Live Shows: Charming Disaster, Secret Location, Charlestown, MA 3/12/23

There are just some bands you don't want to see in a standard rock club setting. Sure, it would be fine, but some bands might work best in an artist's space in a former coffin factory along with poetry and an aerialist. That was the setting where I finally got to see Charming Disaster.

It was a weird, magical, and wonderful night. The evening was set up as two separate sets. Each set saw Peter Bufano playing a few songs on accordion to get started, a few poems read by traveling Austrian poet Rudolf Stueger, and then Charming Disaster. Their sets of songs about murder and the supernatural were selected by audience members choosing tarot cards (except for a couple that were pre-selected so the duo could be joined by Bufano on accordion. For their live show, Jeff Morris played guitar and Ellia Bisker was on ukulele and a cymbal/tambourine that was played with a foot pedal. 

The level of theatricality for a small show was perfection. For "Ghost Story," both Bisker and Morris started off with their backs to the audience, turning around for their verses and the chorus. One song they played blindfolded. They had the audience respond to every tarot card selected with an "OooooOOOOooooh!" Charming Disaster are the kind of band that takes pure delight in the dark and mysterious, and their audience is drawn by that. If you find songs about a couple's relationship after one tragically dies, an ogress that cooks and eats children, and Marie Curie, chances are you already love Charming Disaster.

The other predetermined song was for the end of their second set, which saw Bufano rejoin the duo and aerialist Rachel Barringer perform on the other set of the room. She performed on a hoop suspended from the ceiling, and mesmerized the crowd with intense and beautiful acrobatics while Charming Disaster played. (There was a red circle on the ground that was referred to as the "Circle of Decapitation" throughout the night as the audience was warned to stay out of the area during the performance to avoid personal harm.) 

Sure, Charming Disaster could have played any of Boston's small clubs that night, but would any of them been as perfect and unique as this one?

Live Shows: The Sheila Divine, Tugboat Annie, and Vic Firecracker, Paradise Rock Club, Boston, MA 3/10/23

Poster by Daykamp Creative

I'm not usually one for nostalgia shows. I try to have new experiences when I get out to see live music and would rather see a band I've never seen before than see a band I've been going to see since the 90's play the same songs in the same venue. However, there are always exceptions to this, and one of those is The Sheila Divine. I've been to two farewell shows for the band, but Aaron Perrino and company are still getting together to play a show here and there. Plus, this time they were joined by other Boston 90's/early 00's favorites Tugboat Annie and Vic Firecracker, so it was an impossible to miss night of music.

Vic Firecracker are one of those bands I don't think of seen live before, but I don't know how I wouldn't have. They've been around the scene since 1995 and have been playing around steadily for the past few years. They played a set filled with noisy indie rock that combined the art rock of Mission of Burma and Fugazi with a more mainstream slant with the slightest sign of pop influences kicking in at times. This was the kind of indie rock I grew up on that is as catchy as it is noisy, both melodic and discordant at the same time. The band threw in a cover of The Replacements' "Can't Hardly Wait," and their own song "Sevens" was a highlight of the evening.

Tugboat Annie have been one of the pleasant surprise reunions in recent years. Also starting out in the mid 90's, the band now consists of six members which includes two guitar players. Tugboat Annie were one of the best examples of the mid 90's power pop/alt rock sound which swept through Boston. Despite a brief sound issue during their set opener, they sounded great for a band that doesn't tour regularly. A song like "Jack Knife" has so much nostalgia for me just based on how specific its sound is. Their entire set was filled with these little sonic gems that were perfectly catchy and a little hypnotic. 

I saw The Sheila Divine an embarrassing number of times in college, but I still get excited when I get another chance to see them play live. They also had some sound issues (particularly during the opening song which had the kick drum echoing, along with bizarre muddled sound randomly during their set), but it didn't seem to dampen anyone's enthusiasm. You can easily forget just how many great songs The Sheila Divine have. Songs like "Walking Dead (Who Speak)," "Like a Criminal," and "Automatic Buffalo" just feel like massive hits from my youth. The Sheila Divine have always skirted the line between alt-rock and emo, and it's shocking how much these songs don't sound dated at all. A set highlight lately has been a medley of covers during the song "Hum," and Friday night might have been the best trio of songs yet with Hole's "Miss World," Nirvana's "Love Buzz," and Sonic Youth's "Kool Thing." The band even brought out original bass player Jim Gilbert to close out their main set. When nostalgia is this perfect, we'll be all in every time.

Live Shows: Squirrel Flower, Horse Jumper of Love, and NOVA ONE, Fete Music Hall, Providence, RI 3/8/23

Photo by Alexa Viscius

I've been a fan of Squirrel Flower since first hearing "Red Shoulder" back in 2019, and I've been trying to see her live since then. Obviously a global pandemic made that quite difficult for a long time, but it seems like she's played the Boston area a bunch of times, but it just has never quite worked out for me. Once she announced a solo tour with Horse Jumper of Love was coming to Providence, and it worked out for my schedule, I knew I had to make it. NOVA ONE getting added as local support ended up being a huge bonus for me.

NOVA ONE opened the evening with a set consisting of mostly new songs from their upcoming album due out on March 10. Roz Raskin made a comment that they were a bit nervous since it was new songs, but there was no reason to be. Breaking the evening's theme of solo performances (Raskin was joined by a second guitarist), songs like "crying" and "dangerous" held up with more well known ones. Seeing that NOVA ONE's membership is a fluid mix of musicians, each performance I've seen has always been different from the others. Their blend of intimate dream pop influenced by early 60's pop will always work for me, and I can't wait to see what they're like next time I get to see them.

Horse Jumper of Love is the artist of the three I knew the least about. For this tour it's just Dimitri Giannopoulos playing his band's slowcore songs on an acoustic guitar. He opted to go NOVA ONE's route and play newer songs before ending his set with some more well known ones. His performance was one of the quietest I've ever seen, and benefitted from one of the most attentive crowds I've ever been in. This was the type of intimate performance that could have been completely ruined by a lesser crowd, but I didn't even hear a whisper for the entire duration. Giannopoulos thanked the crowd for this, and mentioned that the previous evening had loud laughter in the back during his set. (Way to go, Portsmouth, NH.) Of course, as soon as he was done playing the venue cranked their Generic 90's Hits Playlist which started off with Hootie & The Blowfish's "Only Wanna Be With You." Venues really need to do a better job choosing playlists for their shows...

Luckily, the next song (Green Day's "When I Come Around") had barely gotten going when Squirrel Flower took the stage. Ella Williams chose to go in a different direction than the previous artists for her solo set and play mostly older songs that are too experimental to play with a full band. She peppered her set with plenty of guitar and vocal loops, creating this gorgeous wall of sound that helped flesh everything out. Having never seen her play before, I was hoping to hear more of my newer favorites, but that just gives me a great excuse to go next time she comes around! Squirrel Flower was the third artist of the evening that was utterly captivating and had the entire audience ensnared in her musical charms. By the time she closed with "your love is a disaster" off 2021's Planet EP, she somehow increased my fandom to an even more intense level.

Live Shows: Kelly Willis, Brennen Leigh, & Melissa Carper, Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation, Waltham, MA 3/2/23

Since I discovered Melissa Carper's excellent 2021 album Daddy's Country Gold and Brennen Leigh's also excellent 2022 album Obsessed with the West, I've wanted to see them but kept seeing separate tours skirting New England. When I saw that the two of them were doing a handful of Northeast dates, and were playing as a trio with alternative country icon Kelly Willis, I knew I couldn't miss out.

The only date that worked out for me was at Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation, which I was excited about. It's a museum dedicated to American industry from the 1800s to today in a converted mill, and performances are held in the old boiler room with forty foot high ceilings. It's an interesting and unique space for a concert, and somehow the sound was perfect in a giant brick room certainly not designed for music.

For their ninety minute set, Willis, Leigh, and Carper rotated songs, starting with Leigh's "Blue Eyed Dog," then "Fool's Paradise" by Willis, and Carper's "Back When." They did this throughout their entire set, telling stories behind the songs and making the type of jokes friends do at each other's expense. It was a fun night of music, and you could tell the three just enjoy playing with each other. There was a great moment after they played "Billy & Beau" that was written by Leigh and Carper where Willis mentioned that her song "What the Heart Doesn't Know" had similar lyrics ("The heart wants to go where the heart wants to go" versus "The heart doesn't know what the heart doesn't know") and joked about how the lawsuit was affecting the tour. There was also a great moment when we all discovered Willis is a Trekkie when Carper's "Makin' Memories" turned up in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. 

The three played a show effortlessly together, with perfect harmonies and all three equally sharing the spotlight. What sticks out the most from the evening is how amazing of a guitar player Brennen Leigh is. She shined with a solo in virtually every song without taking anything away from the vocals. Also, I knew Melissa Carper had an amazing voice, but live it is just mesmerizing.

Live Shows: Talib Kweli and STL GLD, The Middle East, Cambridge, MA 2/23/23

Talib Kweli is an absolutely legendary MC, widely considered to be one of the best around. He's one of those artists I know I need to get more into, especially after seeing him do a few songs with The Soul Rebels back in March. Since I'm trying to get to The Middle East as much as possible before it most likely closes at the end of the year, and STL GLD were opening, the show last week became a must see.

STL GLD have to be a hard opening act to follow. Live bands always have an extra energy to them, and live they have more than a little bit of a punk and metal edge to them. Not that songs like "Wild Style" or "Resisting" have any rap rock in them, but there is an extra swagger to them live. Opening with "Shimmer," possibly their biggest song to date with Darlingside off last year's excellent Rock Boyega, STL GLD pulled out some absolute favorites like "The New Normal Pt. 1." Part of the appeal of their live show is the duality of Moe Pope's laid back but intense flow and Chris Talken's more hardcore screams. They will always be one of those bands that should be much bigger than they are, but for now they have a die hard local fanbase that knows every line to every song. 

Talib Kweli started off his set a little more slow and laid back, and slowly injected energy as it went on. It seemed more like pacing than anything else as he built an already hyped crowd into an ecstatic one. He's been performing for well over twenty years, so he definitely knows how to put on a show. He saved classics like "Get By" and "Definition" (I was hoping he'd pull out some Black Star that night, and of course he did.) 

One of my favorite things Kweli did was a segment of tributes to fellow MCs that have passed on. He did tributes to MF Doom, Guru, Phife Dawg, Trugoy, Bob Marley, J Dilla, and others. It's rare for an artist to cover another in hip hop, and Kweli changed that with his set. The only complaint that some of these tributes were little more than his DJ playing a song while Kweli just commented on the track occasionally. Tributes are great, but that did take up a good percentage of the night.

Live Shows: Tysk Tysk Task, Circus Trees, and Subpunch, The Overlook at Mill No. 5, Lowell, MA 2/18/23

Lately more and more clubs seem to be opening in the distant suburbs of Boston. The latest is The Overlook at Mill No. 5 in Lowell. Mill No. 5 is a refurbished mill building with condos, an arthouse theater, restaurants, shops, and now a brand new music venue. I always want to check out new venues as soon as possible, so luckily for me they brought in Tysk Tysk Task for a show right away.

Subpunch opened the show, and this was my first experience with the Lowell band. The trio play a version of punk/emo that is more geared towards early, artier emo. Their music is more 90's alt rock than early 00's emo/pop punk. I got a very distinct Jawbreaker meets Dinosaur Jr with a little The Promise Ring sprinkled in sound from them. There is also a poetic element to their songs than you typically get. Songs like "Mouth Full" and "Witness Tree" are top shelf emo. Subpunch are a band we're going to be keeping an eye on.

I discovered Circus Trees over the summer at Nice, a Fest, and was thrilled to see them again. The MA band made up of three siblings blew me away in The Rockwell with their unbelievably tight version of anthemic indie rock and shoegaze. Saturday night I was even more blown away. Despite not addressing the crowd a lot, this is a band putting on a performance. They came prepared with their own light show and samples to play between songs during tuning, meaning there was always something to hear with no downtime. Circus Trees are playing at a higher level than the small clubs they've been playing, and if this show was any indication, they won't be playing small clubs for much longer. One new song in particular, "Save Yourself," was this thrilling epic that just kept building and building. You know how sometimes you just know you're seeing a song live that is going to be special once it's released? That's how it was with "Save Yourself," and I just wanted to try to soak the moment in the entire time.

Saturday night was my first time seeing the new line up of Tysk Tysk Task, with Amy Gee on bass and Alex Decato on drums joining Samantha Hartsel. For a band that has only been playing together for a month or two, they were an incredibly tight unit at The Overlook. As huge as their sound was in 2022, 2023 shows them getting even heavier. Songs like "Colors" and "Flies" continue to evolve with every performance and are never quite the same night to night. Hartsel has developed one of the best screams in the Boston music scene, and Tysk Tysk Task is developing into the type of band that can play indie rock shows, noise shows, and even metal nights. What's most surprising is how naturally they have evolved ito this sound from their indie folk origins. If you've been reading this blog for the past year or so, you know of my love for Tysk Tysk Task and last year's You're Sorry More, and I don't see that changing in 2023.

One final word about The Overlook at Mill No. 5. This is a gorgeous new venue in an amazing building in a perfect location. It has a great sound and might be the perfect set up for a live show. Definitely keep an eye out on their schedule and go see as many shows there as you possibly can.

Live Shows: Vivian Leva & Riley Calcagno and Preacher & Daisy, Club Passim, Cambridge, MA 2/15/23

I absolutely adored Vivian Leva and Riley Calcagno's debut album back in 2021. It hit that perfect sweet spot for me of being a modern take on traditional folk. Since it was released in March of that year, I had been waiting for them to make it up to New England, but either they hadn't, or I completely missed it. (Could be either, it's been a weird two years.) As soon as I saw they had a few local dates, I knew I had to make it to one, and you just can't miss go wrong when it's at the legendary Club Passim.

I had high expectations for the show, but once they started their set with "Will You," I knew they would be exceeded. Leva and Calcagno were at such ease playing together and are just naturally charismatic performers that it didn't quite feel like watching friends play music on a back porch... but it also didn't quite feel like a formal performance. It was somewhere in between, like we were all watching something truly special just for us. Songs like "Leaving on Our Minds" and "Hollowed Hearts" are great recorded, but live they were just mesmerizing. It was also a bit of a family affair since Calcagno had some cousins in the audience and his dad watching on the livestream. Seeing how young the pair are, I can't imagine what they'll be like once they get a few more years of playing together. If you're into any variety of folk, you need to get out to see Vivian Leva & Riley Calcagno next time they swing through.

With a name like Preacher & Daisy, I assumed that the opener for the evening would be another folk duo. It might be a duo at times, but I'm also seeing band photos online featuring four members. (There doesn't appear to be much information about the band online, especially current information.) Instead it was a solo performance of Sam Bailey, a friend and collaborator of Calcagno's. Bailey had a certain ridiculous level of charm, so that even forgetting lyrics made the performance that much more entertaining. He plays a certain style of folk rock that is right on the line of mainstream, but certain little quirks keep it more interesting and unique. He commented that he hasn't done music that much lately, so I'm looking forward to when he can focus on it a bit more since he has such a natural talent for it.

Live Shows: The Shang Hi Los, The Dogmatics, and The Chelsea Curve, Faces Brewing Co., Malden, MA 2/10/23

As small, independent venues seem to be dying out in Boston proper, breweries in the suburbs seem to be filling that gap. The most prominent one is Faces Brewing Co. in Malden, MA, which has a dedicated backroom with a stage that puts on shows regularly. I've been meaning to check it out for a while, and I finally had a chance to with a killer Boston garage rock punk triple bill filled with bands from two of my favorite record labels: Rum Bar Records and Red On Red Records! In a weekend filled with fantastic shows, I could not pass up seeing The Dogmatics, The Shang Hi Los, and The Chelsea Curve!

Opening the night were Boston legends The Dogmatics, who have been kicking around in various forms since 1981. They play a blend of punk and garage rock that has barely slowed down in their forty plus years. It's the kind of gritty rock music that you wouldn't expect to see in a high end venue/restaurant, but that's what happens with a band starts hitting their fifties and sixties. Interestingly enough, they played "Sister Serena" as the second song in their set, which might be their most well known song. Even more interestingly, they closed out their set with "Drop That Needle" and "Automat Kalashnikov," which were two songs from 2022's excellent EP Drop That Needle. It was a move that broke pretty much every setlist rule for a band that's been around over forty years, but The Dogmatics made it work perfectly. "Drop That Needle" seemed to get the biggest response of their set which proves just how great their new songs are. Hopefully it doesn't take me this many years to check them out again.

The night also doubled as an album release for The Shang Hi Los, who released the great Aces Eights & Heartbreaks last month. I expected the Boston garage rock supergroup to be good, but The Shang Hi Los are ridiculously great live. They play a style of garage rock that leans heavily into the 1960's, and Friday night every song sounded like a megahit. Songs like "Takes One to Know One," "Monsieur Valentine," and "Ingenue" simply need to be seen live. They played with the tightness of a band that's been playing large theaters for decades and not a band in a bar that released their first album less than a month ago. "Sway Little Player" sounds like The Oneders needed a second hit to make That Thing You Do! 2. I knew I'd enjoy their set, but I'm now a rabid Shang Hi Los fan.

Closing out the night were The Chelsea Curve. On last year's All the Things, they play a slick as hell version of garage rock borrowing heavily from pop and maybe dipping their toes a bit in oldies rock. Friday night they were much louder than I expected and far more punk sounding. They had much more of a Ramones sound than The Archies. Plus, The Chelsea Curve just emanated cool. Some bands just have that captivating factor as soon as they walk on stage, and The Chelsea Curve are stars just waiting to happen. They're another band you're going to need to check out sooner than later. Just be prepared to get rocked far harder than you thought they could.

Live Shows: Jon Spencer + The HITmakers, Minibeast, & Muck and the Mires, The Middle East, Cambridge, MA 1/24/23

I'm a little bit of an obsessive Jon Spencer fan. I've seen Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Heavy Trash, and Jon Spencer + The HITmakers before, so I'm obviously going to try to see the man every time he comes through the area. With the release of last year's excellent Spencer Gets It Lit, I've watched the band play multiple tours without coming to Boston, or anywhere else I could feasibly get to easily. When he finally announced a Boston show at The Middle East, I couldn't pass it up.

An added bonus were two local support bands I'd go see on their own anytime. Muck and the Mires were a perfect opener for Jon Spencer. They have this vintage garage rock sound that could be from anytime in the past six decades. It's the style started in hundreds of garages across America once The Beatles broke out that isn't exactly easy to tie down to a specific time since every generation has a handful of these bands. They're one of those bands that I would have sworn had started around 1982 or so, but they've only been round since 2001. In a city overflowing with killer garage rock/power pop bands, Muck and the Mires proved they're top tier. Songs like "I'm Your Man" and "Saturday Let Me Down Again" are just fun rock and roll songs, and they make for an even more fun night out.

Minibeast might have seemed like an odd choice as an opener, but Spencer has been known to lean into the weird and experimental side of rock and roll, and this band definitely fits that. Led by Peter Prescott (ex-Mission of Burma), the trio played a style of loud art rock that relies heavily on loops. Most art rock is of the chin stroking variety, and Minibeast certainly are that, but this is chin stroking music you can also rock out to. The loops were also used for show at times, with Prescott leaving the stage during a song to rock out and cheer in the audience. Keith Seidel is an absolute beast on drums and just attacked his kit in the most primal way for their entire set. This was music that makes you think and rock out, and that's a rare, rare thing.

Every single time I've seen Jon Spencer's various bands, it goes the same way. I'll be enjoying the first half of the show, but not truly swept up in it. It will be good, but not in that next level way I want. And then Spencer will start ranting in a very preacher-like way, usually about rock and roll, and then something shifts into that next level that I need. This was the kind of show where Spencer apologized for fighting a cold, and no one would have even guessed. (Of course, in this day and age it added a sense of danger I wasn't looking for, but I guess that's the way it is now). He had an intense energy and is one of the most compelling and underrated frontmen in music today, and seeing him live is a treat. The band closed out their main set with a triple shot of "Death Ray," "Just Wanna Die," and "Worm Town," and I can't think of any other artist that could make three songs about death such a celebration. When they came back for an encore, they seemed to tease Jon Spencer Blues Explosion classics "2 Kindsa Love" and "Bellbottoms," and no one certainly minded they didn't end up following up on that tease.

Live Shows: PONS, Them Airs, Pinklids, & Perennial, Firehouse, Worcester, MA 1/4/23

Last year I discovered a new appreciation for DIY venues. As more and more small venues close in and around Boston, these are becoming an absolutely vital space to see smaller bands. I've known about Worcester's Firehouse for a while now, but haven't had a chance to get out to see a show there. I've also been meaning to see Perennial for over a year now, but haven't had a chance despite how often they play in the area. Wednesday night everything finally aligned and I got a chance to do both.

Perennial opened the show and just set the tone for the evening. Their very specific version of punk rock that is loud, and noisy, and just a fucking blast was everything I wanted it to be live and then some. This is a band that absolutely loves what they do, and that joy was contagious. Vocalists Chelsey Hahn and Chad Jewett had a seemingly impossible amount of energy as they jumped and danced around as much as their instruments would allow them to. They even threw in a cover of "Heard it Through the Grapevine" that was accompanied only by fingersnaps from the audience. Songs like "Food for Hornets" and "Perennial in a Haunted House" must be seen live. I can't think of another band that plays music this heavy that is just pure joy and fun.

Pinklids are going to infuriate most music journalists and critics, because they're virtually impossible to categorize. Their songs swing wildly between pure pop, indie rock, noise rock, and maybe a dozen other genres, sometimes within the same song and other times all at once. Some parts of their songs were pretty and dance friendly, and others were thrashy and mosh friendly. Frontperson Amber is a future rock star. Some people just have that certain something, and she had it just walking up to the microphone. Considering this is a band that doesn't seem to have any official music out, that's saying a lot.

Connecticut's Them Airs sound wildly different live than their recorded music does. Their albums and singles seem more reserved and in some cases more on the electronic side of things. Live they were more along the lines of Daydream Nation era Sonic Youth, if Sonic Youth wanted to make you dance. If a Sonic Youth inspired dance party sounds fun to you (which it should), you're going to dig Them Airs. 

PONS made the drive up from New York, and thank god they did. As they took the stage, I noticed one of the drummers (there were two) was wearing a mask, so I immediately thought of Lightning Bolt. That comparison was apt musically, as PONS play this out of control style of noise rock. Usually I'll say a band seems like they could go off the rails at any moment but keep it together. PONS go gloriously off the rails pretty much at all times, but that seems like a stylistic choice. Their playing style reminded me a lot of Ex Models. PONS stay a little more true to the rules of song structure than those bands, but only by a couple of rules. They were thrilling live, and it's a show you need to experience.

Live Shows: Sapling and Gretchen Shae & The Middle Eight, Exhibit 'A' Brewing Company, Framingham, MA 12/31/22

I'm not the type of person that needs to go out on New Year's Eve. Everything is usually overpriced, goes well after midnight, everyone is overdrinking, you're more likely to get pulled over, etc. I have to really, really want to go to an event to go out on NYE. But when Sapling and Gretchen Shae & The Middle Eight announced a New Year's Eve show, I knew I had to go, especially when it's at the wonderfully early time of 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm, and it was free!

Gretchen Shae & The Middle Eight opened the very early evening show. Their blend of glammed up hard rock isn't exactly what I'd expect to be playing at a brewery, but apparently Exhibit 'A' has great and unexpected taste in music. This is the type of music that might be more at home in a dimly lit club at a much later hour, but the brightly lit brewery and early time gave the show a much more laid back feel. A song like "Skeleton Closet" is meant to be heard live. The recorded version is great and all, but Gretchen Shae & The Middle Eight rip live. The backroom of a craft brewery might seem like an odd setting for hard rock, but somehow it all worked perfectly.

The show also had a bit of a DIY feel, as Sapling had to set up and adjust their sound on the fly. There were some sound issues early on, but they are hardly the type of band that needs perfection to sound great. Their blend of loud, noisy art rock even sounds a little better with some extra fuzz on it. Opening with the brand new single "A Fox Upon the Tomb," they played a mixture of songs off their 2020 album No Sequoia and the upcoming amor fati. "Bitchshifter" will always give me mixed feelings since the Elon Musk mask incident of 2022, but luckily the mask was not included in the clown box this time around, so I got to just enjoy the music. This time around, the clown box included an inflatable champagne bottle that shot out confetti, a feather boa, and a drill that guitarist Amber Tortorelli played guitar with towards the end of the performance. The new music contains many moments that can be best described as a wall of noise, so that will be enjoyed once we get to hear the full album. Tortorelli's playing was on full display Saturday night as she attacked her guitar with a pickless, thumb-based style. She is a master of noise, wrenching some of the most intriguing sounds out of her guitar and theremin I've seen in years. 

Live Shows: Muzztival, Midway Cafe, Jamaica Plain, MA 12/30/22

This seemed to be the year that most cool events were happening before (or early) on New Year's Eve. Possibly the coolest was Muzztival. Hosted by Muzzins, the event took place the night before New Year's Eve and featured a wide variety of entertainment besides bands. The evening featured punk poetry, DJ Lightfoot, a drag performance, and an arts and crafts table in the back of Midway Cafe. Of course, the main event was the performance by Muzzins.

Despite having just two singles out, Muzzins are quietly one of the buzziest bands in Boston currently. From the first time I saw them opening for Snapped Ankles way back in March, the band has just gotten better and more engaging. One of the main reasons is just how impossible they are to categorize. Their music is a combination of hip hop, electronic, punk, jazz, indie rock... and just about everything else you can imagine. They are truly a captivating performance, led by singer Rayna Jhaveri. Jhaveri just owns the stage when Muzzins perform. It's a perfect mixture of rock star swagger with awkward nerd that shouldn't work, but does.

The true key with seeing Muzzins is to let yourself free and truly participate. This is not music or a live experience you simply watch and clap in between. Audience members who let themselves loose to dance (particularly if they don't normally find themselves dancing) are going to enjoy the night much more. In the Boston indie scene, dancing is typically frowned upon, but Muzzins seem determined to change that. A song about smoking weed and listening to jazz in theory should be listened to more than experienced, but with Muzzins you need to throw yourself into the experience without any qualms or self-consciousness.

Apologies to performers after Muzzins. I had to miss them due to pure exhaustion and a long drive home. Next time...

Live Shows: Savoir Faire, Union Coffee Co., Milford, NH 12/17/22

Photo by Sasha Pedro

Since discovering Savoir Faire back in January, I've been dying to get out and see her live, but it just hasn't quite worked out for me. She's played a decent number of shows, but I unfortunately couldn't make any. Luckily just before the year ended she played a show at the tiny Union Coffee Co. in Milford, NH!

How tiny is Union Coffee Co.? In the room with the stage, there were only ten chairs. Sure, there was room for people to stand, but it's a tiny stage and a tiny venue. That and the fact that it was a hometown show for Savoir Faire with the audience made up mostly of people she knew, it was an intensely intimate show. For an artist that normally plays rooms with fifty to one hundred people, it was a special chance to see her play in the smallest room possible.

Playing with a bass player, Savoir Faire played a late afternoon/early evening show broken into two sets. She mixed it up by playing mostly originals with a good number of covers, too. Her cover choices were an interesting mix that rarely went with obvious choices. Possibly the most obvious choice was a cover of Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game," which was perfect for her jazz meets indie rock/folk vibe. Other covers includes a song from Radiohead's In Rainbows, Sheryl Crow's James Bond theme "Tomorrow Never Dies, Fiona Apple's "I Know," No Doubt's "Climb," and Garbage's "Only Happy When It Rains." It was an eclectic mix for sure, with Fiona Apple being the most obvious choice as Savoir Faire has played entire tribute sets for Apple. There was also a planned Tragic Kingdom anniversary show that was derailed by COVID, so we might see more No Doubt covers down the road.

It wasn't all covers, of course, and Savoir Faire's originals held up to he cover choices. She has this wonderful mix of jazz standards meets an indie edge sound which was shown off perfectly on a song like "Sweet." "Alias" was another highlight of the evening with it's attention grabbing guitar work. The closer of the night was "Think Twice," which ended with one of the finest laid back guitar solos I've heard in a long time. You don't usually get shredding at a jazz inspired singer/songwriter performance, but most artists aren't Savoir Faire.

Live Shows: Butcher Brown, The Sinclair, Cambridge, MA 12/7/22

There's a lot of talk about rock being dead. The kids aren't listening to rock any more in favor of hip hop and electronic music. Since rock is supposedly dead, you'd expect jazz to be even more dead since they've been saying jazz is dead for decades longer. Apparently no one told that to the kids in attendance for Butcher Brown's show at The Sinclair in Cambridge.

That was truly what was so shocking about Butcher Brown's show. The crowd was mostly people in their twenties with just a few of the typical, older jazz crowd speckled throughout. Sure, Butcher Brown aren't entirely a classic jazz band as they heavily use hip hop, funk, and soul, but they are jazz. Still, they had an audience filled with indie hipsters, hippies, ad hip hop heads.

They pulled this off just by being great. Hip hop seems to be the gateway for a lot of their appeal. While Marcus Tenney stuck with playing trumpet and saxophone more than he did rapping, they used hip hop samples throughout along with some sampled drums, which just added to Corey Fonville's live drums. The Richmond, VA quintet seemed to stick more to their instrumental jazz songs than to their more rap based songs, but even though that's how I got into them, I didn't miss the vocals and found myself enjoying the jazz instrumentals more than I expected. Although "#KingButch" was a lot of fun live.

Despite considering myself a fan of jazz, actually getting out to see live jazz is a rare event for me, but if Butcher Brown's show was any indication, I really need to do it more often.

Live Shows: Letters to Cleo & THICK, Paradise Rock Club, Boston, MA 11/19/22

Poster by Daykamp Creative

I usually try to avoid nostalgia shows and tours. While most people my age seem to adore them, it's not typically my thing. Many bands from the 90's come around once a year around the same time, play the exact same venue, and play basically the same setlist. It could be because I've seen a lot of these bands before, and usually for a lot cheaper than the shows cost now. I'm more into having a new or unique experience than I am having the same one over and over. Plus, you get a lot of middle aged people trying to relive their college and teen years, including trying to drink like they did twenty to thirty years ago. However, there are always exceptions to every rule, and mine is Letters to Cleo.

I've seen Letters to Cleo more than any other band. I'm not quite sure how many times, but I'd guess over twenty, maybe over thirty. Even though they play the Paradise every year, they always find a way to mix it up. This year saw a quick five song acoustic set to start things off. They were joined by Meghan Tracey on keyboards opened with one of their newer songs, "Back to Nebraska," which was surprising but somehow worked. One great thing about Letters to Cleo shows these days is that there are very few newbies. It's typically a diehard crowd who is perfectly fine with opening with a new song. The second song was a brand new song which sees Kay Hanley fantasizing about murdering her abusive high school boyfriend. Obviously that received a great reaction. From there we got "Step Back" and "Little Rosa," which are two obvious songs for an acoustic set. They closed this portion of the show with their cover of Nick Lowe's "Cruel to Be Kind."

After this, it was pretty much a greatest hits show. It's easy to forget just how many great songs Letters to Cleo have, but songs like "Go!," "Demon Rock," "Pizza Cutter," and of course the big hits of "Here and Now" and their cover of "I Want You to Want Me" will always be crowd pleasers. While many of their contemporaries can leave the impression that they're going through the motions for a paycheck, that's not the case with Letters to Cleo. Michael Eisenstein in particular seemed to be having the time of his life. This is the kind of band that has been playing to a lot of the same people for decades, and it's always fun to see them spot a familiar face in the crowd.

To help make this year's Homecoming shows a little special, they brought in a horn section for the encore. "Sparklegirl," "Rim Shak," and "Acid Jed" were particularly great with horns. It's definitely not a necessary addition, but a fun one to make this weekend's shows unique for the diehards.

Brooklyn's THICK opened the night. I've been a fan since discovering their album Happy Now back in August. It's a great album, but their live show is stellar. It takes all of the fun of the album, but with a more raw, noisy edge. Their pop side makes them a perfect opener for Letters to Cleo, but they're just a little more punk than I expected. Plus, they definitely love playing to a crowd. They definitely won over even those in attendance that just wanted to hear what they already knew. Seriously, get out to see these ladies while they're still in small venues, because they won't be for long.

Live Shows: Little Hag, Yawn Mower, & Jordan Holtz, Wrong Brain, Dover, NH 11/16/22

I've been a fan of Little Hag ever since stumbling on their music back when Avery Mandeville was still playing under her name. One frustrating thing about running a music blog is discovering musicians I really like in other areas that never make it to the Boston/New England area. Luckily, Little Hag teamed up with Yawn Mower for a short tour of New England. Dover, NH is a little outside of the distance I normally travel for shows, but it's better than the drive down to Asbury Park so I couldn't resist.

Little Hag opened up the show with a fairly short set. Opening with "Tetris" was perfect and set the mood for the night. Mandeville pours everything she has into her performances and might be one of the most energetic performers I've seen in years. The rest of the set drew from 2021's excellent Leash, including favorites like "Red," "Blood," and "Schlub." Wrong Brain's set up provided for a unique stage set up. Surrounded by artwork including what might have been a large pink pinata on the side of the stage and multiple ghosts hanging from the ceiling, drummer Owen Flanagan was set up in the center of his four bandmates. Little Hag were a blast of pure indie rock and pop fun, and let's hope they make it up to New England more regularly.

Yawn Mower was up next. The band shares a bass player with Little Hag (Dana Yurcisin), and have a similar aesthetic. They also played a relatively quick set, focusing on their just released album To Each Their Own Coat. It's filled with fun, quirky indie rock songs. "Elevation" is my personal favorite from the album, so it was two bands in a row that opened with my favorite song. While a lot of indie rock tends to be very serious and important, Yawn Mower are just pure upbeat fun. They even included a cover of They Might Be Giant's "Dr. Worm," and more bands should really cover They Might Be Giants.

Rick Rude were supposed to close out the night, but seeing as four of five members were sick, it ended up being a solo set by bass player Jordan Holtz. You don't normally get a solo performance by a bass player, so it was an interesting set. I mean that in a good way, as Katz was a captivating performer. Rick Rude is one of those bands I'm not terribly familiar with, although they seem to play around constantly. If Holtz's performance was any indication, I need to get out to see a Rick Rude show as soon as everyone gets better.

Live Shows: Mali Obomsawin 6tet and Olivia Shortt, Club Passim, Cambridge, MA 11/10/22

It may not be my normal music of choice, but I love Mali Obomsawin's new album Sweet Tooth. My taste in music can lean pretty far on the experimental side of things, but a three piece suite of music that is a mixture of jazz, folk, blues, Native cultures, etc. is new territory for me. But, I'm all about new experiences, so I headed out to Club Passim to experience it live.

Mali Obomsawin's Sweet Tooth is about Indigenous resistance, which she made quite clear while discussing the songs. She discussed how large the Wabanaki territory once was and how they are now limited to two reservations near Quebec, the influence (or attempted influence) of Jesuits on the Wabanaki, and joked about the lack of cultural relevance of Boston. It was definitely a night of challenging music, with plenty of discordance and experimenting going on with the music. As experimental as the recorded album is, live it was both more experimental and less experimental. At times the 6tet strayed away from the record, which almost made the songs more traditionally jazz, especially when the horn section had time to solo. It might sound weird saying that free form, improvisational jazz is "traditional," but compared to other parts of the suites, it was very traditional. 

Club Passim definitely attracts an older crowd, especially with memberships and traditional folk music. I was curious how this crowd would handle the noise and dissonance of Sweet Tooth, but everyone was much more open minded than I expected and Mali Obomsawin 6tet was met with enthusiastic applause between songs. This is music that requires an open mind and rewards those that have it.

Olivia Shortt opened the show and asked if we were ready for "... weird shit and noise," and she definitely delivered on both of those. She played a thirty minute composition where she played notes on a saxophone and vocalized, looping those over and over to flesh out the musical piece more. It seemed more like something I'd expect to see opening for Sonic Youth than at Club Passim. At times it worked for me, and at times it didn't. But that's how "weird shit and noise" works best.

Live Shows: Spiralhead, The Upstairs District, The Baxbys, and Tysk Tysk Task, Hawks & Reed Performing Arts Center, Greenfield, MA 11/6/22

For a while there we were at risk of becoming a Tysk Tysk Task fansite, but we haven't had a chance to cover them in almost two months. Luckily, they scheduled a show out in Greenfield, MA on a Sunday night that worked for me, so even though I hadn't heard of the other three bands on the bill I knew I had to make the trip out west. Plus, Hawks & Reed is becoming a favorite venue, so how could I resist?

Tysk Tysk Task opened the show which was my first time seeing them with new bass player Paul B. Having a regular bass player adds a completely new dynamic to their live shows, but what is most compelling about Tysk Tysk Task live is just how much they tweak their songs during shows. You're Sorry More has been out for just under two months, and while most bands would make the songs sound as close to the album as possible, Tysk Tysk Tasks' songs just keep evolving at every show. This was the sixth (maybe seventh?) time I've seen them this year, and I can honestly say no show has been anywhere near the same as the one before it. There are lines that Samantha Hartsel screams at one show and then barely whispers the next. For some reason this is the show I ended up honing in on Danni Gannon's drumming more than the others, and I was pleasantly surprised at how jazz influenced it is. It reminded me a lot of Steve Shelley's drumming as they both are able to control the chaos happening around them.

The Baxbys were up next, and I know this might sound dismissive but I truly mea this as a compliment, but they sounded exactly like every mid-90's film soundtrack that I loved. Back then it seemed like every movie (Dumb & Dumber, Mallrats, Angus, etc.) had a killer alt-rock soundtrack. They would have a few bands that you knew and already loved, but there would always be a few that you discovered through the compilation. For some reason The Baxbys reminded me of the Empire Records soundtrack in particular. Singer Alex Norlund was an incredibly compelling frontman, especially considering that the band only formed in 2021. This could be the kind of band that ends up crossing over, so keep an eye out for them.

The Upstairs District seemed to have the biggest crowd of the night, and it wasn't just because they hail from Greenfield. I couldn't quite put my finger on their musical style during their set until they played a cover of MGMT's "Electric Feel." Their blend of indie rock meets dance music fits right into the style of music MGMT play, and they were obviously a truly fun band. I started out more towards the back at the start of their set, but they slowly pulled me closer and closer to the stage as they went on. They're another band to keep an eye on in the near future.

Spiralhead closed out the show and kept to the theme of the night which was four completely different music genres at the same show. Spiralhead is an acoustic singer-songwriter playing folk-ish music with an electric guitar player who also provided some backing vocals. The pair played their set of fairly lo-fi friendly indie folk. It was mostly originals with an Elliott Smith cover and an Alex G cover. It was a compelling set that had a challenge of following three louder, more high energy artists, but Spiralhead pulled it off.

This was the kind of show that I went to for one band, and once I realized they were opening I had planned on taking off early, it being a Sunday night and all. I ended up staying for the entire night thanks to three other bands I ended up enjoying.

Live Shows: Cypress Hill, KRS-One, Sick of It All, and Ill Bill, House of Blues, Boston, MA 10/24/22

As soon as Cypress Hill announced the dates for this year's Haunted Hil shows, I knew I wanted to go. I had only seen Cypress Hill once way back in 2000 when they were touring with the Offspring. They were more of an opener, and it was when they were playing more as a rock band on the heels of "(Rock) Superstar," and I always had wanted to see their rap show more. And then they announced KRS-One as an opener, who I only saw once in 2004. This was at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and it seemed to be half lecture and half performance. How could I resist two of my high school favorites playing together?

Ill Bill opened the show with his fellow La Coka Nostra member Slaine serving as hype man. They went on before the announced start time for a quick fifteen to twenty minute set to warm up the crowd. It's hard to review such a short set, but Ill Bill did exactly what he was there for. He got the attention of a crowd that was still milling about and got them hyped for the show. 

Sick of It All played next, and were definitely out of my normal musical comfort zone. I'm not familiar with the New York Hardcore scene, and know them more by name than anything else. Of course, I love when shows mix up genres into one show, so it was quite welcome for me. They definitely had their fans in the crowd, but it seemed like a lot of those in attendance seemed more confused than anything. Singer Lou Koller explained the band's sound at one point, saying that it was a mix of punk, metal, and hip hop. They ended up fitting in surprisingly well by the end of their set.

KRS-One played a relatively quick thirty minute set that saw him blasting through his hits. He was joined by Boston's own Ed O.G., who got to perform his biggest hit "I Got to Have It." This was a set of, as KRS-One put it, "real hip hop" hits going back to his time in Boogie Down Productions into his solo material. He opened with a freestyle that functioned more as a soundcheck and into hits like "The Bridge is Over," "Step Into a World (Rapture's Delight)," "Love's Gonna Get'cha (Material Love)," and of course "Sound of da Police." He closed with another freestyle, this time over classical music. Someday I'll get to see the Blastmaster play a full set.

DJ Lord started off Cypress Hill's set with a quick DJ set mixing both rock and rap hits into one mix. This helped set the tone for the night when B-Real took the stage for a medley of their biggest weed related hits like "I Wanna Get High," "Dr. Greenthumb," and "Hits from the Bong." He was soon joined by Sen Dog, and Cypress Hill just played the classics from my youth. Every song seemed like the biggest hit of all time like "Hand on the Pump" and "Lick a Shot." They even played around with the classics a bit, with "Lick a Shot" incorporating samples of Public Enemy's "Welcome to the Terrordome" and House of Pain's "Jump Around." But the last four songs of the evening might have been the best four song end of set stretch I've ever seen. "How Could I Just Kill a Man" (which sampled Rage Against the Machine's cover for the end of the song), "(Rock) Superstar," "Insane in the Brain," and a cover of "Jump Around" closed out the night and drove the crowd into a frenzy. Interestingly enough, "(Rock) Superstar" got a fairly mellow reaction while "Insane in the Brain" got the biggest reaction of the night. For a night that celebrated the fusion of both rock and rap, maybe we've moved past the whole rock/rap thing and can just let music be music.

Live Shows: L7 and Downtown Boys, Big Night Live, Boston, MA 10/9/22

L7 are one of those bands I've known since high school but I had just never gotten to see them. I think I realized that a few years back and became determined to see them, but it just never quite worked out. Finally schedules aligned and I was able to see these absolute legends live.

First, let me just say how much I hate Big Night Live as a music venue. The name itself is terrible and sounds like it was spit out by an AI or at least a corporate pitchman who's at least in his seventies. Being right in the TD Garden doesn't help, and it's just a giant corporate music venue with no real personality. There seemed to be sound issues all night, with the bass turned up far too high, bassist Jennifer Finch's microphone barely on at times, and a buzz that lasted throughout almost the entire night. Let's hope they go back to the Paradise next time they come through town.

The true draw of this tour was the thirtieth anniversary of their huge 1992 album Bricks Are Heavy. They played the album from start to finish, which is always a good time. This lead to their biggest hit, "Pretend We're Dead," being the third song they played and singer/guitarist Suzi Gardner announcing that if anyone leaves after the hit they would be tracked down. Obviously no one did. It's easy to forget how amazing this album is with all eleven tracks sounding like hits from the stage. Even B-sides like "Diet Pill," "Monster," and "This Ain't Pleasure" were monsters live. It's no wonder they've always appealed to fans of grunge, punk, and metal.

Once the required playing of Bricks Are Heavy was done, the L7 hands logo banner dropped and was replaced with the block letters in a circle one. The band also seemed to relax a bit, and kicked in for another ten killer songs. With an album like Bricks Are Heavy, it's easy to forget that they have a whole career of killer songs, but they reminded us with songs like "Andres," "Shove," and "Fast and Frightening." At one point they asked if Gail was in the audience, meaning Gail Greenwood of Belly and L7 bassist from 1996-1999. Turns out she was in about the third row just rocking out as a fan all night. The band came back with a one song cover of David Bowie's "Suffragette City" and used it to implore fans to get out and vote next month.

Providence's Downtown Boys opened with a blistering thirty minute set. They started out by handing out resources to get free birth control, which is exactly what I'd expect from the highly political punk band. As political as they are, the "I'm just here to rock" crowd was easy to spot with arms folded and not moving at all, but they won over the majority of the crowd before their set was done with songs like "A Wall" and "Wave of History." Towards the end of their set Victoria Ruiz climbed from the stage to sing in the crowd, much to the chagrin of the venue security. But punk rock is punk rock, and Downtown Boys ended their part of the show by asking the crowd to aid and abet abortion, which I assume most of us already planned to.