RSTB Recomends Vid Series

I’m a sucker for a good video series, probably stemming from a love of live performance and off the cuff ’90s nostalgia. It can be harder to sift through and find some gems these days but there are a few great series out there that have not only made it worth keeping tabs on them for their curation, but also for their creativity. I’ll run down a couple of my current favorites below.

Playland Studios has had a mention on here before, but they’re definitely worth revisiting. Run by Elyse and Alex from Big Top (among other bands) the studio’s flagship series blends variety show themes and ’60s children’s show aesthetics. With an indie pop roster, the show has had sets from The Umbrellas, Rocketship, Cruise Control, Chime School and more. Plus, the studio has just begun a new Late Night series that kicks off with Naked Roommate.

Also wading deep into the indie pop pool is a new series from Rainbow Grocery, a Natural Foods store in San Francisco that’s begun a series in their shop. They boast sets from Now, April Magazine, The Kitchenettes, and James Wavey. This one’s just starting to get its legs, but there’s a lot of promise in their few episodes. Keep an eye on it.

While the other pick up some of the West Coast’s best and brightest, this one hits a little closer to home for me. Sessions on CTSB is a local music showcase for Community Television for The Southern Berkshires in Lee, MA. This taps into the fertile scene in Western Mass and they’ve had sessions from Creative Writing, Jeanines, Frank Hurricane, Wednesday Knudsen, Sunburned Hand of the Man, Shirese, Mountain Moves, Animal Piss, It’s Everywhere (APIE), Huevos II and more. This one’s more stripped down with a true public television heart, but with a wealth of performances it’s fun to dig into their archive.

They aren’t all hoomegrown sessions, the overseas crowd has their share of good footage as well. The Influences was created and curated by Dutch journalist and filmmaker Matthijs van der Ven and it takes a slightly different approach. Rather than just live sets, the series pairs artists’ own compositions with covers that have had an impact on them. With some overlap from my own Hidden Gems series, this one’s got a core that I love and it boasts some great performances from the likes of Joe Harvey-Whyte & Bobby Lee, Hollow Hand, Spencer Cullum (operating as an early version of Shrunken Elvis), Erin Rae, Jeffrey Silverstein, Kassie Valazza and more! There’s a lot of archive to work through on this one but plenty of gems in the bunch.