Here we go….

My plan, as announced via the 52 Shows FB page, was to see Harvey Mapcase, The Easy Reasons, Mount Peru and Brendan Boogie & The Broken Gates at TT the Bears. Throughout the day, I checked the show’s event page on Facebook. Those pages serve as the dashboard/nerve-center of every local music gig – if something is going to change, you will find out there first. Bear that in mind before you shut off event notification. Pete Zeigler of The Easy Reasons addressed concerns throughout the day and assured everyone the show was still a go. With a blizzard less than 24-hours in the rearview, this was a smart move by Pete as the concerns were valid…turns out they were extremely valid.

My girlfriend and I pre-gamed a couple of beers before leaving, mostly to prepare ourselves to be numbed to the cold. The snow wasn’t falling anymore but it was still cold enough outside that a sharp breath drawn in through the nostrils left one with the momentary sensation of having just chugged a Slurpee. Add to that, the city of Cambridge had done its usual just-enough-to-congratulate-itself job of clearing the snow and the reasons to just stay in were starting to look pretty appealing. But, that’s the point of this blog – to show you why getting off your ass may just be worth it. I like staying in in the winter, too. I have just learned to like music more.

That said, we DID decide that an extra beer was worth the cost of an UberX, so we hailed one at 8:21 pm and found ourselves at the front door of TTs, at the corner of Brookline and Green Street 5 bucks and 8 minutes later. That put us there just in time for the advertised start of Brendan Boogie & The Broken Gates. The wind and unplowed sidewalks reflexively re-directed my eyes toward my boots, so I was un-prepared to find that when I yanked on the handle of TTs’ front door, the door stood still – locked tight. A quick look in the window showed the lights on and the building empty. I was modestly annoyed to find that no one had written any sort of explanation on the white board outside, but then determined that it was pointless to be upset about it – it’s not like there was any doubt the show was cancelled.

I shrugged and offered my girlfriend a beer from the Middle East Corner, which is literally the next door down at the corner of Mass Ave. We walked in and it was DEAD. For those of you unfamiliar with the labyrinthian Middle East layout, it is three restaurants (The Middle East, ZuZu and The Corner – each which often host small musical acts) on top of one large club (The Downstairs), with another midsized-club in the back (The Upstairs). Both the Upstairs and Downstairs are accessed THROUGH the restaurants, so to find any part of it dead on a Friday night was pretty shocking.

The patrons outnumbered the bartenders 10-2. The Corner only has about a dozen bar stools, and there was room to sit when we arrived. After ordering a $4.50 Sam Winter for her and a $7.50 Johnnie Walker Black for me, we sat down. After assuring the affable drunk next to me that I was not, in fact, a man named Vic that he was waiting for and politely declining his offer for an Irish Car Bomb, I realized that the four gentlemen drinking to my right were the members of Brendan Boogie & The Broken Gates.

They told me what had happened with TTs. Turns out that the show WAS indeed a go…until someone tried to use a toilet during sound check and discovered that the pipes had frozen. Total bummer. I spent a few minutes catching up with Brendan and his bandmate Scott (who I knew from his work in the Steve Walther Orchestra). The members of his band are emblematic of many of the musicians in Boston – involved in multiple projects. Boogie, himself is no different. By my observation he has fluttered between The Broken Gates, The Best Intentions, Scamper, Low Static Romance, and Parlour Bells in the few years that I’ve known him. I thought this show, which featured many other multi-project artists as well would be a good way to illustrate that “to know one is to know many”. I think that makes the scene feel more accessible – you don’t need to keep track of a whole heck of a lot of a people to get to know one heck of a lot of bands. Is everyone friendly? No. But some are and Boogie is one of them. I meet Boogie in 2009 when he made it a point to be one of only two people introducing himself to the guy no one knew at a Rock N Roll Social Networking Event at the Model Cafe.

I should also point out that I have no idea what Boogie’s actual name is. Nor do I think he has any idea what my real name is (or that Mick Greenwood isn’t my real name). But, in the dozens of times I’ve spoken or worked with him since 2009, it’s never come up and I doubt it ever will. That’s another hallmark of the Boston Music Scene – member, fan, casual observer – you are who you say you are. Good luck getting that treatment at any of the popped-collar parties in the Alley.

As we finished our drinks, I scanned the local venue calendars on my phone. Owing largely to the holiday, I’m sure – the options were surprisingly scarce. I had previously ruled out checking the calendar at Great Scott because Fridays for the last 16 years have been used to host “The Pill” – a dance-party night, which I would love to have had a chance to review as part of this endeavor, but it didn’t feel like the right fit for the first night. Boogie reminded me that The Pill had recently ended its legendary run – so I checked the schedule and saw that Mean Creek (a band I had been wanting to see in person for quite some time) was headlining the night. Great Scott is 2.36 miles away from the Middle East – across the dreaded Charles River in Allston Rock City.

Despite the friendly atmosphere inside the Middle East Corner – talkative bartenders, pleasant company and fairly priced drinks – I didn’t want to give up on my first story so easily. So, we said our goodbyes, paid our tab to Bob the bowl-cutted bartender and hopped in another UberX.

– Mick Greenwood

Read part 2: (Show #1A)