Next Tuesday, July 21, The Curtain Society is playing a show in Boston with Mark Burgess of the Chameleons UK. I've spent the last few days telling people about this show with a childlike excitement. "Did you hear what I said? I said we're playing with MARK BURGESS!" I don't think that most people truly understand the monumental occasion that this is.

Some of you reading this might already be familiar with the music of The Chameleons, either from hearing "Swamp Thing" on WFNX back in the day, or maybe even from hearing The Curtain Society cover it as a set closer one of the many times we've done it. For the uninitiated, The Chameleons were a pioneering post-punk band from Manchester England in the early 80s. They were peers with bands like the Smiths, Big Country and U2, playing a sort of anthemic guitar rock with swirling, echoey intertwined guitar lines, a driven and grinding bass and cracking drums. Most of all, the appeal was the voice and words of singer/bassist Mark Burgess. His urgent and personal (and sometimes ironic/tongue-in-cheek) lyrics connected with the audience on a deeper level than most bands. It's a strange phenomena but it seems that you either have never heard of them or else you fanatically love them. No middle ground.

There has been a resurgence in the kind of guitar rock that they pretty much invented in 1981 lately with the likes of reverential bands like Interpol, Editors, Protokoll etc (all fantastic bands worth checking out, not to mention that Protokoll is Boston-based!)

Like a lot of people in the US, I got into them after they had broken up in 1988. Living in central MA, I wasn't able to hear "Swamp Thing" or "Up the Down Escalator" on WFNX or WZBC in the 80s. My enlightenment came first by getting a 12" single of "...Escalator" at my high school radio station that I liked but didn't investigate further until I read a live review of The Curtain Society in 1989 that compared us to them and The House of Love, another UK band that I was aware of at the time and was already a fan of.

I went on a quest to check them out. I picked up a used cassette of Strange Times at Al-Bum's on Pleasant Street and was immediately in love with the band. I felt like I had discovered some great treasure that no one else knew about. Every time I would be in my van with someone, I would play the tape and say "isn't this band awesome?" They would hear the opening riff to "Swamp Thing" and pretty much be sold.

Since about 1993, The Curtain Society has often covered "Swamp Thing" as a set closer, and we recorded a version as a b-side to our "Mouthwithout" 7" in 1996. It's amazing to hear the crowd reaction when we start playing the opening riff. It just seems to be a song that gives everyone goosebumps.

This Tuesday will be a special event. Not just because we are on the same bill as Mark, who will be performing an acoustic set as well (and not to mention Aaron Perino of Sheila Divine/Dear Leader, who we know is also a huge fan and a super talent). We have been asked if we could BACK HIM UP, as in to be Mark's backing band to play some full-out Chameleons songs. My arms are stinging from constantly pinching myself.

It's always seemed like a miracle that we would even get to see Mark or The Chameleons play live, since I started getting into them after they had broken up already. Now to think that we would be playing these songs WITH Mark is just beyond a dream come true. It's hard to describe the excitement and anxiety about it. The excitement is obvious, but there is definitely a nervousness about it. We are essentially backing up the man responsible for so much of our early sound. I can't put into words how mind-blowing the thought of this is.

After over 20 years of making music with The Curtain Society it just seems surreal yet sort of natural in a way to be performing with him. Surreal in that this is the man whose music shaped a lot of our early material. What started as a curiosity because of their being mentioned in a review turned into a feeling of musical kinship that's lasted all this time. Natural because we have had a long career with so many unbelievable highlights that we sometimes feel like the luckiest band ever. We've gotten to play with some great people, even backing up another one of our early musical idols, poet/writer Jim Carroll for a few shows. We've gotten some sincerely wonderful reactions to our own music the way that we, ourselves, have gotten from bands like the Chameleons. It's a kind of flattery that you feel unworthy of, but makes you feel like you've given someone something special with your music. To have even had one person give us that sort of feedback is an incredible feeling. I can't imagine what it's like to hear it thousands and thousands of times like I'm sure Mark and the Chameleons have.

Tuesday's show will be far more than just another gig. On one level, it will be a personal milestone for all of us in The Curtain Society. It will be something that we never dreamed of doing and suddenly we are. A private moment that will be happening on a public stage. On another level, fans of Mark and the band will be connecting with the music on a deep and personal level as well. Again, there is something about their music that doesn't allow you to be superficial about it. It reaches in and grabs you tight. The audience will get to experience these personal songs with a direct and pretty intimate (as I don't think the club is a very large one) connection to Mark, himself.

I should also mention that I have had three or four personal interactions with Mark over the years and I have to say that, not surprisingly, he is one of the most humble and genuine people I have ever met. He is as moved by your appreciation for his music as you are appreciative. It's a complete and mutual circle.

I hope to see many familiar friends at the show on Tuesday. I also know that the room will be full of unfamiliar faces, but just as much friends as anyone. That is what the music of the Chameleons does.

TUESDAY JULY 21
Mark Burgess (of the Chameleons UK)
The Curtain Society
Aaron Perino (Sheila Divine/Dear Leader)
Hennessy's Upstairs
Faneuil Hall
Boston MA