What’s it like to go from playing the local club circuit to suddenly sharing the stage with Cake, Cracker and the English Beat in front of about 80,000 people? Just ask the Help.
On Saturday, the local rock band opened Radio 92.9’s Earthfest, performing a noon set at the Hatch Shell, as well as closing the show at the local music stage.
The Help scored the prized slot by winning the OurStage.com online competition, in which more than 120,000 votes were cast to determine who’d get to perform on the main stage. More than 300 local acts entered. In addition to the Help, the local stage show also featured top-five finishers the Adam Ezra Group, Cahill, the Brew and Tim Blaine.
“We tried to approach this show the same way we approach every show,” Help guitarist Mark Brozek told Hotline, “play a tight set and enjoy our own music. We really didn’t let the fact that our audience was so huge shake us up too much. If anything it fueled our performance. There is certainly nothing like hearing a crowd that size cheering for you.”
The OurStage competition not only allowed the Help to play for the biggest crowd of its career, it also gave the band exposure on the OurStage Web site, where the Help notched about 5,000 plays. Not bad for a band that changed its name last year from Gino to the Help, a reference to the band members’ day jobs in the food industry.
Catch the Help on a much smaller scale June 6 at the All Asia Cafe in Cambridge, and June 21 at the Hard Rock Cafe.
Metallica parties like it’s 1999
Once the eager destroyer of online music, Metallica is finally warming up to the online community.
The metal legends yesterday unveiled Mission Metallica (missionmetallica.com), a Web site that gives fans an inside look on the making of the band’s upcoming album as well as other free online goodies including rare video footage and naked pictures of drummer Lars Ulrich.
Fans that pony up and pay for platinum user status get access to digital downloads, studio footage and ring tones. Somewhere, Shawn Fanning is laughing his tushy off.
Miley Cyrus gets ‘Rockstar’ challenge
A challenge has been issued to Miley Cyrus, and no, it’s not to cover up her naked teenage shoulder.
Remember last week’s news that some obscure Los Angeles alt-rock band accused Cyrus’ songwriting camp of ripping off its only hit? Well, Lustra is further milking the issue by challenging Cyrus to perform alongside them tomorrow in Los Angeles at the Viper Room.
Lustra plans to play its 2004 song “Scotty Doesn’t Know” with the hopes that Cyrus will then play - or lip sync or sing or whatever - her somewhat similar “Rockstar,” which dropped last year.
Lustra said the fans will decide if it got ripped off.
“We don’t want anything other than credit for the music we worked so very hard on,” said Lustra guitarist Nick Cloutman in a press release.
