Boston/Cambridge

Gillian Welch & David Rawlings at the Wilbur Theater – December 13, 2011

Posted on December 16, 2011December 15, 2011 by Sam Kornstein in Boston/Cambridge, Current Events, Music

I’ve had a good week of music. I saw Ryan Adams last Thursday, the White Owls Monday, and then Gillian Welch and David Rawlings Tuesday. It was the last show of Gillian and David’s tour, and they put on a spectacular show. I’ve never seen someone play the guitar as deliberately as Rawlings does. He closes his eyes and just dominates the fret board. I recorded a few clips. Here’s ‘Look at Miss Ohio’: Look at Miss Ohio And here’s ‘I’ll Fly Away’ from the ‘O Brother, Where Art Thou?’ soundtrack: I’ll Fly Away

The White Owls at Toad – Dennis Brennan and Tim Gearan

Posted on December 15, 2011December 15, 2011 by Sam Kornstein in Boston/Cambridge, Music

I saw them the other night at Toad with a friend visiting from Austin. I’d say Tim Gearan is one of the best guitar players in town. If you haven’t seen him, his band plays every Friday night at Atwood’s Tavern in Cambridge. Here are a few clips I shot. Not the best quality, but you’ll get the idea:

Ryan Adams at the Orpheum (December 8, 2011)

Posted on December 9, 2011December 9, 2011 by Sam Kornstein in Boston/Cambridge, Current Events, Music

I was lucky to catch Ryan Adams’ solo show at the Orpheum last night. It was just Ryan, two acoustic guitars, and a piano. His performance was warm and dynamic, with songs ranging from soft ballads such as ‘Dirty Rain’ from the new record, to more upbeat tunes like ‘Let it Ride’. He played about 25 songs in all, touching on a wide range of his collection with an emphasis on Heartbreaker, Cold Roses, and Ashes & Fire. Ryan showed a self-critical and reflective side throughout the show. He opened with ‘Oh My Sweet Carolina’ and was clearly distracted throughout the entire song. The guitar work and vocals were so subtle and nuanced that the sound of audience members hurrying

Vanessa Kafka at the Cantab Lounge

Posted on October 19, 2011October 19, 2011 by Sam Kornstein in Boston/Cambridge, Current Events, Music

From the open mic on Monday night: Matches & Heat: Till August: More of Vanessa’s music here.

The Doctor Doom Orchestra

Posted on October 11, 2011October 11, 2011 by Sam Kornstein in Boston/Cambridge, Music

From a Doctor Doom Orchestra show at the Paradise last month, my good friend Mr. Dave Pratt takes a solo on the sax, followed by a harmonica solo by the Doctor:

Boston Bagels, or Lack-Thereof

Posted on May 24, 2011May 24, 2011 by Sam Kornstein in Boston/Cambridge

It’s a little embarrassing that Boston doesn’t have a single “real” bagel shoppe. By real, I mean a neighborhood store that makes their own bagels, whips their own cream cheese, and offers fresh lox. Any place that sells french toast bagels is, by definition, not a “real” bagel shoppe, regardless of whether they do all the aforementioned things. Someone should open one. Really. It would do extraordinarily well. The closest we have is Bagel Rising, which fits the bill and then some, but is all the way out in Allston (which for all practical purposes is not in Boston). I’m sitting here now while I wait for some service on my car to be finished, and the place is mobbed. At 10:20AM

Meadhall

Posted on April 28, 2011April 28, 2011 by Sam Kornstein in Bars, Beer, Boston/Cambridge

I went to the grand opening of Meadhall last night. It’s a great new restaurant and bar in Kendall square, with an unbelievable draft selection of 110 beers. I tried two new beers that I highly recommend. The first was the McChouffe Brown Ale by d’Achouffe out of Belgium. It was strong with some maple overtones, but wasn’t too sweet. One of the better browns I’ve had in a while. Oddly, I can’t find it on BeerAdvocate. The second was the Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale from the Lexington Brewing Company in Kentucky. It was beer, but it tasted like whiskey. Absolutely delicious. Judging by Meadhall’s impressive tap selection, I’ve still got a lot of work to do. And the food was great

Free Beer!

Posted on February 28, 2011February 28, 2011 by Sam Kornstein in Bars, Beer, Boston/Cambridge, Current Events, Food

Gotcha, but it’s very close to free. A few classmates and I have been working on the board of a local non-profit organization, Somerville Local First (SLF). SLF helps to build “a sustainable Local First economy by supporting and promoting locally owned and independent businesses, artists and nonprofits” in Somerville. They’re hosting a fundraiser at the Foundry On Elm, a new restaurant and pub in Davis Square, on Wednesday, April 6th from 6:00-8:00pm. Tickets are only $20, and include a beer and wine tasting from 6:00-7:00pm and appetizers from 6:00-8:00pm. Here are a few reasons you should buy a ticket soon: 1. 100% of the money goes to SLF, so you’d be supporting a good cause. 2. The beer is all

Pretty Things

Posted on February 9, 2011February 9, 2011 by Sam Kornstein in Beer, Boston/Cambridge

There’s a great new “brewery” in town: Pretty Things. They’re based out of Cambridge, and have been around since February 2009. I call them new because their beer really wasn’t readily available in local liquor stores or bars until this past year. And I call them a “brewery” because they don’t actually have one. From their website: We are a gypsy brewery, without a permanent brewing home. We like it that way, we can be whatever we want to be on a shoestring budget. Essentially they rent out temporary space in local breweries, such as the Paper City brewery in Holyoke, MA. It’s a pretty interesting model, and I’m curious to see how long it works for them. But regardless,

Ice Desert

Posted on February 3, 2011February 3, 2011 by Sam Kornstein in Boston/Cambridge, Photography

The Charles at sunset: