If you ever find yourself in the greater Boston area and are looking to get your groove on, the Wonder Bar in Allston never seems to fail. It has been host to countless producers and DJs, both popular and local. This past week, I had the pleasure of heading down that way and seeing a few of Beantown's finest local DJs do their thing. If you haven't already noticed, some of the best music is spun in underground settings. I am never disappointed with the new, delicious beats that are thrown down by these dudes who seriously know their stuff, and it is always nice for the crowd and the performer to have a shared appreciation of great music at one of these shows. This show in particular was put on by Beandream Productions, a Boston nightlife event planner, which established the monthly dance party known as Binary that the Wonder Bar hosts for us Boston boogiers.
Opening was a dude who went by Light Blue Laboratory. After the initial confusion in attempting to get his name correct (Blue Light Factory?"), I took a seat by the bar to get a better listen. At this point in the night, it was too early for a lot of people to be there, but there were still a few bobbing their heads and getting into his set. It was super chill and melodic, with a future, dreamlike flow and cloud rap influence. He impressively mixed in a nice heavy bass with some slow dub in and out of the set as well. Clams Casino's "I'm God" was one of the last songs he chose, so that right there was the cherry on top of a Light Blue cake.
Next was another popular Boston local
Uncle Bob, who is definitely not your average uncle. As more people came through the door to join in on the Binary experience, Uncle Bob was just revving up. He began his set with bassline house, which was a refreshing surprise. But what got people going was his clean transition into trap, which just never fails to get old for me, if done right, which Uncle Bob certainly did. As I've said, the best music is found in the underground. You will rarely, and most likely never, be hearing "Love Sosa" at a local show. Uncle Bob did, however, screw around with my emotions (in the best way) by integrating such a diverse array of genres, (bassline house, electro house, trap, heavy dub, liquid dub) that never sounded forced or unnatural, which can be hard to come by and is pretty impressive. To sum up, Uncle Bob was the catalyst in transforming the Wonder Bar that night into a seriously wild party.
By the time
Darko, the headliner, came on the 1's and 2's, the crowd was sweating and dancing with amazing and positive energy. And to out it bluntly, Darko was nastier and tighter than you're grandmother's vagina, integrating heavy bass, deep house, trap and future dub. He wrapped up the night beautifully heavy, having the crowd going absolutely crazy. Darko not only DJs but produces as well. You can check out his new deep house tune "Deep Dish" here, along with Uncle Bob's "Electric Blue Peggy Sue" mix.
These local guys are doing big things in small places, proving that Beantown knows good music and that the underground scene is still alive and kickin'.
This is one of the most catchy punk/ska bands ever and a favorite song of mine growing up. The Suicide Machines were a sneaky underground punk rock band, also involving a few horns for a ska feel on some of their tracks. The debut album Destruction By Definition provided the perfect musical soundtrack for skateboarders and snowboarders like myself during the 90's. The band formed in Detroit, Michigan back in 1991 and they would remain for the most part underground with a unique sound. They were a regular at the Vans Warped Tour early on along with bands like NOFX, No Use For A Name, and Bad Religion. Today there is no such thing as a true underground punk-rock band anymore, it has all gone pop, and that is sad. I will never forget how awesome The Suicide Machines were, their music was so fresh and alive, it still holds up strong today. You can stream the full Suicide Machines library on spotify here.
