It was a long night at Lupo’s this past Friday, but for those of us that stuck around until the end, it was well worth every minute. Penrose headlined the show, accompanied by 2008 Rock Hunt semifinalists The Coming Weak, as well as Fordoes Me Quite, Acadia, & Aston. When I arrived at the show it was already more crowded than any local show I’ve seen, and more people streamed in the front door every few minutes. However, the large audience did not ruin the intimacy of the show - everyone seemed to know half of the people there, and were more than excited to meet the rest. Even the bands were incredibly social, hanging out at the back of the venue with fans and friends alike, contributing to the incredibly local feel.

Aston was the first band to take the stage, and they did so with profound energy. The put on a solid, fun set that got us all interested to hear more. Although the experience may not have been there - vocals we sometimes a little messy and the band didn’t quite know how to work the crowd - each member seemed to truly put his heart into the performance, and it certainly will be a good experience for their next big performance.

Acadia was up next. They also had a few mistakes, and at times the screaming turned from exciting and charismatic to redundant and tiresome, but they made up for all of it with the highest energy of the night. Members moved rapidly and fluidly across the stage and through their music, getting us thoroughly pumped up for their performance and for the rest of the night. Read More

Penrose and The Coming Weak both stopped by WBRU this week - Penrose during Home BRU’d Wednesday night, and The Coming Weak this afternoon. Both were very pumped for their show at Lupo’s tonight. The podcasts of the interviews will be online in not too long, and a review of the show will be up soon after the show. Click here for more photos.

As you are probably well aware, Saturday was the WBRU Local Music Festival. And what a festival it was. I was able to see nearly six hours of local music down at Providence Piers, and every single band was excited to be there. Someday Providence described it best in saying that every band on the bill plays fun music and were simply looking forward to having a good time. No prima-donna bands, no pretentious music, just friendly, down-to-earth bands with great music. (Left: Zox)

I managed to grab a ride with Hello Mahalo down to Providence Piers after their interview at the station, arriving just in time for Someday Providence’s set. They jumped the gun a little bit and took the stage early, but appropriately so. Their performance was the perfect opening to the concert, with boundless energy flowing in and out of every song. My personal favorites were “Sing with the Radio,” “Hear Me Say,” and their usual cover of Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back.” Typically, I find that crowds ignore opening acts, preferring to chatter amongst themselves, but I could not see a single person that wasn’t completely digging Someday Providence’s short but wholly impressive set.

Hello Mahalo was the second band on the stage, and completely rocked out as the audience grew larger and larger. It seemed as though twice as many people were left waiting for Scotty Don’t by the end of Hello Mahalo’s set, which was an experience in itself. They showed some true musicianship – the kind of stuff that’s gotten them played on over 200 college radio stations around the country – and really had the crowd going, especially as they approached their hit song “Dawning Days” towards the end of their set. Frontman Justin Joyce commented afterwards that is was really just a laid back and fun experience. There was none of the rushing and the anxious stress of some of their previous shows – it was just a really chill concert with a great crowd and some really amazing bands. Read More

Past Shows

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UPDATE: Tickets are no longer available online, but are still available at the door! Head down to 200 Allen’s Ave. and pick up your tickets at the door for $20.

We’ve just announced our second Summer Concert Series show! It will be a Local Music Festival with Badfish and Zox at Providence Piers (200 Allens Ave.) on July 19th! Joining them will be past WBRU Rock Hunt Finalists Hello Mahalo and Someday Providence along with Scotty Don’t. Tickets are available now! Click here to buy your tickets for only $15. Tickets are $20 the day of the show (both online and at the door). Doors at 4pm, show at 4:30pm. The show will go on, rain or shine.

Lineup:
Someday Providence
Hello Mahalo
Scotty Don’t
Zox
Badfish

Tommy Gardner, Eddy Maher, and Paul Giammarco of Rock Hunt Finalists Someday Providence dropped by the studio before the Rock Hunt finals two weeks ago and talked to Lyra. They discussed the abbreviation, SP, of their band name and being played on (and being on) MTV shows. They also talked about their MySpace page, on which they had been posting some rather interesting video diaries of themselves in their studio. The band even tried to do some shout-outs to local Rhode Island bands and then joked about being paid to do it. Their new 7-song album comes out May 24th.

Check out the full interview below!

Click here to listen

Last week, Rock Hunt 2008 winners It Was the Best of Times stopped by the studio and took over the airwaves for Home BRU’d. DJ Shepherd interviewed them about how they felt about winning the Rock Hunt, how the band wrote their three singles, and what they thought of the other Rock Hunt bands. They shared the love and played songs by Rock Hunt semifinalists The Coming Weak and finalists Someday Providence, and played songs off of their new EP “Hot Blood,” which is due out in the next month or two. They also very articulately responded to questions about how people might associate them with Paramore. Aside from superficial similarities - having a female singer and fitting into the broad genre of alt-rock - they explained that their music was very different, in writing style, dynamics, and complexity. Check out the interview below, and listen to a few of their songs at myspace.com/itwasthebestoftimes. Click here to see more pictures!

Click here to listen

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!

Rock Hunt finalists the Awesome Brothers - Luke B. and Ashleigh C. - dropped by the studio this week. They talked to Lyra about their complicated stage set-up and the fact that they do not have a drummer. They discussed the origins of their band name and their album name, 300%. The Awesome Brothers also told Lyra about a rather interesting routine that they used to do at their shows, involving fur suits, stripping and outfits with self-portraits. The Awesome Brothers played at the WBRU Rock Hunt finals on Friday.

Check out WBRU’s podcast for the full exclusive interview!

Click here to listen

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