It never fails. Every weekend I have to be out of town, there’s a whole bunch of stuff going on that I would much rather stay home to do. Like what, you ask? Actually, in this case almost anything. But I digress.

For starters, there’s the Daryl Rabidoux benefit tonight at Metronome — featuring Daryl! I’ve already spilled a fair amount of ink on this show, so I won’t waste your time covering the same ground. However, I’ve been asked by a certain concerned party to report that The Jazz Gu . . . er, The Vanderpolls are actually going by the new name of The MaxFranks. I’m still rooting for The WonderPoles, but that’s just me.

Also, there may or may not be a secret wink-wink dance party happening in the relative vicinity of the benny show. I’m not really supposed to divulge any more info about it, I’m afraid. So I apologize if that TICKs you off. I’m like a TICKing time bomb here.

Moving on, I’ve always wanted to take part in The Ramble’s North vs. South Field Days happening this Saturday at Battery Park. We North End toughs will likely crush you bourgeois South End ninnies with or without my help. But still, it sounds like fun. Plus, the Ramble Round-Up lineup is pretty awesome. Any chance to see Space Tiger is always recommended. Also, Blowtorch is playing. I didn’t discover this until recently, but Blowtorch is actually guitar god Bill Mullins’ old band from like 20 years ago. Crazy.

Hopefully, I will be back in time to catch Vetiver with Cannon Fodder and Greg Davis at Metronome on Sunday night. And if I’m not . . . shoot me.

Have a great weekend, everyone.

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Dan Bolles is a culture coeditor at Seven Days. He joined the paper in 2007 as its music editor, covering Vermont's robust music, comedy and nightlife scenes for a decade before deciding he was too old to be going to the Monkey House on weeknights to...

20 replies on “Weekend Ramblings”

  1. I’m amazed that they’re still suffering with that same piece of shit PA system — that’s been over a year and a half now of totally worthless sound for some of the most interesting bands to come through the area?They’re either financially hurting or legally retarded. Either way, I agree: start a collection plate. At least buy some speakers that work, for the love of Allah.

  2. Well, at least they moved that one speaker out from BEHIND the band…I’ve always thought a little stage would make a big difference at the Monkey. Just 8″ off the floor would help. On the Red Sox topic, I played a show up in Highgate with Brett Hughes, Gordon Stone and Steve Hadeka that had great potetial to rock solidly all night, but we couldn’t get the Highgate kids away from the TV in the bar (which was in a different room). The 2 people that came with us were a great crowd, though, and I scored some meth.

  3. The Monkey is undergoing slow changes and has since it changed hands 8ish months ago. If you havn’t been in for over a year, then please don’t go on hearsay. The sound is a lot better than it used to be (i hear it a couple nights a week). Also, Paddy is doing an amazing job with what he has. If you havn’t been in a while, stop by and check a show. I think you’ll be suprised.

  4. Our first few shows there we simply brought our own. That helped.But yeah, that one speaker behind the band needs a way to be cut out from the PA – that’s the one that always messes things up. I don’t know, I don’t think the sound there is bad, but I’m usually on the other side of the stage the few times I make it out of town. (I need to be better about this – I barely sum up the energy to make it downstairs to the Radio Bean for the good music anymore.) Of course, I grew up on basement punk rock shows, so my definition of “good sound system” is anything better than a guitar practice amp with a Radio Shack mic plugged into it.But yeah, I second Tyson in that it’s getting better. And it’s a damn fun place to be.

  6. Its nice to get feed back on the amount of feedback that happens at the Monkey…ha…ok, moving on:I thought I’d share some thoughts on the night as a whole. Farm is an amazing live band and I recommend that the next time you see them on a bill, come early. They play first. They like it. You would too, I promise. Concerning Johanna Kunin: wurlitzer, casio or no, she was an inspiring singer and keyboardist. Lyrically, her work was beautiful. How beautiful didn’t quite hit me until yesterday on a drive home to Albany during which i listened to Clouds Electric a few times over. Her accompanist Jeremy Hadley couldn’t quite do the work of the multiple players on the album, but very strongly supported and textured her tunes (he also did a nice job of plugging an upcoming Monkey House/Tick Tick event…mmmm 10/19)…so she was really pretty…what?For anyone who has checked out Horse Feathers or melancholy acoustic acts of the sort (Brown Bird is another good one if you haven’t), you know that they work best in coffee houses or in your living room…live or on cd. You might also know that unless the band has tapped into ESPN’s scrolling text technology for a lyrical play by play, deciphering what it is that the singer is trying to convey can be a serious challenge…especially with the presence of the aforementioned home run cheers. To address the sound issues that night:The sound issues involved with acoustic acts in a noisy bar are endless. Having been at the boards and being but a lowly soundguy/night-manager/booking-dude/work-for-nothing musician/part-time dog owner, I think now and thought on the night in question that the problem was two fold: 1) the curse of the too loud guitar amp, and 2)the excitement of witnessing the success of ones favorite sports teamTwo phenomena seething with excess ’round the world….ok, I like a good home run, but last time i checked my car insurance, arson isn’t covered if when the cops show up to investigate, I’m the one dancing around my flaming honda in a vote for pedro t-shirt blasting Steelers Wheel.To address the sound issues as a whole:Worry not fussy people, we are indeed slowly updating the gear. We even have a monitor now. Stop in to check it out, we could compare notes. Also, feel free to give me feedback at any show, we both might learn something. Dan, thanks for the mentions and support. Sorry i only half smoked your last cig, i should have been inside doing sound anyway.

  7. I thought the sound you did last night for SNMNMNM was fantastic! And the new monitor seems to work pretty well, if you ask me.I understand that it’s still a work in progress, but I have to say the there has been a lot of progress.Thansk for rocking us last night, Paddy!best,colinyow!ps- that Capstan review and clips over at false 45th were awesome! I was so glad to get to have a window on the show! I wish I’d been there, but I am also psyched to know Dean’s playing a few more shows this fall! I’m gonna catch him in Noho at the Popfest! New England on the 11th of November!

  8. Geez, I hope my comments weren’t taken as a condemnation of the Monkey.I’m a big fan of the new direction the bar is heading and sound issues certainly aren’t unique to the Monkey House. Anyone who’s ever heard a band more clearly standing on the street OUTSIDE Metronome would probably agree. And now I’ve gone and pissed of the Metronome folks . . . dammit! Sound foibles at “the little club that could” in Winooski have been around long before Paddy & Co. took the reins. Trying to mix bands with acoustic and electric elements is always a pain — I know from experience, dude. Part of it is the room, part of it is the equipment. Rome wasn’t built in a day and so on and so forth. Here’s something I think would help: heavy curtains in front of the large glass windows by the stage. It’s amazing how much sound bounces around back there, especially when you throw drums into the mix. Just a thought, but it seems to help at the Bean.In any event, I agree that folks really should go check out the Monkey, like maybe this Thursday for In Memory Of Pluto.

  11. the monkey is the only place in burlington besides radio bean that would give us (farm) a show or even return our calls or e-mails. It would sound better to curtain up that window, but one of the cool things about the monkey is that people can smoke and still check out the band. maybe you could only curtain part of it or something. geez i was drunk on friday.

  12. Thanks Colin. I’m glad you liked it.One other cool thing about the CS show I failed to mention was the audience. It was split between indie music geeks and local senior citizens who just seemed to be out to hear what was going on down at the church. And everyone was completely respectful of the event. I don’t think I heard a peep out of anyone during any of the performances.

  14. So the case is if we get curtains here at the Monkey House, apparently they have to be flame retardant. I was going to bring down my comforter but my boss wasn’t into it. I’m wondering if anyone knows anything about the curtain industry. Where to find such things…i know, the Internet, they’ve got it all. but i’m thinking more along the lines of old theaters or sound people that have recently upgraded, that sort of thing. Just trying to get the word out that if you’ve got some bad ass thick curtains that won’t go up in flames, we could work something out…like money, or barter, or theft. Thanks.

  16. Am I the only one slightly annoyed that Dan always seems to make a physical/superficial comment about female musicians? Dan, let me know if you ever come see me play, I’ll be sure to either doll myself up or put a paper bag over my head, depending on what type of review I’m going for.Rebecca

  18. Part of the reason the sound is so-so at the Monkey is the glass windows. The sound waves just bounce off it and the tin ceiling, a combination which does not lead to good acoustics. One thing they could do is put up heavy drapes or something akin that could be lowered up and down in front of the windows……The P.A. is only part of the problem. I’ve played shows at most of the venues in the area and only after Monkey shows do my ears really ring. I love that bar and I love playing there, but they could do some tinkering for some of the louder acts.

  20. Any idea what time the music is happening at the North End Ramble? I’ve got to work all afternoon so it better be in the evening. If Space Tiger plays a show a block from my apartment and I have to miss it, I’m going to be so sad. I can nearly throw a rock and hit Junktiques from my place.

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