Live Shows: The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, The Met Cafe Courtyard, Pawtucket, RI 7/22/17

This past year's Hometown Throwdown was the first I had missed in about five or six years. I felt like taking a break, none of the opening bands were all that intriguing to me, and I felt the money for my ticket should probably be going to Christmas presents. Of course, once the shows came I was filled with regret and missed going. When it was announced that The Mighty Mighty Bosstones were going to be touring this summer, I knew I had to go. 

Being a music snob, Let's Face It would be the album I'd want to see The Bosstones do from start to finish. It's the big hit album, and they have other albums that mean a lot to me. Plus, I'm a music snob. But, 2017 is the 20th anniversary of Let's Face It and it makes the most economic sense to do this album over their others. A funny thing happened as I went back to listen to the album in the weeks before the show. I remembered how great it really is, and how much I love so many of these songs. Plus, a good chunk of these songs are ones that rarely get played live.

And that's exactly what happened. Once The Mighty Mighty Bosstones started playing, all music snobbery was gone, and I was thrilled for ever single song that night. Sure, anytime you see the Bosstones you're going to get "The Rascal King" and "The Impression That I Get," but "That Bug Bit Me" or "Nevermind?" Those are special songs to see live.

Of course, Let's Face It is only a twelve song album that has a 33 minute running time, so there was a lot more than that album to fill up the show. Most of the remaining main set was made up of songs they'll always do at every show ("Simmer Down" and "Someday I Suppose") and a lot of their newer material from this century. That might sound a bit disappointing until you realize that their newer songs hold up live just as well as their classics. "Nah Nah Nah Nah Nah" has quickly become a live staple, and "Everybody's Better" could very well be their best song. Since we were right by Dicky Barrett's birthplace of Providence, they broke out rarity "Providence Is" and "Sunday Afternoons On Wisdom Ave" to mark the occasion. For the encore, they broke out the underrated "The Old School Off the Bright," the classic "Dr. D," and "A Little Bit Ugly." It was the perfect night that satisfied both casual fans that wanted the hits and us snobs that wanted the pre-fame hits and rarities.