Bill Murray, comedy great and wise guy of the century, was almost a doctor. True story: a young Murray was on a pre-med track at Regis University, right up until he was caught packing 10 pounds of pot at an airport, and dropped out of school before the powers that be had the chance to expel him. The arrest sent him home to Chicago and into the kooky realm of comedy. One iconic “Saturday Night Live” stint and countless films and classic lines later — “back off man, I’m a scientist” comes to mind — and it’s apparent that his impromptu career change panned out just fine.
But Murray would have been just as well-served to pivot to a different sector of the entertainment industry, as his show at Boston’s House of Blues demonstrated Thursday night. On tour as Bill Murray & His Blood Brothers, the 75-year-old actor and his band skillfully stormed through a selection of covers, seemingly for no other reason than a love of their craft.
On the band’s website, Murray’s billed as the group’s lead singer, and his flair for the dramatic serves him well as a shimmying, shuddering frontman. But if someone at the House of Blues were none the wiser about the older gentleman in the beanie and button-up shirt, he’d seem like an unassuming bandmate who was content to cede center stage for half of the performance. Of the evening’s 12 songs, Murray only took the lead on half of them, and otherwise happily cycled through instruments at a percussion station of sorts, complete with chimes, a cowbell, a shaker, a pair of congas, and a mic for backing vocals.
He didn’t even approach the front of the stage to sing lead until the third song, Warren Zevon’s “Werewolves of London,” a pick that allowed Murray to ham up the chorus’ howls. Whenever he took a back seat and returned to his instruments, Murray’s core bandmates — guitarists Mike Zito, Albert Castiglia, and Jimmy Vivino — took the lead for blues-soaked covers of song such as Prince’s “Little Red Corvette,” plus an original by Zito and Castiglia called “In My Soul.”
The only guests who were likely to have walked away disappointed Thursday night were those who thought they’d bought tickets to a novelty act in the vein of Murray’s SNL character Nick the Lounge Singer. Ever the entertainer, the actor didn’t shy away from his fine-tuned ability to warp his face and voice, but Murray wasn’t kidding around.
“I love your city,” he told the crowd. “I’ve been here a lot of times. I’ve made a lot of friends. Some are here tonight, some are gone. We’re gonna play tonight for the ones that are gone, OK?”
When Murray sang “Like A Rolling Stone,” he didn’t ask “how does it feel?”, he bellowed it, arguably with more conviction than the original. His exuberant rendition of Tommy Tutone’s “867-5309 / Jenny,” which felt like a shared karaoke session between Murray and the equally eager crowd, warranted a quick spin from the House of Blues’s disco ball, as did a cover of the Stephen Stills song “Love the One You’re With” that tapped in Cape Ann musician Juliet Hawkins as a singing partner.
If that sounds like a celebrity seeking a quick check, or a restless actor desperate to branch out, I’d advise you to buy a ticket, see for yourself, and back off, man.
This guy’s a musician.
BILL MURRAY & HIS BLOOD BROTHERS
With the Jimmy Carpenter Band. At the House of Blues, Thursday
Victoria Wasylak can be reached at victoria.wasylak@globe.com. Follow her on Bluesky at VickiWasylak.bsky.social.
BOSTON (WHDH) – A pedestrian was hit and killed in Roxbury Thursday morning.
The collision occurred just before 8:20 a.m. on Tremont Street.
Police said Tremont Street was closed in both directions between Brigham Circle and Roxbury Crossing.
This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.
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A 96-year-old Boston woman received the surprise of a lifetime when she discovered the French men’s national soccer team had become her neighbors at the Four Seasons Hotel in the Back Bay.
Shirley, a beloved resident of the neighborhood, said she had no idea she would end up meeting the players in town for the World Cup.
“They’re my buddies,” she said with a laugh.
Her caretaker, Samia, said Shirley has become well known around Back Bay.
“Anyone outside, when we are walking, people come to her and want to talk to her,” Samia said.
The U.S. is out of the World Cup. Fellow co-hosts Mexico and Canada are too. So who should
The excitement around the hotel grew after the French team arrived to stay there during the tournament.
Shirley said the encounter happened unexpectedly while she was eating lunch.
“I was having lunch and they came over, and since then, it’s been wonderful to have them here,” she said.
Shirley said team representatives soon invited her to meet the players.
“And they said, ‘He would like to meet you.’ I said, ‘I’m glad to meet anybody,’” she recalled.
For this Massachusetts teenager, attending a World Cup match was more than a dream come true, it was a milestone in a journey that began when he was diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma — something that might not have happened if he hadn’t been playing soccer.
After the visit, Shirley recorded a cellphone video sharing her excitement.
“This is absolutely — I cannot tell you how unbelievably fabulous this is,” she said.
The meeting ended with a memorable gift: A jersey from French star Kylian Mbappé.
The team also made her a promise.
“[They] told me that if they win, he will sign it, and then it will be worth a lot of money,” she said, laughing.
Samia, who is from Algeria, quickly agreed. She said she was already a devoted supporter of the French squad after spending many years living in France.
“I’m so excited. I went to Philadelphia to watch the game this past weekend. So, believe me, I’m totally 100% with them. I wanted them to go back to France with a cup,” she said.
Shirley said she never expected to become a fan, but she appreciated the sense of community the tournament brought to her neighborhood.
“It’s good to see such camaraderie happening, with people here getting along. Yeah, it’s the greatest thing,” she said.
She said she still did not know why the team wanted to meet her, but she’s grateful nonetheless. Shirley remains hopeful her new friends would keep winning, and keep returning to Boston.
Local News
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu announced Wednesday that the city is suing social media companies — including Meta, TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube — over their alleged deliberate targeting of minors with addictive features.
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Boston Public Schools in federal court in California, will be consolidated with more than 1,500 similar complaints from school districts around the country, Wu’s office said.
The lawsuit seeks to force the companies to remove addictive features and compensate the city for the mental health support needed by students. It alleges the companies designed addictive features specifically to keep young people engaged. These features include endless scrolling, frequent notifications, and personalized algorithms, city officials said.
In a statement, Wu said that these companies have evidence of the harm they are causing to children.
“Boston is taking legal action to protect children and youth and hold these companies accountable. Today, we are making it clear that social media companies must end exploitative practices and be accountable to standards of basic protection for children,” she said.
The move comes as more Massachusetts politicians look to rein in social media companies. The state’s House of Representatives passed a bill in April that would implement a phone ban in schools and prohibit children 14 and younger from using social media. Gov. Maura Healey followed that up by introducing legislation that would require social media companies to verify users’ ages and limit the ways in which minors are exposed to potentially addictive design features.
Just last week, the state Senate unveiled legislation that would require social media companies to automatically disable these types of features for minors.
BPS officials say that they have seen a “significant increase” in social media-fueled mental health needs over the past decade. They cited data from the Boston Public Health Commission that shows the impact on high school students. In 2015, just 26.7% of Boston public high school students reported “persistent sadness.” By 2021, that figure had risen to 43.9%.
The district says it has responded by “exponentially” expanding mental health resources. In 2007, there were six social workers and 48 school psychologists employed in the BPS system. The district now has 240 social workers and 105 school psychologists, officials said.
“We work hard to set our students on the best course for success through rigorous academics and whole-student supports, and the research is clear that social media has had a negative impact on students’ well-being while benefiting companies. We all need to do what is right for our students,” Superintendent Mary Skipper said in a statement.
In March, a jury in California found that Meta and YouTube are liable for intentionally designing addictive features and that executives failed to protect young users.
In May, Meta and other social media companies settled a lawsuit brought by a Kentucky school district in a bellwether case.
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