Mission of Burma at Somerville Theater on January 24th

Have you ever wondered why it’s so cool to be from Boston? Well, Mission of Burma is a huge contributing factor. In their first five years of existence, Mission of Burma’s Boston-based span of influence was far-reaching and powerful. Thirty years later, nothing has changed. On record, they are well thought out, graceful in their transitions and take seamlessly sharp turns. But live, they are unpredictable – changing drastically from night to night, song to song, minute to minute. It’s not unheard of to get an off night with them, but even at their worst, they are more entertaining than most bands at their best.

Mission of Burma Video: “This Is Not a Photograph”

Here’s a video from Mission of Burma’s early days at a performance at the Paradise Rock Club in 1980.

Going strong into their 7th year of a well-received reunion, Mission of Burma is kicking off the New Year after an eventful and rewarding 2008. Recently they worked closely with Moveon.org to help the Obama campaign and now they’re back home for another good cause, donating their time to help benefit the Center for Arts at the Armory in Somerville. This non-profit organization is working to transform the historic armory into a community art center featuring visual art, dance, theatre and after school and summer programs.

Get Out!

Mission of Burma is playing a benefit show for the Center for Arts at the Armory on January 24th at the Somerville Theater with The Neighborhood and Faces on Film.

The Somerville Theatre is located at 55 Davis Square in Somerville next to the Davis Square Red Line stop. The show starts at 8pm (7pm doors) and it’s an all ages show. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased online through Ticketmaster.

Photos! The Finals at WBCN 30th Annual Rock & Roll Rumble

Until this year, I skipped every other WBCN Rock & Roll Rumble since moving to Boston in 1994. I’m glad I finally ended that tradition and made it out to some of the shows at this year’s 30th annual rumble. The finals night was no exception. The winners, Girls Guns & Glory, played their best show I’ve ever seen (and I’ve been to a bunch). I finally got to see A.K.A.C.O.D., the union of Dana Colley (former Saxaphonist for Morphine), bass player and singer Monique Ortiz and drummer Larry Dersch. Low-rock awesomeness! Despite being a big fan of Girls Guns & Glory I thought there might be a chance that The Great Bandini would win it all. In the end, the rumble belonged to Girls Guns & Glory. Not bad timing for them: next week they’ve got their CD release party for “Inverted Valentine” downstairs at the Middle East on May 2nd. (Not so subtle hint: go, go, go!)

The Neighborhoods, who won the first Rumble thirty years ago, performed at the end of the night to a very enthusiastic crowd. After the music was over, Marc and John from Township, the 2007 Rumble winner, crowned Girls Guns & Glory as the 2008 Rumble winners. Yes, there was a tiara.

To view all the photos I took at the WBCN 30th Annual Rock & Roll Rumble, check out the photo set at Flickr.

Photos in this entry: David Minehan, The Neighborhoods; Marc Pinansky, Township