Mission of Burma (briefly) reunited in Cambridge – 3/12
Boston’s beloved post-punk/noise rock trio played their first show in over a decade at a benefit for fellow scene legend Jeff Conolly.
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Until very recently, it seemed that Mission of Burma would be taking an R.E.M.-style approach to their disbandment. No drama, no bad blood, just a group of musicians and friends content to move on and consider a chapter in their lives closed. Burma’s last show took place in 2016 and their split was formalized in 2020, and while the core trio of guitarist Roger Miller, bassist Clint Conley and drummer Peter Prescott have kept plenty busy around town since (Miller plays with Trinary System, Prescott leads Minibeast and Conley has taken up with the Chris Brokaw Rock Band as of late, among other endeavors), most of us expected they wouldn’t reconvene.
That probably remains true for the most part – I don’t see a reunion tour on the horizon – but for one fleeting moment earlier this month, a cause for an old friend brought Burma back from the dead.
The occasion was a benefit gig for Lyres and DMZ frontman Jeff Conolly, a notorious but beloved Boston scene figure who’s currently undergoing cancer treatment. Local punk, garage and indie rock lifers including Unnatural Axe, Dogmatics, Hilken Mancini, Classic Ruins and more united for a monster bill and a marathon show that absolutely packed the Middle East Downstairs. The whole evening had the inspiring buzz of a community pulling together, but naturally it was Burma – on early, as Miller had a commitment with one of his other projects early the following day – that sent things to a fever pitch.
The set lasted just four songs, but it was enough to remind everyone present of what a sonic force this band could be. Though not regarded as a terribly consistent live act during their original run, Burma’s ‘oos reunion dialed in their earsplitting, chaotic splendor, and even across ~20 allegedly unrehearsed minutes, the spark remained. A trio of well-chosen classics – “This Is Not A Photograph,” “Trem Two” and “Academy Fight Song” – made up the originals, before the band closed with a run through The Stooges’ “1970” joined by a wig-wearing, mic-stand-tossing, tambourine-smashing Conolly himself.
It was all over in a flash, but the night sure wasn’t. I stuck around for a set by garage rock vets Dogmatics, but was feeling a little too run down (and claustrophobic, honestly) to hang in for the rest of a bill that was scheduled to run well past midnight. The fact that many folks did speaks to the power of the community engine powering the whole endeavor, which has come close to raising the entire goal set for Conolly’s treatment costs. Scroll below for a gallery of Burma, Dogmatics, Modifiers and a trio led by Looney Tunes Records owner Pat McGrath, and help that GoFundMe hit $65k if you’re able.
