But no "Mrs. Robinson" or "Its A Shame about Ray"?

-Glen

wow, the middle east! great place to see a band like that. heck, any band really.

Glen, they certainly did "It's A Shame About Ray." They played a lot of classics, almost everything you could want (except "Mrs. Robinson and "Stove"). The band played 30 songs though! No complaints from me.

About "Mrs. Robinson," you have to realize that for years (at least when the song was a hit) the band refused to play it live. So I didn't expect them to play it. I was thrilled enough when they played some of my personal favs like "Rudderless" and "Great Big No." They even snuck in an Angry Samoans cover ("Right Side of My Mind," I think). It was a truly inspired - if at times messy - show. Glad I and about 600 others were there to see Evan Dando just plain rock out again.

Didn't Dando apologize later for that cover of "Mrs. Robinson?" I always heard it was a marketing/label thing and he hated doing it. I could be wrong though.

Matt: Never heard that one (Dando apologizing for that Paul Simon cover). I can't imagine why he would since it's a great cover - it totally sounds like a Lemonheads song. A sign of a good cover is if you can totally make it your own song, isn't it?

If it's true, what you said, my guess is that Dando got sick of hearing it or hearing requests to play it so often that he just said whatever he had to to make the tune go away. But that's just guessing.

Mark: I've managed to go to the Middle East nightclub so many times over the last 11 years or so, for local acts, national/international acts, or friends bands. It's always a good time (downstairs or upstairs). And the upstairs room is great for seeing up-and-coming bands up close. I've seen Matt Pond PA, E Town Concrete and Minus The Bear there over the years (among many others). And I've seen everyone from Death Cab For Cutie and Clutch to 2 Skinnee J's and Pinback in the downstairs room.

It's also a great place to grab a bite to eat during the summetime as well, and on a good night, you can even catch a good local act playing in the corner of the restaurant portion of the club for free.

In fact, as I was waiting for my ride home after the Lemonheads show, I checked out a rockin' jazz-rock trio called Otis Grove. They were so good, I almost felt compelled to ask my friend (when he arrived) to find a parking space and watch the rest of their show with me! But I was tired, and it was getting to be 1:30am in the morning, so I went home knowing I got more than my money's worth that night.

It's just good to know that Boston (and surrounding areas) still has a thriving music scene these days.

I may have completely made that up. I swear I've heard that Dando disowned it, but I really couldn't tell you where or when I would have heard it so it might just be my imagination.

To tell the truth I never liked the Simon version and never felt the Lemonheads added anything to it, but that's just me.

Loved the cover of "frank mills" on the same album.

The "Frank Mills" cover is cool too, though I've never really heard the original (from some musical) so I can't compare the two.

One thing the Lemonheads do when they cover songs (non-acoustically, that is) is they add a punch to them that wasn't there in the original recording, and their version of "Mrs. Robinson" stands out (at least to me) for that very reason.

I believe "Frank Mills" is from Hair which is a fun show in a goofy 60s sort of way.

I know what you mean about their electrifying "Mrs. Robinson" and I don't think it is a bad cover at all, I just don't like the song itself for completely arbitrary reasons and thus the Lemonheads cover doesn't really do it for me.

How the new(ish) album? I have yet to hear it.

The S-T Lemonheads CD, which came out late last year, rocks like the early 90s and even late '80s Lemonheads, with a punk-ish poppy Buzzcocks edge to it. No doubt this is because Evan Dando let drummer Bill Stevenson - of the Descendents and Black Flag - co-produce the album and co-write three tracks. And Dinosaur Jr.'s J. Mascis adds some easily recognizable (killer) guitar work on "No Backbone" and "Steve's Boy."

Their 2006 "comeback" album isn't their best by no means, but it's better than Car Button Cloth (not that it's bad, either). I don't know how you'd stack it up against their best albums (their 1992 and 1993 CDS, IMO), but I never saw any reviews slamming it.

I for one found myself listening to a good majority of its 11 tracks over and over again, which is usually the sign of a good album. I'm not sure how much attention this "new" album has gotten since its release, but I'd imagine most Lemonheads fans who bought it are glad they did.

Check out some Lemonheads fan forums or Amazon.com reviews of the disc if you're looking to buy it. The Lemonheads Myspace page has a couple tracks from the album ("Pittsburgh" and "December") streaming there if you're wondering what some of it sounds like.

J Mascis is the only reason I bought the album...

Ryan: So, did you like the (2006) album? Or just the couple of tracks J. Mascis appeared on?