Headlining the World Contamination Tour, My Chemical Romance made their long-awaited return to Boston for a Thursday night show at The House of Blues. In support of their recently released fourth studio album, “Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys,” the band brought along Kansas City based indie-rock band The Architects, along with long-time friends Thursday. Both openers played quick sets of around seven songs, before turning the stage over to Gerard Way and company. My Chemical Romance took control of the stage and proceeded to play songs from their entire discography to a sold out house of fans.

My Chemical Romance will be back in Boston again on August 9, supporting none other than Blink-182 at The Comcast Center. Also, make sure to check out Thursday at The House of Blues when they come around on July 20. During their set earlier this month, they made sure to inform fans that their set would be much longer than the mere seven songs that they played that night. Additionally, they’ll be with Taking Back Sunday. What do you have to lose?

Headlining a tour which shares the name of their recently released album, political-punk act Rise Against spent two nights playing shows at The House of Blues last weekend in Boston. The band brought along Massachusetts-based Four Year Strong to open for them, followed by the well known punk band Bad Religion. Both openers drew a large number of fans; more than at an average show. Four Year Strong’s set was on the short side, Bad Religion played more than fifteen songs, and Rise Against wrapped the night up with closer to twenty songs, from fan favorites to brand new ones off of Endgame.

As was the worst-kept secret in Boston last week, Bruce Springsteen joined the Dropkick Murphys onstage at the House of Blues in Boston to perform “Peg O’ My Heart,” “Badlands,” and “I’m Shipping Up to Boston.”

If you were there, we hope you had so much fun. If you missed this legendary St. Patrick’s music treat, you can check it out below:

The boss also appears in the band’s latest album “Going Out In Style” as a guest performer for “Peg O’ My Heart,” which Blast reviewed, of course.

Will the Dropkick Murphys bring out The Boss tonight at House of Blues?

Several media outlets, including the Boston Herald, are shouting that Bruce Springsteen will appear on stage with the Irish rockers at House of Blues Boston.

Lansdowne Street is expected to be insane. The show has been sold out for weeks and even the HoB guest list is packed.

Both the pop-infused Kiss 108 Matty in the Morning show and the indie rock WFNX morning show were buzzing with the news

The Murphys met Springsteen five years ago, when he made another surprise appearance in a New York show. He appears on the band’s latest album.

Chad Stokes, former member of Massachusetts bands, Dispatch and State Radio, will host the final show of his “Calling all Crows” benefit tour at House of Blues on Lansdowne Street on Friday.

A long-time activist on behalf of impoverished individuals in the developing world, Stokes founded the “Calling all Crows” initiative with partner Sybil Gallagher just over three years ago. The organization’s mission is to mobilize musicians and fans to promote the empowerment of women all over the world through service projects. This week, Stokes spoke to Blast Magazine about the upcoming Boston show and goals of the charitable organization he co-founded.

The charity, “Calling all Crows”  takes its name from the State Radio of the same title that was written by Stokes. The singer explained the symbolism of the name:

“We believe that crows are spiritual scavengers who lead us through tough times with knowledge of the underworld,” Stokes told Blast. Though name may require some poetic analysis to figure out, the aim of the organization is much easier to wrap one’s head around:

“The plan is to keep it going until women around the world have equal opportunities,” he stated.

The fund raising efforts of “Calling all Crows,” continue year-round. In the last two years the group has raised around $200,000 to aid women housed in refugee camps in developing nations like Sudan. It is with the annual benefit tour, however, that Stokes and his musical peers are able to engage and mobilize fans to help the cause. At nearly every stop of the seven-city tour, performers and fans have joined up to participate in pre-show projects such as, lunch making afternoons for Burmese refugees and discussion forums. This week’s Boston audience will also be given a philanthropic opportunity during this season of goodwill:

“There’s a write-a-thon on Thursday night (the night before the show) we’re doing with Amnesty International to free political prisoners around the world,” Stokes informed us.

For the show itself, the ex-Dispatch front man will be joined a number of his current label mates and former collaborators. As well running a growing charity organization, Stokes also heads up his own independent record label, Ruff Shod Records. Ruff Shod signings, White Buffalo and Bonnie Paine of the band Elephant Revival will comprise part of Friday’s bill. Singer / songwriter Erin Coughlin, who worked with Stokes during his time with State Radio, will also perform.

The real treat for fans and followers of Chad Stokes’ decade-long career on Friday night will come the moment he is joined on stage by Dispatch band mate, Brad Corrigan. Blast asked Stokes (who will release a solo album in the New Year) if his hometown audience could expect to hear renditions of old favorites by the band whose final show drew thousands to Hatch Shell by the Charles River.

“Yeah I’ve been playing one or two Dispatch songs in my set, as well as some State Radio stuff, then some classic tunes from the 60s and 70s,” said Stokes.

Stokes seemed to downplay the addition of his former band mate to the line-up. Friday, however, marks Brad Corrigan’s only appearance on the “Calling all Crows” tour, and, with the holiday season in full swing, a few surprising musical gifts can surely be anticipated.

As “Calling all Crows” co-founder, event organizer, and performer, Chad Stokes is clearly a busy man this December. But even with more on his to-do list than Chris Cringle this season, his excitement for the tour’s finale is evident. When asked what (if any) the significance of finishing things off in Boston, Stokes’ response was simple and enthusiastic:

“Save the big show for last! – We’re coming home!”

The Calling all Crows benefit show will be held this Friday night at the House of Blues. Tickets are available via Ticketmaster and at the Orpheum Theatre Box Office.

For more information, visit annualbenefitweekend.org or callingallcrows.org

Alternative Press’s annual Fall Tour made its appearance in Boston on November 19 at House of Blues. This year’s tour broke the pattern of primarily pop-punk bands that the tour generally features. Instead, the lineup featured hardcore and metalcore acts which included This Is Hell, Polar Bear Club, Emarosa, August Burns Red, and Bring Me The Horizon. The entire experience of going to Alternative Press Tour was a worthwhile one. In addition to seeing five upcoming, talented bands, AP also sponsored band signings and free sign-ups for subscriptions, which came with bags that contained posters and other gifts.

This Is Hell and Polar Bear Club both play more “old-school” punk/hardcore music, which features fast paced songs with gruff vocals and quick drum beats. The fans of This Is Hell managed to get pretty rowdy during their set and started circle pits after the band’s coaxing. However, for Polar Bear Club, who managed to put more energy into their set, the crowd was more mellowed out. Regardless of the crowd though, each band played a solid show.

Next on the bill for the night came Emarosa, an experimental six-piece rock band from Kentucky. The band has reached a great level of popularity, especially with their latest release; a self-titled effort. The crowd for Emarosa erupted in excitement the second frontman Jonny Craig took the stage. Even with their popularity, and their great performance on stage, Emarosa only played a six song set before giving the stage up to the final two bands.

August Burns Red took the stage in the midst of a storm of strobe lights which was complimented by a backtracked synthesizer. The intro quickly gave way to one of their most popular songs, “Composure,” which simply made the intro seem ironic. The five-piece Christian metalcore band from Lancaster, Pennsylvania went on to play ten more songs (including a drum solo by Matt Greiner) with an unprecedented level of emotion and a crowd going absolutely wild in front of them. Their set was the rowdiest of the night, with crowd surfers pouring over the barricade and moshing taking place all throughout the pit. If it weren’t for Bring Me The Horizon being the more popular of the two bands (which is potentially due to Oli Sykes’ popularity amongst female fans), August Burns Red would have been a valid choice to headline the tour. Without any doubt, they are a talented band with a lot in store for them.

Even after August Burns Red’s eleven song set, once they gave up the stage to Bring Me The Horizon, the crowd was still ready to go. Playing in support of their most recent release There Is A Hell Believe Me I’ve Seen It, There Is A Heaven Let’s Keep It A Secret, Bring Me The Horizon opened with their first single that was released from the album, “It Never Ends.” Needless to say, as the band took the stage, row after row of the crowd yelled at the top of their lungs. The energy stayed around for the entire set as the band played favorites from their last album, Suicide Season, in addition to an old-time favorite from their first full-length, “Pray For Plagues.” In the middle of the song, frontman Oli Sykes called for the crowd to form a wall of death which stretched from one side of the pit to the other. Soon after, the entire pit was engulfed in the frenzy of the wall of death, and “Pray For Plagues” was completed. At this point in the set, it was fairly easy to tell that Oli’s voice had not continued to go downhill with the band’s constant touring, but had instead made a huge improvement since Bring Me The Horizon’s run on this summer’s Vans Warped Tour. As the remainder of their set wound down, they also announced that the show was the largest United States headlining show that they had ever played. As with August Burns Red, Bring Me The Horizon is another young band with a great deal of success ahead of them.

With a slew of hits like “Love Song” and her recent single “King of Anything,” Sara Bareilles is an artist on the rise of full fledge stardom and blooming with potential. On Tuesday night at sold out show at the House of Blues in Boston, Bareilles showed the crowed what she is capable of.

Bareilles busted on stage, sporting a killer pant suit, opening with the infectious “Vegas” from 2007’s Little Voice, proving the rest of the night was going to be easy on the ears for her fans.

First of all, this girl can sing. While it is obvious listening to her three albums that Bareilles is talented, it takes seeing her live to see what her voice can do. Throughout the night, she belted out several “oh my god did she really just hit that note.” Songs like the fan favorite “Gravity” and the heartbreaking ballad “Basket Case” are where the raw talent of her voice shines live.

On stage, the 30 year old songbird is so damn likable. Sassy, witty and penchant for dropping “F” bombs, Bareilles is a singer after this own writer’s heart. In between songs, Bareilles is cracking jokes and telling stories. The Boston crowd ate all of it up.

Bareilles admitted to the crowd that writing her recent album, Kaleidoscope Heart, was like “pulling teeth.” After much soul searching, she ended with 13 tracks that she says can border on “depressing.”

“The great thing about that was I got to see how depressed my fan base was,” Bareilles joked. “The most depressing songs are everyone’s favorites.”

One of the most playful songs of the night was “Gonna Get Over You,” which she dedicated to anyone “with a douchebag in their life.” Bareilles played her biggest hit “Love Song” in the middle of her set as almost every fan in the audience sang along word for word even taking over during the chorus. The feminist anthem “Fairytales” also proved to be a big proud pleaser as Bareilles explained this song is for “little girls to know that sometimes princesses can save themselves.” Her recent single, “King of Anything,” was greeted with the biggest applause of the night as she dedicated the song to “people who need to mind their fucking business.”

The night ended with “Uncharted” which was the perfect way to end an amazing night. Bareilles brought out her two opening acts on stage and had a full out blues styled jam session. The energy was palpable as it filled the House of Blues ending with Bareilles rocking out on top of her piano.

Clearly demonstrating the wide range of talent she has, Bareilles proved she is an artist to look out for.

Marc Griffin’s voice on the phone sounds tired and sick. One would assume it would be the all late night parties and shenanigans that one equates with being a rock star to be the blame. However, that cliche stereotype couldn’t be further from the truth. Food poisoning is actually the culprit. Griffin, of 2AM Club, and the rest of his band mates got food poisoning the night before this interview and are still dealing with its aftermath.

"I wasn’t sure even if I should do this interview but it seemed like the right thing to do," Griffin said.

On September 14, the band’s debut album, What Did You Think Was Going to Happen?, was released. Their first single, "Worry about You," has been receiving heavy radio play.

The members of 2AM Club met the way a lot of bands meet: at college. Freshmen year at University of California Santa Cruz Griffin met Tyler Cordy (vocals) and decided to form a band. The pair got other friends to join (guitarist Matt Reagan, bass guitarist Matt Warshauer, drummer Ian O’Neill and Dave Dalton who is on the keys) and thus a band was formed.

Meeting at college it made perfect sense for the band to make a name for themselves and find their sound through the LA college circuit. The band performed at countless colleges in the area and soon became a favorite among LA college students. "We want our music to sound like a party and don’t want it to be super pretentious or artsy and that’s what college is all about," Griffin said.

The band got their name from a favorite dive bar they would always frequent. "My girlfriend at the time was like you spend so much time there you should just call yourselves that," Griffin said.

Griffin describes the band’s sound as "soulful intelligent pop music." 2AM Club doesn’t have a particular routine about their song writing. "We usually get around campfire style and create something around an idea. It’s different every time," he said.

Most bands have a love hate relationship with studio time and rather be performing live in front of their fans, 2AM Club is not one of those bands. "You have to have them both. In the studio we think about how it’s going to feel when we perform live and we try to capture that feeling while performing. Someone told me once recording is about capturing moments and performing is about making moments," Griffin said.

Right now, the boys from California are making moments. They are currently on tour with Mike Posner. The experience for them has been a remarkable one. "The tour is going great," said Griffin. San Francisco has been a favorite spot for the band to perform since it is so close to home for them. "Looking out into the crowd and seeing a mix of fans, family and friends is the best feeling," he said. They will be performing at the House of Blues in Boston on October 11th.

The band’s musical influences show a vast array in taste in music from Duran Duran to Fiona Apple to even Tupac. What may come as a shock to some, Griffin is a huge Tupac fan. "When I was fourteen I listened to Tupac all day," said the front man.

The band has high hopes for the future. "In five years hopefully we’re touring somewhere in South America and just making more music," Griffin said.

2AM Club plays House of Blues Boston Monday night and Fillmore in New york on Tueday.

NEW YORK — Mike Posner’s “study hard, party harder” spirit has helped him to success on the stage and off. The 22-year-old singer/songwriter/producer recently graduated from college. His just-released debut album, 31 Minutes to Takeoff, jumped up the charts when it came out in August.

Posner is currently touring the US. Now it’s about time for him to spread his youthful party energy throughout the country. Blast got a chance to ask Mike Posner about his whole exciting experience.

Blast: You went to Duke University and graduated this year. How was your college life?

MIKE POSNER: It was so fun. I wouldn’t trade those years for anything. Um, honestly, I was living kind of doubled lives actually when I was a student at Duke. I tried to do a record deal with RCA after my junior year. So I did some of my stuff for my class during a week so it’s like I was intentionally getting to shows on the weekend at a school like UNH, um, but I had a blast and like I said, I have been making it like not only at Duke, but also a lot of schools around the country.

Blast: You got a 3.59 GPA. How did you manage to do both school work and music?

MP: It was really difficult. I will be honest with you. It was a lot of night hours doing homework on an airplane and a lot of nights deprived of enough sleep that I probably should have but, I was recalling my decisions to go back and to do both and finish school. Now I am excited to be touring the world.

Blast: What was your major?

MP: I majored in Sociology.

Blast: Did you like it?

MP: I did like it.

Blast: What was your first thought in your mind when you got a deal with Sony music?

MP: I was ecstatic because my mom now considered music as a real job. (Laughs)

Blast: (Laughs)

MP: Yeah, yeah. (Laughs) And, now I didn’t have to convince her that I was “working” when I was making music in the basement. It was now ok, so. I am saying that it was definitely a rite of passage.

Blast: How were your friends’ and family members’ reactions?

MP: They are all supportive of me. I have been making friends in my life and maybe family, they are really supportive of me. I’m happy more than, you know”¦I am very thankful for that.

Blast: So, they all congratulated you.

MP: Yeah.

Blast: How did the opportunity working with Sony music change your personal life?

MP: It was a lot more people in my personal life as I continued to be working with the record label, but you know, I couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunity to make a living doing what I love and I wouldn’t trade for anything.

Blast: What influences your music the most?

MP: There are so many artists that inspire me, everybody from The Killers”¦. Nas, Outkast, and Paul Simon. I’m trying to do a very wide of music. That’s the reason why the mashed-up songs were made.

Blast: Did hip-hop and dance music mainly influence you?

MP: Yeah, I like hip-hop and dance and, you know, all kinds of different music.

Blast: So, you actually did a show with Akon in my college last year. How was performing with him?

MP: Amazing. I know I got a chance to meet him but he was an extremely nice guy, and it was an honor to open up for him. I remember walking offstage, walking back to my dressing room and just passing”¦and like seven stretchers of people were there. They got hurt during my set! So it was being so crazy. So, a shout-out to everybody at [University of] New Hampshire! I appreciate you got me and it was that great.

Blast: So, what’s the main concept of your debut album “31 Minutes To Takeoff?” Why 31 minutes?

MP: It’s kind of a secret. Something happens 31 minutes into the album and I can’t show you what it is because that’s an allurement for all of your readers. But 31 minutes into the album, both I and a few of you will be in a higher space than where we were before the album started.

Blast: So do I have to start the record from the beginning and count 31 minutes?

MP: Yup.

Blast: Your first single “Cooler Than Me” was #6 on the US Billboard. Did you expect that the song was going to be a hit?

MP: No, no, I recorded it but no. I was making it in my dorm room with a super cheap microphone. So it is special for me to hear it on the radio not only in the US but around the world. No one of us would have expected it.

Blast: So, you were making music in your room on campus, right?

MP: Oh, yeah, without a doubt! I was always making music there after going out, and the only time to record in the dormitory was at night because it was too loud during the day to record vocals so, you know, after a quick going out for parties and bars, I just recorded all night long every night.

Blast: How did your roommate react? Was he pissed at you recording music every night?

MP: I didn’t have a roommate.

Blast: Oh, lucky! (Laughs)

MP: Yeah”¦Yeah, I know! (Laughs)

Blast: So, your second single will be “Please Don’t Go.” How was the video shooting?

MP: Amazing! I can’t wait for you to see it. It’s gonna be more exciting for the way the video is gonna be turned out.

Blast: Where did you make the video?

MP: We shot in LA.

Blast: So when are we gonna see the video?

MP: Probably in more a few weeks to make all the special sets to the audience. I don’t have any exact date for you but as I would estimate, like 2 or 3 weeks?

Blast: How’s your “Up in the Air” tour going so far?

MP: Absolutely amazing. We got an incredibly talented band to do a show with me so music sounds even better live than it does on the record. I can’t wait to perform in Boston at the House of Blues on October 11^th. People should get tickets to see it.

mike

Blast: What can we expect from your show?

MP: An absolute party!

You know, you came to my show so people are having, um, hit’s more of a party than a concert. I allow the energy of the audience in the room to be expressed in the safe lane.

Blast: Is it going to be so much fun even if you are sober?

MP: Why would you be sober?

Blast: Last question — What is your goal to achieve within the next 5 years?

MP: I think it’s a goal to write a better and better song and I am excited to be working on it.

Mike Posner plays House of Blues Boston on Oct 11.

The House of Blues on Lansdowne Street has hosted acts such as Coheed and Cambria, 50 Cent, Grace Potter…you get the idea. Having opened in Boston in early 2009, it has attracted a plethora of talent and music lovers.

Last night that talent swayed its way onstage in the form of Zooey Deschanel, M. Ward, and a gifted band, performing a dreamy set after the Chapin Sisters warmed up the crowd.

Dreamy? I know you may be thinking this is a word reserved for self-proclaimed hunks, Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, and comfy sheets and blankets. But yes, the act was dreamy. The songs, while shifting between mellow and contemplative to playful and danceable, definitely conjure up a calm landscape. I couldn’t tell if I was more inclined to think of a warm summer’s day with the scent of fresh linen drying in the breeze, or a crisp autumn evening in an apple orchard. Did I say dreamy? Perhaps whimsical is a better fit.

The recordings of Ward and Deschanel please the ear (check out She and Him Volume One and the recently-released Volume Two), and yet critics have described their onstage performances as less-than-stellar. I can only imagine the reviewers were either harboring a predisposed dislike for this type of music or were, in fact, dead, in which case we can safely say that zombies are tone deaf and rhythmically challenged. The band was enthusiastic and the audience was beaming. While the House of Blues’ seating and standing arrangement produced some disgruntled fans who could barely see the stage, the performance itself was golden. Deschanel, standing onstage in stockings and a sparkling dress, grabbed the mic at one point to look into the audience of people wearing flowery dresses, hats, and poster board signs stating "Marry Me Zooey," to simply state "This is fun". Simple statements can sometimes sum it up quite well.

Belting out tunes such as "In the Sun," "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?" and "Sentimental Heart," they also covered classics such as the 1962 hit "You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me" by the Miracles. “Hold me Zooey!” one fan yelled out during a downbeat, to which she responded "Hold me Boston." Queue swooning.

The encore including "Fools Rush In" (Rick Nelson) and "Roll Over Beethoven" (Chuck Berry), which incurred delighted screams from the audience.

It was great to see a band incorporating its opening act into the set, as well as a wide range of musicians. The musical accents of the ukulele, a beautiful C&C drum set, a guitar vocalized by Ward, and spot on harmonies didn’t hurt either.

All in all, a band worth seeing. It is still astonishing that many are not aware of Zooey Deschanel’s musical talent, and any comparisons to Katy Perry are unfounded, other than perhaps a retro feel. Deschanel is a triple threat in that she can sing, act and dance, and do so humbly. M. Ward exuded talent without trying to step on Deschanel’s toes or hog the spotlight, and the entire band completed the sound.

For more She and Him tour information, check out their website.

The Boston House of Blues was packed with a sold out crowd on Friday night. It was a mixed crowd of late twenty somethings to early tweens with their parents — a surprising gap in demographic for an Owl City show. Nonetheless the floor in front of the stage was packed with bodies and onlookers peered over the side railings of the second and third floors.

The night kicked off promptly at 6:55 with Paper Route. The quintet from Nashville had an As Tall As Lions and just slightly peppier Death Cab For Cutie sound that made them a bit of a surprising opener for the ultimate of peppy headliner. From a distance, the lead singer had a striking resemblance to Brand New’s Jesse Lacey, which was only encouraged by his intense mope-stare to the crowd. Their synthesized groove sound was just the ticket to get the crowd going — at one point they had three drummers on stage for an incredible build up. I’m not entirely sure Owl City was the best fit for them but they were extremely impressive and hey, being first up on a sold out tour can’t hurt, right? Definitely keep your eyes, and ears, out for them soon.

Next in the lineup came Toronto’s newest shining star — Lights. When Blast last talked to her, Lights was fresh in the rush of releasing her second album "The Listening". Now she’s making a crowd pleaser out of songs like "Lions!" and wooing the audience with soft ballads like "Pretend." Though her set is decorated with two synthesized pianos and keytar, Lights’s voice is really the showstopper. When she steps on stage she looks pint sized in jeans, white tank top and leather jacket, but she opens her mouth and that out of this world soprano range really elevates the set. It’s adorable to see her bouncing around the stage, getting the entire crowd to fist pump with her, but I think a phenomenal show is in the works when Lights gets to officially call the shots.

At nine o’clock the main event began. It started with the lights, three "waves" lit up with blues and greens to resemble the ocean. The drums next, then a mini orchestra — two violins and a cello — then glockenspiel and finally Adam Young, Owl City himself, as the crowd erupts. It was the same visceral reaction to every song, which made it strange to think that Owl City was a relatively unknown until last summer when "Fireflies" became so massive, even Nick Jonas covered it. "Fireflies" came in the middle of the set though, to obviously the most applause. When the band departed the stage for their encore, I wondered if they’d come back and just do the song again, you always end with your biggest hit right? It was an excellent surprise to hear the first digital beats of "Hello, Seattle," — his biggest pre-"Fireflies" song. The crowd didn’t disappoint either, showing they knew every word to his songs even before "Ocean Eyes" came out last July.

Lupe Fiasco and B.o.B put on a rocking show at the House of Blues Boston on Wednesday night.

Here’s a look with some Blast staff photography:

The fierce punk rock band Drive A has been turning heads with their new album Loss of Desire. They’ve recently released a 3-disc set that features covers of The Clash’s "White Riot" and The Buzzcocks "What Do I Get" as well as a live version of their own album track "Are You Blind?" The band just wrapped a national tour where they were touring with The Used and have embarked on a six-week spring tour with the Finnish rock band, HIM.

Blast reporter Josh Couillard got a chance to chat with lead singer of the band, Bruno Mascolo, and talk about their upcoming show in Boston. Enjoy the quick preview podcast above, and be sure to check Drive A out this Sunday night at the House of Blues.

Check back here Monday for our full interview with the band.

Dropkick Murphys plays House of Blues in Boston.

With shows all last weekend, continuing tonight and tomorrow, don’t miss our interview with Matt Kelly.

And here’s the gallery:

Photos by Steve Osemwenkhae/Blast Staff

Cheap Trick had a gig at the House of Blues on Saturday, January 30th. Although the majority of the audience was middle-aged, the atmosphere was totally filled with high-energy powerful rock tunes during the one and a half hour show.

The band kicked off the show with the introductory melody of "Way of the World". Robin Zander’s mystically pure high voice on "I Want You to Want Me", "Voices", and "The Flame" was, bittersweet, stimulating and molten simultaneously. When the band played Elvis Presley’s "Don’t Be Cruel" as a special highlight, Zander’s voice was absolutely sexually appealing, yet completely unique from the sexy way the King sang it.

Bun E. Carlos relentlessly created powerful drumming rhythms, especially during the performance of one of their biggest hits, "Dream Police". Deep bass sound, constantly produced by Tom Peterson, also boostered the heaviness of "Auf Wiedersehen".

The band played four songs from the current release "The Latest": "Miracle," "These Days," "Miss Tomorrow" and "Sick Man of Europe".

Rick Nielsen is an incredibly entertaining guitarist. He talked a lot, cut his "middle finger" by accident (he emphasized "middle finger" and then called for a Band-Aid), happily tossed handfuls of confetti at the audience again and again, threw a big cardboard piece with "The Latest/Cheap Trick" written on it to fans on the third floor and said hi to Joey Kramer of Aerosmith who was seeing the show from the backstage, introducing the song "Heaven Tonight" as "Steven Tyler’s favorite." He frequently switched among many custom-made guitars for each song and used the five-neck guitar, his trademark, for "Surrender".
The show ended with "Good Night," bidding the audience farewell:

"Good night now ladies and gents. That’s the end of the show, now it’s time to go."

The performance united the audience under the magic of the Cheap Trick sound in Boston. The words of Rick Neilsen couldn’t have been more accurate: "I love to play and I think everybody in the band likes to play. And people like us!"

*Set list Boston -1/30/10*
Way of the World
Come On Come On
Miracle
I Want You to Want Me
These Days
Baby Loves to Rock
Heaven Tonight
Miss Tomorrow
Don’t Be Cruel
Voices
Sick Man of Europe
The Flame
Surrender
Dream Police
Auf Wiedersehen
Good Night

In preparation for her New Year’s Eve show with the Boston Pops, Blast asked Boston resident and musician Amanda Palmer about her preferred spots in and around the city. Here’s what she had to say:

On her favorite Cambridge spots:

"My favorite mainstays haven’t all gone away. Algiers (Coffee House), Caf© Pamplona, The Brattle. … Honestly, you know, if I were to move to Mars and you said, ‘You can only have one day in Boston, where are you going to go?’ I would grab a book and I would head to Caf© Pamplona. That’s my number one location. … The day Caf© Pamplona closes, that’s it. I’m movin’ shop."

Harvard Square or Newbury Street?

"It’s funny. You know, I grew up going to Harvard Square as a teenager in the ‘80s. And even then, people were telling me that it was losing its soul. And now I feel like the ‘80s were, like, this bohemian heyday! … It hurts me, actually, to hang out there a little bit. I miss the funk. I miss the cool little stores. I mss all the street performers. I miss walking around and feeling city life. It feels more and more like a mall every summer, and that hurts me, because I always felt like Harvard Square was sort of my spiritual home. … Even with the soulless jewelers and bankers, it still beats Newbury Street."

Axis/Avalon or the House of Blues?

"I haven’t been to the new House of Blues (so) I can’t say. Everything I’ve heard leads me to believe that I would probably vote House of Blues. Axis and Avalon, as clubs, had very bad feng shui."

The Middle East, TT the Bears or Paradise?

"It’s a toss-up between the Middle East and Paradise. I’d say the Middle East probably wins just because there’s actually a real bar and you can sit down and eat."

Boston Common or the Esplenade?

"I’m a Common person."

Museum of Fine Arts or Institute of Contemporary Art?

"I haven’t been to the new ICA, but I have special attachments to the MFA. Probably MFA."

On where she goes for inspiration:

"Especially in the fall and spring, just walking around the South End, it’s so breathtakingly beautiful because of the architecture and the trees. And when I want to just go on a solitary walk, I actually go out to Castle Island and do that circle.  But I’m kind of a hometown girl at heart, and even though my hometown has changed a lot, I still go back to Lexington constantly and visit my folks and hang out in the center of town there."

With a sort of mashup of characters, an eclectic mix of sounds, and layered melodies Airborne Toxic Event headlined at the House of Blues on October 13 and sat down with Blast to answer a few questions.

On their Beginnings

Mikel Jollett formed Airborne in 2006. Spurred by personal catastrophic events in his life Jollet turned from writing about music and started to make his own.

“I realized I was composing an album instead of a novel” he told the Los Angeles Times in August of 2007.

He recruited some of his friends: Steven Chen on guitar, Noah Harmon on bass, Daren Taylor on drums, and Anna Bulbrook on viola keyboards and tambourine.

Less than a month later the band played its first show in Echo Park. Jollett had been keeping busy contacting bloggers and getting word out their about the band and their first concert. Jollett sent MP3s to blogs, and the bloggers started writing. “When it came to that first show, they were all there” Chen said. Jollett remembers about 200 showing up, which is impressive for a first show.

October 5 is the anniversary of their first show Chen remembers, “and we completely forgot about it this year” he said. Before that first show Chen had only met Harmon one or two times. “He was still on the fence (about joining the band) at that point” Chen said.

“I’m still on the fence now three years later” Harmon interrupted laughing.

On the Band

“We all bring something different, something new to the mix” Chen said. Before turning to writing Jollett was a freelancer for National Public Radio and the Los Angeles Times and worked on a few novels. Bulbrook is a classically trained violinist and upon joining the band taught herself to play the viola and the keyboard. Harmon holds a jazz degree in upright bass and worked as a music teacher in LA for a few years. Chen was asked to join as a keyboardist, but petitioned to be lead guitarist.

“Anna and her viola bring something different” Harmon agreed. String instruments are rare and few between in rock bands, and when they do appear it’s nine times out of ten a violin.

“It’s a rock and roll viola” Harmon said, “The poor thing never knew what it was getting into.”

“Our goal, whether it be a slower song like “ËœMidnight’ or a more upbeat song like “ËœGasoline’ is to write a good song and strike some chord” Chen said. “That was the whole idea for the album.”

As for the name, it was all Jollett’s idea. Taken from Don DeLillo’s novel “ËœWhite Noise’ an airborne toxic event was a term coined by the military to reference a poisonous cloud emitted from a chemical spill.

“I had read the book for three classes and wrote two essays on it” Chen said, “as the title it makes a lot of sense.”

“It doesn’t matter at all what you call yourself” Chen said. “It’s what you do with it.”

On the Tour

“We’re just a new band” Jollett said to the audience, “the world’s coming by us at 100 miles a minute and I don’t think any of us can make heads or tails of it.”

Airborne has played more than 250 shows this year, and the year is far from over. The band members cannot remember the last time they were home for more than a month.

“When I go home I don’t even bother putting things away” Chen laughed. Instead he just lives easily out of a suitcase. Harmon sold his car when he realized it was doing little more than gathering dust.

“Your idea of home becomes a bit skewed” Harmon added, “now home is a tour bus.”

Chen cannot even picture home anymore: “I can’t imagine not being in a new place every night.”

Airborne will take a nice long break around the holiday time and then jet off to the UK and beyond.

It will be their sixth time in UK this year.

“I’ve landed in London as many times as I’ve landed in Los Angeles” Harmon laughed.

For Harmon, the UK is one of their favorite destinations, and they’ve been there six times this year. “But in the UK the fridges don’t work” Chen butted in, “but it’s really ok because they know their fridges don’t work. They’re not trying to convince anyone that the refrigerator works.”

On “Sometime Around Midnight”

The viola starts and the crowd screams at its loudest. Everyone knows what songs coming before one bow stroke is over. It may only be 10:58 by my clock, but for Airborne Toxic Event it’s “Sometime Around Midnight.”

An acoustic version of the song was released as a free Starbucks song of the week, and from there it grew popularity on both iTunes and the music charts.

It’s not that big of a deal when your friends know who you are, when your friends-friends know who you are Chen said. “It’s when your parents friends start to notice, it’s like whoa.”

People relate to the emotions in it, Harmon comments. The record became an instant hit. Not only a top radio and music video track, iTunes also named it the “Number 1 Alternative Song of 2008.”

On Boston and the House of Blues

Now that the Red Sox season is officially over, the gem of Landsdowne has moved across the street to House of Blues. And here the players are musicians and they wear red basketball shorts and converse instead of cleats and baseball tights. “We just played the most intense game of basketball ever” bassist Noah Harmon said, pulling his hair back. “I don’t remember the last time I was so winded.”

Two opening bands, and two hours into the night Airborne finally hits the stage. And they hit it running. For a impressive few minutes they all go a bit crazy and show off their raw talent. No vocals, no lights, just Airborne and their respective instruments. Before you know it the first song has started, and you are transfixed in a daze.

On stage they show undeniable togetherness and energy, even as the set pushes upon two hours. They bounce off each other’s backs, Bulbrook wields her viola, Harmon sporadically strokes a bow on his bass strings, Taylor hacks away with his drum sticks, Jollett spasms, and Chen stands tall and unmoving. But somehow it all works.

One of the most impressive parts of the set was an acoustic set. Jollett sat down on the stage and sang to the audience more personally, Chen went to an upright piano, and Harmon picked up a jazz bass. “I feel like we’re getting to know you now” Jollett told the crowd.

“You were the audience, Boston, and we were the band” Jollett ended after a four song encore. “One day, when your dead you’re one wish is gonna be for this hour and a half back, but thank you for it.”

But Jollett’s words were wrong, as the crowd’s one wish was that the night never ended.

Pop-punk favorites Paramore are going to be in Boston on October 19 at the House of Blues.

Blast has two free tickets that we want to give away to you guys. To win you just have to write the best haiku about why you love Paramore. Forgotten what a haiku is from those English classes so long ago? It’s a simple three lined poem with five syllables in the first line, seven syllables in the second, and five syllables in the last line.

Example:
i love paramore
hayley williams rocks hard
decode is awesome

Except yours should be better. The contest will end October 15, and the winner will be notified for their info to receive the tickets. Get to writing…

One more thing: Make sure you register an account with Blast to be eligible.

Brandi Carlile isn’t reinventing the wheel on her third album, “Give Up the Ghost” out October 6. The Seattle folk singer, who plays Boston’s House of Blues this evening, treads over familiar female singer/songwriter territory on “Ghost” with help from contemporaries like the Indigo Girls’ Amy Ray.

Carlile, 28, exploded with “The Story” her 2007 T. Bone Burnett-produced sophomore album whose title track became the basis for a “Grey’s Anatomy” music video. (Several other songs were featured on the show itself.) “Grey’s”-friendly folk songs continue to dominate on “Give Up the Ghost” particularly the ukulele-infused “Oh Dear” and wistful “That Year.”

Also prevalent on “Ghost” are Carlile’s country influences, namely on the honky-tonk “Caroline” to which Elton John lends a restrained collaboration. The idea of small town escapism also plays an important role, particularly on the outcast anthem “Looking Out” on which Carlile muses, “I went out lookin’ for the answers “¦ Some people get religion, some people get the truth.”

While none of the songs showcase the raw vocal chops that Carlile displayed on “The Story” (“Pride and Joy” comes close, as Carlile wonders, “Do I make you proud? Do you get me now?”), her distinctive voice quivers with emotion, fluctuating pitch like a slide guitar as she sings about love, heartache and self-discovery.

Brandi Carlile is in Boston tonight at House of Blues.

The young House of Blues location in Boston is facing a one-week liquor license suspension because some of its drunk patrons were also quite young, the Boston Herald reported Saturday.

Two incidents led to two minors getting alcohol poisoning at the club, which opened on Lansdowne Street in February, the Herald reported.

The House of Blues did not comment on the situation, but Live Nation may appeal the suspension.

Blast got an opportunity to talk at length with Jack’s Mannequin front man Andrew McMahon about the group’s new album, working with Stephenie Meyer, the Dear Jack Foundation and the future of Something Corporate.

BLAST: Where did the content for The Glass Passenger come from?

ANDREW MCMAHON: Gosh, it was sort of this weird limbo period, to be honest. I was recording a lot of The Glass Passenger while I was touring everything in transit. Obviously it’s no secret that I had fallen ill around the time that Everything In Transit was finished and was coming out. So pretty much it took me several months to kind of recover from that and deal with all the things that went along with that. And then of course you know, I wanted to get back on the road and really make sure that people had heard Everything In Transit, so I started really working that record and touring tons of dates a year to support “Transit,” while kind of concurrently starting to write and record The Glass Passenger. So there was sort of this strange limbo period where I had my hands in a lot of things and was doing a lot and obviously still trying, while my body was bouncing back, I was still sort of dealing with some of the stress and trauma that goes along with, you know, having recovered and gone through what I had dealt with and getting sick, so, that’s where the content came from, in a lot of respects; that sort of inner-personal struggle of trying to find my place in the world after a pretty traumatic event and in a lot of ways trying to use the music to propel me forward and to get me past this.

BLAST: Are you going to continue writing more mature songs or do you prefer writing similar to your earlier, lighter songs?

AM: I was 17, 18 years old when I was in Something Corporate, you know. Obviously by the time we had put it on hiatus I was turning 21 and becoming an adult and all the things that go along with it. I guess mature is a word. I’ve always, since I was nine years old and started writing songs, have written songs about what I’m dealing with at that point in my life. When you’re 17, you’re writing songs about what it’s like to be in love at 17 and what’s really more relevant at 17 than love: getting into relationships and then breaking them off and the pain of that and all that stuff. Not to say that that stuff isn’t very relevant too, but obviously the approach, when you start getting older; now I’m 26, I’ll be 27 in the summer, it’s like … I write songs from the perspective of a 26 year old now, not a 16 year old. So yeah, I think I’ll continue to grow hopefully and continue to write songs that represent who I am, not songs that intentionally hearken back to some old sentiment, I guess.

BLAST: So what are the songs that you’re writing now about?

AM: The songs I’m writing now about … it’s kind of hard to say. I haven’t really gone in and recorded too much. I went into a recording session recently that was kind of groovy. We ran a bunch of old material we had an accumulated over the course of four or five years. Two of the songs very well may make a new record, but those are obviously older tracks. I think now a lot of these songs are sort of angled around love and about relationships, but I think from a very different perspective. I think that in a lot of ways about real love and what goes along with that and what goes along with you know really being committed to someone and something and sort of how that can be idealized, but sometimes that ideal isn’t always the reality and sort of trying to approach that and analyze it from that level which is sort of the first time I’ve really gotten to do that because obviously The Glass Passenger was about something very different.

BLAST: Are you experimenting with any new sounds?

AM: The sounds I find myself gravitating towards now more than ever are really rich, warm and natural sounds. I think the studio for me is always my second home if you consider I tour anywhere from six to 10 months a year. I’ll spend the remaining months in the studio, regardless of whether I’m recording for an album or just trying to work out some new material and stuff. I find myself sort of slowly gravitating away from the more rigid recording structure, not to say avoiding pro-tools all together or things like that, but I think pro-tools have created this safety net for a lot of bands and a lot of artists to not accomplish and not achieve the sounds on their own and I think my perspective, especially after having been on the road for so long, in these past few years playing with a really talented band, I think you’ll find me going into studio recording more live and recording with less effects and you know less processing and all of these things and really kind of focusing on nailing the sounds and nailing the take and really kind of making it about the magic of the take instead of spending months and months and months and month working on the song and working in the effects. I think I’m kind of getting away from that style.

BLAST: You must have had an interesting end to 2008 — you kind of got sucked into Twilight-mania.

AM: Yes I did sort of, didn’t I? (laughs)

BLAST: Tell me a little bit about working with Stephenie Meyer on the making of the “The Resolution” music video.

AM: It was one of these things where I had a friend of mine who had notified me, this is probably months before I got involved with Stephenie, that Stephenie was a fan of Jack’s Mannequin and that she had made reference to Jack’s either on her website or in the thank you’s in one of her books as being an inspiration for a character or whatever, we were on a play list or something like that. I heard this and at that point didn’t really know much about “Twilight” and while it was obviously a huge phenomenon throughout the country and probably the world and what-not, I don’t think it had quite broken the surface yet. As the months wore on, obviously I was sort of realizing how big a deal this whole thing was and about the same time we were searching for video treatments for “The Resolution” and frankly hadn’t really found one that we clicked with. It was sort of a frustrating process and I was trying to kind of sort it out and we started talking; myself and the label, we started talking about, “Is there anything we could do that would be different and cool and clever that might invigorate this process, and maybe it isn’t just going to video treatments, maybe we reach out to the musicians from another band we like or we reach out to film directors or actors or other people we know?,” that sort of thing. In that conversation, I was like, “Well you know, this woman who writes these books that have sold millions of copies is a purported fan of Jack’s Mannequin. Maybe we could reach out to her. She’s an author, I’m sure she could come up with something cool.” And then of course, it was sort of a pipe dream, I guess, in a sense. I mean I wasn’t really thinking of it on the grander scale of how huge she really was. Sure enough, we reached out, and she was like, “Sure, that sounds great,” and she sent in three treatments and we loved one of them and she ended up coming out and co-directing the video for us.

BLAST: How involved was Stephenie in the process of filming the video?

AM: It wasn’t like she was behind the camera, you know, she’s an author. There was this guy named Nobel Jones who is a director and she was on set the whole time, she obviously wrote the treatment, and she and Nobel collaborated quite a bit as far as the execution of her vision and how she wanted it to look. She was definitely there and approving shots and giving her opinion of certain shots as we went along, so she was definitely a part of the production and the directing of the video, sure.

The House of Blues crew wheeled the keyboard onto the stage, and the crowd went wild.

When the lights dimmed and the shadowy band members walked out onto the stage to their instruments. The crowd needed no introduction to be whipped into a frenzy, with the pit in front of the stage churning and men bending their bodies over the balcony to cheer closer to the band. The lights flashed on and the cheers almost drowned out the first lines of Jack’s Mannequin’s opening song, “Crashin.’”

“I want to hear some music.”

That’s what the audience got: an hour and a half full of music.

Opener Matt Nathanson said it best at the April 27 show in Boston when he told the audience he was the fluff to get them ready for Andrew McMahon and the rest of the band members of Jack’s Mannequin to make love to them.

“People kind of go apeshit during [the songs] and that’s always kind of fun to see people reacting on that level to anything” said singer and keyboardist Andrew McMahon in an interview with Blast.

McMahon’s crooning into the microphone and stroking the keyboard keys was as close to making love to his audience as he could in such circumstances. The heart of the pit below the stage beat along in tempo with the speed McMahon led his fingers across the keyboard as the audience danced along to the music, getting more excited with faster songs and more relaxed with ballads like “Hammers and Strings.”

This was Jack’s Mannequin’s first performance at the new Boston House of Blues. The original Cambridge House of Blues was the first Boston venue McMahon played at when he started touring with his Something Corporate in 2002.

Boston was the 19th stop on Jack’s Mannequin’s current headlining tour promoting a new album The Glass Passenger which was released last fall.

The Glass Passenger is the long-anticipated follow-up to 2005′s Everything In Transit. Back then, Jack’s Mannequin was just McMahon’s side-project to Something Corporate. But when he was diagnosed with leukemia in 2005, McMahon said it was the music in Everything in Transit that helped pull him through illness into recovery.

“It was a pretty painful and hard time to do this but the underlining current was just: “ËœMusic will pull you through. This music is going to stay no matter what’” McMahon said. “Obviously everything that transpired during the finishing and release of that record with me getting sick and all the bizarre references throughout the album to hospitals and doctors and sort of this bizarre foreshadowing that existed throughout that record, it was hard not to feel like I was writing my death in that album.”

The Glass Passenger is markedly more mature than the previous music McMahon has written. McMahon started writing the music and lyrics for The Glass Passenger when he was on tour for Everything in Transit following his recovery. The songs speak about his illness but also about his recovery and his need to move on with his life. Lyrics from songs like “The Resolution” show his desire to enjoy his life since he regained it: “Yeah I’m alive/But I don’t need a witness/To know that I’ve survived/I’m not looking for forgiveness/Yeah I just need life/I’ll be lying in the dark/As I search for the resolution.”