Okay, I know the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston isn’t exactly in the neighborhood, but based on the shows I’ve enjoyed there, the Courtyard outdoor performance space in the center of the museum is to smaller outdoor venues what Boarding House Park is to larger outdoor venues – more intimate, better organized, and an all around better time…which makes it worth detailing this season's MFA Concerts in the Courtyard.
The series, held on Wednesday nights, started a couple of weeks ago with acoustic troubadour Jose Gonzalez, and things aren’t slowing down until the end of August. Even though I won’t be attending, I was giddy when I saw that British electro-folk chanteuse Beth Orton is playing tonight, with two shows at 7 and 9 p.m. Not surprising, both shows are sold out.
Dengue Fever, a Cambodian-flavored rock band led by songstress Ch’hom Nimol, brings their pop-world fusion to the Courtyard on July 9, followed a week later on July 16 by Forro in the Dark, a Brazilian forro band that substitutes traditional instruments with contemporary sounds. The Hot 8 Brass Band from New Orleans drops their blend of hip-hop, jazz and funk on July 23, and Mauritania native Daby Toure delivers his mix of world music sounds on July 30.
Alt-country singer/songwriter Tift Merritt performs on August 6, while indie darlings Grizzly Bear spin heads with their otherworldly concoctions on August 14 (the only Thursday of the series). Things end with a bang with two performances of Still Black, Still Proud: An African Tribute to James Brown, featuring Cheikh Lo and Vieux Farka Toure. These sets will be tied to the screening of the new documentary The Night James Brown Saved Boston, which will be showing at the museum on August 8, 9, 10, 17, and 20.
Over the last couple of years, the MFA (both the Courtyard and the Remis Auditorium) has become one of my favorite venues to see music in Boston, mainly because of the well-organized events and the true respect the audience pays to the performers, regardless of their age or the type of music they play. Or maybe it's because I'm getting to old to stand on aching legs at the Middle East until 2 in the morning. I can assure you that the MFA venues are the antithesis of this.
Concerts in the Courtyard shows usually begin at 7:30 (except for nights with dual shows), and ticket prices are normally $20 for MFA members, seniors, and students, and $25 for the general public.
