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Music Features

Local music blogs weigh in on BMP 2011

By MICHAEL MAROTTA | June 17, 2011

Michael J. Epstein Memorial Library photo by Kelly Davidson

PHOTO CREDIT: KELLY DAVIDSON

BAND: THE MICHAEL J. EPSTEIN MEMORIAL LIBRARY

BLOG: SLEEPOVER SHOWS

Michael J. Epstein is busy. A member of Boston band of yore the Motion Sick and the one-night-band Positronic Rays, he also plays uke from time to time in Neutral Uke Hotel. Now he's in two bands that need acronyms to lessen their names' full strength — the Michael J. Epstein Memorial Library and Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling. It is safe to say that Mr. Epstein, alongside bandmate Sophia Cacciola, has made a significant imprint on Boston's music scene. Trading hats and mustaches (or vintage glasses), each of these bands is a completely different animal. The latest, the Michael J. Epstein Memorial Library, gather musicians without much prior exposure to perform genre-defying music. The idea is that the sum of the inexperienced parts creates a satisfying complete group. Epstein and company are able to shift from a song about fourth-grade blues to a rendition of Nick Cave's "The Weeping Song" with ease (they might have more in common there than you'd think). During "Every Time I Visit You, It Rains," Epstein and Tanya Palit sing, "Every club we go to is passé/dancing to the horrors they call music that day." If this is your experience of late, you now have a solution. The Library are part of the big "BalletRox Springs out of the Box" music-and-dance extravaganza at Dorchester's Strand Theatre on June 18.

Robert Rivera

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[ 06/21 ] Adam Cruz + Steve Wilson + Steve Cardenas + Kevin Hayes @ Scullers Jazz Club

[ 06/21 ] Joe Purdy + The Milk Carton Kids @ Brighton Music Hall

[ 06/21 ] The Marvelous Wonderettes @ Maine State Music Theatre

ARTICLES BY MICHAEL MAROTTA

OUT: GOOD TIMES A’BRUIN | June 21, 2011
It was the first time the Boston Phoenix hosted an awards party for its 23-year-old Best Music Poll, but what erupted June 15 at Brighton Music Hall was a drunken shitshow that honored decades of Boston rock and roll, and was capped off by the Bruins' first Stanley Cup championship since 1972.

MEET THE WINNERS: 2011 BEST MUSIC POLL | June 20, 2011
This year's BMP, our 23rd annual, was crystallized by two hard-working, against-the-odds rock bands.

LOCAL MUSIC BLOGS WEIGH IN ON BMP 2011 | June 17, 2011
We came up with the nominations, you came up with the winners. But what about the blogs, man? Don't they get a say? They sure do.

MP3 OF THE WEEK: THE MACROTONES | June 09, 2011
The Macrotunes have evolved into a hybrid fit for freaking fans of jazz, boom-bap, roots reggae, and acid-worthy jam bands.

OUT: NEVER MIND THE RAPTURE, HERE'S PRETTY & NICE | May 26, 2011
There's a sense of calculated jubilation in Pretty & Nice's frantic brand of caffeinated pop, one that's a bit paranoid, a bit euphoric, and always on the verge of spinning out of control.

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