This is a joint report about two slightly disparate but still effervescently rocking shows that Alex and I took in last night. First up, the Boston Bloggers Gathering organized by Sooz and Shannon. Alex and I met up with Brad, Matt, and Mary for this follow-up of sorts to the Boston Mini-Blogcon I wasn't able to participate in earlier this year. I met several area bloggers, including Isaac Taylor, the mastermind behind Laughing Boy, Mike, Geoff, and two more Susans.
The Susans were sources of two more small-world moments. One Susan, former publisher of the zine Warped Reality, I met back in 1996 at the Queens & Zines fest held at Jacque's when the Ben Is Dead and Bunnyhop folks were in town during their RV tour. And the other Susan currently lives with a former FC colleague of mine. Weird how the world folds back in on itself sometimes.
I don't think that everyone who RSVP'd showed up -- and I'm sure that Sooz and Shannon will share the attendee list at some point -- but here's who threw their hat into the ring for the gathering:
Alex also passed around a couple of galley copies of the new Perseus Publishing book "We've Got Blog: How Weblogs Are Changing Our Culture." If you attended the Boston Bloggers Gathering last night and would like your very own galley of the forthcoming book, email John Rodzvilla and he'll send you one, free. If you post a review of or some commentary on the book, be sure to let him know, as well. Galley copies of Rebecca Blood's "The Weblog Handbook: Practical Advice On Creating And Maintaining Your Blog" are also available to participants.
Next up, the Sid Hillman and Neil Halstead show, also at 608. Sid was dressed in Slim Cessna-like garb and performed a set free of his usual musical compatriots the Sid Hillman Quartet. Predominately alt.country-styled songs, Sid's music was punctuated with a delightful near-caterwaul and almost-yodel; I enjoyed his vocals immensely. Then came Neil, former frontman of Slowdive and the Mojave 3. Brad says that Neil's recent solo work is quite different than the moody guitar wash of Slowdive, but his solo songwriter material is also quite solid (and is my first introduction to his music, so what do I know). Reminding Alex of Nick Drake, Neil played a sleepy set of country-tinged guitar pop, and was joined by Sid for one piece, which they miffed midway through. Nevertheless, Sid's higher harmonies to Neil's British-accented singing was quite impressive. I'll have to check out the recordings of both.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment