If you’re thirsty for a type of music that’s “too hard for the average cafe,” head to the Lilypad Rock Cafe, a two- or three-times-per-week concept that marries shared workspace and hangout spot energies in the comfy confines of the Inman Square venue.
Bring a laptop, the Wi-Fi floweth. Grab a drink at the bar, the beer, wine and nonalcoholic drinks floweth. Soak in the surreal designs of house muralist Dan Masi while enjoying free AC.
I reached out to the venue for some insight into the past, present and future of Lilypad Rock Cafe and got zilch in reply. I know they received the message because Jesse Gallagher, the director of programming, followed me on my personal Instagram account shortly thereafter. I C U, Jesse. Thanks for the follow, I guess?
I’d rather get answers to my hard-hitting journalistic queries, but I’ll take what I can get in the sultry and soporific summer months.
What I really wanted to suss out is the sense of “hard” in the tagline promoting a type of music that’s “too hard for the average cafe.” There are at least two possible senses in the phrase.
“Hard,” as in “heavy,” “loud” or “raucous.” There’s a big market for that kind of music, but not usually in cafes because it’s hard to get work done or have a friendly conversation over coffee while your face is melting off in the unholy vortex of 100-plus decibels.
Alternatively, “hard,” as in “complex,” “challenging” or “difficult to grasp.” Various sorts of jazz, progressive, classical and generally experimental music get this label. Music that pushes boundaries. In practice, the label functions as a warning to the habitually uncurious, whose music tastes stopped evolving in their mid-20s, to stay far away. As annoying as “middle-aged jazz aficionado” types are, the “the Pixies show at MGM Music Hall was the first concert I attended since 1991” crowd is worse.
The Lilypad Rock Cafe takes all comers. During a visit last week the music was neither too loud nor too complex. Goldilocks would’ve said it was “just right.” As of now, the cafe schedule is a bit variable, so check out the online calendar for exact hours.
Or shoot the Lilypad an email – maybe you’ll have more luck than I did.
Hit this
Sunday: Willie Fest II (The Rockwell, Somerville)
Hot Willie Summer: Round Two in the black box basement of Davis Square. The Somerville candidate for mayor has been pounding the pavement with fundraisers during the hot months when most mainstream candidates are enjoying daiquiris on the Cape. But if you’re trying to unseat an entrenched incumbent, you’ve got to put in the work. A four-band indie rock bill will help Willie do it. Your Friends In Hell craft goth folk ditties. Chiptuners Battlemode has been having a banner year with a Boston Calling appearance. Mallcops always draws a crowd (not to jinx it). And I’ve been digging the psych punk ’n’ roll of The Love Shamans EP “The Forgotten Garden” lately. Go raise some funds and hear what Willie has to say.
Monday: 81355 (Warehouse XI, Somerville)
Indianapolis hip-hop comes to Sanborn Court. The group 81355 signed to Justin Vernon’s label 37d03d to release the album “24h3#$Ss.” Just kidding about that album title – that would be a fucking ridiculous name! The group’s latest album is called “Bad Dogs,” and it’s full of easy-listening hip-hop experimentation. Funny how the emotional woodsman and autotune enthusiast Bon Iver got hip-hop credentials after collaborating with Kanye. How’s that relationship these days? No opener listed at the time of writing, but expect that to change once Get To The Gig flips through the rolodex.
Aug. 1: Exit Fame (Middle East, Cambridge)
When in doubt, throw all the hip-hop spaghetti at the wall. Exit Fame is the nominal headliner. I suppose he’s performing last on a big bill? He brands himself a Christian rapper and released an LP last March called “Kill Judas.” Oof. Judas gets terrible press. I always thought the portrayal of Judas in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Jesus Christ Superstar” was remarkably sympathetic. He was an ideologue doing yeoman’s work in a political movement for social and economic justice. And he wore a fantastic red jumpsuit. Cut Judas some slack and go get your money’s worth with special guest spots by Seefour, Brandi Blaze, Sumit, Haiden Leblanc, Mathematics and the MBM Family.
Live: Cambridge Porchfest
The digital signboard outside Aetna Lighting Service Inc. advertised a steamy 90 degrees. Hot times on the streets of Cambridgeport. But most of the artists at the inaugural Cambridge Porchfest were wise to the weather, setting up their stages in shaded nooks around the neighborhood on Saturday.
DJs, country strummers, folkies, honkers and more entertained family-friendly crowds at homeowner-friendly volumes. Indie folkers Scrivener performed on a porch (ahem, “deck” – although the “Deckfest” branding initiative kind of withered on the vine …) and played to a backyard full of Cantabrigians on Franklin Street.
Glad Valley took over a side lot on Auburn Street, full of children blowing bubbles instead of the usual crush of parked cars. The indie rock trio belted out bluesy, rootsy tunes with jammy solos that glided atop the summer breeze.
Singer-songwriter Tony Flackett pulled good numbers on Erie Street. He wowed the crowd with an anti-Trump protest song. Is he shooting fish in a barrel, playing to the political persuasions of a predominantly liberal audience? Sure, not a problem. There are some fish in some barrels that need some shooting. Like they say in 1980s action flicks: “Lock and load!”
“Porchfest” continued on Sunday with a schedule of music events hosted by Central Square businesses. Let’s keep Day Two in scare quotes, because porches need not apply. The Massavenaires folked at Phoenix Landing. Alreckque rocked at Middle East. Chicken Slacks funked at Cantab Lounge. Residents and out-of-towners enjoyed a day of music dropping in and out of the storefronts nestled along Massachusetts Avenue.
Day Two was not a Porchfest – and it doesn’t need to be. There’s a different model in play here that lands somewhere between your classic Boston Calling-type fest and a true grassroots-driven, community-type Porchfest.
I’ve reported elsewhere on the decentralized music festival New Colossus, a multiday spectacle that stages shows under the same banner in the myriad clubs dotting the Lower East Side in New York City. With its dense cluster of venues and storefronts, Central Square has the infrastructure to pull off something similar.
What do you say, Cambridge Arts? Let’s make one good thing into two better things. Run back Cambridge Porchfest as a neighborhood group-driven event, and spin off a separate commerce-driven event that platforms music in the more professional surroundings of our local stages and storefronts.
To paraphrase the esteemed Jason Mraz, “I want us to have it all.”
Michael Gutierrez is an author, educator, activist and editor-in-chief at Hump Day News.
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