The “first ever” Boston Fringe Festival (May 6-11) has come to, eh … Somerville!
Don’t tell the Boston University Fringe Festival, which is actually in Boston and in its 28th season. But why split hairs? The more fringe, the better. And you could hardly pick a fringier spot than The Rockwell theatre in Davis Square for new, exciting, edgy and oddball productions outside the mainstream.
Elsewhere in the world, fringe festivals are big business. The famous Edinburgh Fringe Festival lasts almost a month and sells more than 2 million tickets. That’s a lot of meat in the seats.
A Somerville Fringe isn’t going to have that kind of draw. Certainly not straight out of the gate. But reflect for a moment on the turnout we’re getting for Somerville Porchfest. Holy moly, look at the map of participating bands. A tidal wave of music spilling from Alewife Brook Parkway to Washington Street. The theater community probably looks at that and thinks to themselves: “Why not us?”
Good question. Why not?
The inaugural Fringe edition includes a mix of “full-length” shows (45 minutes) and “shorty” shows (25 minutes), running the gamut from tragedy to comedy to Defcon 1 levels of absurdity. For fans of a “wild, clown-fueled adventure,” go see “Jackie & Allison Into the Multiverse.” If you like your murder mysteries mixed with contemporary dance, try “Facts & Figures.” Or how about “Spiritual Advisors,” four plays by the Asian American Playwright Collective?
One full-length production caught my eye in particular: “The Wrath of the Selkie,” a blend of live music, puppetry and movement arts into a story about the selkie, the seal-woman of Celtic folklore (Thursday and Saturday). I recognized the playwright Growler Graves as a member of Thou Merciless Graves, a local music collective. Apparently, the collective does a lot more than music, because it banded together to produce this rock opera, which, along with being a genre-bending maritime folktale, serves as an allegory for Growler’s 18-month battle with breast cancer.
A folktale, a gripping allegory and a 20-foot eel puppet. This is what the fringe is all about.
Hit this
Saturday: Somerville Porchfest (Porches, Somerville)
The citywide music banger that needs no introduction: Somerville Porchfest. After last year’s “Guster Affair,” there have been some restrictions added to the day. Certain streets are now off-limits for performances. Ostensibly to improve safety. The powers that be would be fools to tap the brakes too hard, lest the event lose the bottom-up air of spontaneity that makes it great. I’m already starting to get bad vibes about the inaugural Cambridge Porchfest (or “Deckfest”) due in July, that, so far, feels like a jamboree for nonprofit admins on their grant allocation steez instead of a day for local music. Prove me wrong.
Sunday: Baroness (The Sinclair, Cambridge)
Prog metal comes to Harvard Square. Cannonade percussion, aggressive riffs, high-speed solos for miles, all targeted with pinpoint precision. Baroness is built for excitement. You know what’s not built for excitement? PR copy. The band hasn’t updated their bio since … the end of 2017? Ah well, nothing of significance has happened since then. Besides, the band has been kicking around for 20 years. You know what you have with them. Metal lifers. Their latest album “Stone” shows they haven’t lost a whit of speed off their fastball.
Tuesday: Mamalarky, Kennedy Mann, Doss (The Rockwell, Somerville)
I keep waiting for L.A.’s Mamalarky to blow up. Maybe they will, and then you can brag that you saw the indie rockers “way back when” in the cozy confines of The Rockwell, 36 miles below the surface of the Earth. What’s the Mamalarky sound like? I’ve compared it elsewhere to Steely Dan by virtue of their swank and sophistication. Add a little Deerhoof into the mix as well. There are a few too many curlicues crammed into their latest LP “Hex Key,” but the gloves come off in live performance. Kennedy Mann and local Doss make this a strong bill, top to bottom.
May 16: Indian Ocean (Somerville Theatre, Somerville)
Raga meets rock, jazz, folk and more. Indian Ocean has been showing the world how to do fusion right for decades. There have been some lineup changes since they formed in New Delhi in 1990, but the musical vision of the band remains true to form. The event page says you shouldn’t miss this concert for three reasons: “A Nostalgic Journey,” “New Masterpieces” and “Unparalleled Performances,” which is a buffet of persuasion I can’t improve upon. Let me just shout out the band’s website, an immersive 3D environment the likes of which you haven’t experienced since playing first-person shooters such as Doom in the ’90s.
Live at McCarthy’s (and Toad)
The McCarthy’s-Toad two-headed monster reopened for business a few weeks back. The early returns are good for music lovers. I walked into the Porter Square spot around 7 p.m. on a Monday to discover no less than three acts performing, or preparing to perform, on what is typically the slowest and dreariest night of the week. If this is the kind of energy the establishment brings on a Monday, what are the weekends like?
Immediately upon stepping across the threshold I was greeted with the traditional folk strains of a guitar and bagpipe duo. Or maybe an uilleann pipe. At least I was certain about the brand of the beer sitting in front of the pair as they dutifully churned out mood music during Hour One of a three-hour block of traditional folk, scheduled seven days a week at McCarthy’s. It was Guinness.
Upstairs guitar duo Zion Rodman and Christian Colegrove were emceeing an open mic. Each are solo musicians in their own right, but join forces regularly as musical partners as well as co-organizers of open mics around town. They host the McCarthy’s open mic every Monday night and a monthly version at Medford Brewing Co. If the sign-up sheet isn’t full enough, Rodman and Colegrove turn the event into their own concert, crafting a kind of folk rock blend full of harmonies.
If you’re looking for a vibe shift, head back downstairs and through the second threshold to Toad. Music at the local favorite has returned after a long dormancy. A quartet of Gypsy Jazz musicians lit up the stage. Whereas the traditional folk in the front room provides atmosphere, the open mic interactive fun, the performance at Toad felt like the connoisseur’s option. A professional act doing its thing. Pick your poison, they’ll all get you better.
One request: Can we do something about the sound bleed from the front room into Toad? Bagpipes are lovely, but a jazz ensemble shouldn’t have to compete with their strident warbling.
Michael Gutierrez is an author, educator, activist and editor-in-chief at Hump Day News.
A stronger
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