Last Sunday night in Boston was concert weekend–not only did we see the True Colors tour on Saturday, but on our way home on Sunday we saw She Wants Revenge and Be Your Own Pet at Paradise Rock Club in Cambridge. The concert was inexpensive and it sounded like a good way to get our music fix in.

Be Your Own Pet did a very energetic opening set, however the sound quality at Paradise was horrible that night-sounded like a speaker had blown out–so we could barely hear the lead singer as she pranced around stage. Still, they had a cool rockabilly punk vibe (and they are young–I think no one in that band is over 25!).

She Wants Revenge were OK but a bit lackluster compared to the first time we saw them 2 years ago at Northern Lights. Back then they had an edgier vibe, they seemed a bit too casual and low-key for the night. But what could you expect for the price? We were still glad we went.

Then, this past Thursday we had the good fortune of being able to see the Breeders at Pearl Street. Yes, the Breeders! At Pearl Street!!!
We were shocked that such a legendary band would end up in such a tiny place.
We were thinking that it probably wouldn’t be that great of a concert, and that the Breeders would probably play a few old songs begrudingly, mostly new songs from their O.K album and then snobbishly leave the stage without saying much to the crowd.

But boy were we surprised! When the Breeders arrived on stage, they couldn’t be any friendlier. They chatted up a storm with the audience and thanked us all profusely for coming to “their little show”. It was an absolute treat. They did play a few songs from their new album (which isn’t bad, but not nearly as good as Last Splash), but they did us the pleasure of singing quite a few songs from Last Splash, and a few good rarities from compilations that they did in the 90’s (eek! Hard to believe they’re now considered “old skool”.)

Kim and Kelly Deal still have the same great harmony and energy; if you closed your eyes you wouldn’t have thought it was over 15 years since they debuted (The Breeders themselves, not the Pixies, which in that case, it would’ve been ages longer!). They barely faltered, with the exception of “Cannonball”–it wasn’t their best performance of it, but hey, one out of a whole bunch isn’t bad.
They came back for an encore and ended with “Saints”, which was a perfect song to kick off the summer (“Summer is ready when you are”)

They were funny and seemed pretty humble to be playing in a small place. We all felt lucky to be part of such a great little gem of a show.

Side note: Opening for them were the Montana Boys, who didn’t have a sound that we particularly cared for, but they did have very funny titles to their songs (for example, “Doogie Howser will stalk you in your dreams”.) Gotta hand it to them for creativity.