« Tina Turner at the XL Center | Main | Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2009 »
December 31, 2008
Mighty Mighty Bosstones at Toad's Place
From the start of Tuesday night's Mighty Mighty Bosstones concert at Toad's Place in New Haven, you could tell something wasn't quite right with singer Dicky Barrett's voice.
I'm sure it had to do with the fact that this was the band's fifth straight night with a show as part of its Hometown Throwdown — four nights in Boston, one in New Haven and tonight's finale in Providence, R.I.
Despite Barrett's voice leaving him at times during the concert, the Bosstones still put on a great show as other members of the band supported Barrett by handling some of the singing duties. Most notably, trombone player Chris Rhodes, who seemed thrilled to be playing a Throwdown show in him hometown.
The full house — and then some — gathered at Toad's didn't seem to mind Barrett's shortcomings as the fans were just glad to see the boys back at Toad's after an absence of about eight years.
Still, for the $25 or $30 people shelled out for the concert, you would have liked to have gotten more than an 80-minute performance.
One of the night's two opening acts deserves mention. Tip the Van is a six-piece local ska band fronted by two female singers and a female trombonist. The band was wildly entertaining from what I saw of their time on stage and I'm looking forward to seeing more from this band.
Tip the Van will be heading out with Reel Big Fish and Streetlight Manifesto on a national tour that will reach Toad's Place on Jan. 23. That should be a fun night and an occasion to pay attention to the opening act.
Posted by Sean on December 31, 2008 3:36 PM
