Boys Like Girls photo by Cameron Rad
[dropcapO[/dropcap]h hey, we took a knee yesterday in our daily run of Outside The Box music & arts festival hot picks (it was the day country took over the Common) but we’re back on the grind with two bands from opposite ends of the country. But this is just a warm-up — tomorrow things get crazy (our favorite day of the fest) and Saturday brings the headlining throwdown from the Bosstones, Buffalo Tom, and the Lemonheads. So let’s get into it; remember all these shows are FREE, and there’s more than just music going on all day:
:: Wednesday, July 17 : Augustana : 5pm @ the Boston Common “Beacon Stage”
Former Red Sox outfielder and 2004 American League Championship Series hero Dave Roberts is currently the first-base coach for the San Diego Padres. It’s acknowledged here in Boston that his stolen-base against Mariano Rivera and the New York Yankees in the 9th inning of Game 4 of the ALCS has punched his ticket to immortality in our city. He never pays for meals, can go wherever he wants, is permanently listed on Ben Affleck’s celeb-party invites. A lifetime “key to the city,” if you will. Well, Roberts isn’t the only one from A Whale’s Vagina who enjoys those kind of perks. San Diego indie rock band Augustana will be invited to play every free music fest in town until the end times thanks to their 2006 piano-rock single “Boston,” off the previous year’s LP All The Stars And Boulevards. They released a self-titled record off Epic two years ago, but Dave Roberts also stole 31 bases for the Giants in 2007. Neither will get either a free vodka tonic at the Cask. We just wanna talk about the steal, and we just want to hear Augustana play “Boston.” Take us back…
:: Wednesday, July 17 : Boys Like Girls : 6:30pm @ the Boston Common “Beacon Stage”
A few years ago when I was writing ragtime for the Boston Herald I posed the question: Is Boys Like Girls the biggest band in Massachusetts? They were touring with Good Charlotte at the time, and blowing up everywhere, it seemed, except here in Boston. The Andover band skipped all the Boston/Cambridge clubs and went right to the major labels on the strength of catchy, emo-bled pop rock and Martin Johnson was a bona-fide rock star frontman. Those early records were fantastic (2006’s self-titled debut and even 2009’s Love Drunk) but you can’t be emo forever and a new direction was bound to take shape. Last year’s Crazy World had an alt-county/Americana vibe to it, but in the end it’s all about songwriting and Boys Like Girls could always do that with ease. Welcome home.
Coming up later this week…
Thursday, July 18: Gentlemen Hall + Abadabad + David Wax Museum + Bearstronaut + Nemes
Friday, July 19: Sarah Blacker + Art Decade + Will Dailey + Walter Sickert
Saturday, July 20: Buffalo Tom + The Lemonheads + The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
Sunday, July 21: Get some rest.
And previously…
Saturday, July 13: Tallahassee
Sunday, July 14: Emperor Norton’s Stationary Marching Band
Monday, July 15: Air Traffic Controller
Tuesday, July 16: Lonestar