Purplephiles plowed through a record 72 songs in their 45-minutes set Thursday at the Bullfinch. It wasn’t to win a bet, and it wasn’t their usual set. It was a demonstration of how they rehearse, in what they call their weekly “bull band” sessions. Someone calls out a classic tune, they slam out four bars or so of it, agree that they know it, and move on. At the Finch, they took requests from the audience, stipulating first that this wasn’t to be a “stump the band” nite and they were fine with saying no to outlandish requests. But they did still know an awful lot of songs, including a few real obscurities (“Ill Lad” by Ho and the Myrrhs, anyone?) which friends in the crowd knew they knew. A stop/start night of premature ejaculations and shortened expectations, but a dazzling show of prowess. Anybody else rehearse like this?
Tonight: Mini Twinge at the Bullfinch… Caster and the Polaks