Tom Morello and Chuck D
Photo by Ken Sears
Sunday was the day I was most excited for this year at Boston Calling. Tom Morello and Public Enemy back to back were something that made my inner high school self thrilled, and I was planning on doing everything in my power to get as close as possible. Of course, there was still an entire day of music before we got to the Blue Stage finale, and it ended up being a great end to a great weekend!
Snacktime
With Sunday's theme being fairly jam band-y, Snacktime might have been the perfect opener. A seven piece band out of Philadelphia, they combine funk, soul, jazz, hip hop, and R&B into a fun musical combination. They were at their best when they were at their most raucous, but also did a great job with some songs that were more almost pure R&B. They got the Dave Matthews Band crowd up and dancing, and truly won the crowd over when one of their songs turned into Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us." That sample hit and the crowd went nuts, even if it was just for that verse that we all know and love. They mentioned that they'll be playing with Fitz and the Tantrums in August at the House of Blues, so it might be worth checking out.
Nate Perry & Ragged Company
There's been a lot of buzz around Nate Perry & Ragged Company recently, and after seeing them live, it's all well earned. The Boston country band plays a perfect mix of country rock that isn't quite alt-country, but pretty close. It was the kind of set where every single song sounded like it was going to be the pinnacle of their set, and then the next one came and blew it away. If I had to pick a single highlight, I might have to choose their latest single "Count on You." But, seriously... if you're a fan of real country or any blend of country rock mixed with dirty blues, Nate Perry & Ragged Company are your band.
Spin Doctors
This one might have been pure nostalgia for me. I last saw Spin Doctors way back in 1994 with Gin Blossoms and Cracker, and there's a beloved family photo of mine where I'm wearing a shirt from the concert. Were Spin Doctors the performance of the weekend? Probably not. But for those of us that came of age in the mid 90's and have a certain love for songs like "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong" and "Two Princes," their afternoon set scratched a certain nostalgic itch, and we had fun. Plus, I don't think I ever realized how neo-hippie they were and are, which seems dumb in retrospect. And they certainly sounded better than many of their peers did on the nostalgia circuit in 2010 let alone 2025.
Vivid Bloom
Shoegaze isn't a genre I associate with outdoor summer music festivals. If there's one good thing that came out of the dreary weather on Sunday, it was that it held out for Vivid Bloom. The Boston heavy shoegaze quartet provided a welcome break from the upbeat neo-hippie vibes that dominated Boston Calling on Sunday. They play an incredibly tight version of heavy shoegaze that we adore here at If It's Too Loud... Shoegaze has been getting a resurgence lately, and Vivid Bloom are one of my absolute favorite artists leading the way. It had been a while since I saw them perform live, and I had mostly forgotten just how great they are live. It's just one of those genres that seems to work best in a live setting, and Vivid Bloom are an absolute force on stage.
Tom Morello
I wasn't sure what to expect with Tom Morello's set at Boston Calling. I've seen him two or three times as his The Nightwatchman persona, which is his more folk based side project. He's released a rock based solo album, The Atlas Underground, but that featured a ton of guest stars on vocals. His set at Boston Calling was mostly what I had expected, which is his solo rock material with him or members of his band on vocals. To honor his Rage Against the Machine roots, he played two separate medleys of his classic Rage riffs. He broke out one song from his Nightwatchman days, which was a cover of Woody Guthrie's iconic "This Land is Your Land," complete with secret verses, and even brought back having the audience pogo for the last chorus. He did a tribute to Bruce Springsteen's battle with the current President with "The Ghost of Tom Joad," and played Audioslave's "" as a tribute to Chris Cornell. The set was obviously highly political, with the words "Fuck Trump" across the screen behind the band. To close out the set, he played Rage Against the Machine's "Killing in the Name" but with the audience doing vocals for the entire song. That can be a tough one for a few thousand people to pull off, but we somehow did it decently enough. Of course, the highlight for me personally was when he was joined by Public Enemy's Chuck D for "Prophets of Rage." Definitely a weekend highlight for me.
Public Enemy
I'm going to warn you right now that all journalistic integrity is going to be gone for this one. Public Enemy is a band I've loved for well over three decades, and they're a top three band of all time for me. I saw them once at a WBCN River Rave decades ago. It seemed like a shortened set with an audience that was apathetic at best, so I barely count that one. Taking the stage wearing Jason Tatum jerseys and calling for a tribute to both Tatum and the late George Wendt, Chuck D and Flavor Flav played a set that included virtually every song you could want them to play. "Can't Truss It?" "Welcome to the Terrordome?" "911 is a Joke?" "Bring the Noise?""Don't Believe the Hype?" All hip hop classics from one of the best to ever do it. Did Flavor Flav use some backing tracks? Sure, but the man is sixty-six years old, so let's cut him some slack. He also played drums on one song, and immediately after broke out the bass for a "Ball of Confusion" inspired "By the Time I Get to Arizona." They of course closed out with "Fight the Power," leaving the audience and yours truly very satisfied.
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