The Roxy
8:30 p.m. Doors, 18+ with ID
$20, Tickets available at ticketmaster.com or at the door
Our hypothetical snob is probably drooling with anticipation for this one, but it’s really hard to blame a person for feeling that way. Kentucky-based Slint were like the Emily Dickinson of indie rock—a band that recorded two albums in obscurity back in 1989 and 1991 and broke up before the public even had a chance to tap into their life-changing sound.
Listeners and musicians alike have almost universally come to regard their second album, Spiderland, as a landmark for rock and roll music and Western civilization in general. Full of atmospherically angular guitar riffs that bounce off of one another in ways you never thought possible (a veritable Kama Sutra of melody), everyone from Billy Corgan to Sonic Youth had to take notice.
Download “Good Morning, Captain,” (their musical reinterpretation of “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”) and you’ll see what everyone’s been buzzing about. In a completely out-of-this world decision, the band’s original lineup decided to reunite for a spring tour.
Even if you’ve never heard them before, you’re likely to be blown away by the band’s musical immediacy, lyrical simplicity, and kickass improvisation. This could be the concert you tell your grandkids about, folks.
Mt. Eerie w/ Woelv
Monday, March 21
La Sala De Puerto Rico @ MIT
8:30 P.M. Doors, all ages
$7, Tickets available at the door
If you go to only one of the shows in this marathon, make it Mt. Eerie. Frontman (only man, really) Phil Elvrum, who has previously recorded under the moniker The Microphones, is a singer-songwriter who performs concerts of completely brand-new music, much of it written just minutes before the beginning of the show.
The songs range from 30-second musical epiphanies to 10-minute meditations and are usually about the infinite majesty of natural forces like mountains, wolves, and plum blossoms or about his personal musical Vision Quests to find strength and tenderness.
He is a presence like no other—shy, charismatic, boyish, and shaman-like. He’ll talk to the audience, take requests, curtsy cutely after each song, and generally change your life. Download “The Moon” off of The Microphones’ The Glow, Pt. 2, if you need a taste. Woelv is also a solo singer-songwriter, but she sings in French and is far, far less penetrable than Elvrum, if such a thing is possible.