In case you hadn’t noticed, dear reader (all one of you), I’m a bit cuckoo for music. So it may not surprise you to learn that last weekend I went to Boston to see three concerts in three days. What might be a bit surprising is that all three shows were by the same band: Buffalo Tom. (They’re from Boston, of course… hence the name… or not. )
They’re my favorite band. I first heard them on the radio… when I played them on radio! I was working a Sunday evening shift at 97X back in the early 90s and “Velvet Roof” was on the playlist – the song practically jumped right out of the speakers and right into my ears and heart. I immediately tracked down a promo copy of the CD from our station “prize closet” and proceeded to wear out the entire album.
But all three members of Buffalo Tom have kids and day jobs. They’re in my age bracket, too. So even though they still put out new albums, the prospect of cramming into a van to do a tour isn’t very appealing. But their small-but-mighty fan base would often pepper them with “Please come to [insert city name here]” requests on social media. Instead, they flipped the script, and created a festival called “Please Come to Boston.”
Their diehard fans were rewarded for their efforts with a trifecta of concerts… including a “matinee” show on Sunday for those who needed to get back to work on Monday – or just needed to recuperate after a couple of evening gigs.
Buffalo Tom played an entire album front to back each show. To make the mini-festival more festive, they also featured some music openers, comedy, book readings, even “punk rock aerobics.”
How was it? Fan-freaking-tastic! The albums that they featured are some of my favorites – not just in the Buffalo Tom oeuvre, but in all of music. (Let Me Come Over is my all-time favorite – it’s the album that “Velvet Roof” is on.)
But the additional performances were standout too – Tom Perrotta is the author of Election and Little Children (both were turned into Oscar-nominated movies) and The Leftovers (which became an HBO series).
Eugene Mirman (the voice of Gene Belzer on “Bob’s Burgers”) and Dave Hill were hilarious. (If you’ve never seen Dave Hill’s special “The Pride of Cleveland,” check it out here to get a feel for his zany brand of comedy with music. And check out his books, which are funny as heck.)
The band Q&A was hosted by actor/writer/comedian Mike O’Malley.
I hope there’s a “Please Come BACK to Boston” festival next year – I’d go in a heartbeat!
On other thought on the weekend’s lineup: Artists will always find a way to share their art, even if it means pivoting from their original goals. The book readings were courtesy of Earfull, which hosts public author readings combined with music.
EARFULL BEGAN as the brainchild of bookstore connoisseur Tim Huggins, and Boston musician and author Jen Trynin, created from their shared goal of bringing book and music fans together. They believe that – given the right environment – book people will love the experience of live music, and rock people will realize how cool it is to hear great authors reading their work aloud.
We played Jen Trynin’s song “Better than Nothing” on 97X back in the 90s too.
The Punk Rock Aerobics were led by Hilken Mancini.
Since 2000 PRA has said NO TO THE STATUS QUO and to limiting notions of beauty, fitness, and ability. We aim to inspire, empower and create an inclusive and fun environment where you can laugh your ass off.
Hilken was in a band called Fuzzy back in my 97X days . Rolling Stone named their 1994 song “Flashlight” one of the top 50 songs of the 90s.
Maybe in an alternate universe Jen and Hilken would be hosting their own festivals.
Mike O’Malley starred in “The Mike O’Malley Show” back in 1999. It lasted three episodes. More recently, he created the series “Extended Family” starring Jon Cryer (Two and a Half Men) and Donald Faison (Scrubs). That one lasted 13 episodes.
In an alternate universe, maybe his ’99 show hits it big and he’s another Ray Romano… or maybe the 2023 series turns him into the new Chuck Lorre. But Mike has continued to hustle and continued to act and write. He was the showrunner for the Netflix series “Heels.”
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