Frank Black

Ladytron is amazing, period the end. Going to their show was epic. Its electronic and smooth, its eclectic and rockin'! It was an incredible experience! You will lovvvvve it!

What happens when you go to a club to hear a band you heard 30 years ago? Obviously everyone has changed, both on stage and in front of it. There are a lot of gray or shiny heads in the audience. One kid had a Mohawk but for a lot of the guys that s no longer an option. The band members, too, now have lines on their faces and grizzled hair. A lot of fans from back in the day show up, but there is an equal measure of twenty-somethings. At one point the Mission of Burma drummer, Peter Prescott, asked the audience over his mic, We re in Cambridge MA on Church Street and it s 2013, what the fuck are we all doing here? The Sinclair is a newish purpose-built music venue rather than a converted restaurant or warehouse as many Boston-area clubs have been. It s not a place to sit down; the design seems to imply dancing or participating on your feet. It fits a thousand or so patrons on the main floor and an upper gallery, and for the MOB show it was full. Perhaps as an indication of the relative age of this audience, slam dancing never quite got going, and only one drink container was thrown on stage the whole night. It was a friendly audience for this local legend of a band. Mission of Burma was one of the better-known acts during the heyday of the Boston music scene in the late 1970s/early 80s, headlining the clubs, getting air play on local radio and even on college radio stations around the country. They put out an album, Vs., and then broke up in 1983 as most of the bands did when that era came to an end. Decades have passed, but MOB s fans are still out there, and last night they showed up in force. MOB re-formed in 2002, but it wasn t a one-off reunion concert. They had written new material, recorded their second album in 20 years, and went on tour. They didn t stop there either, they have continued and are now touring to promote their fifth album, Unsound. This is not your throwback or nostalgia concert; MOB focus on their latest songs, adding an old standard or two to please the gray-hairs in the audience. They re still just as loud and energetic as they ever were. When old bands reunite there is the risk that they ll be a pathetic shadow of their younger selves, aching and creaking through the hits they made famous in another time so that fans can relive their youth, like the Rolling Stones. Or they slow down and get mellow and traditional. Not in this case. No one should go to a MOB show for nostalgia; warmed-over good old days is not what you get. If you like them now you ll have to do it the same way you ever did, as a frenetic original band whose songs are mostly unfamiliar. Though the hard and loud punk energy is still abundantly there, there has been some evolution. The latest songs are more 'experimental'; there is a lot of dissonance, as in Fell-->H2O and Add in Unison , and songs that carry one chord for looong moments like This is Hi-Fi . This stuff is not terribly accessible and may require some patience. Some of the more dissonant songs had a very un-punk feature a horn section, consisting of guitarist Roger Miller's brother and a friend of the band. There are still a lot of songs however with the rapid chord changes and staccato vocals of great punk rock, among them Second Television and 7 s . The only of their greatest hits Burma played were "This is Not a Photograph", and Academy Fight Song which came at the very end. Their most popular early song, That s When I Reach for My Revolver , was not featured, nor was Trem Two . The emphasis was clearly on the new album Unsound. The first of the two encores was dedicated entirely to One of the best Boston bands of all time, DMZ! according to bassist Clint Conley. No sooner did they start playing a DMZ number than the mic was taken by former DMZ lead singer Jeff Connolly himself. DMZ was a 1970s punk band before short hair became the norm. Connolly s vocals were great and he clearly still loves to perform, but there was something disconcerting about an overweight white-haired guy in a too-tight t-shirt jumping around knocking things over on stage. One almost feared for his health. The Mission of Burma members, though gray-haired, are still fairly athletic in appearance. Whether you re a recent fan of punk rock fan or someone who has long preferred the adrenaline of loud chords, sharp bass notes played with a pick rather than fingers, and shouted vocals, Mission of Burma is as good as it ever was. My take-away is either that we're not such has-beens as I thought, or else being has-beens can be a whole lotta fun. Also, affordable, original live music in small clubs is still a sign of a great city.

But Simi Stone should have been the act before Jon Cleary. Sleepy Man should have been outside. Sleepy Man was some weird cross between New Country, Alt-Country, NewGrass, and Boy-Band Pop. Yeah, they could play and sing, but the material was part lame and part gee whiz, those teenagers shore can play fast. Warming for Jon Cleary with an act where you're SUPPOSED to clap on the one and three is a bad choice. Oh, and Sleepy Man? Lose the drummer and get a mandolin or dobro player. Then you'll be playing bluegrass. I got to Belleayre late, but not late enough to miss Sleepy Man. It seems there were folks who, evidently, were there to hear the adorable teenage "bluegrass" band. A good chunk of the crowd cleared out before the headliner!!! Jon and Co. are very professional, but clearly the set was a little truncated. They didn't exactly phone it in, but I could tell their enthusiasm for playing for half a house of relatively sedate New Yorkers was somewhat curbed. Still, it was worth a half-hour drive from Woodstock to hear Jon & the AMG open with "Lottie Mo'" a wonderful Lee Dorsey chestnut. They continued with "Tipitina/Loberta" and soldiered through a set that included "Just Kissed My Baby," "Let's Get Low Down," and for the encore, "Pump It Up" off their most recent album "GoGo Juice." Belleayre would have been better off (and saved some money) by making this a simple show with one opener, Simi Stone. More of the crowd would have stayed for Jon Cleary and the overall energy would have been higher. I, for one, went out to dinner at Peekamoose Restaurant and Tap Room before arriving part way through Sleepy Man's set. I couldn't imagine getting there for two acts outdoors and one act I SOOO was not interested in before Jon Cleary. That's too long to hang around on the mountain, and I'm sure some of the people who left before Jon started had just had enough. They were tired and wanted to go home. Maybe Sleepy Man brought some fans, but they hit the wrong note for a show featuring "Jazz, Funk, Rhythm & Blues, and Soul."

This venue leaves a lot to be desired. It's small, crowded, and the acoustics are average at best. The Polyphonic Spree made everyone forget all about that with their positivity and upbeat songs. This band is huge, and every single member adds to the greatness. The Polyphonic Spree is a band you have to experience live.

Amazing show, amazing band, awesome crowd and a really great venue! Best show of the tour, hands down.

We love David Bowie music and the live show is amazing. The costume changes and the music from the various decades is truly something to experience if you have not had the opportunity to see David Bright.....The Worlds Greatest Tribute Band to David Bowie. He not only sounds like David Bowie but has the looks as well. Highly recommended was only give because the ushers did not allow us to get up and dance at this particular venue. David Brighton encourages his fans to get up and dance and sing along to the David Bowie songs.

There is one thing wrong with this show; it is too short. When people drive a total of 3 hours, the audience deserves more than a 60 minute show! The show had dancers, an acrobat, two singers, and two magicians. There was no band, but the background music was excellent, especially if you like TSO. I was in the third row and I watched the magicians closely. I had no idea how they performed their acts. They were amazing. The female singer was excellent, while the male singer was average. The dancers had one dance that used black light with their angel wings. I did misss not see a Santa Baby feature that is usually in a Tropicana Christmas show.

The gig was amazing but it is about time for Blind Guardian to drop Valhala from the setlist and play more of the better songs. Big bummer: Script for my Requiem did not make the setlist...

Fantastic show with a wide variety of talent! Dan Wilson was terrific and his drummer was a young kid with chops! Loved the venue as well - great idea to do a cabaret at the Civic

I went expecting a good musical and found a GREAT musical - wonderful experience -loved every minute -would go again. any time