CONCERT LISTINGS Twenty-Nine Days Means Fewer Days for Concerts
But Also Fewer Psets! Good for You!
This February will be a slow month in Boston, that’s for sure. Many of you are returning to school after fabulous vacations, and even if I’ve picked a poor adjective, just about anything beats the constant churn of formulas and papers this new semester signifies. While you acclimate to the returning workload, here are the few selections that caught my eye for the month of February. They may be slim, but they’re mighty, so load up!
Sunday, Feb. 3
Sister Suvi
The Middle East (Upstairs), All Ages, $8
All men love the Super Bowl. No man is an island. Sister Suvi features Patrick Gregoire of the band Islands. These three truths converge on Super Bowl Sunday when Sister Suvi will bring their theatrical folk rock to the Middle East Upstairs. And hey, if you get too antsy for the score, you’re only a short sprint from campus.
Thursday, Feb. 7
Cat Power
The Orpheum, All Ages, $29
Matador’s long-touted press release about Ms. Marshall states that she can stop time. Apparently, she can travel through it as well; her latest record, Jukebox, features only two originals, and covers everyone from James Brown to Bob Dylan to Liza Minnelli. She’ll take to the stage with her Dirty Delta Blues Band this February, filling the Orpheum with her molasses-drenched interpretations of all things past and present.
Friday, Feb. 8
Liars
Paradise Rock Club, 18+, $12
Experimental rockers that’ve been labeled dance-punk, chant-pop, concept artists, and drum-heavy, Liars released their fourth LP last year, self-titled. Choose your own genre! Fun for all!
Saturday, Feb. 9
The Cliks, Vivian Darkbloom
T.T. the Bear’s Place, 18+, $10
The Cliks! They’re a mildly famous Canadian rock band! Vivian Darkbloom! They’re an almost completely unknown group of apparent Nabokov enthusiasts, and at least one of them goes to MIT! That’s like, two Lolita-referencing bands in one university! Be true to your school! Rah, rah!
Tuesday, Feb. 12
Death to the Pixies
T.T. the Bear’s Place, 18+, $7
Cover bands. I secretly think they’re the shit. Since I’m never going to get to see Black Francis and co. in their Boston band heyday, I’ll settle for these youthful impersonators, who, based on their live mp3s, seem to know exactly where their minds are.
Thursday, Feb. 14
Magnetic Fields
Somerville Theatre, 18+, $27.50
You could say, in a way, that romance is magnetic, and therefore it’s appropriately corny of me to recommend a Magnetic Fields concert on the Hallmark Holiday to top ’em all. Celebrate St. Valentine’s Day with 69 Love Songs, because nothing says amour like synthpop. Not that I’d know, because I didn’t get anything for V-Day last year. (I hope you’re reading this, Julian.)
Saturday, Feb. 23
Super Furry Animals (with Times New Viking)
Paradise Rock Club, 18+, $17.50
Welsh psychedelic rock teams up with relatively new Matador font enthusiasts for a night of surely “arty” noise. TNV is touring in support of highly acclaimed new record Rip It Off, which features the oddly titled but totally telling track “Times New Viking vs. Yo La Tengo.” I’m sooo there.
Wednesday, Feb. 27
Deep Blue Something
T.T. the Bear’s Place, 18+, $7
To be completely honest, I don’t know anything by this band other than what’s off the 1995 “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” vehicle Home, but their MySpace claims they’re Texan shoegazers, and the mp3s back up that claim. Anyway, almost any formerly popular ’90s band is worth seeing a decade after their heyday, at least in my book, and as I recall, I think we’ll both kind of like it.