Friday night marked two weeks before the start of this year's Boston Calling. As part of WBUR's Sound On series, they presented an evening featuring three of the most interesting local artists playing Boston Calling this year. Even though I can see them all in three weeks, when the artists chosen are Latrell James, sidebody, and Battlemode, I'm going to make the trek into Boston on a rainy night to check them out early.
First up was chiptune heroes Battlemode. I'm always a little hesitant to see electronic artists live since so much of the genre is just a guy pressing play on a laptop, and seeing that much of the chiptune genre is made up of retro video game noises, it could be a fairly dull show. But, Battlemode are one of the most entertaining live bands in all of Boston. They play live instruments, bring in weird instruments I don't recognize (they called one thing a spit tube(?)), and have an insane energy. As much as I enjoy their recorded music, live they are an entirely different beast. Their recorded music is polished and smooth sounding, and live they are this wonderfully almost out of control absolute party and celebration. Even if you don't think you'd enjoy chiptune or a live electronic artist, I implore you to give Battlemode a shot. They'll be playing the Orange Stage Friday the 23rd at 2:50.
Up next was sidebody, my personal favorite musical discovery of 2024. They have a ridiculously fun live show that somehow turns art rock with a hint of pop into a fun celebration. Their music hits this great sweet spot for me where it has a fantastic sense of humor without being jokey or novelty music. They're one of the most DIY bands around, and have a sound that doesn't really come from any obvious influences. The closest I can come to possible influences are Talking Heads, Sebadoh, and Avril Lavigne, and I'm cheating on Avril Lavigne since they've mentioned her on TikTok a bunch. Their show is a wild adventure of instrument swapping, taking turns on lead vocals, and all four members having more fun than any band I've ever watched. Plus, they get bonus points for shoehorning the names of NPR shows into their stage banter. I'm thrilled to see what they do on the Orange Stage Saturday at 4:10.
Closing out the show was Latrell James. I've somehow never seen him perform live before, but I can guarantee I'll be making every show of his I can from now on. Playing with a full band, James demanded audience participation throughout. The NPR crowd was a little more reserved than he's used to, but he got a call and response going from the at times overly polite crowd. Playing a mix of his classics such as "Tracphone" and brand new unreleased music, he overwhelmed the crowd with his energy. James has been a legend of the hip hop scene in Boston for years now, and Friday night at 7:00 he might destroy the Orange Stage and leave it unusable for the rest of the weekend.
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