There are certain bands who have played the festival a number of times. These bands are invited back so frequently for a reason. In general, they make great music, put on a great live show, and, most importantly, they loved playing the festival. Among these acts are The Hood Internet, Wye Oak, and a plethora of local talent that never cease to amaze us. Today I will discuss a band that is making their triumphant return to the festival, joining the elite ranks of other previous repeat performers, and a personal favorite of mine:

Exhibit C: Brighton, MA

Tuesday, March 29th @ The Englert

7:00PM :: $20 advance/$22.50 day of show

The first time I saw Brighton, MA was at the Mission Creek festival a few years ago. I knew nothing about them at the time, and as has happened with so many bands at the festival, they immediately made it onto my listening rotation. They have an enormous sound, and they use each one of their 5-7 members to perfection. Each musician has a unique style and an enormous amount of talent. Notice that I have now used the word “enormous” twice. Let that be a testament to the fact that this band IS enormous. What? You don’t understand? Let me explain: Brighton, MA is a wall of sound. Their music completely envelops you as you watch them on stage. They have traces of all the great musicians of the past in their music, from Chuck Berry to Bob Dylan, and they also draw largely from contemporary musicians, like Wilco…? THE POINT IS: There is a little bit of everything good in their music. Half the fun of listening to them is trying to figure out where it all came from. They mesh their influences perfectly and create a totally original, and if I may say awesome, sound. But that’s not really why I’m excited for them to come to the fest this year.

Back to the first time I saw Brighton, MA. It was at the Mill, a free Tuesday show during the festival, and Brighton had been ripping the stage apart for close to three hours. Considering the fact that they were doing pretty damn well with the crowd, many shots of various liquors had been passed to the members on stage. They were troopers and kept playing through the fog. Eventually, several members of the band evacuated the stage before the set derailed (a good call, we’ve all been there). However, guitarist Jim Turek started playing the intro to “Shook Me All Night Long” and shortly after, a hodgepodge of Brighton members and members from other bands were on stage playing the song. The only thing missing was a Brian Johnson wannabe to sing the damn thing. Then some random dude from the audience (about 6’1″, blonde hair, blue eyes, 220…) hopped on stage and they all rocked out to AC/DC. This is why I’m excited to see Brighton, MA: they have an immense love for playing live. They have fun on stage and they insist that you have fun as well. Plus, they have a deep well of great cover songs on tap, and they have absolutely no shame. Gotta love that in a band.