CIRCLE OF TOP THREE

Lolita: I know everyone has a person they’d like to sit next to, or someone they don’t want to sit next to, but please people! Let’s just get this together. Nick, will you give us your top three before a fight breaks out on the other side of the room? NICK BLAKEY (The In Out): Top Three of 2008: Album: Rick Berlin Old Stag; Song: the Dirty Truckers “So So Numb”; Live show: the Figgs/the Rudds, Church 3/1/08. ***MISS LYN (Boston Groupie News): Top Three Guys in Tight Pants: Joey Boy (Red Invasion); Rick Barton (Everybody Out!); Cam Ackland (the Prime Movers). ***KEVIN PATEY (Combat Jack Management): Top Three Shows of 2008: Darkbuster Hometown Throwup—eight shows in eight days! Showcase show with Jason Bennett & the Resistance, Have Nots, Swaggerin’ Growlers, and Chris Keating. New Collisions at Middle East. *** PETE SUTTON (Temper): Top Three things I look forward to seeing local music: (1) Beer in a plastic cup. (2) Band that’s only been together a couple of months saying, “we’re gonna play a new one now.” (3) Smokin’ outside with authentic rock dudes. *** SCOTT ANDERSON (Cemetery Superfly): Top Three reasons bands play live shows: (1) They love showing up early for soundcheck and waiting three hours to play while the sound guy is home sleeping! (2) The exercise they get from moving their equipment at shows from the hallway to the bathroom to the stage to the street is better than Buns of Steel! (3) Any moment could be a Def Leppard moment on stage... assuming there is a stage! *** MIKE CANN (BostonFreedomRally.com): Top Three Music Acts That Won Massachusetts Decriminalized Cannabis in 2008. (1) Graveyard BBQ. When do the Boston Police and High Times agree on anything? Graveyard BBQ crowned wildest set at the 2008 Rally. The NC17 rated party that working class moms, hipsters, stoners, strippers, hardcore kids, and cops love. (2) Superpower. Dave Tree wrote “God Grows Grass” with his old act, he’s never stopped supporting the sweet leaf. (3) Prospect Hill. Made it okay to support Question 2 in the burbs. Pushed the kids out of the malls, into the voting booths. Adam sings to the pretty female fans, we win. *** CARLENE BAROUS (Din/ Temper): Top Three socks-knockin’ live performances 2008: the Buckners at O’Brien’s in December; MOWE (My Own Worst Enemy) at Church in June; and Amanda Palmer at Symphony Hall in June. *** JOE COUGHLIN (the Noise): (1) Mission of Burma is STILL at it! (2) Men & Volts are revamped, playing out again, and doing stuff from their catalog that was never performed live before. (3) WMBR, in general, and for streaming all shows online for two weeks after airing (www.wmbr.org). *** SAMMY MIAMI (HoundStone): Best Vocalist: Ward Hayden. Best guitarist: Danny Zug. Best radio show: Bay State Rock with Carmelita. *** MR. CURT (…Ensemble/ Urban Caravan): Nothing is absolute, but here are three of my fave newest CDs released by localites in 2008: (1) Rick Berlin: Old Stag; (2) The Accident That Led Me to the World: The Island Gospel; (3) Patty Larkin: Watch the Sky. Runner-ups: Sal Baglio: The Gift; Jon Macey & Steve Gilligan: “Everything Under the Sun”; Sgt. Maxwell’s Peace Chorus: The Military EP; Glenn Williams: Freely Breathing; Chillgroove: Juju; Folksonomy: Trepanning; Eksi Ekso: I Am Your Bastard Wings; Amanda Palmer: Who Killed Amanda Palmer?; and LowBudget Records instrumental sampler: A Chosen Phew! *** PETER RINNIG (QRST’s): Top live band: the Neighborhoods. They can play better then anybody—any age—anytime! Best selling T-shirt (from QRST’s): the Rat. We sell more Rat shirts then any other T-shirt affiliated with music in Boston. I honestly do not think that many people have been to the Rat in its heyday. But I could be mistaken. Rita: Thousands of people passed through the doors of the Rat in its heyday. But everyone likes to honor a lost iconic club. Long live the Rat. Long live the Abbey, Bunratty’s, the Underground, Jacks, Jumpin’ Jack Flash, Chet’s Last Call, Down Under, Johnny D’s (in Allston), Streets, Green Street Station, fill in your favorite closed club. Lolita: You don’t have to wait for a club to close to honor it. There are many clubs today right around Boston that deserve praise—the Middle East, the Cantab, Johnny D’s, the Midway, Great Scott, Church, the Paradise, the Milkyway, the Lizard Lounge, T.T. the Bear’s, Harper’s Ferry, Toad, All Asia, O’Briens, Copperfields, the Alchemist, Bill’s Bar, Atwoods, Club Passim, PA’s Lounge, Sally O’Brien’s, the Precinct, Zuzu, Matt Murphy’s—and that’ just the ones in town I can think of off the top of my head. Support these businesses and others like them because they support live music. Now let’s move onto the news of today—the stuff that becomes part of tomorrow’s history.