If the shutdown’s got you burned out with splashy all-star charity events, Sunday afternoon’s Mess Around should be the perfect antidote. There are no superstars except local ones, and no lofty goals beyond raising a little money and having the usual good time.
The party started four years ago at the Plough & Stars as a way for local rockers to try out new songs, play some favorite cover tunes, and blow off steam in a stripped-down semi-acoustic setting. This weekend it goes virtual for its fourth anniversary show, beginning at 4 p.m. Sunday.
“It’s a great place to try new songs out,” said co-founder Jay Allen. “It’s like playing in your living room. If you mess up, nobody’s going to mind.”
The event’s three founders — Allen, Justine Covault (of the Black Threads and Justine & the Unclean) and Tom Baker (of the Dirty Truckers) will all be present for Sunday’s show, which brings back a roomful of favorite guests: Lee Harrington of the Neighborhoods; Evan Shore and Peter Sjosted of Muck & the Mires, rockabilly guitar hero “Miss Amy” Griffin, Chris deBarge of the Curses, and solo artists Tad Overbaugh and Ken Kaiser. The event will be streamed via the Somerville club Once’s “virtual venue” platform, which can be accessed through Facebook but requires registration through Eventbrite beforehand. All donations will be split between employees of Once and the Plough.
Though there’s no musical restrictions on messing around, the shows have tended to focus on local punk, garage and alt-country — Covault alone has played all the above with both her bands.
“When the Mess Arounds started I was coming out of a long hiatus from playing, being a mom and a wife,” she said, “and I’ll give Jay credit for getting me back up there, getting me over the terror of playing my own originals in front of people. Having people telling me they liked the songs was really encouraging and important.”
Allen and Baker have likewise broken in plenty of material at the shows — Baker writes some of the punchiest rock songs in town, and Allen’s are equal parts heartbreak and what-the-hell humor. There have also been plenty of impromptu cover tunes, and even the occasional unrehearsed band reunion.
“It’s messy, but good messy,” Covault said.
Added Allen, “We’ve had a lot of variety, but it has to work in that stripped-down setting. We’ve had country and punk and people who play in metal bands. There was even one show with a cellist. The only rule we really have is ‘no drums,’ but even that’s been broken once or twice. There’s a serendipity to it, people get into it and the next thing you know they’re all playing with each other.”
Sunday’s show won’t be completely live — the performers all video’d their sets in advance, and Evan Shore’s taken on the task of editing it all together. But the organizers will be doing a livestream interview with WMFO DJ Skybar Lusardi afterward.
“I can’t wait until we get to do this live again, but meanwhile, why stop?” Allen said. “Hopefully this will keep some of our momentum going.”
But can anything replace the usual Mess Around vibe of everyone hanging out and drinking together? Said Covault, “That would be everyone drinking separately. And hopefully feeling that we’re all watching it together.”
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June 26, 2020 at 04:33PM
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Mess Around returns – virtually – with bevy of local stars - Boston Herald
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