Hot Tub Piranhas have fun at Uncle Eddies last Saturday night
Hot Tub Piranhas hit Uncle Eddies Oceanside Tavern at Salisbury Beach last Saturday night, delivering a fun, feisty opening set. Hefty, smooth lead vocals, rangy, spiraling lead guitar phrases, and a very flexible rhythm section showed that cover bands too have something to offer musically.
Regional artists shine at New England Music Awards
The New England Music Awards is now running like a well oiled machine. Held at Showcase Live at Patriot’s Place in Foxborough, Massachusetts last Saturday night, performers and presenters were on and off the stage without hardly a glitch. This gave the performers a comfortable setting to strut their stuff between speakers and presentations. Showing what the whole event was all about, the bands who performed last night gave it their all as they presented their music to a six state audience.
Cheryl Arena lit up Wantu Blues Jam at the Village Trestle in Goffstown, NH
Stop the presses. There’s a celebrity in the room. Regionally known musician Cheryl Arena was the featured artist at the Wantu Blues Jam last Sunday afternoon, and the harmonica lady blew several hip, soulful melody lines through her treasured instrument. Lilting, melodic harp lines, train whistle melodies, and heftier phrases were just a few of things Arena pulled out of her bag of tricks.
Boston Baked Blues delivered old fashioned charm at Manchester’s British Beer Company location
Boston Baked Blues were the featured act last Sunday at British Beer Company’s Sunday Bloody Blues Brunch. Boston Bakes Blues treated their Manchester, New Hampshire blues audience to three hours of smooth, mellow blues from the 1940s and 1950s. As ever, Vinny Serino’s variety of harmonica and his polished, shiny, soulful voice breathed new life into some blues classics that he clearly loves to sing and play. His variety of vocal approaches, rangy voice, and harmonica styles allowed him to create a wide array of sounds, making each song something likable and personable.
Big ‘Ol Dirty Bucket dominated Uncle Eddies, turned the beach bar into a huge dance party
Big ‘Ol Dirty Bucket took over Uncle Eddie’s Oceanside Tavern at Salisbury Beach last Saturday night, filling the room with their outrageously funky sound. A nine piece band with a rangy female vocalist, Bucket blew people away with numerous horn blasts, guitar eruptions, and a thick broth of bass, drums, and percussion. Playing original music, Dirty Bucket Showed They were something unusual on the music scene; a band that can keep people dancing to original music.
Local artists shone at NEMA Hard Rock Cafe showcase; Thomas Anderson Band, Fil Pacino, Singlecast, In Spades, Elementary
Hosted by the boisterous Bryan Tann of the Tanndemonium radio show and sponsored by Granite Coast Entertainment, the New England Music Awards hosted an artist showcase at Faneuil Hall’s Hard Rock Café in Boston last Saturday night. Each band had something special to offer, and each received quite a welcome and quite a boost from the ever so enthusiastic Mr. Tann. Man, can that guy announce a band.
Four Fates blew everyone’s mind at Whippersnappers last night
Named after a song by ELP, Four Fates treated an audience at Whippersnappers in Londonderry, New Hampshire to two hours of music by the Keith Emerson, Greg Lake, and Carl Palmer. And they went over big.
LoVeSeXy seduced The Sinclair
Talk about combining great music with a great cause. LoveSexy headlined a benefit for the Zumix organization at The Sinclair in Cambridge last night. The event was titled Enchantment Under The Sea with a prom night theme. Many local youth attended this “prom” in their formal attire. Meanwhile, for two hours, the Prince tribute band paid homage to the genius who penned some of the most familiar songs of our lifetime. If that wasn’t enough, LoveSexy began the evening by playing The Purple Rain album in its entirety.
Roomful Of Blues served up the good times at Tupelo in Londonderry NH last night
Roomful Of Blues rolled into beautiful Londonderry, New Hampshire last night and treated their fans to a couple of hours worth of their best material. Lead by singer Phil Pemberton and guitarist Chris Vachon, the band was in fine form, offering a lot of their combination of fine ensemble work while leaving openings here and there for each player to offer up something to showcase their own individual contribution to the enormous Roomful sound.
AfterFab score playing solo Beatles material to Chelmsford crowd
AfterFab has become one of the more interesting tribute bands on the New England music scene. Focusing on the post-Beatles solo material of George, John, Paul, and Ringo, the six piece conjures a fun, meaningful 1970s party vibe. They’ve also got the musical chops to get these songs down pat. Last night’s show at Chelmsford Center For The Arts in Chelmsford, Massachusetts was a blast. It was also a testimony to AfterFab’s nuanced renditions of these grand masterpieces and minor, lesser known gems.
