If It's Too Loud...

Some shows are simply can't miss ones. When I first saw that Cape Crush were celebrating their excellent new album, Place Memory , at Deep Cuts with ONE FALL, Good June, and Hell Beach, I knew that would be a contender for bill of the year. All four bands are fantastic, and while all four play some version of pop punk/emo/melodic punk, they all do it differently enough to keep the night interesting. As high as my expectations for Friday night were, they were all blown away. Good June was the band I was least familiar with, and the only one I hasn't previously seen live. The emo rock band took the stage first, and set the bar for the evening high. This is emo with an alt-rock edge, and every song was catchier and more fun than the last. Every band seemed to have their own diehard fans right up front and singing all the words, and Good June were no exception. I simply can't emphasize enough how catchy every song in Good June's set was, and I've had multiple taking tur...

Salem, MA melodic punk powerhouse ONE FALL are angry, and they've decided to release a new EP about it. Cut & Run is a four song collection that leaves no question as to what their feelings on the current state of the country are. The opening track, "The Modern Age," is a blisteringly fast and heavy punk song that's infused with more melody than should be possible on a song this fast. That might be the true secret weapon of ONE FALL: Their songs are heavy, fast, and angry, but melodic enough that they're still fun to listen to and shout along to. The songs on this EP are about women being jailed for fighting back against their abusers, using "... violence to defend the defenseless," street harassment, and trying to battle the despair many of us have been feeling this year, and it's still a fun listen. I've been a huge fan of their previous releases, but something about Cut & Run is them taking it to a completely new level.  Helen McWillia...

I'm at the point in life that I have zero interest in going out St. Patrick's Day weekend, especially in Boston. It's typically far too much mandatory drinking and enforced fun which leads to stupid fights and dodging rivers of vomit. For me to go out on the Saturday before St. Patrick's Day, it has to be something I really want to do. This year was one of those times with the release show for the latest album from Oh the Humanity! with ONE FALL, Little Low, and SkyTigers joining them. First up for the night of punk was SkyTigers. This is one of those bands that's kind of hard to categorize us as punk since they're just as metal as they are punk. SkyTigers have an album recorded, and they chose to play as yet unreleased songs for their set. Judging by what they played, this new album is going to be epic. They played the heaviest set of the night, filled with instant classic songs with a heavy dose of politics. (They played the first of two songs about Luigi Mang...

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: Friday September 13 Jedediah Parish and Mike Gent at Q Division Studios, Cambridge, MA DeVotchka and Savoir Faire at The Sinclair, Cambridge, MA Buffalo Tom and Belly at State Theater, Portland, ME Bongwish, Mother Fungus, The P.A.'s, and Little Miss Echo at Deep Cuts, Medford, MA Feminine Aggression, Perennial, and Juana B Ontop at Holyoke Media, Holyoke, MA Saturday September 14 Moon Over Salem Festival featuring Actor Observer, Hell Beach, dropbear, The Freqs, Oldsoul, Astr...

I'll use just about any excuse I can find to go hang out in Salem, MA, especially in the Fall. Looks like I'll be clearing my calendar to head up there in mid-September for Moon Over Salem. Formerly Hope Fest, Moon Over Salem is going to be taking over six venues (Bit-Bar, Gulu Gulu, CHAGALL PAC, Cinema Salem, Koto, and Ames Hall) from 1:00 pm to 11:00 pm for a full day of music. How great is the line up? It features Actor Observer, Oldsoul, One Fall, Radio Compass, Astral Bitch, dropbear, Molly O'Leary, The Freqs, and many, many more, including a few to be announced later this month, which includes a national headliner. Plus, it's September 14, which is just late enough to truly be Fall without Salem becoming too crazy (although it will still be pretty crazy, even in September!) September has quietly become the best month for music festivals of the year in New England, but you're going to want to drop everything for this one. Moon Over Salem takes over downtown Sal...

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: Friday May 31 The Wolff Sisters and Molly O'Leary at Askew, Providence, RI Zip-Tie Handcuffs, Kal Marks, and Idiot Genes at Deep Cuts, Medford, MA Buffalo Tom at The Drake, Amherst, MA Hubby Jenkins at The Porch Southern Fare & Juke Joint, Medford, MA The Promised End, Origami Summer, Miniluv, and One Fall at Koto, Salem, MA Abigail Lapell and Helen Hummel at The Parlor Room, Northampton, MA Saturday June 1 Abigail Lapell and Audrey Pearl at Club Passim, Cambridge, MA Fiel...

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. If you're looking for last minute plans this weekend, we recommend: Friday May 3 The I Want You and Crow Follow at Midway Cafe, Jamaica Plain, MA The Iron Roses, Lowest of the Low, and One Fall at Deep Cuts, Medford, MA Saturday May 4 Kid Gulliver at Luther's Coop, Easthampton, MA Rock and Roll Rumble Finals featuring Other Brother Darryl, The Ghouls, and Gut Health with special guest Halfcocked at Sonia, Cambridge, MA Folk Collective Annual Concert featuring Alastair Moock, Almira Ara, Anju, Audrey Pearl, Cliff Notez, Gabriella Simpkins, Kim Moberg, Lydia Harrell, Maxfield Anderson, Naomi Westwater, Peter Mulvey, and Steph...

This past weekend saw the return of The Town and The City Festival to downtown Lowell over Friday and Saturday. With such a stacked line up and so many bands to see, it was impossible to see them all, or even every band you wanted to see. I tried to take in as much as possible, had to make some tough decisions (or had some made for me), and had a fantastic two nights of music. I started off my night at Smokehouse Tavern to see The Only Things, , Muck and the Mires, and Linnea's Garden. I've been listening to The Only Things for years now, but this was my first time finally seeing the Lowell band live. I missed a few songs of their set, but from what I saw they out on a great show. Just some solid punk and garage rock and roll played by a group of guys just having fun with it. They closed with a cover of The Replacements' "Bastard of Young," which fit right in with their own songs. Next up for me was Muck and the Mires. I'm always shocked that the Boston garage...

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. If you're looking for last minute plans this weekend, we recommend: Friday April 26 The Town and the City Festival, Lowell, MA      Tysk Tysk Task, One Fall, Subpunch, and Burp. at The Old Court     Frank Morey, Sofia Talvik, and Evan Goodrow at Gallery Z     Cuidado, Linnea's Garden, Muck and the Mires, and The Only Things at                   Smokehouse Tavern     Orbit and D-Tension & The Secrets at Warp & Weft Kid Gulliver and The Smallest Town Ensemble at Exhibit 'A' Brewing Company, Framingham, MA Screaming Dead, Gretchen Shae & The...

This weekend marks the return of The Town and the City Festival on Friday and Saturday. The festival is spread throughout downtown Lowell, MA with many of the venues within a block or two of each other. The festival is always a well run great time with something for virtually every music fan. Here's a guide to what we consider to be the highlights, which include many of our favorite artists! Friday night features Sofia Talvik at Gallery Z. The singer-songwriter is on tour throughout the US all the way from Sweden, and has been a favorite of ours before we started If It's Too Loud... She'll be joined by Evan Goodrow and Frank Morey. Christ Church United features the legendary English singer-songwriter Robyn Hitchcock. Any time he plays in the area is an official Big Deal. You can tell The Town and the City know what they're doing since this is a return to the festival for him. He'll be joined by Syd Straw, making this a legendary bill in the making. If you're loo...

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. If you're looking for last minute plans this weekend, we recommend: Friday March 8 Ghost Painted Sky, Low Lives, Black Rose Burning, and Gretchen Shae & The Middle Eight at The Middle East, Cambridge, MA Thru It All, One Fall, and Nicoteens at Deep Cuts, Medford, MA Stop Calling Me Frank, Diablogato, and Orbiter at The Square Root, Roslindale, MA Saturday March 9 Aaron and the Lord, Tugboat Annie, and Vic Firecracker at Sonia, Cambridge, MA theWorst, Tysk Tysk Task, and Ian St. George at JJ's Tavern, Florence, MA Answerman, Phantom Ocean, and The Love Shamans at The Square Root, Roslindale, MA Lonely Leesa and the Lost ...

Doing Anything Fun 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. If you're looking for last minute plans this weekend, we recommend: Friday, February 9 Gretchen Shae & The Middle Eight, Looking Glass War, and Ex-Hyena at Faces Brewing Co., Malden, MA Follow Thru, One Fall, Sour Punch, and Jaimee Danger & The Dynamite at AS220, Providence, RI TELL, D-Tension and the Secrets, The Daylilies, and Charming Arson at The Middle East, Cambridge, MA Colleen Green, Kremlin Bats, and Kathy Snax at Myrtle, East Providence, RI JVK, hifi, and Rat Palace at The Rockwell, Somerville, MA Saturday, February 10 Motel Black, C.E. Skidmore, and Matt Charette at Thirsty First, Lowell, MA Lemmyfest V w...

The Town and the City Festival continues to be one of the best smaller festivals in the northeast, and this year's line up is stellar. Held throughout Lowell, MA, this year's festival will be held April 26 and 27. In 2024, Robyn Hitchcock returns and we'll also get long standing indie rockers Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Americana artist Amythyst Kiah, Swedish singer-songwriter Sofia Talvik, and Boston indie pop sensations The Q-Tip Bandits. The festival also includes some of our absolute favorite local artists including Akrobatik, Burp, Colleen Green, Jen Kearney, Linnea's Garden, Muck & The Mires, One Fall, Orbit, Roger Miller, Sapling, Subpunch, The Chelsea Curve, The Shirt & Shoes, Tysk Tysk Task, and many, many more. And this is just the initial line up, with more to come in 2024! Two-day passes go on sale today at 10:00 am for the special low price of $45 until November 30. For more on The Town and the City Festival, check out the festival's website .

Photo by Coleman Rogers Photography Last year One Fall won us over with their self-titled EP, and this spring they blew us away when they won the 2023 Rock & Roll Rumble. Now the Salem, MA punks are back with Spine First! a new EP that's blowing us away all over again. Once "Rage/Quit" starts, you'll know if One Fall are for you. (Spoiler: They are.) It's this burst of fast, thrashy punk rock with some of the most killer melodies around. Part of the appeal is singer/guitarist Helen McWilliams. She's one of the most engaging performers in Boston these days, and her pure charisma is more apparent on Spine First! than it was on the previous EP. A song like "Surrounder" is as heavy as it is catchy and melodic. It even has a fantastic metal guitar solo, which seems to come out of nowhere but makes perfect sense. And then that is followed by what might be the best breakdown of the past two decades. I think that's the appeal of a band like One Fall...

Part of the great thing about the return of the Rock & Roll Rumble is seeing bizarre four band bills that end up working perfectly. I doubt we'll ever see the likes of Tysk Tysk Task, Kooked Out, One Fall, and Not Bad Not Well all playing together again, and that's a shame. Sometimes the most oddball groupings of bands make the most cohesive shows. Tysk Tysk Task opened the evening, and I was a bit nervous for their performance. Their regular drummer was unavailable that night, and they had to use a fill in drummer, which is never ideal... unless that drummer is Cutty from Paper Tigers. With only five days of practice, the show should not have gone well at all, but five seconds into their set and all trepidation I had was gone. Cutty seemed to inject a new sense of excitement into the band, and Samantha Hartsel and Amy Gee seemed to up their game to match that excitement. Plus, turns out Cutty is a phenomenal drummer. Tysk Tysk Task's songs are ever evolving, even from ...

One Fall is a Salem, MA punk rock supergroup. It features Helen McWilliams (Tijuana Sweetheart), Joe MacFadzen (The Big Sway), Phill Hunt (Drug Blood), and Caleb Wheeler (Razors in the Night). The band just released their debut three song EP, and to call it melodic hardcore is an understatement. Musically "Slightshot," "Rats Abandon Ship," and fit squarely into the melodic hardcore genre. It's loud and hard like hardcore should be, but there is still a melodic element throughout the songs. It's not just fast and loud, but it's catchy as hell. And then there's the vocals. McWilliams has a voice not typically heard in music this loud. It's more of a pop style of vocal, but somehow One Fall make it work with the more aggressive music. Plus, there is some crazy great harmonizing going on here, the kind you'd normally hear with a band like The Beths than punk or hardcore. You can listen to One Fall's self-titled EP below. You can purchase a co...