Deep Thoughts is a record store in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston that has hosted a Grateful Dead night on Fridays in their used book basement, and recently started to have more indie rock shows every so often. It's a great space, albeit one with Dead logos all over the place and the distraction of wanting to look at books everywhere. This past Thursday, they hosted three bands with little in common besides all three being trios: Perennial, Miracle Blood, and Muzzins. It ended up being a perfect mixture of styles for the night.
Muzzins opened the evening with their completely unique blend of electronic music, hip hop, jazz, indie rock, punk, and whatever else they feel like throwing in that day. This is the fifth or so time I've seen Muzzins in the past year, and it's always a completely different show. The songs may be the same, but since they are mostly improvised, it's always a different interpretation. "Smoke This" (I think that's the song title) is quickly becoming a favorite, leaning heavily into jazzy hip hop territory, particularly with the call and response between R-Muzz and C-Muzz. One of the highlights of any Muzzins show is watching them turn a confused and skeptical crowd into die hard fans, and that happened this past Thursday night to many in attendance.
Miracle Blood played second, and one of the best things about seeing them perform live is that there isn't another band in existence that is this heavy and this fun. They play one of the most unique blends of punk meets metal that sounds like Jello Biafra fronting a thrash band. The majority of heavy bands out there play angry and aggressive music. Miracle Blood play loud and aggressive music (when a band announces they're giving out free earplugs while they're setting up is a sure sign you're going to want them), but there is this sense of joy and fun in their music. You can't sing a song about wanting to be a Pomeranian and have it not be a fun song. (If you've never heard "Pomeranian," you need to change that ASAP.)
Perennial closed out the show as one of their EP release shows. They're another band that plays loud and fast music but in a joyful way. As I listen to them more and more, I hear the massive influence of Refused meets 60's music. It's punk, but happy punk that celebrates things instead of tearing them down. Not many other punk bands could pull off a quiet "Heard it Through the Grapevine" cover with nothing but fingersnaps, but it fits a Perennial show perfectly. Perennial play a fast and loose style live that plows through the audience and welcomes them to join in. It's punk that inspires dancing, not moshing. You all owe it to yourselves to experience the joy that is a Perennial live performance.
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