thought Taste of Chaos was a pretty sweet name for a rock show, but I don’t think I had fully appreciated its “appropriateness” regarding the tour. I’m slightly ashamed to admit, especially after now having gone, that this year was my first Taste of Chaos tour.

Something I hadn’t realized until close to the second set is that the Taste of Chaos is being kicked off by a few JROCK bands from Japan this year. Japanese hardcore is something I will openly admit to knowing nothing about, but it was pretty cool to see, and a lot of the Chaos fans really seemed to like all three Japanese bands: MUCC, D’espairsRay, and The Underneath (which, if they were the one’s playing as I was playfully patted down by security upon entering the venue, were really good.)

The first of the headlining bands to come on stage was, surprisingly, Bullet for my Valentine. The British metal band had a crowd of hundreds, likely thousands, chanting every word and tearing up the arena in insane ways. The view from the stadium seats was a spectacle. The floor of the arena was replaced by thousands of tiny, glowing faces and a sea of waving arms, interrupted by half a dozen gaping holes where guys, and girls, from all over the northeast were showing off their stuff. As if the shear numbers of concert goers and the level of excitement wasn’t enough to make it a memorable evening, Bullet for my Valentine had to try to make it a day of legend. The band went in true metal fashion up to the end of their set, when they issued a small request; they wanted to see the most crowd surfers in the air ever… as in record breaking numbers of people tumbling forward over the crowd. I don’t know if we made a record or anything even close, but it was one of the most ludicrous things I’ve ever witnessed. Bodies were being thrown like rag dolls, tossed over heads and arms, doing summersaults, being catapulted and even nose diving into the waves of people. By the end of the night I’d see two more attempts at this record breaking feat, along with the biggest pit in the middle of the crowd and a mediocre wall of death that was pretty entertaining. Read More