If you’re reading this, you already know about Bradley’s Almanac, right? It’s not just one of the best Boston-centric indie-music blogs, it’s one of the best (and most principled) indie-music blogs on the Internets, full stop. Its proprietor, Brad Searles, is an amazing guy — insanely knowledgeable and supportive of music made hereabouts and elsewhere, and a warm, generous person to boot. I’ve literally lost count of the bands he’s turned me on to. The sort of enthusiasm he displays is what vibrant music scenes are made of.

He and his family have had some life challenges lately, one of the nastiest of which is his wife Amie’s recent breast cancer diagnosis. Sadly this happened before we fixed the US healthcare system. But with the help of some of those talented local musicians, he’s put together a phenomenal benefit show (money raised will be go to the non-profit Breastcancer.org as well as defraying Amie’s medical bills) including Kristin Hersh (Throwing Muses/50 Foot Wave), Bill Janovitz (Buffalo Tom), Travels (featuring former members of Victory at Sea and The Metal Hearts), Drew O’Doherty, Colin Clary (The Smittens/Let’s Whisper), and Adam Brilla (The Broken River Prophet).

The all-ages event goes down at noon, Saturday October 17th, at The Middle East in Cambridge MA. Tickets are just $10 and available at the Middle East box office or online from TicketMaster. There’s also a Facebook page for the event.

You like everything that comes out on SST
You like everything that comes out on 4AD
You like almost everything that comes out on Homestead
I LIKE EVERYTHING THAT I GET IN THE MAIL FOR FREE!
(How ’bout that)

That stanza inspired me to become a reviewer so I could get music in the mail for free. What I didn’t know is that Sturgeon’s Law most definitely applies to what you get in the mail for free; even it’s own mother couldn’t possibly like all of it.

Anyway, I really enjoyed Great Plains’ set. They were a touch sloppy in that kinda good bar band-y way, or maybe that was just the muddiness of the mix. (Whiny aside: I really wish I liked The Middle East better, but all but a handful of shows I’ve seen there have sounded like crap, and downstairs is often uncomfortably like a sweatlodge.) Front man Ron House was in fine voice, and everyone on stage looked like they were having a good time.

It’s been bugging me that I can’t remember if I saw Big Dipper twice or just once back in the day. I know I saw them in Baltimore touring Slam (with a seismograph on stage, and Young’s “Rocking in the Free World” in the set), but I kinda think I also saw them in DC between Craps and Slam. At at least one Dipper show I know I was completely transported into the magical state of pure enjoyment. Maybe it happens to you and maybe it doesn’t, but when a band really connects with me, I stop being aware of things like what’s in (or out) of tune with what, whether the tempos are steady, how good or bad the mix is, and anything else from the analytical side of my brain. My consciousness shuts down and I just love what’s happening.

That’s a very high bar to reach, so it shouldn’t surprise me that the 2008 Dipper failed to reach it. It was great just to see Steve Michener, Jeff Oliphant, Gary Waleik, and Bill Goffrier on stage together again. They looked like they were having a blast revisiting the wondeful songs they crafted, and that’s important. Waleik seemed to be struggling a bit to hit some of the notes, but maybe he just couldn’t hear himself. I was certainly frustrated with the mix, my wonderful girlfriend and I weren’t feeling well, and we didn’t stay through the end of the night.

But if they pull a “Mission of Burma”-style return to active duty (and I hope they do), I would love to see/hear them again when they have another few shows under their belt, hopefully in a better-sounding room, and when I’ve had a chance to rein in my own unrealistic expectations a bit.