If It's Too Loud...

We don't normally do posts for individual shows, but sometimes we feel the need to make sure you're aware of upcoming events.  Bikini Kill Photo by Lance Bangs First is Bikini Kill returning to Roadrunner on September 22. I was in attendance for their 2023 show at Roadrunner, and it was even better than I imagined. It was my first time seeing the riot grrrl legends, and there was something about seeing those songs live that was much more emotional than I expected. (I'm sure some of it was the heightened emotions coming out of COVID, too...) This time around they'll be joined by Providence political punks Downtown Boys, and how can you say no to that double bill? You can find more on this show here .  Photo by Robert Fagan October 26 sees L7's  The Last Hurrah Tour come to Boston. It's L7's farewell tour, and their first since bassist Jennifer Finch's tragic death earlier this year. You never know how final farewell tours actually are, but L7 has never se...

Photo by Robert Fagan L7, the iconic 90's band that fit and didn't fit in any of the genres of the day (grunge, metal, riot grrrl, punk, alt-rock, etc.) is back with a new single that comes from a completely unexpected place. "Cooler Than Mars" calls for action on climate change, but it's the sound that's surprising. Instead of a punk/metal/grunge song, "Cooler Than Mars" is more of a New Wave or electronic song. It's groovy and chill without sonically punching the listener's teeth in. It's much closer to a bizarro Blondie than we've heard L7 go before, but it still has enough L7 attitude to still sound like them. Singer/guitarist Donita Sparks says of the new single: “The song was inspired by the ongoing catastrophic news of climate change, and the strange passions of billionaire space cowboys to explore and exploit the outer limits of our stratosphere. Seems to me such obsessions and resources should be totally focused on healing Th...

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. T...

Forgotten Fridays is an occasional feature here at If It’s Too Loud... where we go back and find the lost records of our glory days. We played these on our college radio shows, put them on countless mix tapes, and then forgot they existed. We go back and remind you of their existence, and help decide if they were any good. Oh, the mid 1990's. It was the glory days of the compilation album, where labels would just throw a bunch of bands on a cd, knowing that as long as you liked two or three of the bands, you'd but the entire album since there was no way you'd ever have any other way to get a copy of the exclusive songs. One of their favorite ways to put one of these together was a tribute album. You'd get a bunch of bands that would usually never be associated together, often covering an artist you'd never expect.  One of these tribute albums was Twisted Willie , which is a mostly alternative tribute to Willie Nelson. Including Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings ...

Halloween is my absolutely favorite holiday of the year, and I'm always looking for songs besides "Monster Mash" to listen to. This year, Rodney Anonymous posted his Halloween playlist over at www.deadmilkmen.com , and I threw it all on a Spotify playlist for us all. It has some fairly obvious ones, like Social Distortion's "Mommy's Little Monster," but there are also some surprises. White Zombie's "I'm Your Boogie Man" seemed too obvious, while there are some fairly obscure picks like Dead When I Found Her's "No More Nightmares." It's perfect for parties and background music while handing out candy. The Dead Milkmen have two upcoming shows: Tomorrow night at The Sinclair in Cambridge, MA and October 30 at the Trocadero Theatre in Philadelphia. For more information, head on over to their website .