Coming Attractions: Popular Music in May 2010
By Thomas Samph
This month’s music is all about catchy, sing-along, pop music. There are girl groups, guy groups, throwbacks, and teenage YouTube celebrities coming to Boston in May. With summer right around the corner and the heat returning to Boston, these shows will help to celebrate the changing seasons.
May 3, Gold Motel at Harper’s Ferry
Gold Motel has the perfect upbeat, happy sound for a springtime concert. The band is Greta Morgan’s new project since her former band, the Hush Sound, took an indefinite break last year. Gold Motel’s sound is a change from what the Hush Sound used to produce, going with a more feel-good style. Leaving the angst at the door, Great Morgan adopts a more Jenny Lewis-like shine.
May 6, Shout Out Louds at Paradise Rock Club
What is it about Sweden and great pop music? The Shout Out Louds are yet another great pop-rock band to come out of Sweden (alongside bands like The Sounds, The Hives, and Peter, Bjorn and John). The Shout Out Louds offer everything you could want from a guitar-driven rock band, and their track “Very Loud” was even featured on the soundtrack of the 2008 movie Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist. They’ve also toured with The Strokes and Kings of Leon. So, thank you, Sweden, for giving the world great pop and please keep up the good work.
May 7, OK Go at House of Blues
OK Go’s music isn’t the only infectious thing about the band: they’ve also mastered the art of the viral, Internet music video. All of their videos, set to the band’s unmistakable sound, comically blend amateur production with professional preparation. Their first big video, A Million Ways, has the band performing an intricate, uncut three-and-a-half minute dance sequence on a nondescript backyard patio. Here It Goes Again, also one continuous shot, has the band cleverly using treadmills as a moving dance floor. And their opus, This Too Shall Pass, is an epically scaled Rube Goldberg machine that leaves you wondering how many takes did they need to get that one right?
May 15, Two Door Cinema Club at Great Scott
Two Door Cinema Club is the perfect music for a pop-rock dance party. The Irish band has a sound that’s at once Phoenix and Passion Pit, and they are signed with Kitsune records, the same label that represents a phalanx of dance music pros: La Roux, Bloc Party, Digitalism, Cut Copy, Hot Chip, and Klaxons.
May 17, Buzzcocks at Paradise Rock Club
The legendary punk idols The Buzzcocks have been around in various forms since 1976 when the punk rock scene was coming to life. Throughout the years, guitarist and vocalist Pete Shelley has led the UK band, even though other musicians have rotated in and out of their lineup. The Ramones and The Clash defined the punk scene in the late 70s, but The Buzzcocks were there with them the whole way. For the uninitiated, listen here.
May 21, Bo Burnham at House of Blues
Nineteen-year-old Massachusetts native Bo Burnham has come a long way from his early days of recording himself playing satirical, completely un-PC ballads in the upstairs bedroom of his parents’ house and then putting the videos on YouTube. His songs are still a series of offensive jokes that rhyme, but now he’s graduated to playing venues like the House of Blues.
Added Attractions
Gold Motel – 5/3 – Harper’s Ferry
The New Dumb – 5/6 – Great Scott
Shout Out Louds – 5/6 – Paradise Rock Club
OK Go – 5/7 – HOB
Golden Bloom – 5/7 – The Armory
As Tall As Lions – 5/9 – Middle East
Everybody Was In The French Resistance…Now! – 5/11 – Great Scott
Dr. Dog – 5/11 – Paradise Rock Club
Massive Attack – 5/13 – HOB
Brendan Boogie – 5/13 – The Armory
Two Door Cinema Club – 5/15 – Great Scott
iLa Mawana – 5/15 – Harper’s Ferry
Diana Ross – 5/15 – Citi Performing Arts
Dark Tranquility – 5/16 – Harper’s Ferry
King Sunny Ade – 5/16 – Somerville Theatre
Buzzcocks – 5/17 – Paradise Rock Club
Pearl Jam – 5/17 – TD Garden
ALO – 5/18 – Paradise Rock Club
Tim Fite – 5/18 – Great Scott
Rusted Root – 5/20 – Showcase Live
Deva Mahal – 5/20 – The Beehive
Pat Metheny – 5/20 – Orpheum
Bo Burnham – 5/21 – HOB
New Kids On The Block – 5/21, 5/22 – MGM Grand at Foxwoods
Chris Thile – 5/22 – Orpheum
Apollo Sunshine – 5/23 – PA’s Lounge
Flobots – 5/23 – Harper’s Ferry
Greg Laswell – 5/27 – Paradise Rock Club
The Yardbirds – 5/28 – Showcase Live
The Spill Canvas – 5/28 – Middle East
Tagged: Bo Burnham, Buzzcocks, Gold Motel, Great Scott, House of Blues, Kings of Leon, May, Music, Ok Go, Paradise Rock Club, pop, popular, Shout Out Louds, The Hives, The Strokes, Thomas Samph