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: 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...

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 August 16 Me in Capris, Sailor Down, John Galm, and Cape Crush at Deep Cuts, Medford, MA Worshipper, Zip-Tie Handcuffs, Mother Iron Horse, and dropbear at The Middle East, Cambridge, MA Savoir Faire at The Galactic Theater, Warren, RI Lions and Lavender, Tysk Tysk Task, Red Ledger, and The Fool's Agenda at Bit Bar, Salem, MA The Ghouls, MOLD, The P.A.'s, and Ralph n' Sean at Sparetime Recreation, Whitinsville, MA Saturday August 17 Save Ferris and Kings of the W...

The week between Christmas and New Year's is usually a pretty dull one, but it holds what has become one of my favorite holiday traditions: My now annual trip to the House of Blues to see the Mighty Mighty Bosstones for their Hometown Throwdown. This year they lessened the usual holiday theme and instead dedicated their entire three show run to The Rat, the legendary Boston punk club that used to be located across the Mass Pike from the House of Blue in Kenmore Square. For their openers, they chose bands they knew from their days of playing The Rat. For Sunday night, their openers were The Real Kids and The Queers. As I walked in, I noticed a list of set times posted at the door. The Real Kids had to drop out at the last minute due to John Felice being hospitalized. It was a huge disappointment, especially because I had never heard of their replacement, Unnatural Axe. Turns out Unnatural Axe are the  Boston punk originators, and started playing shows at The Rat in 1978. As th...