Crushing on Rumble Coverage

The ’09 WBCN Rumble yielded two winners – TLOS favorites The Luxury (congrats fellas – we hope to see Coldplay opening for you a year from now), and Boston’s blogging community, which over the past few weeks has seen (dare I say) a coming of age.

“The impact the blogs are making can not be underestimated. Having video of the previous night to watch while at work goes a long way towards keeping each performance ‘alive,’ so to speak,” said Michael Marotta, who addressed this phenomenon recently on Vanyaland and bostonherald.com. 

Alas, for the most up-to-the-minute Rumblings, local music folks weren’t looking to Boston.com - they were likely repelled by its Corel Wordperfect 1996 clip art-inspired logo - the Phoenix, or the other usual suspects. Instead they were feverishly hitting the refresh button on these two ragtag and lovable websites: 

Boston Band Crush - the go-to site for all things Rumble. Props to Sophia Cacciola, Michael “likes this” Epstein, and Ashley Willard for a herculean effort that included previews and post-Rumble photos, videos, and analysis for each competing band, and this sweet NCAA tournament bracket (fitting since their play-by-play style Tweets and Facebook updates were practically Dick Vitale-esque). 

Ryan’s Smashing Life - “the RSL” is run by Ryan Spaulding, one of the nicest guys in the local scene, who, despite purchasing his first computer a few years ago, now finds himself operating one of Boston’s most popular music blogs. RSL’s Rumble coverage, while not quite as exhaustive as Boston Band Crush, included enthusiastic concert reporting, MP3s, and stellar photos by former Exploit Boston! blogger Sooz.

It took a month-long battle of the bands competition to create (at least what felt like) an actual Boston music scene. The recent flurry of Boston blog-sponsored showcase concerts – by RSL, Bradley’s Almanac, and Enough Cowbell – gives us TLOS’ers hope that this sense of community will extend well beyond the Rumble.