10/15/11
Middle East Downstairs Cambridge, MA
w/ THOSE DARLINS
Fortunately, things took a turn for the better when Boston's Movers & Shakers took the stage. Picture Jack Black on guitar, with his younger, better looking brother on bass, playing a southern rock mash-up of The Black Crowes, The Drive-by Truckers, and Tom Petty while tossing in a little Bruce Springsteen and Billy Bragg for good measure. It was a winning combination of American rock and roll. These guys played their butts off as the crowd began filtering in for Those Darlins and it was a fan-winning performance.
FULL REVIEW
The Movers and Shakers came on first, with guitarists Matt Price and Marc Valois and bassist Dan Wallace aligning at the front of the stage. The three shared vocal responsibilities with impressive grace. A stand-out was “Lay Down With Me,” a slow-burner off their upcoming album,National Harvester. The boys powered through up-tempo rock jams without trouble, but more deliberate songs like “Lay Down With Me” really showed off their talent. As The Movers and Shakers continue to tour forNational Harvester and streamline their musical vision, they should only increase their reputation as a Boston-based band to watch.
FULL REVIEW
Movers & Shakers performed their eclectic set list, promoting their new album out next month. Though originally a punk band from Boston, (the lead guitarist repped Mass with a large tattoo of the state map on the back of his arm) they moved to Austin, TX and added some country and bluesy qualities to their sound. By the time they finished their last song, the dance party started.
FULL REVIEW
1/6/11
STARLAB
Somerville MA
Beast Fest
My top New Year’s Resolution was to start wearing earplugs, and I have managed to honor this sacred vow for exactly one show to date: a quasi-legal BYOB benefit concert at Starlab. The show was held to raise money for a friend of Starlab whose family was left with considerable medical bills in the wake of her father’s passing that very week. Although it was tragic circumstances that brought everyone together that night, the atmosphere was anything but somber. Most people expressed their sympathy with their wallets, and then grabbed a can of ‘Gansett and watched the show.
Back then, the condo-sized pile of snow on my sidewalk was only knee-high, but there was ice everywhere and it got dark at 4:30 in the afternoon. Watching Movers & Shakers, it struck me that this winter basement show was a more appropriate setting for them than when I saw them at a club last summer. In contrast with some of the dirt-road-and-horse-pasture bands in the Americana set, M&S drive their rusted-out pickup over craggly asphalt and manhole covers – in windy places with lots of streetlights and power lines. Instead of braying fiddles, M&S have howling organs. Instead of foreign influence from Robbie Robertson and the occasional Mexican folk song, M&S have blue-collar Brit heroes like The Clash and Billy Bragg. The only thing “country” about them is the occasional slide guitar (and I don’t recall them using it at the Starlab that night).
FULL REVIEW
Mar. 25 2010
Middle East Downstairs
Cambridge, MA
w/ the Black Lips
Boston’s prodigies of all good-things Americana, performed a tight nine song set at the Middle East Downstairs on Thursday, March 25th. Movers & Shakers’ music encapsulates some of the best elements of Americana: A fusion of rock, country and blues that form a fluid, sometimes gritty, simultaneously mournful and uplifting sound that hits as comforting and familiar even when it’s brand new. Their vocals are strong, at times melancholy and always imbued with a playful twinge of country twang that lends itself to both rambling rock songs and slower, mournful ballads. The balance of alt-rock lamentations and bluesy warbles blend harmoniously to bind the songs to each other, creating a cohesive overarching feel to the music that allows the group to shift focus to different styles ingrained in their work.
The instrumental work is strong: Rambling country-rock guitar sounds break into darker crescendos as effortlessly as they spin into freestyle breakdowns that showcase elements of bluegrass and jam bands. Drum work is tight, forceful without being overpowering, a solid and deep rhythm while the use of symbols adds a layer of metallic dissonance that comes across as being a necessary punctuation to the music. These musical layers inter-weave to create songs that ring as comforting, enjoyably familiar and accessible without being a rehashing of previous styles.
Movers & Shakers have carved their name through their catchy Americana offerings, energizing songs that draw equally from rock and country, bluegrass and rambling jams that all sounds fresh without sacrificing the portmanteau essence of the genre. Indeed, stepping into their music is a homecoming of sorts, a return to the classics ingrained in our musical consciousness that simultaneously challenges the audience to experience those classics in new ways. Movers & Shakers consistently re-examine the roots of American music to create glittering songs that blend dynamic vocals, talented guitars and solid rhythms to create the unique sense that their music is not something heard but something remembered.
-THE DELI
April 8 2010
Northeastern University Boston, MA
w/ the Delta Spirit
Northeastern University Boston, MA
w/ the Delta Spirit
Boston's Movers & Shakers meld soul and punk into their roots-rock sound. On record, horns, three-part harmonies and organ flourishes create a sound reminiscent of The Band - but live, the songs take on a grittier sound. Throughout their solid set opening for Delta Spirit at Northeastern's AfterHours club I couldn't help but draw Replacements comparisons, with more anthemic, fist-pumping choruses. These are songs designed for larger stages.
VISIBLE VOICE
VISIBLE VOICE
Jan. 10 2010
Middle East Up
w/ Drug Rug
Cambridge, MA
...The crowd was most wound up before Movers & Shakers took the stage. Working around the absurd posted rules for dancing, the crowd was way into the whole set - it was so full of energy it was hard to not be dragged in. The whole band - from the woodsy, flannelled Dan Wallace on bass, to the ever-entertaining Marc Valois on guitar, organ and vocals - rocked the entire time. Playing many tracks from their record, Larrabee, Movers and Shakers' set was textbook for how to attract new fans and keep the energy high, the songs upbeat and the crowd invested...
ENTIRE REVIEW
June 9 2010
Cambridge, MA
...The crowd was most wound up before Movers & Shakers took the stage. Working around the absurd posted rules for dancing, the crowd was way into the whole set - it was so full of energy it was hard to not be dragged in. The whole band - from the woodsy, flannelled Dan Wallace on bass, to the ever-entertaining Marc Valois on guitar, organ and vocals - rocked the entire time. Playing many tracks from their record, Larrabee, Movers and Shakers' set was textbook for how to attract new fans and keep the energy high, the songs upbeat and the crowd invested...
ENTIRE REVIEW
June 9 2010
Great Scott
Allston, MA
Allston, MA
Last night Boston’s Movers and Shakers brought their brand of Replacements-era punk meets Tom Waits grit to Great Scott to play the final show of local legends The Serious Geniuses with Bread & Roses and Lemuria. Much like their press photos imply, the PBR was a plenty and these guys showed the packed house just how tight their live show can be.
The group may have been one of the opening acts, but with the hometown crowd on their side and a recently released record full of alt-rock/country laced anthems and tales of life, the group might as well be the closer. I mean, it’s not for everyone, but the best music is never intended to reach the masses – it’s intended to hit a certain group like a bullet and last night the entire crowd fell victim to Movers & Shakers steady aim.
The group may have been one of the opening acts, but with the hometown crowd on their side and a recently released record full of alt-rock/country laced anthems and tales of life, the group might as well be the closer. I mean, it’s not for everyone, but the best music is never intended to reach the masses – it’s intended to hit a certain group like a bullet and last night the entire crowd fell victim to Movers & Shakers steady aim.
ENTIRE REVIEW