WHICH BAND SHOULD PLAY WHEN? [Anything for a Weird Life]
Oct 8, 2024
Columns
In my prior band, many years ago, as conversations began over the evening’s set order, the drummer would make sure it was known: we, The Legendary
YOUR FIRST SCENE REPORT [Anything for a Weird Life]
Oct 1, 2024
Columns
You are in a basement in Pasadena, Maryland in a house off Goose Neck Road. The basement is large but spare and well kept. It is Friday, March 19th,
SCENE REPORT: Twig Harper @ Current Space [Anything for a Weird Life]
Sep 24, 2024
Columns
No matter which calendar you follow, as of this weekend, it is officially fall in Baltimore. This can only mean one thing: more events, festivals,
IN PRAISE OF BALTIMORE SHOWPLACE [Anything for a Weird Life]
Sep 17, 2024
Columns
On the heels of the DIY show listing's fifth anniversary, Tim sends up a vital Baltimore institution
IMPRESSIONS OF SHINY FEST 3 [Anything for a Weird Life]
Sep 10, 2024
Columns
It is the day after the third Shiny Fest, and I can’t stop thinking about balloons. Shiny Fest’s intent was not only to tout its own roster and
SUMMER 2024 RECAP [Anything for a Weird Life]
Sep 3, 2024
Columns
Tim's back from his summer sabbatical with a look back at a busy summer in Baltimore music.
Truth Cult (Last Show) [Anything for a Weird Life]
May 28, 2024
Columns
Tim's elegy for a standout Baltimore band
Reflections on Series Two: How Does He Do It? [Anything for a Weird Life]
May 21, 2024
Columns
Tim's thoughts on wrapping up another marathon run for his weekly column
Steve Albini 1962-2024 [Anything for a Weird Life]
May 14, 2024
Columns
“Rules be: No past, only present. No cheating; if it doesn’t happen that day, I won’t write about it. No explanations; if it doesn’t make sense to
Mayday [Anything for a Weird Life]
May 7, 2024
Columns
It is clear: we are so back. In Baltimore City, every weekend and weekday there are multiple cultural events to choose to attend this month. This
A User's Guide to Universal Order of Armageddon (Numero 221) [Anything for a Weird Life]
Apr 30, 2024
Columns
Tim's notes on Numero Group's double vinyl release of the indispensible Baltimore hardcore band's underappreciated catalog.
Tape World: O.K. Let's Rock with... Nirvana
Apr 9, 2024
Columns
Tim returns to Tape World to examine a mysterious Nirvana bootleg
On the Importance of Infrastructure [Anything for a Weird Life]
Apr 2, 2024
Columns
Tim illuminates the importance of our unseen support structures
Spring Break Scene Report [Anything for a Weird Life]
Mar 26, 2024
Columns
Tim surveys some of the Baltimore music that deserves your attention
Social Media and its Discontents [Anything for a Weird Life]
Mar 19, 2024
Columns
The internet as we know it won't last forever. Tim investigates.
In Praise of Phantomime [Anything for a Weird Life]
Mar 12, 2024
Columns
Saturday night remains a potential portal to other realms.
How to Write a Song [Anything for a Weird Life]
Mar 5, 2024
Columns
After listening to some old songs and writing some new ones, Tim has a few thoughts on the process.
Tape World: The Six O'Clock Alarm S/T
Feb 27, 2024
Columns
You can't find everything online.
Suffer Well, Rejoice Better with Bruce Springsteen, Pt. II [Praise Music for a Secular Life]
Feb 21, 2024
Music & Criticism & Columns
In this continuing rumination on The Boss, Lish Ciambrone sets her sight on 1992's Lucky Town.
A Return to the Arbutus Record Show [Anything for a Weird Life]
Feb 20, 2024
Columns
I returned to the record show a new person, transformed by years of questing that began here, back in the 1990s.
Suffer Well, Rejoice Better with Bruce Springsteen, Pt. I [Praise Music for a Secular Life]
Feb 14, 2024
Music & Criticism & Columns
Lish Ciambrone spends Valentine's Day ruminating on the Boss's less-appreciated autobiographical work, starting with his 1987 album Tunnel of Love
In Praise of Black Celebration [Anything for a Weird Life]
Feb 13, 2024
Columns
Tim visits a new Baltimore institution
Impressions of Disturbin' the Peace 2024: Day Two [Anything for a Weird Life]
Feb 6, 2024
Columns
What a difference a week makes. Baltimore City was on the edge of pandemonium on the afternoon of Sunday, January 28th. And I had to get down close
Impressions of Disturbin' The Peace 2024: Day One [Anything for a Weird Life]
Jan 30, 2024
Columns
It is 10 AM the day after Day One of the Fest, and my body and my mind are reeling. What I did, essentially, was stand alone in the back area of
In Praise of ROCKER [Anything for a Weird Life]
Jan 23, 2024
Columns
Now is the winter of our discontent. First Bandcamp, now Pitchfork. A universe of eulogies, think pieces, and final heckles swirl around this newly
Tape World: Death Grips, Exmilitary CS [Anything for a Weird Life]
Jan 16, 2024
Columns
Tim remembers the early shock of Death Grips' debut mixtape
In Praise of the Matinee Show [Anything for a Weird Life]
Jan 9, 2024
Columns
I kept confusing people. I said I was going to a matinee. They thought I meant a movie. But the band Body Farm was returning to town and they were
I Sing the BODY Electric [Anything for a Weird Life]
Jan 2, 2024
Columns
Let Tim have this one thing, please.
In Praise of Novelty [Anything for a Weird Life]
Dec 19, 2023
Columns
On Wednesday, December 13th, the show’s flyers started to appear, altered, on my timeline. The venue had been crossed out and a dreaded phrase had
In Praise of Repetition [Anything for a Weird Life]
Dec 12, 2023
Columns
Imagine a crowd gathered, chanting, one person leading the chant below over a bullhorn. “What do we want?” “Small, incremental but meaningful
Impressions of Acme Corporation's The Lights Went Out Because of a Problem [Anything for a Weird Life]
Dec 5, 2023
Columns
With the lights out, it's less dangerous
Tape World: Evil Spirits S/T Cassette [Anything for a Weird Life]
Nov 28, 2023
Columns
Tim's Proustian remembrance of Baltimore Past, spurred by a 2009 noise-sludge cassette
The Thanksgiving Truce Holds...for Now [Anything for a Weird Life]
Nov 21, 2023
Columns
It is that time of the year again. The “last show for a while” local band shows have happened, the “in town for the holidays” one-off shows are
When Should Your Band Break Up? [Anything for a Weird Life]
Nov 14, 2023
Columns
Bands break up. Tim surveys the possibilities.
See You at The Bean: Impressions of Tripper's EP Release Show [Anything for a Weird Life]
Nov 7, 2023
Columns
You know a Baltimore venue has come into its own when it has a nickname.
Tape World: Sonic Youth's Daydream Nation [Anything for a Weird Life]
Oct 31, 2023
Columns
Tim remembers a 1989 cassette purchase
Why Bandcamp Matters [Anything for a Weird Life]
Oct 24, 2023
Columns
A eulogy of sorts
When should a band record in the studio? [Anything for a Weird Life]
Oct 17, 2023
Columns
Tim's sage advice for young bands
An Open Letter to the Person who Mugged Me [Anything for a Weird Life]
Oct 10, 2023
Columns
Hello, How are you? We met about a week ago, on a Monday evening. You know where. You were the one that was hit by a car and then heckled by the
Found Sound Reviews [Anything for a Weird Life]
Oct 3, 2023
Columns
If you would like your release to be reviewed by Tim Kabara, donate it to your local thrift store.
Whartscape: A Look Back [Anything for a Weird Life]
Sep 26, 2023
Columns
As Baltimore City wades through the remnants of a tropical storm no one could have predicted as statistically likely and begins to process a
The Weather Report with Juliette Sandoval [#12]
Sep 22, 2023
Columns
Introspection looks something like an autopsy. I watch from above and take note, in the wings of the operating theater. You could come closer and
Artscape: A Look Back [Anything for a Weird Life]
Sep 19, 2023
Columns
This week Tim looks back at Artscape, a legendarily mismanaged Baltimore institution.
Men's Recovery Project, or The Pain of Being Pioneers [Anything for a Weird Life]
Sep 12, 2023
Columns
On Sunday, July 17th, 1994, I made my way to Richmond, Virginia to see my friends’ band open up for Bikini Kill. In 1994, pre-Internet, info was
What I Did on my Summer Vacation [Anything for a Weird Life]
Sep 5, 2023
Columns
Hello my name is Tim Kabara and I am going to write about what I did on my summer vacation. I filed my last BRUISER column on Memorial Day weekend.
The Weather Report with Juliette Sandoval [#11]
Sep 1, 2023
Columns
I can hear the earth breathing. The land comes alive, the flowers bloom after having their fill of the rain. The gnats are ecstatic. In my mind’s
The Weather Report with Juliette Sandoval [#10]
Aug 18, 2023
Columns
The window is being disassembled right before my eyes. I pass another hothouse summer, in here, under glass. I am waiting for the orchids to bloom.
The Weather Report with Juliette Sandoval #9
Aug 11, 2023
Columns
There is a river of light cutting through the underground. The fields are being laid out and planned and planted. The drivers spit out the seeds
A Good Long Scream with the FU Review [Alternative Currents #4]
Aug 8, 2023
Columns
The FU Review is a bi-yearly literary journal. Their editions are stylish, slim and feature poetry, prose and everything in-between. About a month
The Weather Report with Juliette Sandoval #8
Aug 4, 2023
Columns
This is a very liminal way to experience the world. The dust clears from the day. What was all-encompassing only moments ago fades like it was all
The Weather Report with Juliette Sandoval #7
Jul 21, 2023
Columns
I’ve got the world caught in a frame. That moment in time was an absolute construction. Another miasma of boardwalks and the light bearing down. I
The Weather Report with Juliette Sandoval #6
Jul 15, 2023
Columns
There is an all-encompassing humidity, a heart in jungle territory.
The Weather Report with Juliette Sandoval #5
Jul 7, 2023
Columns
The library looks like it belongs to one of those unreal metropolises. There is the maze of concrete and the industrial-bred deep sea ferns.
A World of One's Own [Alternative Currents #3]
Jul 4, 2023
Columns
On finding space at home and abroad; an encounter with a feral poet.
The Weather Report with Juliette Sandoval #4
Jun 30, 2023
Columns
May the summer only get hotter, may the nights emanate a breathless warmth.
The Weather Report with Juliette Sandoval #003
Jun 23, 2023
Columns
It’s volcanic the way the world keeps so much pressed down.
To Seek the Gnossian Shore [Alternative Currents #2]
Jun 20, 2023
Columns
Erik Satie & the new face of Berlin's club scene
The Weather Report with Juliette Sandoval 002
Jun 16, 2023
Columns
A smoky week unfurls
The Weather Report with Juliette Sandoval 001
Jun 8, 2023
Columns
In this new column, Juliette Sandoval tracks the weather
Confessions of an Authorized Schriftsteller [Alternative Currents]
Jun 2, 2023
Columns
In his first column for BRUISER, Thomas Huntington lays out his plans for a series on history's artists working on the fringe and the creative life of Berlin
Loners Club: A History in Three (or Four) Shows [Anything for a Weird Life]
May 30, 2023
Columns
Tim wraps up Series 1 with a retrospective on one of Baltimore's many short-lived but vital show spaces.
Time to Say Goodbye for the Summer [Anything For a Weird Life]
May 23, 2023
Columns
I was eating Indian buffet with some old friends when the topic of this column came up. I broke the news. The last column in “series one” will be
How Not to Go to Shows [Anything for a Weird Life]
May 16, 2023
Columns
Tim reviews the proper way to take a rain check
Going Underground at the Undercroft [Anything for a Weird Life]
May 9, 2023
Columns
Tim visits Baltimore's only all ages venue
Found Sound Reviews [Anything for a Weird Life]
May 2, 2023
Columns
If you would like your release to be reviewed by Tim Kabara, donate it to your local thrift store.
So You've Been Memed [Anything for a Weird Life]
Apr 25, 2023
Columns
It’s finally happened. You did not plan for it, as you can’t, but you always knew it was a possibility. You have entered into the realm of Meme!
Finding Peace in the Valley [Anything for a Weird Life]
Apr 18, 2023
Columns
Tim surveys the fresh happenings of Le Comptoir Du Vin's back bar
How Many Times Should a Baltimore Band Play Baltimore? [Anything for a Weird Life]
Apr 11, 2023
Columns
The answer used to be easy.
You Are Not What You Own [Anything for a Weird Life]
Apr 4, 2023
Columns
You can't Fugazi the Internet.
Spring Show-verlode [Anything for a Weird Life]
Mar 28, 2023
Columns
Baltimore music blooms in spring. Take your anti-histamines.
Leaves Turn Inside You: Seeing Unwound Live 1993-2023 [Anything for a Weird Life]
Mar 21, 2023
Columns
The flyer came in the mail. Universal Order of Armageddon was playing with some band called Unwound in the basement of the 169 house on Friday, July
Underground Show FAQ [Anything for a Weird Life]
Mar 14, 2023
Columns
So you’re decided to go to a show at a non-traditional venue in the Baltimore underground. Great! Here are some of the questions you may have.
Found Sound Reviews [Anything for a Weird Life]
Mar 7, 2023
Columns
If you would like your release to be reviewed by Tim Kabara, donate it to your local thrift store.
Welcome to Uzumaki [Anything for a Weird Life]
Feb 28, 2023
Columns
A girlfriend once said to me “Experimental music? That’s a stupid name for it. Isn’t all music an experiment?"
Past, Present, and Future [Anything for a Weird Life]
Feb 21, 2023
Columns
Tim scans the changing tides
How to Use Spotify [Anything for a Weird Life]
Feb 14, 2023
Columns
We know you've heard vinyl is making a comeback, but what about streaming music? How does that work?
I Hear Vinyl is Making a Comeback [Anything for a Weird Life]
Feb 7, 2023
Columns
Is it, though?
Scene Report : Saturday, July 2nd, 2016 [Anything for a Weird Life]
Jan 31, 2023
Columns
The first preview of Tim's book-in-process about the Baltimore Music and Arts Underground spring 1993 - fall 2016. This passage covers a surprise Dan Deacon show at the Crown.
Haunted by a Friendly Ghost: The Return of The Hated [Anything for a Weird Life]
Jan 24, 2023
Columns
“On April 18, 1918, a meeting was held at the home of Joseph Urban of Earleigh Heights for the purpose of establishing a Volunteer Fire Department.”
Recent Show Observations [Anything for a Weird Life]
Jan 17, 2023
Columns
Tim Kabara went to two very different shows in the first weeks of the new year.
Found Sound Reviews [Anything for a Weird Life]
Jan 10, 2023
Columns
If you would like your release to be reviewed by Tim Kabara, donate it to a local thrift store.
TOP TEN [Anything for a Weird Life]
Jan 3, 2023
Columns
Tim Kabara's Top Ten retrospective
In Praise of Bella Hayes [Anything for a Weird Life]
Dec 20, 2022
Columns
The Pandemic has sucked. The Pandemic continues to suck. But some artists have pushed and made and made-do and somehow even toured while underground
Saturday Night and Sunday Morning [Anything for a Weird Life]
Dec 13, 2022
Columns
Tim Kabara's lament for a great show that didn't happen.
Eight Days a Week? [Anything for a Weird Life]
Dec 6, 2022
Columns
Tim Kabara considers show scheduling in the weekend-focused Baltimore scene.
Found Sound Reviews [Anything for a Weird Life]
Nov 29, 2022
Columns
If you would like your release to be reviewed by Tim Kabara, donate it to a local thrift store.
The Nowhere Feeling of Holidays [Anything for a Weird Life]
Nov 22, 2022
Columns
Tim Kabara ruminates on the Baltimore DIY scene's holiday season
Letter of Recommendation: Suzanne Doogan [Anything for a Weird Life]
Nov 15, 2022
Columns
Tim Kabara sends up Baltimore poet, musician, artist, and quality human Suzanne Doogan
Anything for a Weird Life: "Why I Go to Shows" by Tim Kabara
Nov 8, 2022
Columns
Baltimore music scene fixture Tim Kabara introduces his new column for BRUISER.