Mission of Burma

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.

I am always excited about these guys, and every time I see them they just keep getting better and better! this was my first time seeing a show at the Sinclair, and the space is RAD! There is nothing worse than seeing an awesome band and having the show ruined by a crappy P.A. Or weird acoustics, that was not the case at all here. We got to enjoy an amazing set full of surprises, (DMZ set with a wild mono man running about causing all sorts of mayhem, including some very wild dance moves not seen often on planet earth!) and a handful of classic Burma songs. The highlight for me was getting to hear 2wice, it's a personal favorite! I love Mission of Burma and will see them as many times as I can.

From the beginning notes of Funworld (Roger on a trumpet!) the Burmas did an amazing show to an audience comprised of veteran sceensters and folks who were not born yet when Burma did their "final" gig at the Bradford. I only wish I had been able to attend the previous night's show as well.

Mission of Burma performed a good mix of old and new material. Sound was very good despite the intense volume. This was my first visit to Brighton Music Hall since it had been Harper's Ferry. It appears that to make it into a music hall, they increased the size of the stage and took out most of the tables. I found a bar stool in the back section of the venue, but it would have been nice if there was more seating.

Great energy, involved crowd & good sized venue! Openers Viva Viva were a highlight of the night!

Mission of Burma kicked ass, yet again. I've seen them several times in the city over the last few years and they never fail to disappoint. I'm just shocked they didn't sell out the venue! Per usual I parked myself as close to the bass amp as possible. Mission of Burma offer cool aggressive guitar styling and thunderous drums, but to me, it's the bass that really stands out as exceptional and is best appreciated in concert. You just can't reproduce that full body rush with headphones or a home stereo... Wish Music Hall of Williamsburg did a better job doing sound levels. I could barely hear the vocals and I know they're on point from seeing the band elsewhere. Oh yeah, and their openers were good.

Worth seeing, Glad I went. Band played well. Sound was good. Can't complain. I wasn't as blown away as I thought I would've been, but it was still a good show.

awesomeness!!! would see them every weekend if I could

Best live band going. Go to each show and be blown away.

A high energy set featuring the best songs from their three most recent albums and a few classics.