Christine Lavin and Don White, music and comedy at the Iron Horse at 7PM on Sunday, July 26th

Fans who have been following Christine Lavin during her 25-year-long career know that the singer-songwriter can alternately bring wails of laughter or tears of heartbreak.

But when Lavin appears at The Iron Horse on Sunday, July 26th, expect the laughs to be doubled.

That's because she'll be appearing on a co-headlined bill with singer-comedian Don White.

"It's a perfect combination, because we're so different," Lavin said recently during a phone conversation from her New York City apartment. "He comes from a stand-up comedy background, into which he mixes in some guitar and singing, but my background is as a singer-songwriter who happens to write some funny songs. So we're kind of two sides of the same coin."

And, as it turns out, both Lavin and White are authors. In fact, White's short story collection, "Memoirs of a C Student," inspired Lavin to write her own nonfiction book, "Cold Pizza for Breakfast: a Mem-Wha," which is all about her quarter century on the road singing songs like "Sensitive New Age Men."

"I've been doing this for a long time, so I have a lot of stories to tell," she said. "So it was inspiring to read Don's book and start thinking about some of the things I've seen and done during my career."

Together, Lavin and White are quite a pair. There aren't two more engaging performers working the folk circuit than these two, and to see them performing together - and they will collaborate onstage, she said - should be a real treat.

"It's perfect, because lots of my fans are women and they drag their husbands to my shows, and I think the guys end up having a pretty good time," she said. "But if they drag their husbands to this show, they'll be in heaven, because (White's) really doing it from the guy's perspective."

Click here for tickets to Christine Lavin and Don White at the Iron Horse at 7PM on Sunday, July 26th
Christine Lavin - God Bless Barak Obama

IHEG's Left of the Dial Summer Series is packed with talent, adventure, imagination, and cred.

We always wring our hands when the term indie rock comes into play. It’s the lazy, default term for the non-mainstream rock acts that intuitively fall under a similar umbrella. So we’re not going to use it to describe this batch of summer shows. Left of the Dial, referencing the Replacements song about college radio, has been the moniker we use when enough of these shows come together to constitute a “series.” Summer is upon us and the Iron Horse, Pearl Street, and our new outdoor venue, Mountain Park, have some great shows on the books. Here they are at-a-glance.

	Mission of Burma Friday, July 10th Pearl Street Of all the punk-inspired bands that came out of Boston in the early '80s, none were better than Mission of Burma. Arty without being too pretentious, capable of writing gripping songs and playing with ferocious intensity. They recently finished recording their fourth studio album to be released this fall. Bring your earplugs. Roger Miller always does. Jackhammer headphones actually. http://www.missionofburma.com/ Download a free MP3 'Max Ernst" courtesy of Matador Records (Right click, save target as) To buy tickets in advance online click here
	Bowerbirds, Megafaun Saturday, July 11th 10PM Iron Horse Hymns for a Dark Horse is the first album from Raleigh, N.C., trio Bowerbirds. Built on the belief that our limited earth ("In Our Talons") is as sacred as the unlimited love that we can find within it ("Human Hands"), Bowerbirds make acoustic music that feels good and aware and powerful and hopeful, offering a shelter from the apathy so rampant these days. http://www.bowerbirds.org/ On their debut Bury The Square, Raleigh-via-Eau Clair trio Megafaun neatly splice together different strands of sounds, whether it's tape manipulated hoedowns, mournful, slow-blooming banjo-and-white-noise-laced epics, or rural barbershop doo wop. Focusing on a wide palette of instrumentation, they always come back to their soaring three-part harmonies. http://www.myspace.com/megafaun To buy tickets in advance online click here
	Yeasayer, Ponytail Tuesday July 14th 8:30PM Pearl Street Clubroom Brooklyn's Yeasayer describe their music as "Middle Eastern-psych-snap-gospel." They've toured with MGMT, Man Man and Beck and they were THE buzz band at this Year’s Bonnaroo. The band's dystopic mini-festos come couched in big hooks and grand indie gestures with eyes and ears for Eastern ephemera, psych rock, and wide-ranging religious cues. It's a trick that makes the apocalypse sound like a gigantic celebration, and All Hour Cymbals sound like the sort of escapist dream our nightly news demands. http://www.myspace.com/yeasayer Baltimore quartet Ponytail (who delighted us co-headlining with The Pains of Being Pure at Heart at the Iron Horse a few months ago) taps straight into the primal power of the human voice, sans lyrical clutter. Molly Siegel is a mind-blowing vocalist. She and her band mates have created their own vocabulary of sounds, in which her cries and glottal attacks are just as vital, cuckoo, and inventive as the intertwined guitars of Dustin Wong and Ken Seeno.Randomly put together in a class experiment, the four members of Ponytail have stumbled into a magical combination that 99.9% of bands could never fake. http://www.myspace.com/jreamteam To buy tickets in advance online click here
	Magnolia Electric Company, The Donkeys Saturday July 18th 10PM Iron Horse "Working class rock" is a phrase used frequently to describe The Magnolia Electric Co. (Jason Molina/Songs:Ohia) The band has secured their place amongst like-minded icons such as Bob Seger, CCR, Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen, but it's not merely an aesthetic description. Magnolia back it up with their work ethic. The Magnolia Electric Co. cast no doubt by putting their business in the street. http://www.magnoliaelectricco.com/ The Donkeys hail from San Diego and they’ve played as the backing band for both Casiotone For The Painfully Alone and Cass McCombs. They draw a line from classics like The Velvet Underground, Curtis Mayfield and Television to The Kingsbury Manx, Of Montreal and The Radar Bros. If your definition of pop music goes all the way from Blind Willie McTell to Pavement, then the Donkeys are a sweet kick in the ass. http://donkeysongs.com/ To buy tickets in advance online click here
	Deer Tick, Dawes Wednesday July 22nd 8:30PM Iron Horse When Providence native John McCauley got his hands on Hank Williams Sr.'s "Gold" collection and locked himself in his room listening to it on repeat until he finished his bottle of brandy, it all became fairly obvious to him-- he was on his first tour just a few months later. That was 2004 and he was 18. After years of being on the road, fully developing his distinct howl of a voice, and honing his guitar skills, McCauley and his band Deer Tick has earned himself a following of devoted fans and supporters. They play super sweet blues, country, and grunge influenced music. http://www.deertickmusic.com/ The Los Angeles quartet, Dawes, achieve the minimal, warm and live sound that all bands talk about doing at one point or another and yet separate themselves from anything you've ever heard. The record North Hills could be described as Leonard Cohen or Townes Van Zandt getting a hold of that soul band we always wanted to hear them with. http://www.myspace.com/dawestheband To buy tickets in advance online click here
	Frightened Rabbit, The Antlers Saturday July 25th 10PM Iron Horse On the surface, Scottish trio Frightened Rabbit are like a lot of other bands. You could file them away with other musicians from their Glasgow scene, or other bassist-free groups, or other bands of literal brothers (frontman Scott and drummer Grant Hutchison are siblings). But somehow, despite the fact that their methods are well-worn, their product is one-of-a-kind, as their consistently great second album (in under a year, no less!) attests. http://www.myspace.com/frightenedrabbit The Brooklyn trio The Antlers sport the indie overcoat like a kid in a candy store, taking something from everywhere. Shining, falsetto harmonies and fractured yet peaceful guitars give nod to indie contemporaries Neutral Milk Hotel and My Bloody Valentine. http://www.myspace.com/theantlers To buy tickets in advance online click here
	Ben Sollee Wednesday, July 29th 7PM Iron Horse Ben Sollee was named one of NPR’s “Top Ten Unknown Artists of the Year.” His distinctive cello technique and soulful voice have been marinating for years in his work with avant-garde bluesman Otis Taylor, The Sparrow Quartet, (featuring banjo-master Béla Fleck), and on the internationally known Woodsongs Old Time Radio Hour. Like a folkier Andrew Bird, Ben’s unique performance experience and creative vision trump his 24 years and traditional classical training; he is poised to emerge as a solo artist, bridging genres and demographics with earnest and dynamic songwriting. However, the single most salient quality of his debut, Learning to Bend, is Ben’s contagiously optimistic worldview. http://www.bensollee.com/ To buy tickets in advance online click here
	Friday, July 31st We Are Scientists, Bad Girlfriend 10PM Iron Horse Brooklyn-based indie rock trio We Are Scientists formed in 2000 around the talents of guitarist/lead vocalist Keith Murray, bass player Chris Cain, and drummer Michael Tapper. After building a small but devoted following through their epic live shows and a series of three self-released EPs, the group signed with Virgin Records. Their major-label debut, With Love and Squalor, was released in early 2006. http://www.wearescientists.com/ The lone two-car garage in New York City is inhabited by Bad Girlfriend. She was kicked out of her home for partying too much and decided to start a band. The all-girl group's garage rock style reflects the ghosts of late 60s hangovers. They may really be spawn of the Warhol-Velvet Underground scene. http://www.myspace.com/badgirlfriendband To buy tickets in advance online click here
	Gang Gang Dance, Hex Message Sunday August 2nd 8:30 Pearl Street Clubroom There are those who make "noise," and then there are elegant, shadowy troupes cobbling ghost languages and fractured dub into undulating biospheres. New Yorkers Gang Gang Dance remove restrictive compositional components and turn electro-acoustic sprawl into a generative act. It's Throbbing Gristle's "Hot on the Heals of Love" reconfigured as a deck of shards. The band have also had some shocking misfortune recently, with the drummer being shot at, and the bands equipment being totally destroyed after an electrical fire in Amsterdam. http://www.myspace.com/ganggangdance While listening to Hex Message, your life may not be cursed and your existence will not be sacrificed, but your mind may lend itself to a wandering moment. The New York City group uses loops and electronic technology with drums, guitar and heavy doses of noise. Having an in house artist-guitarist explains why these guys sound so visual. To buy tickets in advance online click here
	St. Vincent Thursday, August 6th 8:30 Iron Horse Two years ago, Annie Clark's recorded debut as St. Vincent, Marry Me, gave immediate notice that a dizzying new talent had emerged from the flatlands of Texas. Critics from Pitchfork to Spin to the New York Times Magazine were entranced by the album's precocious arrangements and elegant lyrics, and the steadily growing crowds at St. Vincent's live shows were astonished by Clark's gargantuan musical chops and her magnetic stage presence. Actor, St. Vincent's beguiling, sophisticated new record, takes that debut's ambition as its starting point and never looks back. http://www.ilovestvincent.com/ To buy tickets in advance online click here
	Decemberists, Heartless Bastards Sunday August 16th 7PM Mountain Park The Decemberists' fifth album, The Hazards of Love, is their most ambitious and most accomplished project to date from the Portland-based quintet of Colin Meloy, Chris Funk, Jenny Conlee, Nate Query, and John Moen—a full-length song cycle rooted in ancient language and imagery, yet entirely modern and accessible. The follow-up to the group’s 2006 breakthrough, The Crane Wife (which NPR listeners voted their favorite album of the year), The Hazards of Love solidifies the Decemberists’ standing as one of the most innovative and important creative forces in music today. http://www.decemberists.com The raw quaver in Erika Wennerstrom’s untamed voice gives her as much bite as the distortion on her guitar. Factor in the garage-rock pummeling of drummer Kevin Vaughn and bassist Mike Lamping, and the Heartless Bastards a force to be reckoned with. http://www.theheartlessbastards.com/ To buy tickets in advance online click here
	Black Moth Super Rainbow, Soundpool Thursday August 27th 10PM Iron Horse Black Moth Super Rainbow, an experimental band hailing from the deep woods of Western Pennsylvania, have a distinctive sound that is characterized by analog electronic instruments and which takes elements of psychedelia, folk, electronica and pop. Their new album Eating Us, which was released this past May and is their first professional recording experience, is a warm and effervescent album. For the recording they enlisted the help of Flaming Lips producer Dave Fridmann, who highlights the tingly interplay between acoustic and electronic instruments and process vocals. With the melodies that are sweet like cotton candy and the expertise of an experienced producer, we have an album that is crisper and more linear than the others but that still retains the sweet feeling of clouded psychedelia that is the band's trademark. http://www.blackmothsuperrainbow.com/ To buy tickets in advance online click here

NRBQ members salute ailing Steve Ferguson with three nights at the Iron Horse this weekend

Kevin O'Hare at The Republican Entertainment Desk

"Big Al" Anderson spent 22 years as the critically-revered guitarist with NRBQ, but whenever he's asked when the group's best days were, he modestly says, "before I joined the band."

That's because that was the era when the lead guitar chores were handled by the inimitable Steve Ferguson, a truly distinctive fretboard wildman from Kentucky, who manned the helm for NRBQ's 1969 debut album and the follow-up "Carl Perkins and NRBQ."

Sadly, Ferguson, who lives in Louisville, is not doing well these days. He's dealing with terminal cancer.

The 60-year-old guitarist noticed pain in his shoulder and in his back about a year ago.

"I went to the doctor and I had X-rays," Ferguson said. "He said there was an abnormality in my left lung. What had happened was I had a tumor in the lung. It had passed through the lymph nodes and gone to my bones. That's why I had the pain across my shoulders and in the middle of my back. I had bone cancer already. It's what they call small cell cancer. There's no cure for small cell. All they're doing is prolonging my life right now."

Ferguson wanted to play with many of his old mates one more time, and in conjunction with Anderson and Iron Horse owner Eric Suher, put together the framework for "A Wild Weekend," which will be held at the Iron Horse Music Hall in Northampton, Thursday through Saturday. Tickets are $100 at the door and $75 in advance at www.iheg.com

The concerts will feature Anderson, along with original NRBQ members Frankie Gadler and Joey Spampinato, as well as the group's latter day guitarist, Joey's brother Johnny Spampinato, and other guests including session drummer supreme Shawn Pelton. Originally, Ferguson was expected to make an appearance and play with his former bandmates, but his doctors have told him that he is not healthy enough to make the trip. So the shows are now being billed as "A Tribute to Steve Ferguson."

"If I could I would come and play but I don't think it would be smart to try it right now," Ferguson said. "I'd probably end up stranded in a hospital up there and there's a risk of that. So I'm not going to try it."

It still sounds like it's going to be one heck of a party in his honor.

"We'll be doing a lot from the first two albums," said Anderson, speaking by phone from an airport in California. "I'm hoping to do some songs that we laid off of for awhile like 'Boys in the City' and 'Only You.' Gadler's coming so that takes care of a lot the material from 'Scraps' too."

The first time Anderson heard NRBQ with Ferguson was in 1971 at a show in Springfield.

"I heard him play the intro to 'Flat Foot Flewzy,' which was life-changing for me because all the other guitar players at the time were trying to distort and be like Hendrix. But Steve was the real deal, the only guy playing like that - real."

Describing his guitar style, Anderson said "He never slid across the fretboard, he always plays every note. Very rarely will he pull it, pull the strings up or go over the board. I think Lonnie Mack is his idol. I learned more from Steve than anybody on guitar. He is a real rock ¤'n' roll guitar player and country too."

In the early 1970s, Anderson joined NRBQ after Ferguson's departure. However Ferguson did return in 1974 for about a year during which the two served briefly as a dream-team guitar duo in NRBQ.

"That was a very unique point in the band's history," said Ferguson. "Me and Al got pretty good at staying out of each other's way, we just had it down. I think that's the best musical period of the whole band through all of the years that they played."

Unfortunately NRBQ recorded very little during that time, but Anderson and Ferguson both point to an incredibly rare single that they recorded at Sun Studios in Memphis on SOH Records. Both sides of the 45 "Sourpuss" and "Rumors" were written by Ferguson, which are two of Anderson's favorites.

"Steve's a great songwriter," Anderson said. "He wrote things like 'Flat Foot Flewzy' and 'Ain't It All Right' and 'Fergie's Prayer.' He was real just like George Jones or Elvis. Some of those guys just can't help being real."

Ferguson, later recorded several superb albums with his own band, Steve Ferguson and the Midwest Creole Ensemble, notably the classic "Jack Salmon and Derby Sauce" in 1992. He also recorded with NRBQ keyboardist Terry Adams in recent years, including the 2006 album "Louisville Sluggers."

Despite his health, Ferguson has not ruled out recording again. He's playing a lot of mountain dulcimer in recent years and his wife recently got him a new guitar which has inspired him to consider recording some instrumental work.

As for the "Wild Weekend" shows, Ferguson asked to pass his best wishes on to longtime fans.

"Please tell them that I miss them and I regret that I can't do the thing that I set out to do but it would not be a good idea."

Nevertheless, it does promise to be one very wild weekend for everyone who gets to celebrate the legacy of Steve Ferguson and his days with NRBQ.

Tickets for each night: Thu 6/25 Fri 6/26 Sat 6/27

Louise Dunphy of WMUA remembers Koko Taylor

Queen Koko Taylor passed from this world recently. Koko’s passion and style of Blues rightfully elevated her to the throne of Queen of the Blues, a true national treasure and icon of these ages.

In the Iron Horse's early years, I saw Koko perform live in the then much smaller room, even more intimate than today. Around thirty years ago! Wow time flies. I remember sipping my Campari spritzer and feeling a rush over the gritty passionate performance of the amazing Koko.

That performance changed my life. Have you ever felt awakened to something you had no idea was missing from your life? That night with Queen Koko had that affect on me. I was a young sponge fresh out of my containment years and open to the possibilities. Koko ignited my own passion for music that night and I have never forgotten. Oh, I liked music and it was a staple in my life but that performance elevated my ‘like’ to passion.

When I hear her played on the WMUA Blues shows I instantly relive that initial buzz for something that is now my constant passion. Music! Thank you Queen Koko Taylor! Bravo! Bravo and thank you. Louise Dunphy

The Decemberists Live at Mountain Park in Holyoke, Sunday, August 16th • 7:00 PM

The Decemberists' fifth album, The Hazards of Love, is the most ambitious and accomplished project to date from the Portland-based quintet of Colin Meloy, Chris Funk, Jenny Conlee, Nate Query, and John Moen—a full-length song cycle rooted in ancient language and imagery, yet entirely modern and accessible. The follow-up to the group’s 2006 breakthrough, The Crane Wife (which NPR listeners voted their favorite album of the year), The Hazards of Love solidifies the Decemberists’ standing as one of the most innovative and important creative forces in music today.

Tickets on sale this Friday, 6/19.

The Decemberists 8/16 @ Mountain Park

Robert Fripp's proteges The California Guitar Trio play mind-bending versions of an eclectic range of songs at Iron Horse on Father's Day this Sunday

After meeting in the exclusive and intensive guitar training class, the League of Crafty Guitarists, a school founded by progressive rock guitar guru Robert Fripp, the guys known as the California Guitar Trio banded together to do something quite amazing. I would've loved to be a fly on the wall during one of those guitar classes to find out how a progressive rock icon from King Crimson would teach guitar. It turns out that these were not mere lessons from a book, but Fripp trained his students how to connect with the guitar and music on a spiritual level.

The spirit surely grows stronger all the time. 19 years later, Paul Richards, Bert Lams and Hideyo Moriya have recently released their 12th album, "Echoes". There is no reason for the trio to slow down, fusing together jazz, progessive rock and world music, they know how to tear down impeding walls and to bounce ideas endlessly off of one another. A notable mention, NASA sent one of the trio's songs for wake up music for the crew aboard the Endeavor space shuttle. –Lee Taylor

The Marsh – California Guitar Trio

Rolling Stones guitarist Mick Taylor at the Iron Horse on Tuesday, August 4th

When I think Mick Taylor, I think visceral, I think Bitch. Every Rolling Stones fan who dropped the needle on Side B of Sticky Fingers - was promptly split in two by the razor sharp 2 note riff that defines that song. It was 1971 & Taylor’s first stint as a full time Stone in the Studio & his contributions to that classic recording cannot be overstated - from his fuzzed out assaults on Can’t You Hear Me Knocking to his articulate acoustic slide playing on Wild Horses. It was clear that the “World’s greatest Rock n Roll band” was flawlessly transitioning into the 70’s with master cylinder Mick Taylor spitting out one amazing riff after another all with incredible attention to tone & fluidity. Mick’s contributions to the band until his departure in 1974 are nothing less than heroic, he was a master architect of style, subtlety, & structure (as much as possible) during a time when Keith Richards’ drug problems & sloppy playing could have possibly destroyed the band.

This was no happy accident per se but rather a well calculated move by Mick Jagger to replace (original guitarist & LSD poster child) Brian Jones with a true “hired gun”. Mick Taylor had already established himself (at 18!) having served as the successor to iconic guitarists Eric Clapton & Peter Green in John Mayall’s Bluesbreaker’s . His approach to the guitar was vastly different than any other Stone past or present & even on their trainwreck/masterpiece; Exile on Main St. he was able to keep his distinctively melodic style intact while the rest of the band (with the exception of drummer Charlie Watts) seemed to be imploding. I recall reading Taylor once quip that Exile “sounded like a bunch of addicts trying to make a Rock album” – a very odd remark to make about a recording & a lifestyle he was so inextricably involved with at that time. But also a very telling comment reflecting the seriousness & honesty Mick Taylor took & has always taken to his craft as a guitarist.

Mick never seemed terribly fond of being a Stone, let alone an ex-Stone & always challenged himself musically -as early as 1973 he was lending a hand playing with Mike Oldfield performing Tubular Bells live- he also has worked with artists as diverse as Herbie Mann & the prog-rock group Gong. The list is endless…

It is nothing less than thrilling to have this rare opportunity to see Mick & Co. perform the meaty material from his tenure with The Stones & The Bluesbreaker‘s live & in an intimate setting…a artist unafraid to call a spade a spade & throw down a heaping helping of hair splitting guitar playing with seriousness, style & irrepressible panache. NOT to be missed. -Dan Kandel

Tickets Here

Word Puzzles aka Rebuses. Crack 'em and win tickets to Patty Larkin or Winterpills at the Iron Horse.

Puzzle # 1: Combine these four images to arrive at the name of a rather crafty threesome. (That's a GENEROUS clue just to break the ice in this game.)


Puzzle #2


Puzzle #3


Email me your answers. Don't spoiler answer here! Tickets will be for Patty Larkin's show this Saturday or Winterpills on Saturday 6/20.

June 25th -27th is a Wild Weekend with members of NRBQ, past and present, including Ferguson, Gadler, at the Iron Horse

We’re very excited to announce a three night stand that will surely be a wild weekend featuring assorted members of the legendary and beloved NRBQ (plus some special guests.) NRBQ formed in1967 in Miami but eventually migrated to the Northeast where they became a vital part of the New England music scenes of the 70s and 80s. Their live shows were notoriously great, their fans loyal, their set lists non-existent. Original guitarist Steve Ferguson and lead singer Frank Gadler were with the band for their genre bending Columbia Records debut in 1969, as well as their second, Boppin' The Blues (with Carl Perkins), Scraps, and finally Workshop. Steve and Frankie will both be at this show as will Al Anderson, who came on board for Scraps, Joey Spampinato, who’s been in since the first note, and his brother Johnny Spampinato who joined the band when Al left in 1994. While not officially an NRBQ show, this will be a one-of-a-kind, and probably one-time-only occurrence, drawing from 40 years of great music by NRBQ and beyond. Photos: Top, first single, Eddie Cochran b/w Sun Ra?! Who but NRBQ? Below; the 1969 debut. Steve Ferguson, recently.

Deer Tick return to headline the Iron Horse on Wednesday July 22nd at 8:30. Our swell new intern Carolines loves 'em and talks them up.

When Providence native John McCauley got his hands on Hank Williams Sr.'s "Gold" collection and locked himself in his room listening to it on repeat until he finished his bottle of brandy, it all became fairly obvious to him-- he was on his first tour just a few months later. That was 2004 and he was 18. After years of being on the road, fully developing his distinct howl of a voice, and honing his guitar skills, McCauley and his band Deer Tick has earned himself a following of devoted fans and supporters. They play super sweet blues, country, and grunge influenced music.

"I can't remember when it was that I first heard Deer Tick, or how it was that I found them. What I do remember is how I felt that first time I listened to John McCauley's deep raspy voice belt out through my speakers and from that point on all I could listen to for months on end was War Elephant in all of its country-tinged folk-rock glory.

The first time that I finally got to see them live at the Iron Horse some months ago it was amazing. They have such a remarkable stage presence and an infectious energy when they play, it's hard to take your eyes away from them. Paired with the sincerity with which they perform, it’s quite the experience.

With the highly anticipated upcoming release of their new album Born On Flag Day, I hope that they'll continue developing their music and doing what it is they do best. The new songs that have been released from the album, "Easy" and "Little White Lies," are both exciting and affective, and have a newly developed sound that you'd expect from the second album of a band with so much promise and potential, while still maintaining the distinctive spirit and sound of Deer Tick that I love." -Caroline Bastarache


Opening the show is Los Angeles quartet, Dawes, who achieve the minimal, warm and live sound that all bands talk about doing at one point or another and yet separate themselves from anything you've ever heard. The record North Hills could be described as Leonard Cohen or Townes Van Zandt getting a hold of that soul band we always wanted to hear them with.

Deer Tick 7/22 @ Iron Horse

Tickets can be had here.

New York Dolls are coming to Northampton on June 25th. Here's what you need to know if you don't know already.

Dan Kandel, IHEG's man on the street, waxes glamorous about the New York Dolls.

It was 1972 when they hit, Lou Reed started wearing eyeliner & had incorporated faux “street” images like shooting heroin into his show, while the Dolls’ guitarist Johnny Thunders was falling off the stage & actually shooting junk in public view-just to get thru an evening’s set.

They dressed like Trannies with hairdo’s that not even the Glam crowd wanted to imitate & consumed every drug that Columbia’s money could buy. Bowie & Bolan were tame by comparison. Todd Rundgren didn’t even leave his signature sound stamp on their LP (nor recently on their recent offering which Todd also produced.)

Pre-Ramones & Pre-Pistols by 1974 the Dolls created the very template, that their then manager, Malcolm McClaren, would take back to the UK & recycle to sell the Sex Pistols a few years later ( not withstanding the guitar that jumpstarted that band – as McClaren stole Dolls’ Syl Sylvain’s white Les Paul guitar & passed it on to Pistol Steve Jones.) “ I was trying to do with the Sex Pistols what I had failed (to do) with the New York Dolls” Malcolm has frequently stated.

Singer David Johansen is often overshadowed by the deified junkie Johnny Thunders by most music critics & David’s re-invention of himself as (alter-ego “lounge” crooner) Buster Pointdexter in the 80’s didn’t exactly help. While the Heartbreakers & other post-dolls project’s are hailed as Punk masterpieces it seems that Johansen was always sold short. One need only hear the full length version of “The David Johansen Group Live”(1978) to realize what great performer & vocal stylist of his caliber could do in a group not mired down by drugs ( or ALOT less drugs at least)!

That is precisely what makes this opportunity to see the current New York Dolls line-up, with surviving members Johansen & Sylvain, such a rare treat & WHERE they should be seen!! not in a concert venue. In a Bar!! & in range of having David’s malevolent Jaggeresque lips landing spittle on your new Chuck Taylor’s during “Looking for Kiss”. See ya there! I’ll be in the pit… Get tickets here.
New York Dolls 6/25 @ Pearl Street