You Can Be a Wesley and You: Another Assessment by Joe DiFazio

Once upon a time I was in Allston following the bassist of You Can be a Wesley and his friends. They decided hopping a fence was better than going around a street. He got my jeans ripped and he got me drunk on Gin, which I later puked out with an alarming amount of blood.

I was not ready for their fun, but you should be. You Can Be A Wesley is an indie-pop gem bred at BU and on the streets of Allston.

The twee pop essence of the music is given backbone by Nick Curran’s bass that he sometimes punches through a distortion pedal. He takes his cue from bands like the Pixies and Joy Division. Winston McDonald too finds influence in these indie pioneers. The music swells and calms because of his lead guitar which goes anywhere from sharp riffs to gentle finger picking. Dan Goldberg’s steady drumming provides the backdrop for everything going on up front. He too drags the music from the gentle to frantic with soft steady light high-hat and snare based beats that transition through tight fills into crashy cymbals and loud snare pops. Saara the lead singer plays a driving rhythm guitar with power chords galore. Her singing is a unique combination of sweet and sad. She exudes a wistful kind of sexy. Winston jumps in to sing when the songs climb in to sing-a-long choruses that make you want to scream with them. These guys are indie-pop with a serious spine. They are the kind of band that if you throw things at them they will throw and spit right back.

Over the summer the band released their album Heard Like Us (on vinyl and CD). If you want to be happy in a sad sort of way, this is an album for you. You Can Be Wesley is yet another gem in the rough of the Boston music scene. Lucky for you, you can catch them Friday at WTBU day at BU Central.

Magic Magic & Me: An Assessment by Joe DiFazio.

Am I friends with Magic Magic? Semi-sorta. Sometimes I would call up Mike Hlady (drummer) to hang out. He was always with Dylan Gough (other drummer) and they were always playing Street Fighter, watching Mortal Combat the movie, or building a knife shooter out of an umbrella to pierce muffins with. John Murphy (singer) once took me to a video arcade and also tried to gyp me out of the money we made playing a show together. Demitri Swan (bassist) once video taped a consumer research study I did on condoms. Brendan Hughes (lead guitarist) I don’t know as well.

Many publications say that they are from Salem. This is wrong. They are from Dedham, a crappy, depressing suburb of Boston. The Salem thing was a hair-brained scheme thought up by their British booking agency. Many publications say they sound like Arcade Fire. This, too, is wrong. They do create gigantic and intricate sounds but are nothing like Arcade Fire. They are grittier, more accessible, better.

Their music is rhythm-based. They have two drums, a bass, and a guitar dedicated to rhythm. From this base they derive a powerful, colossal sound. Sometimes the two drummers will play the same thing just to make the beat louder and accentuate it. Slid over this is Brendan’s biting guitar, distorted and drawn out by delay pedals. Amid all this carefully planned noise is John’s anxious vocals. He sings and moves like a child who really has something to tell you, with a voice so high and desperate you can’t help but want to listen. His lyrics are weird and beautiful, ranging from becoming a jellyfish to acid to odd odes to people he loves.

Raised on every start-up indie band of the nineties such as Built to Spill and Modest Mouse, and going back a little further, The Cure, this band takes on the same sort of dark ambiance. Magic Magic is not yet signed and are in a shameful sort of limbo as a result of being from Boston instead of NYC or LA. Still, Magic Magic are making are making a name for themselves and are the next big thing from here, and hopefully soon the next big thing to grace all hipster-indie blogs. Screw Passion Pit.

-Joe DiFazio

Lonesome Vince's Grand Ole Hoot

It seems these days that every local show under $10 follows the same format: You go to the venue of choice, you watch the 3-4 band lineup, you tap your foot, drink a beer, catch up with friends, perhaps meet someone new, and then the show ends and you leave. But how do you feel when you leave? Has your mood changed? Was the show worth its price? Were you entertained? People need to ask themselves such questions in order to assess the quality of the shows they attend. People should expect talented performers and an energized atmosphere that is unique to each show. Local shows sometimes lack such characteristics, and instead feature familiar bands and audiences on weekday nights when less is happening. The “wow” factor is lost and so are expectations.

Lonesome Vince and his folk friends will bring you something more.

On September 10, the Central Square YMCA Family Theater will house a foot-stomping, hand-clapping, mouth-humming, body-rocking, and entertaining event. Lonesome Vince, a Boston University grad known for the monthly clandestine hootenannies he hosts in his Allston attic, is grouping together an eclectic mix of folk artists from Boston to host a different kind of show. It will incorporate musicians from Mama Bird Recording Company, a record label Vince recently started with some of his favorite Boston folk acts including Vikesh Kapoor, Barna Howard, and Old Hannah. Spitzer Space Telescope, a current BU student, will also be performing.

The show is an attempt to revive the notion of an event as a spectacle, and the YMCA Family Theater is the perfect place to do so, as it boasts wooden chairs, chandeliers, and an old-fashioned box office. The tickets and fliers are handmade and silk screened in classic western font, adding to the show’s aesthetics. Vince will host the show while joining some of the musicians on stage between sets. He wants the event to evoke a feeling of “old-time radio,” reminiscent of Garrison Kiellor’s live broadcasts in the 1970s. He’s even including cornbread and lemonade to accompany the folk feeling.

“It’s about making an experience. It’s more than just watching people on stage—it’s participatory.”

Vince and his friends are moving to the west coast in the fall, so the Grand Ole Hoot will be one of the last opportunities Bostonians will have to "participate" in one of Vince's spectacles. Tickets are $5 in advance and 7 at the door. The doors are at 7 P.M. and seats are first-come, first-served.