Discount Variety Interviews: Tim McIntire and Brendan Boogie tonight at the CinemaSalem Cafe

This month at Discount Variety we have two good friends, Tim McIntire and Brendan Boogie. McIntire is a stalwart of the Boston scene, someone I first came into contact with when I wrote a piece about Bill Hicks for Playboy.com. I had just moved to Boston, and McIntire e-mailed me about it and told me I should come to the Comedy Studio to see his Thursday Night Fights. That became a regular haunt for me as I covered the local scene. Brendan (I can’t bring myself to just call him “Boogie”) I met a year or so ago, and had the pleasure of playing on a show with him in February. We traded bits of Elvis Costello cover tunes waiting for our time to go on, where he gave me his great rocking pop EP Disposable Pop. See him solo acoustic at CinemaSalem Café tonight!

BRENDAN BOOGIE

Brendan Boogie played bass with the Boston power pop group Scamper until they were all eaten by alligators. After being rebuilt by science, he started his own outfit Brendan Boogie and the Best Intentions. Brendan's full-length follow up to 2008's Disposable Pop EP is set to fill up your earholes with gooey goodness this December.

How long have you been playing in Boston?

I started with Scamper in September 2004. Before that, I sold my bass and rig to finance an ill-fated trip to LA to pursue a career as an obsolete reality show contestant.

What are your favorite places to play?

Junior highs and women's prisons, mostly.

Who are your favorite comedians, locally and nationally?

I find Ann Coulter hilarious. Whoever is playing her is a brilliant comic performer. Locally, I find the Jim Henson puppet they call "Mayor Menino" pretty good.

What is the best comedy show you've seen?

I might have dreamed this, but I saw Tim McIntire and the Walsh Brothers open for Louis C.K. at the Comedy Studio one time. My spleen hurt from laughing so much.

TIM MCINTIRE

Tim McIntire has been one of the most prolific comics in Boston for nearly a decade. He began his career in Colorado and honed his act on the road, working every comedy club, roadhouse, and speakeasy between California and Pennsylvania. After moving to Boston to move in with a hot girlfriend—who would eventually become his hot wife—he quickly became a fixture in the comedy scene, gaining notoriety for his Thursday Night Fights at the Comedy Studio, his edgy hosting job for the Boston Music Awards, and for his first comedy album, Poor Impulse Control.

Since that time, he's released a second album (Scatterbrain), written for Nickelodeon (Fairly Oddparents), been featured on National Public Radio (Special Edition with Tom Ashbrook), performed at several comedy festivals (Boston and Chicago), and appeared on TV (Comcast Comedy Spotlight). The Boston Globe has called him a "comic on the verge of stardom," and the Boston Herald has called him "a breakout comic to watch." He is currently seeking representation for his first novel, Suicide Lane. In the little free time he has, he likes to fish—for trout, not bass, because he went to college.

How long have you been playing in Boston?

Since 1996. I moved here, and my first gig was an open mike at Daisy Buchanans. It was such a bucket of blood that I considered moving away immediately.

What are your favorite places to play?

Well, at the risk of seeming too self-promotional (a concept musicians may be unfamiliar with), I love playing at my own club, Mottley's. I don't know how or why, but I kill there like no place else. The Comedy Studio is a blast, too. As far as non-comedy rooms go, I love doing the Lizard Lounge, even though the layout is weird for comedy.

Who are your favorite musicians, locally and nationally?

Locally, I love the Grownup Noise, the Rationales (and Dave Mirabella by himself, too), the Motion Sick, The Wrong Reasons, and my man Brendan Boogie (who in addition to being very talented is also the only guy in Boston I've been able to talk into going fishing with me). Nationally, I'm crazy about Cory Branan these days. I also love Drag the River, Scott H. Biram, and Todd Snider. I'm also on something of a Keb Mo kick. And I am a totally unrepentant, non-ironic, and lifelong Blue Oyster Cult fan.

What is the best music show you’ve seen?

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds at the Roxy back in 1998. Transcendent. Absolutely transcendent.

Discount Variety tonight with Dan Margarita and Josh Gondelman

We’ve come once again to the third Thursday of the month, which means it’s Discount Variety time. This month, the show features the music of Dan Margarita and the comedy of Josh Gondelman. You may know Margarita better as a comedian, but he is also a songwriter, working on a new album called Kill the Messenger. Gondelman is a regular at the Comedy Studio and hosts the open mic at Sally O’Brien’s every Mondays, where some of Boston’s best comics come for a workout.

The show starts at 8PM at the CinemaSalem Cafe in Salem. For mor einfo, click the Discount Variety button in the sidebar to the right.

DAN MARGARITA

After a career in stand-up comedy, working at clubs and colleges across the nation with such noted comedians as Judy Tenuta, Lenny Clarke, Steve Sweeney, Jimmy Tingle and Barry Crimmins, Dan Margarita has turned his focus to music. His forthcoming CD Kill The Messenger, contains songs with humor, personal loss and social commentary.


How long have you been playing in Boston?

I haven’t been playing around town for all that long.

What are your favorite places to play?

Generally speaking, I prefer to play the smaller, intimate venues, where I can really be heard and get my stuff across to the audience.

Who are your favorite comedians, locally and nationally?

Locally, I’d have to say my favorite comic is Mike Donovan, but there’s an awful lot of good ones around here. Nationally, I was most influenced by the young George Carlin. I have to admit, I thought he was funnier when he was still doing drugs.

What is the best comedy show you've seen?

Best comedy show I’ve ever seen... just too many to even consider.

JOSH GONDELMAN

An unabashed dork, Josh Gondelman consistently earns the right to hang out with the cool kids by making them laugh until they snort milk out their noses. Josh blends a sharp and quirky sense of humor with a genuine good nature, the result of which is a hilarious and accessible blend of “some holds barred” comedy. Josh is the comedian that your grandmother would love, even if she didn’t get the jokes. Josh just finished his degree in English and Creative Writing at Brandeis University, and he performs standup, sketch, and improv comedy at clubs, colleges, and theaters all over the country. Josh Gondelman. He can talk smart without sounding smarmy. He can talk family without sounding familiar. And he can talk sex without being sexy. Wait. Scratch that last one. He’s very sexy. Just don’t tell grandma.

How long have you been playing in Boston?

I started out at the open mic at Dick Doherty's Comedy Vault about five years ago. My grandfather was very ill at the time, and every week I took a bus into the city from Brandeis where I was in school to visit him at Mass General, and then I went one stop over to Park Street to perform in the theater district. Too much information? That will probably be the theme of this interview.

What are your favorite places to play?

Over the past year, I've really come to value any place where the audience comes to listen and enjoy rather than judge or disapprove. Little theaters are great for that. I did a hugely fun show out in San Francisco a few months ago at the Darkroom Theater in the Mission (run by Pat Bulger, a super funny Boston transplant). The show had all sorts of things going on, music and standup and video, and the crowd came in ready to roll with it.

The Comedy Studio in Harvard Square has the vibe a lot, too. The crowd expects to enjoy themselves, and it makes performing so much more pleasurable than when you have to deal with lots of crossed arms or big chatty parties. Mottley's by Fanuiel Hall is like that, too. They book the great old-school Boston headliners like Tony V, and they also are very open-minded about up-and-coming headliners like Myq Kaplan and Joe List. It's very supportive and fun to play there. Non-traditional standup venues like ImprovBoston and the Anderson Comedy shows at the Great Scott area great because of how loose things can be.

Too much again? Good. I'm keeping on task.

Who are your favorite musicians, locally and nationally?

Locally, I feel like I've got to plug The Grownup Noise until they are famous. They're such talented musicians, and as a group their sound is so unique but not in a way that alienates listeners. It's like: "Oh, yeah! Of course eventually a band should have decided to sound like this."

Also, the Brendan Boogie Band recently put out an EP called Disposable Pop that sounds like Weezer back when Weezer sounded like Weezer.

Plus there are some really great music/comedy people in Boston should be/are aware of. Zach Sherwin (MC Mr. Napkins) writes a perfect rap every seven seconds or something. And Robby Roadsteamer is worth watching 100% of the times he gets onstage.

Nationally, I've been listening to The Hold Steady on a near constant basis. If in an alternate universe, Bruce Springsteen grew up in the 80's and 90's with an awareness that Bruce Springsteen had already existed, he would be the front man for The Hold Steady. That doesn't make any sense, but they're awesome. Plus, I look like a bearded, less out-of-shape version of their singer. So they've got that going for them. Or do I have that going for me? Probably neither.

What is the best music show you’ve seen?

About six years ago I saw Cee-Lo Green (of Gnarles Barkley), Lauryn Hill (accoustic), Jurassic 5, The Roots, and Outkast at the Tweeter Center, which is now the Comcast Center, and was formerly Great Woods. The Roots were unbelievable. Their albums are very good, but their live show is so much fun. They're the only rap group who can really get away with cover songs, which I think is one key. And they give their original songs so much fullness and energy in concert. And, as Jimmy Fallon has shown us, they're really funny. I get jealous sometimes, when I see a really funny musician. I'm like: "Who are you? Leonardo DaVinci? Stick to one talent! You're making me look very bad!"

Discount Variety tonight -- Bethany Van Delft and Schooltree

Tonight at 8PM at the CinemaSalem Cafe, we have one of the best line-ups we've had yet for FunnyGrownHere.com Presents... Discount Variety. We have the comedy of Bethany Van Delft and the music of Schooltree (Lainey Schulbaum, moonlighting from the Steamy Bohemians). Here's a bit more about them before you head out to the show.

BETHANY VAN DELFT

Bethany Van Delft is a rising voice in Boston comedy, and part of another regular Thursday night show -- The Dress Up show at Mottley's Comedy Club. She is also founding member of “Colorstruck: Women of Color in Comedy”, New England’s first and only women of color comedy showcase. She has been featured in the Boston Comedy Festival, New York Underground Comedy Festival, and The Greater Boston Alternative Comedy Festival. She is a core member of the touring show “5 Funny Females”. She is a favorite at clubs and colleges all over New England, and will definitely win something and/or be on TV by next year.

How long have you been playing in Boston?

About 4 or 5 years seriously.

What are your favorite places to play?

I love comedy clubs, but I also really enjoy performing at venues where you wouldn't expect to see a comedy show. I just did Middlesex Lounge, it was a great time.

Who are your favorite musicians, locally and nationally?

I am ashamed to admit I am a little behind the times when it comes to local music. I tend to check out more music comedy like Steamy Bohemians, and MC Mr Napkins.

What is the best music show you’ve seen?

It's a toss up between WAR at the old House of Blues in Cambridge years ago, and The Nuyorican Soul concert at The Manhattan Center featuring all the bands from the recording, live.

SCHOOLTREE

Schooltree is Lainey Schulbaum, Boston-based performer, composer, audio engineer and producer. She is one half of Boston's dubious darlings The Steamy Bohemians, and co-founder of the acclaimed variety show Jerkus Circus. This solo project is avant-pop in genre - sometimes theatrical, often odd - played with piano, voice, and drum machine. Dark story-telling and vivid imagery characterize songs about stuff like going to the moon, naughty children, premature burials, and conformity. Lainey straddles the fence between serious musician and off-the-wall comedic performer with a discomfort that both delights and confuses audiences wherever she performs.

How long have you been playing in Boston?

Approximately one thousand years. Well, I'm rounding up - guess it's more like six.

What are your favorite places to play?

The Lizard Lounge, Ralph's Diner (Worcester), the Abbey Lounge (RIP)

Who are your favorite comedians, locally and nationally?

I love everyone locally, especially Bethany Van Delft. Louis CK and Mike Birbiglia are a couple of my favorite non-locals.

What is the best comedy show you've seen?

Jerkus Circus - every single one.

Discount Variety tonigth at the CinemaSalem Cafe -- Andy Ofiesh and Gumbo Diablo!

If you have any way to get out to the north shore tonight, make plans to see FunnyGrownHere.com Presents... Discount Variety at CinemaSalem. Tonight starting at 8:30, we have Andy Ofiesh of the Naked Comedy Showcase and the zydeco soul of Gumbo Diablo, all for a cover price of just five bucks. For more info, click here. And read below for more info on tonight's featured performers.

GUMBO DIABLO
Gumbo Diablo could be called a zydeco band, but their style covers a much broader range than that -- roots, soul, country. As lead singer Wendy Kinal puts it, they like to play "the originals, the Stevie covers, and anything people are dancing and smiling and to. Hire us and we'll help you throw one of the best parties of your life!"

How long have you been playing in Boston?

About two years.

What are your favorite places to play?

Pleasant Cafe in Maynard - we've been there several times and it just has a chill, welcoming feel; the R&R in Malden is a good ol' Neighborhood Bar (I believe the full name is the R&R 5-Star Dive Bar..enough said); 31 Main in Ayer and the Happy Swallow in Framingham are fun as well, and different - audience, energy, etc.
- I love reading the vibe and rolling with it.

Who are your favorite comedians, locally and nationally?

I do like the Walsh Brothers and Andy Ofiesh, and it's not just because I spent hours and hours eating kabobs in the middle of the night in Scotland with them. The "Untrainables" always crack me up (Renata Tutko, Nate Johnson, Sean Sullivan, Ken Reid). I always loved the late, great Gilda Radner. Oh, and Bea Arthur, RIP.

What is the best comedy show you've seen?

Does a clown piece I saw in Brazil count? I howled with laughter and terror the entire time. It was brilliant. As far as stand-up goes, I can't pinpoint just one. There's usually a moment in ever show I've seen that just tickles me to the core.

ANDY OFIESH

It would be easy to label Andy Ofiesh's Naked Comedy Showcase, which he hosts the first Wednesday of every month at ImprovBoston, as a stunt. After all, it is naked people doing comedy. Ofiesh admits that's a pretty good way to get attention, but to dismiss the show, and Ofiesh himself, as a novelty would be to miss out on a surprisingly innovative show and a whipsmart local comedian. Ofiesh has distinguished himself, dressed and undressed, in the local scene with a wicked, sometimes off-color sense of humor, and is a happy fixture of the Boston scene.

How long have you been playing in Boston?

Eleven years.

What are your favorite places to play?

Comedy Studio and ImprovBoston.

Who are your favorite musicians, locally and nationally?

Locally I really like Gumbo Diablo, and not just because the lead singer is my roommate. More famously, I like White Stripes (or related groups), and Red Hot Chilli Peppers

What is the best music show you’ve seen?

River Rave in 2004. There were a ton of great acts, but the best was P.O.D. tried to turn Gillette Stadium into a mosh pit, and then invited a bunch of kids on stage to sing Youth of the Nation with them.

Discount Variety Interviews: The Grownup Noise and Ken Reid

It’s the third Thursday of May, which means www.FunnyGrownHere.com Presents… Discount Variety is up at the CinemaSalem Café tonight (start time: 8:30). This month, we have The Grownup Noise, who can fairly be called the house band for Boston comedy for their involvement with the Walsh Brothers and ImprovBoston, and Ken Reid, who has forgotten more about pop culture than the folks at Best Week Ever can hope to know, plus Robby Roadsteamer’s Quiet Desperation videos. Here’s a closer look at this month’s line-up.

KEN REID

BIO: Called a “pop culture maven” by the Boston Globe, Boston native Ken Reid has been performing for over 10 years in various capacities. In 1995 he formed the seminal Boston Punk Rock group “30 Seconds Over Tokyo” at Boston’s infamous “Rat” club. Reid’s unique, and very personal story telling style has gained him a loyal fanbase in the area, and in April 2007 his first one man show “Ken Reid’s Cusack Attack” was a sold out affair at the Boston Center for the Arts. In addition Ken is a founding member of comedy troupe The Untrainables, who have been hosts of the “Great and Secret Comedy Show” at Improv Boston since March of 2007.

How long have you been playing in Boston?

I was in a band when I was in high school and we were active from about 1995 - 1999 in the Boston area. For Comedy I started doing comedy when I moved back to Boston from the UK in late 2003. So about 6 years for comedy.

What are your favorite places to play?

The Comedy Studio is usually the most consistently fun place to play. Some of the shows the Anderson Comedy kids run are fun, doing shows in non traditional venues like Rock Clubs is hit or miss, but when the shows are good, they are great. When I was doing music, i always love playing at the Rat.

Who are your favorite musicians, locally and nationally?

I'm fairly out of touch with what's current in the Boston music scene, I kind of stopped paying attention in the late 90s. But I think Mission of Burma and the Pixies are still playing on occasion aren't they? They are some of my all time favorites. Nationally nothing new ish has really set me on fire. I think the last new band I got into was the National. All time favorites include, Prince, The Sound (easily the most underrated band of the 80s), the Afghan Whigs, and I listen to a lot of soul music.

What is the best music show you've seen?

This is tough, when I was a teenager I was out seeing music shows a minimum of three nights a week and it's all kind of a blur, but some shows that really stand out:
Nick Cave at the Roxy was great.
Mike Watt at Avalon in 95 or so with a huge band that included Dave Grohl, Eddie Veddar, Evan Dando and a bunch more in a mid 90s alt rock supergroup.
Puffy Ami-Yumi at the Paradise put on such an amazing arena level show in a smaller venue, great stuff.
Guitar Wolf and the Cramps at Avalon in 95, amazing.
Lou Barlow and the New Folk Implosion upstairs the Middle East on Halloween 2002.
The Descendents, Bouncing Souls and the Swingin' Utters at the Middle East some time in the mid 90s.
New Order for two shows at Brixton Academy in London in 01.

THE GROWNUP NOISE

BIO: Since 2005, The Grownup Noise has been celebrated for its playful and poignant brand of indie-folk. Tasteful use of dynamics, varying instruments; including a lead cellist and unusual covers, are just part of the Grownup Noise's ever-evolving live production. All this under the comfortable blanket of simple, quality songwriting. With a true love for song, The Grownup Noise delivers melody and lyrics while conducting subtle experiments on arrangement. As goes the band's motto, "melody, melody, melody, groove, groove, melody. And maybe try to say something funny". The result: pop music, hold the cheese.

How long have you been playing in Boston?

We've been fledgeling in Boston now for about 4 yrs.

What are your favorite places to play?

The old Paradise Lounge, Lizard Lounge, Johnny D's, Mid-East. Or wherever anyone will have us.

Who are your favorite comedians, locally and nationally?

Locally, The Walsh Bros. and many of the comedians on the old Great and Secret scene. Nationally: Katt Williams, Louis CK, Patton Oswalt.

What is the best comedy show you've seen?

Locally, several amazing and forgotten, drunken shows at the old Improv Boston's "Great and Secret show"

Discount Variety Tonight at CinemaSalem

It’s the third Thursday in April, which means tonight is the third edition of FunnyGrownHere.com Presents… Discount Variety at the CinemaSalem Café (One East India Square, 8:30PM). The weather’s nice, the commuter rail is running, and there’s no excuse not to come out to see piano songstress Liz DeBiase and comedian Maria Ciampa, who will also bring a few shorts for our video segment.

LIZ DEBIASE

BIO: "Liz DeBiase is a talented singer-songwriter whose music is both spirited and complex. Propelled by her mesmerizing piano riffs, DeBiase's sweet, lilting voice carries these songs to a higher plane. Sensual, sweet, dark, haunting, melancholy...take your pick DeBiase covers all of the bases on Loop and more. If your looking for one of Boston's finest up and coming songstresses, look no further, Liz DeBiase has arrived."
--- Doug Sloane(Metronome Magazine-Boston, MA

How long have you been playing in Boston?

Ten years.

What are your favorite places to play?

The Kendall Cafe (I miss it so), The Burren, The Middle East, & Les Zygomates (great piano).

Who are your favorite comedians, locally and nationally?

Tina Fey and the cast of 30 Rock, Dave Chappelle and my old high school peer...Tammy Pescatelli.

What is the best comedy show you've seen?

Probably tonight with Maria!

MARIA CIAMPA

BIO: Maria Ciampa has been writing, performing, and directing comedy since 2002. An alumna of Boston’s Improv Asylum’s Mainstage, She is producing the 2009 ImprovBoston Women In Comedy Festival, happening May 13 -16, 2009, and was a featured stand up comedian at the 2009 North Carolina Comedy Arts Festival. Maria is also teaching yoga, writing a book, and editing a series of comedy shorts called "Interviews With My Husband", all the while wondering who coined the phrase "coined the phrase".

How long have you been playing in Boston?

I have been doing improv comedy since 2002, and I started to focus more on stand up in 2007.

What are your favorite places to play?

Comedy Studio, Mottley's, and anywhere there are people who like laughing, like nursing homes and the companies I temp at.

Who are your favorite musicians, locally and nationally?

Locally, right now I'm listening to a lot of DJ / producer Justin Carr, and when my sister Elena Ciampa does any kids music shows in Northampton, I try to make that before they sell out, those kids are vicious with the ticket sales. Favorite musicians of all time are Bjork, Tribe Called Quest, and Orbital. I just bought the new Feist album with all the dirty electro remixes on iTunes and I listened to that on a loop many times. I'm also into all the new folky types, like Ingrid Michaelson, William Fitzsimmons, and Cary Brothers - I like how they are getting techy remixes to their calm stuff too. It's a nice mix of the two worlds.

What is the best music show you’ve seen?

That's gotta be a tie between my first ever concert in 1986, which was the Indigo Girls at St. Anselm's College in NH where my sister Elena was attending, and DJ Justin Carr at a Kingsize event, I think at Roxy/Underbar a few months ago. But I also love it when my sister Sarah sings along to "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" when she plays guitar hero. Her whammy bar usage and dance moves are through the roof.

FunnyGrownHere.com Presents... Discount Variety Tonight!

Tonight is the second edition of FunnyGrownHere.com Presents… Discount Variety at the Cinema Salem Café (One East India Square, 8:30PM). If you’re thinking of heading out to the show, or you’re on the fence about coming out, here’s a bit of info about tonight’s performers, singer/songwriter Danielle Miraglia and video ventriloquist Even O’Television. We’ll also have videos from Hard Left Productions, and I will be hosting. So if you have a car or access to the commuter rail, come out to Salem tonight for some music, comedy, and video shorts.

DANIELLE MIRAGLIA

Bio: Raised just outside of Boston in Revere, MA, where its famous beach is better known for girls with big hair than its history as a popular tourist attraction, Miraglia was raised on a variety of popular music, from her parent's Motown records to the classic rock influences like The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin that encouraged her to learn to play guitar at thirteen. A passion for the arts and an outstanding gift for writing lead her to Emerson College in Boston's downtown theater district. After graduating with a degree in Creative Writing, she put her writing skills, originally intended for novels, towards songwriting and began performing at open mike nights in the Boston area. This set in motion what would become a full-time career in music.

How long have you been playing in Boston?

It’s been 10 years since the first time I ever played original songs on a stage at the now defunct Kendall Café in Cambridge.

What are your favorite places to play?

Anyplace where people are there specifically for the music.

Who are your favorite comedians, locally and nationally?

Favorites of all time, George Carlin, Steve Martin, Steven Wright and I’m obsessed with Bill Hicks. I have a very annoying habit of pointing out every little thing that anyone has ever ripped off from him. I still feel like he’s never really gotten enough credit for how much influence he's had on comedy. I also love Dave Chappelle, Bill Maher and Louis C.K.

What is the best comedy show you’ve seen?

I’ve seen some greats live. I’m thankful to have seen George Carlin before he died and I’ve seen Margaret Cho, and Steven Wright, but they were in such large venues, it’s not the same vibe as seeing a comedian in a small club. It was more like “Wow, I can’t believe that’s one of my favorite comedians in person!” than “Wow, what a great show!” I think the most energetic and greatest live comedy shows I’ve seen have been any that involved Kevin Knox. He just has the gift of great intense delivery. He can say anything and it’s funny. It's been a while and I don't remember the material itself at this point, but I just remember the whole room rumbling.

EVAN O’TELEVISION

Bio: Evan O' Television has been dazzling and perplexing audiences with his one-man-double-act and video ventriloquism since 1995. For a decade Evan also served as a co-founder and resident Artistic Co-Director of the underground performing arts space, PAN 9. In 2007 he was profiled in An Encyclopedia of Vaudeville Performers by Routledge Press. "Double Negatives," Evan's full-length solo theatrical work premiered at the Perishable Theatre in March 2008 and will be appearing in new venues throughout 2009.

How long have you been playing in Boston?

I have been performing in Boston since 1994. I first learned about Television in 1995.

What are your favorite places to play?

The Coolidge Corner is delightful. The Cambridge YMCA is invigorating. The Comedy Studio has an adventurous audience. The Perishable Theatre is my home away from home. But the living room at my old loft (PAN 9) always contained the folks that returned my love the most reciprocally.

Who are your favorite musicians, locally and nationally?

I am lucky enough that much of my favorite music is made by people I know. In Boston, Fluttr Effect, HUMANWINE, The Dresden Dolls, Goli, Beat Circus, and Hallelujah The Hills are the folks I try not to miss. I also love the Steamy Bohemians!

And Danielle, I got to share the stage with Danielle once before at club Passim (for one of Peter Dutton's shows) and she was singing some real 'shake you to your bones' music. She's got that powerful kind of voice that will spirit you down from the mountains to hear it.

Nationally, my tastes run pretty eclectic. I am just as likely to listen to underground hip-hop like Oddissee, Quasimodo or Hell Razah as I am the latest from Wilco, Dylan or Gillian Welch. I am sad Sleater-Kinney doesn't tour any more and Sun Kil Moon is a recent favorite.

What is the best music show you’ve seen?

Once at Pan 9, Jonah Rapino of Devil Music brought in this Japanese band called Ghost that was led by woman named Chiaki Yoshihara. (I later learned there was another Japanese band named Ghost, as well).

Anyway, the taxi driving the band had gotten in a car accident, and so by a fluke of timing they ended up headlining our show by default-- even though we had never seen them play before. From the moment they started playing, the room thundered with this epic orchestral-punk music. Chiaki Yoshihara was like this wild fusion of Lou Reed and PJ Harvey. That show was the closest I have ever gotten to outer space.

Last year the most stunning and amazing show I saw was a woman named Merill Garbus who plays under the name tUnE-YaRdS. The year before that, it was Sxip Shirrey (who sometimes plays with Brian Viglione of the Dresden Dolls). He completely blew me away.

I think Brian Carpenter of Beat Circus puts together some of the best shows in Boston, when you go to them you really don't want to miss a single act.

Discount Variety Kicks Off Tonight at CinemaSalem Cafe

Tonight is the official kickoff of FunnyGrownHere.com Presents... Discount Variety. You may have noticed the funny little button at the top right of the screen. That takes you to the Facebook group with links, future guests, and show info. Take a look and join the group for regular updates.

Tonight, the musical guest is Hugh McGowan, a longtime regular on the Boston folk scene and an accomplished songwriter and musician, and Renata Tutko, who will be showing some videos and doing some stand-up. I will be hosting and doing a bit of comedy and music to warm things up. Here's a bit of a preview of McGowan and Tutko.

McGowan plays his song "Venus:"



Tutko in a video short with the sketch group The Untrainables: