If It's Too Loud...

Doing Anything this Weekend? is a feature here at If It's Too Loud... where we feature some live shows in and on the far outskirts of the Boston area. Our main rules are that they have to be reasonably priced shows that you can attend last minute. They'll feature If It's Too Loud... approved bands, and we'll provide event links when possible. And since we're in outdoor music season, these events are weather permitting. If you're looking for last minute plans this weekend, we recommend: August 9 Tysk Tysk Task, Grub Lord, Hell Beach, and 2000s at The Press Room, Portsmouth, NH The Devil's Twins, The Anti Queens, and Oh the Humanity! at Deep Cuts, Medford, MA The Wolff Sisters and Ali McGuirk at The Cut, Gloucester, MA Barrence Whitfield and Sal Baglio's Giant Rock and Roll Show at The Bull Run, Shirley, MA Annabel and Perennial at Faces Brewing Co., Medford, MA Snowbeasts, Ex-Hyena, and SWRM at Myrtle, East Providence, RI The Promised End, In the Meantime...

The Amplifier Heads have a new album due next month that's also a rock opera about an alien invasion. The first single sees the Boston band join forces with Barrence Whitfield, so we simply can't resist this one. "They Came to Rock" is a groovy and swinging garage rock song that is going to work for anyone that enjoys music that is just fun. And that's what this song is. Any song called "They Came to Rock" better be fun, and The Amplifier Heads break out the horns to insure that. Plus, Whitfield might be the most underappreciated vocalist in all of Boston. The man has a truly powerful voice that is just meant to provide a good time. This might be the best pairing in all of the Boston music scene this year. Sal Baglio says of his band's new single: “ Songs From They Came To Rock  is a soundtrack record and I felt that it should have different voices besides my own for various tracks. Barrence Whitfield was the only artist I thought of for singing the ...

I've been trying to hit up Faces Brewing Co. for shows as much as possible. It's a great small room, and as smaller, independent clubs seem to be going away in Boston, breweries in the suburbs are stepping up as stages. Plus, there's a free garage a block away, and you truly can't beat that. A great show finally worked out with my schedule, and I couldn't pass up the double bill of Justine & The Unclean along with the legendary Barrence Whitfield & His All-Star Band. Spiller opened the night, and I unfortunately missed about half of their set. I had never heard of them before this show, and I wasn't able to find out much online, so I went in pretty much blind. They have a total 90's sound, injected with some metal riffs. It wasn't 90's alt-metal like Quicksand or Helmet, but more 90's alt-rock with a metal edge. They had the loudest and heaviest set of the night, and made me wish I had made it on time (it was a very rainy drive in with mu...

Thursday night saw Boston garage and punk legends coming together for an unforgettable night of music at The Paradise. Three of the four artists started their careers in the 1970's, with Carissa Johnson and The Cure-Alls being the only newbie to take the stage. It was a night of classic performances for a small but die hard crowd. Carissa Johnson and The Cure-Alls took the stage first. They were the unknown band of the night (although there was a small cluster of fans obviously there for them) but quickly proved they belong. Johnson has become one of the prominent songwriters in Boston, specializing in rock based pop songs with a heavy hint of garage rock. It was her band's first live show in roughly two years and they came out swinging. They played a mix of songs from their forthcoming album and some older favorites. With her band, the songs have a much more rock edge to them than when Johnson is playing solo which fit the theme of the night perfectly. Carissa Johnson and The ...

Photo via Facebook Hailing from Boston, Barrence Whitfield is the rare type of soul singer that can play with the Mighty Mighty Bosstones and fit right in. With songs like his newest single, "Let's Go to Mars," Whitfield brings rock and roll and way back to it's origins in the 1950's. It's a reckless, filthy sound that is just about perfect. There's also a touch of a punk menace in there, but there was plenty of menace in 1950's rock and roll, too. I may be making it sound like it's a bit of a noisy trainwreck, which it's not, at all. "Let's Go to Mars" is catchy, with an infectious groove throughout. Plus, his new album, Soul Flowers of Titan , was inspired by Sun Ra's cosmic outlook. According to Barrence Whitfield's website: Titan is the largest moon orbiting Saturn, a planet which astrologically symbolizes pain, struggle and hard knocks on the human path to wholeness and liberation among many other things. So...