Here's an awesome email from a fan from New York that I thought would be great to share! Louis
After years of wanting to see the band, I finally got the opportunity to catch Friday's show at Tequila's. It was well worth it and I can't wait to hear the new album.
I blogged about the event at http://www.imalovernotawriter.blogspot.com/.
Take care and good luck, guys.
On Friday, I kicked off the Memorial Day weekend (and the summer) by leaving work early and heading over to the Boston area to realize a dream twenty four years in the making – a chance to see Mass in concert. If you're saying "Who is Mass?"… shame on you. Mass, a hard rock band from Boston, is arguably the best band to never become a household name, and their 1985 album, New Birth, is quite possibly the greatest hard rock album of all time. I kid you not. If you like 80's metal and you don't have this album… get it. It's finally available on cd through Retrospect Records.
Despite a lack of record label support and the commercial success enjoyed by some "hair" bands of the time, the band released two EP's and two LP's between 1985 and 1988 while building a strong underground fan base. The band kept busy through the ensuing years despite the lack of a recording contract, and the tables have finally turned. Mass played at last year's Rocklahoma festival and will headline the Saturday night section this year. However, make no mistake; this band isn't living off past glory. A new album released in 2007, Crack of Dawn, is an amazing slab of hard rock, and the band is in the studio working on their next release as you read this.
Naturally, when I heard the band was playing a show at a small bar outside of Boston, I wanted in. After all, I've been waiting since 1985 to see these guys! My wife graciously agreed to take the trip with me – she is surprisingly willing to humor me with these somewhat crazy ideas I get, a fact which may earn her sainthood, one day – so I would not fly solo. With holiday traffic, the three-and-a-half hour trip took six hours (which was to be expected), but she was even kind enough to leave that point alone, as well.
We arrived safe and sound, checked into the hotel, and headed over to the venue. I cringed upon walking in; it's one thing to see a show at a dingy bar/restaurant full of drunken people when accompanied by a friend who can take care of his (or her) self. It's another to drag your Sarah-McLachlan-loving, mild-mannered college professor wife… nevertheless, we were committed, so I offered a prayer to the heavens above and hoped for the best.
Everything worked out well. The band was superb, the crowd was supportive (and not dangerous in the least), and I was happier than the proverbial pig in sh*t.
All in all, the best Mass I've ever attended.
http://www.geocities.com/massbelievers/index.htm
http://www.retrospectrecords.com