Dave’s Photo Blog

Billy Beard

The July residency at the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge hosts two spectacular bands: Mia Dyson opening for Dennis Brennan. Mia Dyson is an Australian singer, songwriter and musician with tremendous talent who relocated to the United States earlier this year. She brought along her bassist, James Haselwood and sound man Lloyd Barratt. With Billy Beard joining on drums, Mia has a powerhouse trio that showcases her considerable talent. She has a fantastic voice and is equally impressive on guitar. And Dennis Brennan delivers captivating songs with some of Boston’s best musicians backing him: Duke Levine and Kevin Barry on guitar, Billy Beard drumming and Richard Gates on bass. This show is a must-see for any fan of roots or folk music in the Boston area, especially in an intimate setting like the Lizard Lounge. Even blues and country music fans will find something to like here.

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I had the pleasure of attending a show at the Limelight on Tremont Street this past Sunday, and decided to write about it. The band that I saw there, January Broke, was making their first appearance with a drummer. Previously, they had played with just guitar and bass or guitar and piano. Both Jeremy Ross (guitar, vocals) and Cilla Bonnie (bass, piano, vocals) have won the Lizard Lounge Open Mike Challenge. Joined by drummer Chris DeSanty, they scarcely had time to practice together before this first gig at the Limelight.

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If you drove on Massachusetts Avenue in East Arlington this fine Saturday afternoon, you could not have missed the festival taking place on both sides of the street. Today was the Feast of the East – the annual festival in Capitol Square, better known, probably, as the “Lake Street” area. The Feast of the East is the brainchild of Jack Hurd, a town selectman. This year was the 11th year it has run. It’s funded by local businesses, but caters to safe family activities: face painting, jumping castles, food and of course, cotton candy and other sweets.

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Copyright © 2009 Joseph Allen

I’ve written a few times before about the railroad tie replacement activity that was slated for the West Medford Commuter Rail station. Over the last few weeks, it’s actually been happening. It’s rare that one gets a chance to see this much work happening on the railroad – we often take them for granted. But I’ve taken a few photographs to illustrate just what a railroad tie replacement project looks like, from the crews to the equipment.

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The Regent Theatre in Arlington punked the rest of New England today with the worldwide simulcast screening of Iron’s Maiden’s Flight 666. The movie is a documentary of their 2008 tour and recently won the best music documentary award at the recent SXSW festival and conference. The Regent was the only theater in New England to join the simulcast that had the movie playing in roughly 450 locations worldwide. And the Regent did it in style, with the soundtrack at concert volume levels.

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I was sitting on a shelf. I twisted one arm back. I twisted the other arm back. I got unsteady. I wiggled. I wobbled. I fell off. I walked over to mommy. I said, “ui mom ui, ui, ui, wa, wa, wa - mom I think I broke my arm.”

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I took the kids up to Bear Hill Tower on Good Friday. We call it, “tower 2,” because of course the Tower is Wright’s Tower. It had been years since I’d been up Bear Hill and it was a shorter walk than I remember. While Wright’s Tower is locked during the off-season, Bear Hill Tower is not, so we were able to go up to the top to take in the view. You don’t get the expansive view of Boston that you get from Wright’s Tower, but it is still well worth the effort and you get a 360° view, unlike Wright’s Tower.

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I have to tell you that this sign from Pastor Thomas Michael has me really confused. If you are an evolutionist, I suppose it’s pretty easy to be offended at having evolution called a religion and blamed for sin. But if you are religious, I would think you would also have to be offended because it seems to me that the Bible is pretty clear about the origins of sin.

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On Saturday, April 4, the Town of Arlington will hold an election for, among other things, two school committee members. There are three candidates vying for two seats: Cindy Starks, Jeff Thielman and Joe Tully. In a debate held on Thursday, March 26th, they each answered a three-part question on the Thompson Elementary School. While I won’t endorse any particular candidate, I have transcribed both the question and the answers given by all three candidates on this issue.
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