Live Shows: Gut Health, Tysk Tysk Task, S.C.O.B.Y., and Fat Randy, Moon Base One, Salem, MA 2/21/25

I'm the type of person that tries to get up to Salem, MA as much as possible, and I'll find any excuse to make the long trek up to the historical city I can. Friday night I had many reasons to go. Gut Health and Tysk Tysk Task were playing a show together, and I could check out Moon Base One, a new venue that opened in Salem earlier this month. (And then of course wander around an empty downtown Salem at night and grab a post-show snack from Goodnight Fatty.)

Fat Randy opened the show Friday night. According to their Bandcamp profile, they are "Boston's worst noise rock band" and/or "Connecticut's best Hoobastank tribute band." I can't verify on the latter, but I can assure you Boston has much worse noise rock bands than Fat Randy. They play an intense and scream filled version of noise rock that incorporates sludgy metal riffs and pounding drums. It was loud, it was obnoxious at times, and they were impossible to ignore. Not that you'd want to ignore a band like Fat Randy. I was completely unfamiliar with them before Friday night, but they made me and everyone at Moon Base One fans by the end of their set.

Up next was Tysk Tysk Task, who I've seen a ridiculous amount of times. They always keep me coming back for more as their sound continues to evolve and change. At this point their set is consisting more of their newer and unreleased singles. "Shrine" and "City Lights" have become live favorites of mine with their heavy shoegaze meets grunge sound. As loud and as punishing as the music of Tysk Tysk Task is and can be, it's just as beautiful, which their live show always seems to capture. Their longtime closer, "Flies," off 2022's You're Sorry More, was replaced with a new song, "Toadstool." This new and unreleased song may be their best yet, and fully shows off their brutal yet beautiful sound.

S.C.O.B.Y. came down from Maine for the show, and were another band I was unfamiliar with but quickly became a fan of. They also have an intense sound that lands somewhere between punk and metal, with an odd sense of pop thrown in. As loud and scream filled as their music is, they have a touch of fun to their live show. Singer/guitarist Finn Hopkins-O'Neil introduced songs by asking the crowd "Who likes the Rugrats?" and "Who has a job?" They could be a little silly at times, but punk kind of should be. Plus, Hopkins-O'Neil can shred on guitar. They were definitely one of my favorite surprise discoveries so far this year.

I've been meaning to see Gut Health again ever since I saw them at Ralph's in Worcester over the summer. A Gut Health show is an event. Their post-rock sound is equally melodic and loud, and typically bands that play in that genre tend to be quite serious. No one told these guys that, as their lives shows turn into a party complete with a streamer gun and passing out signs to the crowd with positive and pro-gut health slogans. (I can never tell if it's supposed to be more political rally or pro wrestling related, but is there truly a difference these days?) They made the most of the space with singer Gregg Kusumah-Atmadja utilizing the rafters for his microphone. Gut Health are a great live band that has become a must see for me.

I also have to rave about Moon Base One. It's a small all ages sober space that is setting up amazing shows for low prices. You can tell it's run by people who love music and want to share that with the community. They have upcoming shows featuring bands like dropbear, The Freqs, JVK, Deprogrammer Cult, The Promised End, The Rupert Selection, Astral Bitch, and many more. Check out their calendar here.