Live Shows: Toadies and Local H, House of Blues, Boston, MA 5/20/28

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Toadies and Local H are two bands who seem to finally be getting the respect they deserve. I've never heard anything but gushing praise after a Local H live show, and Toadies have one of the most underrated catalogs in music. Plus, their music has aged surprisingly well. If you haven't listened to Local H's As Good As Dead or Toadies' Rubberneck for a while, I guarantee they are far better than you remember. Plus, I haven't seen either band live in decades, so when they announced a tour together, I instantly wanted to go. (Apologies to Vandoliers for missing their set. They're a band I adore, and they rarely make it up to Boston, but the early start time and my schedule didn't work out.)

The shocking thing about the crowd for Local H was just how young it was. There were some forty and fifty-somethings speckled in the crowd, but the majority was Gen Z. And The Kids got a masterclass in 90's alternative rock. As I said, they were always a surprisingly great and underrated live band, and that has not changed at all. "New" drummer Ryan Harding has been with the band since 2013, and he destroyed it for every song. It's easy to forget just how many great songs they have, and just how good songs like "Eddie Vedder" and "High-Fiving MF" actually are. Of course "Bound for the Floor" was played (with a bit of The Stooges' "T.V. Eye" thrown in the middle), but it didn't get the enormous response you would have expected. Instead, the young fans erupted for every single song, screaming along to songs I barely remembered. Local H closed out the set with "Manifest Destiny, Part 2," including the opening riff for "Walk this Way" since they were in Boston and all.

After Local H ended, Gen Z moved towards the back and Gen X took over the front of the venue. I've always been a huge fan of Toadies, and their live show is still amazing. The set did focus on the just released The Charmer, but the band sprinkled the new songs throughout the set. The new songs ended up holding up right along with the classics. They might not have gotten the same reaction classics like "I Come From the Water" and "Mexican Hairless," but they got the same applause afterwards. "Possum Kingdom" got an enormous reaction, obviously. A 2026 Toadies set isn't just a nostalgia festival, but a great mix of nostalgia mixing with new music that's surprisingly great. A casual fan most likely wouldn't know the difference between a Rubberneck album cut and a brand new song, and that says a lot for a band that's been doing it for three decades.

On Repeat...

TORRES - "I got the fear"

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Photo by Ebru Yildiz Somehow TORRES keeps surprising us with her music. The musical project of Mackenzie Scott has released a new single that features her vocals and acoustic guitar that would feel at home in a neo-folk song over a pre-programmed drum beat with sounds that at times are either a light squall of guitar feedback and electronic noises. The song has this haunting and unsettling feeling to it, despite sounding like it's trying to be upbeat. I'd say art doesn't always have to be a pleasant experience, but "I got the fear" can be a pleasant listening experience, except for the times it's not. Mackenzie Scott says of her latest single: “A collective dread has been mounting. Everyone I know is having a brawl with the universe, with themselves…wars, climate catastrophe, a pandemic, the worldwide regression on human rights, the political hellscape — it affects everybody, and I know we’re all feeling it in waves of varying degree all the time. I think it’s...
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DJ Haram featuring Bbymutha, SHA RAY, & August Fanon - "Fishnets"

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Photo by Sultana Garritano Brooklyn's DJ Haram has a new single out that shows off her trademark boom bap sprinkled with Middle Eastern instrumentation sound. "Fishnets" features verses from Bbymutha, SHA RAY, and August Fanon, and has an intense and almost menacing vibe, despite being an absolute banger of a track. It's hypnotic and immediately grabs your attention, and if you're unfamiliar with the trio of rappers on the song, you're sure to start pulling up their bodies of work. "Fishnets" is one of those songs that just feels cool and makes you need to hear more from all of the artists involved.  DJ Haram says of her latest single: "‘Fishnets’ is for the eclectic bad bitches. The people united will never be defeated." You can listen to "Fishnets" below. Beside Myself is due out July 18 on Hyperdub, and is available for pre-order here . For more on DJ Haram, check out the artist on Instagram and Twitter . Upcoming tour dates a...
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The New Limits - "My Record Store"

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Photo via Facebook For a lot of us, ska is the sound of nostalgia. We went through our ska phase in the 90's, and while some of us moved on, some of us have remained fans of the genre. The latest from Boston's The New Limits is a ska song about nostalgia. "My Record Store" is about the joy of record shopping in a physical, dusty record store. Plus, the song just sounds like vintage ska, combining elements from all three waves of ska. Also, ska is meant to be a fun genre and "My Record Store" is a fun song. Seriously, you'll have to be both someone that's always hated ska and someone that hates fun to not enjoy The New Limits.  The New Limits say of their latest single: "Here's one for the crate-diggers: Our new track 'My Record Store' is our salute to spending hours sifting through records at your favorite local haunt. There's nothing quite like it, hanging out for hours in a place with like-minded music lovers and perhaps findin...
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