
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
This is a somewhat unconventional post (for GDTS anyway), since it’s not a review of an album per se, it’s a review and recap of the shows I went to from the Mighty Mighty Bosstones’ holiday tradition, the Hometown Throwdown. This year, Throwdown 11, found the lads in plaid playing four shows at Cambridge, MA’s Middle East Nightclub, one night at Toad’s Place in New Haven, CT (the so-called Rhodestown Throwdown, in honor of trombonist Chris Rhodes, who hails from New Haven), and a New Year’s Eve show at Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel, in Providence, RI.
I was able to attend nights 1, 3, and 4 at the Middle East. The Bosstones have been kicking out their unholy, unruly blend of ska, punk, hardcore, reggae, metal, and whatever else, for many, many years; since 1983 according to Wikipedia. They spent years making a name for themselves with their energetic, raucous live shows. Their first LP, Devil’s Night Out, was released on Taang!! Records in 1989. Since then, they’ve played more live shows than you can imagine, had a hit single with “The Impression That I Get,” off their 1997 album Let’s Face It, and took a 4-year hiatus, beginning in 2003. At this point, many fans of the band considered them gone, so when, one morning in October 2007, singer Dicky Barrett announced Throwdown 10 on WBCN (Boston), it sent excited shockwaves through the ska kids around the world who still held onto the plaid dreams of the band.
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