Dirty Projectors Play Precise, Chaotic Show at Pearl Street
The Dirty Projectors play with a chaotic precision that’s somehow almost menacing. At Pearl Street Monday for their first Northampton show since 2007, the band turned rock ‘n’ roll abandon upside down
Todd Snider Tells Stories, Sometimes With Music, at Iron Horse Show
Whether he’s talking or singing, Todd Snider is mostly likely in the middle of telling a story. That’s what he did for close to two hours Wednesday night at the Iron Horse Music Hall in Northampton,
Big Dipper digs out smart-alecky songs at Iron Horse in Northampton
Guided By Voices frontman Robert Pollard once paid a weird compliment to Big Dipper, declaring them the 20th greatest band of all time, and the Boston indie-rockers returned the favor on their latest album with “Robert Pollard.” The song figured…
Jason Isbell Cranks Out Guitar Rock in Generous Hartford Set
Jason Isbell has amassed a deep enough catalog that he can play a full set of his best songs and still not get to all of them. It’s an enviable position to be in: give the audience plenty while leaving…
Kelly Hogan Keeps Things Intimate at Iron Horse Show
The fact that only a small audience turned up to see Kelly Hogan perform at the Iron Horse Monday night didn’t faze the singer. She seemed to see her first gig there since 1990 as more of an opportunity. “This…
Dinosaur Jr. Balance Heft With Harmony at Pearl Street
After years of bludgeoning audiences with wave after wave of churning, sludgy power rock — in a good way — Dinosaur Jr.’s more recent shows, like the one Wednesday night at Pearl Street in Northampton, have introduced a new dynamic:…
Field Report Plays Spacious Songs at Riveting Iron Horse Show
The self-titled debut from Wisconsin’s Field Report is a lovely album, to be sure, but sometimes an album just doesn’t fully convey the majesty of a band’s music. That is absolutely the case with Field Report, which played a devastating…
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion Unleashes Lethal Boogie at the Iron Horse
There comes a point during a Jon Spencer Blues Explosion show when the music simply carries you away. You can fight it — though there’s no point to that — but it will get you, just like it got the…
Divine Fits ride the beat at Pearl Street in Northampton
Supergroups usually sound like a good idea on paper (well, maybe not Chickenfoot), but what matters is what they do in practice: their albums, in part, but more specifically their live shows. After releasing a catchy, droll LP last month,…
Concert Review: Wanda Jackson Spans the Decades at Iron Horse Show
Spending an evening with Wanda Jackson is like hanging out with your kindly grandmother, if your kindly grandmother once dated Elvis and powered through a 58-year recording career that has has included, most recently, collaborations with Jack White and Justin…
