Before we tackle the issues of the day, I want to congratulate you, dear readers, for coming out en masse to the Blind Pilot show at the Higher Ground Showcase Lounge last Friday. “Indie” shows are a notoriously iffy draw at the area’s marquee juke joint. Not to beat a dead (iron) horse into the (higher) ground, but that’s why we don’t get as many of them as perhaps we should. But on this occasion, you guys really pulled through and came close to packing the place.... Read more

As you may have inferred by the fact that my interview with Blind Pilot drummer Ryan Dobrowski — a really nice dude, by the way — appears on the front page of the music section this week, I’m kind of excited for the band’s show at the Higher Ground Showcase Lounge this Friday. In fact, I’ve had their debut disc, 3 Rounds and a Sound, pretty much on constant repeat for the last two weeks.... Read more

Playing the lottery is a risky business. Sure, blowing a couple bucks on the occasional scratch ticket is essentially harmless. But if you’re not careful, the danger is always there to become addicted, which can lead to a lifetime of near poverty, near toothlessness and an unhealthy amount of time spent in gas stations buying tickets and praying for that elusive big score — which you would then, of course, use to buy more tickets and maybe a Twisted Tea tall boy or three.... Read more

Is it me, or is the holiday season beginning earlier and earlier every year? Actually, allow me to rephrase that. Is it me, or is the season of bitching about how much earlier the holiday season is beginning, coming earlier and earlier every year?... Read more

I write this column on Monday morning. Before I come into the office I try to formulate some idea of how it will flow, over a cup of coffee and a stroll through Battery Park with my half-crazy, half-pit bull, Buckley. And, yes, he’s named after Jeff Buckley. But I didn’t name him.... Read more

You want to feel like a geezer? Consider this: Burlington’s 242 Main turns 25 years old this year. Since the waning days of the Reagan administration, the all-ages club has served not only as the physical cornerstone for the decrepit Memorial Auditorium — 242 is in the basement — but the very foundation of the city’s thriving rock scene. Generations of local musicians trace their roots to the dimly lit proving ground familiarly known as “two-four-two.”... Read more

Bear with me, folks. As I write this, I’m still reeling from a serious Beantown sports hangover, following a monumental playoff collapse by my beloved Boston Red Sox this past Sunday. If I seem incoherent, angry or otherwise disagreeable — more than usual, I mean — blame it on the Los Angeles Angels (of Anaheim). Ugh. Still, the show must go on, right? Right.... Read more

Is it me, or does something feel a little different this week? A touch cramped, perhaps? I mean, it sure seems like everything is still here. Brilliantly crafted CD reviews? Check. A nifty mini-feature about an industrious local lad doing cool stuff with one of my all-time favorite bands? Yup, that’s there, too. Painstakingly culled club listings? And how. A positively enthralling column brimming with wit and wisdom? Oh, yeah. But still, something’s not quite the same …... Read more

Man, I love pushing your buttons.... Read more

I know, I know. I’ve been rather overt — and shameless — in the last few weeks plugging the Burlington Bands 101 Showcase slated for Wednesday, September 23, at Nectar’s and Club Metronome featuring seven totally kickass local bands, two killer DJs, one über-talented emcee (not me, the other one), loads of giveaways and, of course, a poutine garden … ahem. What can I say? I’m excited about it and hope you folks are, too — especially the poutine.... Read more