DAYKAMP MUSIC Come showtime, Sidewalk Driver did what they do best: worked their glorious confetti and power chord magic to make the audience swoon. Isn’t that what they always do? Hell yes, it is. This band lives to entertain.- Johnny Anguish RYAN'S SMASHING LIFE November 30, 2011 If you have never seen [Sidewalk Driver] you are missing out. Dollar for dollar, this is probably the best entertainment for your buck. McKitterick, besides being funny as hell, is probably one of the region's strongest vocalists. The best part? You never know what you'll get with a Sidewalk Driver show!- Ryan Spaulding BOSTON HERALD October 8, 2011 OK, Sidewalk Driver. Cool band, great live, deserving of all the usual accolades. But the take home message is what I knew it would be: “Dancing with Her Friends” might be the greatest song ever written (as good live as it is on record)... How good is this song? Take a black 1977 Oldsmobile Cutlass S 442 with an orange racing stripe down the side and fill it with: a disco ball, a bottle of cheap champagne, high heels, a Gibson SG, cocaine, a James Brown bobble head, a used tube of David Bowie’s eyeliner, a Beta copy of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” and a whole mess of KISS and ABBA 8-tracks. Now crush the car into a pop song, sprinkle with loads of glitter and you have “Dancing with Her Friends.” Yeah, it’s that good.- Jed Gottlieb DAYKAMP MUSIC July 28, 2011 Sidewalk Driver are known for their over the top live performances. Anyone who has ever walked out of the club covered in glitter and confetti after one of their shows will tell you that. They’re one of those bands you’ll tell your kids about having seen back in the day. The thing that makes Sidewalk Driver truly special, though, is that they manage to back up all the glitz and glamor with great musicianship and songs so catchy no quarantine can contain them. For All The Boys And Girls is a non-stop barrage of clever lyrics and big rock hooks...- Johnny Anguish BOSTON BAND CRUSH July 22, 2011 Fronted by the over the top Tad McKitterick, Sidewalk Driver play intelligent glitter-pop. He’s sort of what you’d get if David Bowie and David St. Hubbins had adopted a baby and moved to the countryside, but what keeps them from being more than a sparkly-dressed gimmick act is the fact that they don’t need the glitter and confetti and capes and makeup to be good, that’s all just icing on the cake. Tad sings like he’s made a deal with Satan and the band matches his flamboyance with intensity and raw power every step of the way.- Richard Bouchard DAYKAMP MUSIC April 28, 2011 The morning after Semi-Final Night #1 of the 2011 Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble I found myself in my kitchen trying to describe the night to my son. He’s 4 years old. For several minutes I told him about platform boots, confetti cannons, playing guitar behind your head, layers of outrageous costumes, facial adornments, winged shirts and glitter. I told my wife about the witty and outrageously infectious songs. “The singer, Tad, wore a little hat… and he shot confetti out of the hat!” I explained excitedly. There was a brief pause while my son took it all in... "Is this real?” ...Yup. It’s real. It’s called Sidewalk Driver...- Johnny Anguish PLAYGROUND BOSTON April 15, 2011 Congrats to Sidewalk Driver for their victory on the third night of the Preliminary Round of the 2011 Rock & Roll Rumble! Ripping solos, more glitter and confetti than a teenage birthday party, and one of the most commanding and captivating voices in the city propelled the band to the winner’s circle over one of the toughest lineups in the entire competition!- Bryan Donoghue RYAN'S SMASHING LIFE April 10, 2011 After 16 months of noteworthy (often legendary) live performances here in New England, McKitterick and Sidewalk Driver played one of the most inspired sets in modern Rumble history on Saturday night before a sold-out crowd...- Ryan Spaulding THE BOSTON GLOBE March 31, 2011 Led by chrome-domed, platform-booted frontman Tad McKitterick, Sidewalk Driver is a band of cheeky culture vultures who like to name-check ABBA, Frank Black, and Baryshnikov in songs, but never forget to fuel their dance-floor fun with rock ’n’ roll fire — not to mention glitter-encrusted hooks galore. Call it glam, call it power pop, we’re calling it hard to beat.- Jonathan Perry BOSTON BAND CRUSH January 14, 2011 Sidewalk Driver is fronted by a powerfully flamboyant singer, but they're more than just a gimmick because their music is so much stronger than just his stage antics. Tad McKitterick preens and frolics around the stage like a sparkling, coked-out luchador, but it’s ok because he’s backed by some of the best players around. Every member of the band holds their own and demands attention of the audience, even when he’s at his craziest.- Richard Bouchard RYAN'S SMASHING LIFE December 20, 2010 One of the best Live Acts in New England... We're a fan of the band and their hardworking and likable singer Tad McKitterick. Ignoring all the guitar and stage flair, folks; this guy could be the most talented male voice this city's live music scene's got to offer. Not convinced? You gotta see this band live!- Ryan Spaulding (Read the full review here) THE WASHINGTON POST December 17, 2010 From the tick-tock guitars of "Dancing With Her Friends" to the opening hand claps of "Radio," the band jubilantly regresses to the days of the Cars, the Sidewinders and the Real Kids. In other words, there's nothing new here - except the energy and ingenuity that keep reinvigorating rock-and-roll...- Mark Jenkins (Read the full review here) BOSTON BAND CRUSH: C.D. ON SONGS August 18, 2010 What is up with these Sidewalk Driver kids? Are they going to ever take a break from writing these infectious and addictive songs? They haven't yet, so why start now? It's like they are all vampires and are just continually glamoring us every time we gaze into their (musical) eyes...- C.D. Di Guardia (Read the full review here) BAND OVER BOSTON June 2, 2010 What can be said about Sidewalk Driver that hasn’t been already? They’re pop royalty, but they don’t preach or issue decrees – they lead by example. Tight, chugging guitars, perfectly-placed harmonies, and an impeccable rhythm section set the stage for Tad’s skipping over, weaving through, and soaring high above.- Cullen Corley NOT LAME April, 2010 INSANELY AWESOME! Sidewalk Driver's "For All The Boys & Girls" is an album that you listen to and if you do not end up in a more happy, joy induced state, you may need medication to pull you out of your funk. With choruses of handclaps, armies of singalong melodies and a band bonhomie that makes the band your new band best friends... After 4 listens the last few weeks, it has been added to my Top 10 list for the year... Strains of "Ziggy"-era Bowie, late 70s new wavey pop combine to a modern rock strain that fans of Locksley and The Killers anthemically float in and out this highly textured music. All of it infused with endelible melodies, warm harmonies and the production values that picky pop fans will appreciate.-by Bruce Brodeen (Read the full review here) THE METRO - BOSTON December 23, 2009 Sidewalk Driver's long-awaited debut LP perfectly channels their energetic live performances into a smartly crafted, deftly produced party platter. Bursting with flavors of glam rock and hook-filled pop that owe to the Cars, Elton John and the Pixies, there isn't a single skippable track on it.-by Selene Angier WEEKLY DIG December 10, 2009 Sequins, capes, fake eyelashes: Tad McKitterick busts out these big guns, in addition to his octave-leaping pipes, as frontman for Sidewalk Driver. Their showmanship and epic balladry make them one of most legitimate glam acts in Boston. We caught up with Tad before he got his eyelids did.-by Hilary Hughes (Read the full interview here) BOSTON BAND CRUSH October 1, 2009 Four years is a VERY long time to have a band together and not have put out a CD (in recent times at least). And if you've witnessed Sidewalk Driver's live show (complete with costume changes, glitter, smoke machines, fake eyelashes and MORE) you've wanted to take some SD home with you... After a week of the new record being on repeat at HQ I can say that it is totally awesome. The songs, hooks, and performances are incredibly strong and this debut will make a big splash.-by Sophia Cacciola (Read the full review here) BOSTON BAND CRUSH: C.D. ON SONGS August 28, 2009 A good chorus can and will get you everywhere. The chorus to Sidewalk Driver's "Dancing With Her Friends" might get them free admittance to Disney World, the upcoming Winter Classic and the Oval Office all at once... McKitterick sings like a man chemically dependent upon the chorus, an addiction he soon passes along.-by C.D. Di Guardia PLAYGROUND BOSTON July 30, 2009 I think [Sidewalk Driver] might have had the most memorable set of the entire festival... words alone cannot possibly describe this spectacle... the band pulled off a jaw-dropping performance. They were tight, they were talented, and I loved hearing guitarist Jared Egan lay down some ridiculous solos as Tad McKitterick’s vocals soared, displaying his incredibly vast range. Sidewalk Driver’s final song was perhaps the most powerful moment of the week... Sidewalk Driver came out with one of the most moving, soulful, and absolutely beautiful versions of David Bowie’s “Rock n Roll Suicide” that has EVER been played - anywhere. I’ll stand by this broad statement, no question... The entire crowd - which had filled out since the beginning of the set - was stunned into silence for a good ten seconds after the close of the song before breaking out into an awestruck standing ovation. It was clear that I had just bore witness to one of the most heartrending performances I’ve ever seen, and I think all in attendance would most likely agree.-by Bryan Donoghue (Read the full review here) BOSTON BAND CRUSH May 10, 2009 Sidewalk Driver are always an absolute pleasure to witness. They rock hard by pulling a lot of '70s arena rock in, packaging it with some glam, wrapping the whole thing in awesome and shooting it back out at the audience with glitter cannons and smoke machines. They are one of the best live bands in Boston and I look forward VERY much to the release of their debut album later this year.-by Michael Epstein PERFORMER MAG: NORTHEAST July 14, 2007 If The Great Bandini sounds like a magician’s name, then Tad McKitterick from headliner Sidewalk Driver was the lovely assistant — a large man in full showgirl costume complete with knee-high sparkling boots and purple plumage adorning his head. Even though he looked like a Moulin Rouge showgirl, McKitterick never had to strain or stretch to hit seemingly out-of-range notes in Sidewalk Driver’s sparkly glam throwbacks... The night ended in theatrics and glitter, leaving all satisfied.-Review by C.D. Di Guardia |
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