Welcome to the latest in a series of posts previewing the 2016 Rock And Roll Rumble, our city's annual throw down that doubles as a monthlong local music festival unlike any other. This year's Rumble goes down April 3 to April 22 at ONCE Ballroom and Lounge in Somerville, is organized and presented by Boston Emissions with Anngelle Wood, with the Verb Hotel and Vanyaland on board as official sponsors. For our full Rumble coverage, click here; for tickets and venue information, click here.
What You Need To Know:
Rock And Roll Rumble Preliminary Night 2
Monday, April 4 at ONCE Ballroom, 156 Highland Ave. in Somerville MA
With Jack Romanov, The Black Cheers, Analog Heart, Eric Salt & the Electric City
Doors at 8 p.m., 21 to drink, $10 in advance and $15 at the door
Advance tickets, Facebook event page
How The Night Stacks Up:
We've written this here in the past (or maybe it was during our ghost life as an ink-stained alt-weekly), but one of the best parts of the Rumble every year is the discovery aspect. With four bands randomly drawn together, people from different scenes and cliques and circles all come together under one roof, there to root on and support their friends or lovers but also exposed to experience as many as three bands they've yet to hear. On first glance, that could be the underlying theme of the preliminaries' Night #2 -- four very distinct bands that will likely play for a room comprised mainly of people who are hearing them for the first time, whether it's the theatrical pop of Jack Romanov, the blue collar punk of the Black Cheers, Analog Heart's galaxy rock, or the we've-listened-to-everything-and-still-don't-know-how-to-peg-them rock and roll of Eric Salt and The Electric City. But don't go in totally cold -- check out their songs and backgrounds below. But be warned -- one of these bands features a dude from Darkbuster, but we won't tell you which. You'll just have to guess.
Get To Know The Bands:
9:45 p.m.: The Black Cheers
HOMETOWN: Boston, Massachusetts
SONG YOU NEED TO HEAR: “Means A Lot”, off their July 2015 LP, Sick Gun
BIO: The Black Cheers uphold the proud tradition of Boston punk. Formed in 2011, with their traditional punk aesthetics blend with a sensibility rooted in 2016 to fire up crowds and keep the angst and energy of punk alive. Featuring members from familiar Boston bands the likes of Darkbuster, The Marvels, The Acrobrats, Stray Bullets, 007 Hundred Club, and the Drax, the Black Cheers use the powerful line-up of drums, bass, and two guitars, the vocals of O’Halloran and Brat to propel original songs into the stratosphere.
VIDEO YOU NEED TO WATCH: The official video for “Delete Delete”
WHY THEY CAN WIN: Because fuck you, that’s why.
TWITTER: Follow The Black Cheers @TheBlackCheers
