Seven Bands To See At Boston Calling: #7, Grey Season/Dirty Bangs

Written By Eric Riley.

Here we are once more in mid-September, which, joyously,
means a few things. One, and this is a big one: football season is back! Two,
also huge: hockey season is on the way! Thirdly, and certainly not to be
ignored: Boston Calling is here to put summer to rest with a bang. If you’ve
kept an eye on us for the last few years, you know the deal. Let’s do this
again, shall we?

What has always stood out for me about Boston Calling (aside
from the obvious awesomeness) has been how it sets itself apart from any other
festival. Rather than spending a weekend camping out in the woods or sleeping
in the back seat of your car in a desert somewhere, you spend three days in
Government Square while Boston Calling rages on in the heart of Boston and
Bostonians alike. This tight sense of community is no accident, as each day
kicks off with a Boston-bred artist. This time around, Grey Season and Dirty
Bangs will do the honors.

The 2015 lineup seems to pack more of a folk rock punch than
others have in the past, and the Boston five-piece are sure to start things off
right. Their independently-released Time
Will Tell Us Well was released in April of last year to impressive
response. Fall is often labeled as the grey season, and their music will fit
perfectly with the coming months.

On Sunday, Cambridge shoegazers Dirty Bangs will forego Grey
Season’s folk vibes, bringing strong, catchy gloom-pop to City Hall Plaza.
Their latest record, Standards, is
currently available for your own price, and it’ll be worth whatever amount of
pennies you decide to spend.

For fans of:
GS: Greg Holden, Gin
Blossoms
DB: The Pink Spiders, the Hold Steady

For a taste, check out:
GS: “Roslyn,” “Look At Us Now,” “Lost
and Found”
DB: “Song for Lester,” “Heat,” “Nashville
Days & L.A. Nights”

Catch them:
GS: Saturday,
1:00pm; Red Stage
DB: Sunday, 1:05pm; Red Stage

Seven Bands To See At Boston Calling: #1, Tenacious D

Today’s the day!! It is day one of Boston Calling and you can expect to see tons of coverage from us over the next couple of days! Wrapping up our Seven Bands To See At Boston Calling, we bring you our number one artist you need to be keeping an eye out for!

On our list so far: #7. Sharon Van Etten / Krill / The Ballroom Thieves, #6. Run The Jewels, #5. Halsey, #4. Marina and the Diamonds, #3. Beck, #2. St. Vincent

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Today we talk about our #1 pick, Tenacious D.

They be not angels,
they are but men. But, though mere men, they make up TENACIOUS D, The Greatest Metal Band in the World. While they have
their roots planted deep in comedy, it would be impossible to deny the serious
talent Jack Black and Kyle Gass both have.

 

With a new album (potentially) planned for 2016-2017, and a
trio of rock operas in their arsenal, Sunday night is going to be absolutely
insane in the absolutely best way possible.

For fans of: everything.
For a taste, check out: “Beezleboss (the Final Showdown),” “Tribute,”
“Kickapoo”
Catch them: Sunday, 8:05, Red Stage

Seven Bands To See At Boston Calling: #2, St. Vincent

It’s almost time! It’s only a few days until we’re back at Boston Calling once more. So, to keep with tradition, here is our list of who you need to be keeping an eye out for!

On our list so far: #7. Sharon Van Etten / Krill / The Ballroom Thieves, #6. Run The Jewels, #5. Halsey, #4. Marina and the Diamonds, #3. Beck

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Today we talk about our #2 pick, St. Vincent

I first saw ST. VINCENT when she performed on The Colbert Report last February, and
then seeing her a few months later on Saturday
Night Live had me hooked. It was this strange combination of energetic and
frigid, staged and theatrical, yet free and random.

 

Her music has been labeled “baroque pop” and “art rock” and
a dozen other things, but I think it’ll be something different to each
different listener. And when it translates to stage, it’ll be even more. (Also,
her self-titled album took home “Best Alternative Album” and made my Top 10
from 2014; maybe that’ll hold some merit?)

For fans of: Scissor Sisters, Tegan & Sara, the Dresden
Dolls
For a taste, check out: “Prince Johnny,” “Teenage Talk,”  “Digital Witness”
Catch them: Saturday, 6:50, JetBlue

Seven Bands To See At Boston Calling: #3, Beck

It’s almost time! It’s less than one week away until we’re back at Boston Calling once more. So, to keep with tradition, here is our list of who you need to be keeping an eye out for!

On our list so far: #7. Sharon Van Etten / Krill / The Ballroom Thieves, #6. Run The Jewels, #5. Halsey, #4. Marina and the Diamonds

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Today we talk about our #3 pick, Beck.

The Boston Calling
folks couldn’t get Beyoncé this year, so they booked Beck instead. (Not really.)

 

It deserves to be mentioned that Beck’s 12^th (12^TH!)
album brought home the Grammy for Album of the Year this year, but it also isn’t as big of an achievement as
it sounds, since the man has been winning Grammys almost as long as I’ve been
alive. I sincerely doubt you have better Friday night plans.

For fans of: The Arcade Fire, BASTILLE, Modest Mouse
For a taste, check out: “E-Pro,” “Blue Moon,” “Modern Guilt” (And “Loser,”
obviously)
Catch them: Friday, 9:15, JetBlue Stage

Seven Bands To See At Boston Calling: #7, Sharon Van Etten / Krill / The Ballroom Thieves

It’s almost time! Happy Saturday! Yesterday marked ONE WEEK until we’re back at Boston Calling once more. So,
to keep with tradition, here is our list of who you need to be keeping an eye
out for!

In the past, we’ve begun these countdowns with the winners
of the contest that granted them the opening slot on each day. However, this
year, we’ll shake things up a bit. There’s no contest to discuss, and it came
to my attention that, in discussing the openers on Saturday and Sunday, I was
unconsciously ignoring the Friday night support. Shame! So, let’s fix that,
yes?

Friday evening, the night (and the festival itself) will
begin with Sharon Van Etten.

Her soft, yet strong voice is sure to draw in the
concertgoers who are waiting around outside, unsure whether or not they should
bother showing up early. Hint: you should. This is just a suggestion (or, more
of a hope), but if she begins the night by playing “Serpents,” we’ll be off to
a very favorable start to our weekend.

Saturday and Sunday mornings will start off in more
customary fashion, with a local act leading off the day. First, Krill bring along a sound that is
somehow both unpolished and sharp, with a vibe that spans decades – 70’s
psychedelic rock meets 90’s garage grunge and modern grit.

Sunday, the Boston trio The
Ballroom Thieves will start things off a bit cleaner. Their folk-pop brand
slips in and out of a handful of genres, making them a great choice to begin a
diverse day’s lineup.

For fans of:
SVE: A Fine Frenzy, VÉRITÉ
Krill: The Front
Bottoms, mewithoutYou
TBT: Edward
Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, Bright Eyes

For a taste, check out:
SVE: “Serpents,”
“Afraid of Nothing”
Krill: “Phantom,”
“Theme From Krill”
TBT: “Loose
Lips,” “Archers”

Catch them:
SVE: Friday, 6:30, JetBlue Stage
Krill: Saturday,
12:55, Red Stage
TBT: Sunday, 1:00, Red
Stage

Seven Bands To See At Boston Calling: #7, Sonicbids Winner / Gentlemen Hall

Hellooooo again! We’re back for our third run with Boston Calling and we’re as excited as ever, so we’ve decided to bring back our “Seven Bands To See” feature! The lineup this time around is as great as it has ever been, and the weekend is shaping up to be the biggest one yet. So, here’s who to keep an eye out for (other than looking for me, obviously): 

Like we’ve done for the past two festivals, we kick off our preview with the weekend’s two openers. However, this time around, they seem to be keeping the winner of their annual SonicBids contest under wraps. Or, at least that’s the case at the moment.

But, if history has anything to say about it, then I’m not going to let their anonymity prevent me from saying that they’re going to be a band to check out.

With past winners including The Box Tiger back in May and Royal Teeth last September, the festival has a pretty great track record with choosing someone that the crowd will love. So, when they do eventually get revealed, which I can assume will be sometime very soon, we’ll be watching.

As for the opener that we do know about, the tradition of a Boston-based band starting one of the days continues for another year. On Sunday morning, locals Gentlemen Hall will take the stage in front of a hometown crowd who have already had a day and a half of festival under their belts. And by this point, they’ll be wanting more.

For fans of: Neon Trees, Hunter Hunted, Bad Suns
For a taste, check out: “All Our Love,” “Sail Into the Sun”
When you can see them: Saturday / Sunday, 1:05pm, Capital One Red Stage