Paul Robicheau
Fans who at least followed the band through its heyday in the late ’80s and early ’90s couldn’t have predicted the Mekons would wind it back in 2025 behind a new album just as galvanizing as their past catalog.
For those seeking adventure away from cookie-cutter arena rock, Phish still fit the bill.
The 2025 edition of Boston Calling largely appealed to a younger demographic, despite highlighting some older bearers of nostalgia.
The arty, satirical rockers from Akron, Ohio, remain a singular entity — Devo has been as inspirational as it has been influential.
Sunday’s 100-minute show at Crystal Ballroom offered a celebration of what Gang of Four means for its surviving original members and followers alike, including newer generations represented onstage as well as in the packed hall.
Exposure is a septet assembled to perform Robert Fripp’s quirkily diverse, overlooked 1979 solo album “Exposure” for the first time ever, in sequence.
Stripped of trip-hop trappings, Beth Gibbons’s fragile voice commanded through a ghostly filter effect as she sang with edgy emotion, peaking in the tagline, “How can it feel this wrong?”
Anybody at Tuesday’s show who thought the members of Kraftwerk were just punching buttons at their static posts while audiovisuals surged automatically would be mistaken.
The sheepishly affable Trey Anastasio wisely focused on music, allowing him to play a broader representation of his repertoire across two hours and 25 minutes.
Timelines bounce a bit through the loosely organized, vignette-rooted book, where the back half casually weaves through a checklist of characters and tales not to be missed.
Arts Commentary: The Orchestra Gap — Europe vs. the US