If It's Too Loud...

As much as I was looking forward to The New Limits' album release party this past Friday, I almost didn't make it. It was a great triple bill, featuring the world's first and therefore best doombrass band Eight Foot Manchild and Futon Lasagna, a band I keep seeing playing shows I want to go to, but have never made it out to see. Getting to Faces Brewing in Malden was a nightmare, with random cars choosing to drive fifteen to twenty miles under the speed limit, and the most insane red light that was only allowing two cars to turn left into Malden. (I was literally at this light for ten minutes...) I was in such a bad mood by the time I parked my car that I almost turned back and headed home since it would be impossible to enjoy my night because of my fowl mood. Luckily, I stayed, because all three bands won me over and turned the night around. First up was Futon Lasagna (four members, three pairs of Vans (all checkered), zero horns). Their music was ska based, but delved qui...

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...

Faces Brewing Co. has been killing it lately with local triple bills. I haven't made it out to anywhere near as many as I've wanted to, but when two favorites get booked together (The Devil's Twins and Aaron & The Lord), I simply couldn't miss it. Kingshot was the third band of the night, and ended up being a great discovery. Aaron & The Lord opened up the night, and were the only band not celebrating a new album release. They opened up with "The Darkness," and guitarist Steven Lord was already on his knees playing before the song even started. That's usually reserved for well into a noise rock song, but it's also the secret of an Aaron & The Lord live show. The band plays these perfectly crafted alt-rock/pop songs that are irresistibly beautiful, even though they are filled with darkness and noise. You can easily get swept away by how simply beautiful a song like "Lilydale" is without even noticing how much noise lurks beneath, o...

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...

Faces Brewing Co. and RTT have been doing an amazing job booking shows lately, and this Saturday night is one of the most exciting. It's a fantastic triple bill of Kepi Ghoulie (ex-Groovie Ghoulies!), Brad Marino, and The Jacklights. It's sure to be a night of some of the finest pop infused punk rock 'n' roll you'll hear all year, and the best part is that we have a pair of tickets to give away for free! You know you've loved Kepi's music for far longer than you'd like to admit, and if you've been here for a while you've read us gushing about both Marino and The Jacklights for the past few years. All you have to do is email us at ifitstooloudblog@gmail.com with the subject line "Kepi" and you'll be entered. The winner will be drawn and notified Friday morning.  For more information on shows coming up at Faces Brewing Co., check out their website here . They have a ton of If It's Too Loud... approved shows coming up, including  C...

If you're looking for plans on Cinco de Mayo that don't involve a bunch of college kids slamming back margaritas in sombreros, might we suggest the fantastic triple bill of Asbury Park's fantastic pop punk/indie rock heroes Dentist, the mighty Salem Wolves (now of Rhode Island), and the downtempo sounds of Strange Pains? The three are playing Faces Brewing Co. in Malden, MA, and we've once again teamed up with RTT Presents to giveaway a pair of tickets! In order to win, simply email us at ifitstooloudblog@gmail.com with the subject line of "Dentist," and your full name in the body of the email. We'll draw a winner Thursday morning, May 4! Good luck! For more information on the shows coming up at Faces, check their website here . They have a ton of If It's Too Loud... approved shows, including Kepi Ghoulie, The Jacklights, and Brad Marino May 13, Children of the Flaming Wheel, The Dreamtoday, and Astral Bitch May 18, Dead Bars, Perfectly Lethal, and Hel...

We love free concerts here at If It's Too Loud..., so we're obviously going to love to pass on free tickets to our readers as well! This time around we're giving away two tickets to see Answerman, The Grubs, and The Love Shamans at Faces Brewing Co. in Malden, MA on April 22 courtesy of RTT Presents. Faces is a great venue and is one of those breweries stepping up to fill in the void of small venues closing in and around Boston as of late. And this is a fantastic triple bill of pure rock featuring the psychedelic garage rock of Answerman, the classic/garage punk mix of The Grubs, and the psychedelic garage punk/soul of The Love Shamans! To enter, just email us your full name at ifitstooloudblog@gmail.com with the subject line "Answerman" to enter. We'll contact the winner the morning of Friday April 21! To find out about more killer events at Faces Brewing Co., check out their website .

As small venues are disappearing in and around Boston, craft breweries are starting to fill that void and booking shows with local and touring artists. One of our favorites has been Faces Taproom in Malden, MA. They've been booking amazing bills there for a while now for low ticket prices and diverse acts. Plus, there's no issue with parking since there's a garage a block away! We've been lucky enough to team with RTT Presents for some giveaways of tickets for shows coming up! The first of which is the fantastic rock & roll triple bill of Coffin Salesman, Diablogato, and Casket Rats on April 1st! To win, just email us at ifitstooloudblog@gmail.com with the subject line of "Coffin Salesman," and you'll be entered to win! We'll notify the winner the morning of March 31, so get those entries in! To find out more info on the killer events at Faces Taproom, check out their website here .

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 sixt...