Live Shows: Hallelujah the Hills and Cassie Berman, The Lilypad, Cambridge, MA 10/8/22

I almost didn't post about this show. I went mostly because it was a Hallelujah the Hills show at the eighty person capacity Lilypad, and that just can't be missed. But, I'm completely unfamiliar with Cassie Berman, and I'm embarrassingly unfamiliar with Silver Jews or the music of David Berman despite it being right in my musical sweet spot, including time period. The evening started off with Cassie Berman and Silver Jews touring guitarist Peyton Pinkerton playing music, and then slowly joined by members of Hallelujah the Hills as her backing band, coming and going as was necessary. Eventually Berman and Pinkerton left and it became a Hallelujah the Hills show, with both Berman and Pinkerton rejoining at various times.

As I decided I wouldn't be posting about this show during Cassie Berman's set so I didn't embarrass myself, a funny thing happened. Slowly the enthusiasm the majority of the crowd became contagious. I may have not been a Silver Jews disciple like everyone else, but I slowly got sucked in just by how special the performance was. Even if this wasn't someone's style of music, and if they didn't particularly enjoy Berman's performance (which seems silly to say), they would have ended up mesmerized simply by osmosis from the rest of the audience. From what was said from the stage, much of the set was unreleased solo songs, so let's hope those end up recorded and released someday soon.

For the Hallelujah the Hills portion of the evening, they opened with their two newest songs, "God is so Lonely Tonight" and "Superglued to You." Considering how brand new these songs are, it's shocking how quickly they've been integrated into their sets and how they've become fan favorites. From there, it was like a greatest hits set with favorites like "Hallelujah the Hills" and "People Keep Dying (And No One Can Stop It)." How great does a band have to be to turn a song with the chorus of "People keep dying and no one can stop it" into a feel good, shout along song? They also played a few songs from their current incredibly ambitious project DECK, where they'll be releasing four albums of fifty two songs, one for each card in a deck of cards. The brand new songs sound like they're going to be fantastic, and include one I believe is called "I Was Too High to Say Hello." 

Closing out the evening was a rendition of Silver Jews' "Punks in the Beerlight," which was a giant audience favorite. Despite being woefully ignorant as to David Berman's music, it was the kind of show that's made me dive straight into the late artist's catalog, and can you truly ask for any more from a musical experience?

Live Shows: Otoboke Beaver, The Sinclair, Cambridge, MA 10/4/22

Photo by Jumei Yamada

I had purchased my ticket to see Otoboke Beaver months ago and was thrilled to be going. Then Sunny Day Real Estate announced their tour and the Boston show was the same night as Otoboke Beaver. I went back and forth on which to go to, and eventually decided to stick with my original plan. Then Editrix, one of my favorite Western Massachusetts bands, was added as the opener and my decision was solidified. Hours before the show, Editrix had to drop off due to positive COVID tests which was a huge disappointment (get well soon, Editrix!) Otoboke Beaver was going to have to be damn good to help me get over my FOMO.

They were. Their songs were even more charming in person as they swung wildly from bubblegum pop to thrashy punk with little to no warning. Normally the singer tends to be the focus of a band, and Otoboke Beaver's singer Accorinrin definitely captivated the crowd, but the star of the night was guitarist Yoyoyoshie. She flailed around while playing in such a way that you couldn't help but get sucked in, she stagedove towards the end, and every two to four songs she declared "Thank you we are Otoboke Beaver" which somehow never got old. Their hold on the crowd was so intense that Accorinrin just needed to lower her arm to instantly silent the sold out crowd.

Musically, Otoboke Beaver played so much more loudly and intensely than I expected. As loud and angry as songs like "Dirty old fart is waiting for my reaction" and "I am not maternal" are, they were so much fun live. The four piece blasted through twenty two songs in just about an hour, and then did two encores. Each encore was a song that was just about fifteen seconds, which was somehow perfect for this band and this night.

It's impossible to talk about an Otoboke Beaver show without talking about their fans. This is the first show I have ever been to where there was a long line to buy merch before the show, and a line wrapped around the entire venue after the show. Their fans are intense. They sung along to every word, and I'm fairly certain many who did so don't speak Japanese. It was a night of pure joy. Even the mosh pit was filled with smiling faces. It was less a pit of aggression and more just people jumping around into each other and having fun. Even crowdsurfers didn't seem to bother anyone. Everything about the night was pure joy, and I ended up happy with my choice of entertainment for the evening. I'll just catch Sunny Day Real Estate next time around.

Letters to Cleo Announce Homecoming Shows

Since 2016 (except 2021, of course), Letters to Cleo have embarked on Homecoming tours every November. These typically involve shows in Los Angeles, New York City, and a two night stand in their hometown of Boston. This week they've announced their 2022 Homecoming tours dates, which include West Hollywood, San Diego, and Portland, ME alongside Boston. I've been a huge fan of Letters to Cleo since college, and their songs have a huge nostalgia factor for me. Typically I can avoid the nostalgia bug of seeing the same band play the songs of my youth, but not so with Letters to Cleo. It's unsure if they're going to be playing a special setlist at these shows (last year saw the band breaking out some songs from Josie and the Pussycats, in 2019 they were joined by Greg Hawkes of The Cars for a few songs, and in 2017 they played three albums over three nights), but that's just an added bonus if they do. Also no word on openers, but the last few years have seen Charly Bliss, Speedy Ortiz, and American Hi-Fi, so you know the opener will be killer!

Tickets for Letters to Cleo's 2022 Homecoming go on sale this Friday. For more on Letters to Cleo, check out the band's website.

Live Shows: Supersuckers and White Dynomite, The Middle East, Cambridge, MA 9/24/22

In the past four years, I've seen the Supersuckers twice. Back in 2018 I saw them play in Worcester when they were celebrating their thirtieth anniversary by playing The Smoke of Hell and La Mano Cornuda in their entireties, and in 2019 I saw them in Hampton Beach, NH for the twentieth anniversary of The Evil Powers of Rock 'n' Roll. This year was the first time I saw them in Boston and for just a straight up show.

Seeing them at The Middle East was a completely different world. The previous two shows were modestly attended at best, but Saturday night's show was packed if it wasn't sold out. This definitely wasn't a hipster crowd, either. This was a show for fans of rock 'n' roll even if it's not stylish.

The theme of the night seemed to be nostalgia and rock 'n' roll. Eddie Spaghetti played "Play That Rock N' Roll" from 2020's Play That Rock N' Roll by saying "Here's a song about playing rock 'n' roll, it's called 'Play That Rock N' Roll' from the album Play That Rock N' Roll." He also joked that in 2023 they'll do a whole tour of rock 'n' roll songs about rock 'n' roll with "rock 'n' roll" right in the title. Sign me up for that one. He also told a story of how he loves playing The Middle East because he gets to remember that Mark Sandman would always show up to help them load in, then they'd get high and talk about how both their bands were great but no one cared. 

Supersuckers didn't play fancy music. They played the fan favorites like "Born with a Tail," "Pretty Fucked Up," and "Creepy Jackalope Eye" in their rock 'n' roll set. Looking back it's surprising that such a straight up rock band were ever in the Buzz Bin or signed to Sub Pop. They've been making timeless rock music for thirty years, and it's nearly impossible to guess what year each song came out. I think I'll stick to heading to The Middle East for their 2023 tour since it's more fun for everyone to sing along to rock 'n' roll songs with a packed, appreciative house.

Boston's White Dynomite opened the show. Taking the stage dressed all in white, the band announced that they were White Dynomite and their first song was called "White Dynomite" from the album White Dynomite. Since White Dynomite played no nonsense rock 'n' roll with just a hint of tongue in cheek, the crowd loved them. They played a style of rock that imagines if Motorhead leaned into punk a bit more while still having kick ass solos. It's hard to have a little bit of a tongue in cheek gimmick without going too far into parody, but White Dynomite pulled it off perfectly. They even leaned into the nostalgia aspect of the night when the singer told a story about getting the Supersuckers to play a song back in 1992 at the same venue by getting Eddie Spaghetti high. They were definitely the most fitting local support I've seen open for the Supersuckers.

Live Shows: TORRES, Living Room Show, Allston, MA 9/22/22

When I first saw that TORRES was doing a small tour of living room shows, I was shocked since in our universe Mackenzie Scott is a megastar that is far too big to be playing in peoples' living rooms. That was quickly replaced by disappointment since the evening she would be playing in Allston wasn't going to work for me. At the very last minute my plans changed and a couple of tickets opened up, so I ended up getting in.

I had assumed that TORRES' performance would be an acoustic one, playing a laid back set of stripped down renditions of her songs. I was wrong. TORRES played an electric guitar plugged into an amp. Sure, it was stripped down since there weren't other instruments, but it was a much more rockin' show (and louder) than I expected. Obviously no complaints here.

As with any living room show, Thursday night was an intensely intimate show. It was a mixture of the audience being quiet, reserved, and respectful of being at such a unique and special show, and other members being conversational with Scott throughout the night. Both were completely acceptable and welcomed. When you're one of maybe two dozen people watching a performer, there is a personal connection no matter which style of audience member you are.

TORRES played from a loose setlist, jumping around her entire career. She played the bigger and more well known songs like "Sprinter," "Thirstier," and "Don't Go Puttin Wishes in My Head," but also played songs I don't recall ever hearing before. Only one audience request wasn't played, but only because TORRES was unsure how to play the song with just her guitar. An ongoing theme of the night was TORRES worrying she was playing enough songs the audience wanted, when the two dozen or so in attendance were just so happy to be there that she could have played anything she wanted and we would have been thrilled.

Mackenzie Scott combined a nervousness in playing such a small, intimate show with being quite open and chatty between songs. She ended up playing well past the scheduled end time, and repeatedly asked if we minded. I can guarantee no one minded at all. We all got more than we expected, a story about a missing wedding ring, and memories of one of the most special performances we'll ever see.

Live Shows: Tysk Tysk Task, Burp, and Oahk, The Valley, Lowell, MA 9/17/22

I can't say I'm a fan of basement shows. I like the DIY feel enough, but basement shows are usually a young crowd. Considering The Valley is in the UMASS Lowell neighborhood, it was going to be a very young crowd, and it was. (Pretty sure I was at least ten years older than the second oldest people there, and that's only counting the bands.) But when it's Tysk Tysk Task's album release show, I knew I needed to be the grandpa in the room and be there.

Oahk came down from central New Hampshire to open the show. Oahk is Bryan Ziolkowski playing guitar and vocals with samples. It's a very drone heavy and noisy affair, but there is such beauty in it. I liked Oahk's album Husks when it was released back in July, but I loved the live performance. The music moved between simple beauty and just a wall of drone and samples without ever losing any of the beauty no matter how brutal the song may have sounded. This is an artist we'll be keeping a close eye on here in the future.

Burp came on next, and I believe this is the third time I've seen the Lowell band play with Tysk Tysk Task this year. No other band makes me feel as old as these guys while I'm still enjoying the music. They opened with their hit song "My Back Hurts" by announcing it was about their balls. Yes, I'm way too old for this, but it's just dumb fun. As always, they reminded me of early, obnoxious Blink-182 (and I mean that as a compliment) with some noise/art-rock influences. They busted out their crowd pleasing and moshpit inducing cover of Britney Spears' "Toxic," and also played a second cover, which may have been Katy Perry's "The One That Got Away" is my Googling was correct. I'm sure I'll be the old uncle type guy standing over on the side at another one of their shows soon enough.

Tysk Tysk Task closed out the night with a mesmerizing performance. I've seen them an embarrassing amount of times since April of this year, but Saturday night's show in Lowell was just next level. Playing as a three piece with Ellis Roundy of The PA's (and producer of You're Sorry More) on bass, the band played their just released album track by track. As someone lucky enough to have received an advanced copy, Tysk Tysk Task brought their album to life in such unexpected ways. Partly because the band had made the little basement their own with strings of lights, fake vines, and Bambi projected behind them, this was a band truly coming into their own. Samantha Hartsel and Danni Gannon played with a joy I haven't seen from the duo before. The double shot of "Working On It" and "Working It Out" is always my favorite, but "Flies" was the song of the night. I dare you to find three songs so intense with aggression yet so stunningly beautiful. When they closed with an emotional version of "On My Own," the basement got quite dusty for just about everyone in attendance. 

Live Shows: Momma and waveform*, Brighton Music Hall, Allston, MA 9/12/22

Photo by Sophie Hur

I first got my ticket to see Momma way back in April. Since then, September has been absolutely packed with killer shows. I'm not sure if it's just bands returning to Boston along with the college kids or a leftover tradition from hitting New England when they played New York for CMJ, but that's just the way it always is in Boston in September. I was questioning my choice since a lot of these shows were bands I already had an longer established fandom for. After seeing Momma play live, I definitely don't regret my decision.

Earlier this week I saw Vanyaland compare Momma to Juliana Hatfield and The Smashing Pumpkins, and that might be the most fitting possible comparison. On the first night of their headlining tour, Momma displayed a stardom much bigger than they are currently. You just knew you were watching a band destined for great things. Songs like "Rockstar" and "Speeding 72" are already classics, especially with their fans. This is a band that wears their 90's influences on their sleeve, and for those of us that lived through that decade, hearing a new take on our teen years is quite welcome. They even busted out a cover of The Breeders' "Divine Hammer," which I'm not sure if the quite young crowd recognized.

My only complaint of their set is that I wish the microphones were turned up a bit more. Etta Friedman and Allegra Weingarten's vocals are the highlight of their music. While their barely above a whisper vocals are perfect on their album, live they got drowned out a but too much, especially on a song like "Rockstar."

waveform* opened, and this is a band with huge promise. Another band that obviously worships the 90's, they even did the Sebadoh trade off instruments thing throughout the set. They leaned into the slacker sound just a bit too much. They were good, but when they cranked up their sound even the teeniest notch, they were absolutely fantastic. At one point they played the opening riff of Momma's "Medicine," to which the crowd responded quite well. The members of Momma yelled at them to play the whole thing from the side of the stage, but they didn't know the whole song. Keep an eye on these guys.

Live Shows: Shame and They Hate Change, The Sinclair, Cambridge, MA 9/7/22

Photo by Sam Gregg

I've been saying for a while that one thing that is missing with punk and metal shows these days is a sense of danger, or at least a feeling that anything could happen. Any footage I've seen of Nine Inch Nails' Boston Calling set is a sea of people standing perfectly still holding up cell phones, and over the summer I watched a bunch of kids form a conga line in the "pit" during 7 Seconds' set at the House of Blues. You even hear people talk about getting "pit" tickets when they just mean general admission floor tickets. I'm happy to report that thanks to Shame, the menace is back with punk rock.

That's not to say that the crowd this past Wednesday night was filled with hardcore moshing. If anything, it was more a pogo pit with a little pushing and bumping around. But, I also haven't seen a band work this much of the crowd into such a frenzy for such a large amount of the show in a long, long time. By the time the London based band launched into their second song ("Alphabet"), the crowd was already fully into it. It could be that vocalist Charlie Steen is just captivating. He took the stage in a tourist shirt for Cheers, and just had the crowd in the palm of his hand throughout their set. It could have been Josh Finerty barrelling around the stage for pretty much the entire show. Regardless, this is a band that has a small but rabid following. Adding to the sense of danger or "anything can happen" was Steen standing on the crowd's hands for a song in the style of Iggy Pop. Shame put on an incredibly intense show and may be the heirs to The Jesus Lizard's throne.

Opening the show was They Hate Change. Normally I check out the opening band's music before the show, but for some reason I never got around to checking theirs out. I'm happy I didn't, since the last thing I expected was a hip hop duo from Florida to open. Vonne Parks and Dre Gainey might have been the perfect artists to open such a show. They perform an insanely high energy show and were basically in motion the entire set. If hip hop could be post punk, They Are Change exemplified that. This wasn't pretty autotuned hip hop, this is classic hip hop with a sense of danger. Something tells me you'll be hearing more from them around here.

Live Shows: Built to Spill, Wetface, and Blood Lemon, Paradise Rock Club, Boston, MA 8/31/22

Built to Spill are one of those bands I've been going to see for around twenty five years now in their various incarnations. I've seen them play in various size venues, but I think my favorite was a 1998 CMJ show at the Bowery Ballroom. Despite knowing Doug Martsch and company probably won't quite hit that level for me again personally, I try to get out every few years or so to check them out.

This was the first time I got to see Built to Spill's current line up, and possibly the first time I've seen them as a trio. (If I have before, it's been a long, long, long time...) Interestingly, the band set up in a straight line in the front of the stage with bass player Melanie Radford and drummer Teresa Esguerra on either side of Martsch. I was right in front of Esguerra's drum set, so I had the unique experience of paying more attention to the drums than guitar during a Built to Spill show. Esguerra is a fantastic drummer, adding flourishes and helping rework old favorites slightly. Radford reminded me of Matt Patton of Drive-By Truckers. This wasn't because of a similar playing style, but because both have the happiest grins on their faces when they're playing bass.

Built to Spill opened with a version of "Stop the Show" that was reworked just enough to keep the twenty five year old song fresh. With a new album due in a few weeks, I had assumed a lot of the setlist would be focused on unreleased material, but it was spread out over Built to Spill's entire career. The new songs more than held their own with classics like "Center of the Universe" and "Big Dipper," so expect those to become long term favorites very soon. "Bloody Rainbow" from their Daniel Johnston tribute album was played along with a cover of Richard Hell's "Time." Closing out the main set was "Randy Described Eternity" and that was followed up with an encore of "Virginia Reel Around the Fountain," and I can't imagine two better songs to end the set. Was this as good of a show as the Bowery Ballroom show from the previous century? I don't think so, but that could also just be my own nostalgia holding it back.

Melanie Radford did double duty opening the show with her other band Blood Lemon. Another alt-rock trio from Boise, Blood Lemon had an indie rock goes rock and roll sound that sounded like a combination of Veruca Salt, The Donnas, and... well... Built to Spill. They played with a confidence you don't normally see in a band opening a show for an established headliner while people are still filing in, but with good reason. They're the kind of band that's going to win over the entire crowd by the end of their set, and they handily did so.

Wetface is a novelty artist playing a large Yamaha keyboard from the 1980's. It didn't work me for personally, but the younger people in attendance seemed enamored with him.

Live Shows: BODEGA and Boston Cream, Crystal Ballroom at Somerville Theater, Somerville, MA 8/29/22

Photo by Pooneh Ghana

It's only been three years since I discovered BODEGA opening for Jon Spencer + The HITmakers at Great Scott in February 2019, but it feels much, much longer. In that time it seems like the Brooklyn based post punks have played in Boston a bunch of times, but it's never worked out for me to see them. Luckily that streak was broken last Friday when they played one of my new favorite places to see a show: Crystal Ballroom at Somerville Theater!

I did not think I was going to like Boston Cream when they first started playing. Melanie Bernier came out miming guitar on a broom, and slowly each member entered playing their instrument. The band features two singers (the second one is Peach S. Goodrich) mostly doing minor synchronized dance moves and just seemed a little too gimmicky for my taste. But, the band does feature three members of Hallelujah the Hills (drummer Ryan Connelly, bass player Joe Marrett, and guitarist Nicholas Ward (making this his fourth band, I believe?)), so I had to at least give them a try. The five piece played a dance friendly version of indie punk that slowly became more and more mesmerizing. I'm going to give a lot of credit to Connelly's drumming, as it was oddly hypnotizing. Slowly, even us skeptics in the crowd were sucked in, and by the second to last song (I believe it was called "Chickadee") the crowd was fully dancing and received a huge ovation. It's always a little extra fun when a band can repel you at first and slowly win you over using everything that turned you away originally. If you ever get a chance to see Boston Cream live, make sure you watch their full set even if you don't want to.

Speaking of bands you need to see live, this was the first time I got to see BODEGA as a fan, and they did not disappoint at all. Playing with a stage presence far greater than the size of the venue required, the Brooklynites worked the crowd into a dancing frenzy pretty much right from the start. With BODEGA, any rock star posturing is done in a fun, almost tongue-in-cheek way. Their shows are almost impossibly fun, with virtually every song played being a fan favorite hit. One highlight was the double punch of "Jack in Titanic" into "I Am Not a Cinephile" (both songs from 2018's Endless Scroll) which was great thematically as well as sonically. The band even broke out their Fugazi cover, and more bands should truly do Fugazi covers. This particular tour might be over, but next time BODEGA is playing anywhere near you, make it a priority to check them out.

Live Shows: Here and There Festival, Mass MoCA, North Adams, MA 8/13/22

When I first heard about the Courtney Barnett curated Here and There Festival, I knew I wanted to attend. Courtney Barnett putting together a travelling festival with a revolving group of artists playing? When I saw our local one was being held at Mass MoCA in North Adams, which is one of my favorite festival venues, and was going to be one of the larger all day ones, and also included Hana Vu, Faye Webster, The Beths, and Lucy Dacus, all of which are artists I'll go see any time they play in the area? How could I miss this?

Despite having a logistical mishap on the way and missing Hana Vu, I was in great spirits. Besides the amazing musical line up, that was one of the great joys of Here and There: Everyone was happy. There was no aggression from everyone, everyone was nice and polite to each other, and everyone was just thrilled to be there. Even in the photo pit the vibe was just chill and friendly. I overheard two young women saying they drove twelve hours to be there because they loved so many artists playing Saturday. The entire day was just a joyful celebration. I feel way too hippy dippy saying that, but it was beautiful.

The first artist I saw of the day was Bartees Strange. I hate admitting this, but I haven't exactly been a fan of his. His albums are fine, but I just haven't connected with them. Maybe it's just been too pop oriented for my personal taste, but seeing him perform live was a revelation. His live show had an edge that is missing on his albums and the performance was still pop but with a lot more indie rock to it. Plus, Strange is one of the most compelling performers I've seen in a long time. You just couldn't stop watching or getting sucked in by his performance. I definitely owe his albums another chance after Saturday.

Next up was supposed to be The Beths, but I had missed the news that Men I Trust had pulled out two hours before due to COVID. Instead of The Beths, out came Caroline Rose, one of my most beloved artists who I was disappointed wasn't playing the North Adams show. Nothing against Men I Trust, but this was an unexpected delight for me. Rose played a brief solo acoustic set, playing mostly new unreleased songs or old unreleased songs. She talked so much between songs that she joked it was more of her stand up set than her musical set, but she's so damn charming no one cared. No matter what she played, this was an unexpected delightful surprise for the day.

The Beths played next, and seeing them play in front of thousands of people was a huge difference from the last time I saw them at the eighty five person capacity Atwoods Tavern, but their show was still special. There's just something about The Beths' music that feels intimate, even at an outdoor festival show. They seemed to be the first band that the crowd was already pumped to see before they started playing, and if anyone wasn't already they were by the end. Their blend of indie pop rock is incredibly well suited to an outdoor festival in a gorgeous setting. Back when I saw them in 2018 I had commented that I was looking forward to seeing the chorus of "Little Death" sung by a field of people. I didn't quite get that at Here and There, but it was close enough.

Playing between The Beths and Lucy Dacus might have been the perfect timeslot for Faye Webster to play in. Her brand of ultra laid back retro hip pop chilled out the crowd without losing anyone's interest. Personally I was starving at this point, so for me it was the perfect soundtrack for grabbing some dinner on top of the hill while watching the sun set behind the stage. Webster has some die hard fans who treated every song like it was the most vital one on the planet. She definitely made some more fans that night.

I've said before that Lucy Dacus might have the most dedicated fans in music today, and Saturday proved that die hard fanbase continues to grow. As an artist gets bigger, they seem to attract more casual fans who like a few songs and are more there out of curiosity. Not with Dacus. Each new fan is just as die hard as the ones before. I haven't seen thousands of people as transfixed on a single performer like this since Tori Amos in the 90's. At this point in her career, Dacus' set was like a best of album. Songs like "VBS," "Hot & Heavy," "Brando," "Thumbs," "I Don't Wanna Be Funny Anymore," and the closer of "Night Shift" are all from just three albums released in just a five minute period. For a cover, she performed her recent dreamy cover of Cher's "Believe," and to close out the show "Night Shift" became a sing-a-long/shout-a-long for the thousands of people in attendance. Walking around the crowd after the set, I overheard a large number of people talking about just bursting into tears during "Night Shift," even people who had never heard it before. "Night Shift" is a gorgeous, moving song, but there was just something in Dacus' performance that night. It's very rare to think you just watched someone become a true star in one performance, but that's what Lucy Dacus did Saturday night.

Closing out the evening was festival curator Courtney Barnett. Playing after such amazing sets by Lucy Dacus, Faye Webster, and The Beths should have been a rough task, but Barnett nailed it. Her 90's style loud slacker indie rock was the perfect thing to keep a tired crowd going. Her entire vibe was completely different from anyone else playing. That was what worked best about Here and There: Every artist was completely different but they all fit perfectly together. Songs like "Avant Gardener," "Elevator Operator," and "Depreston" are just perfect live. Towards the end of her ninety minute set, Barnett was joined by Faye Webster for "An Illustration of Loneliness (Sleepless in New York)" and then by Bartees Strange for "Pedestrian at Best" and "Nobody Really Cares if You Don't Go to the Party." It was an epic set of music for sure.

What might have summed up the night perfectly happened after the concert ended. Courtney Barnett walked off to Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance with Somebody," and while the majority of the crowd started filing out, hundreds of indie rock fans danced wildly to the music in the field without a trace of irony. Just music fans celebrating a joyful day of music in the happiest way possible. And that's what Here and There was all about.

Live Shows: Grizzlies, Tysk Tysk Task, JVK, and Car Girlfriend, News Cafe, Pawtucket, RI 8/12/22

On a fairly last minute whim, I ended up heading down to Pawtucket, RI to see Tysk Tysk Task at the News Cafe. Sure, this would be the... fifth (?) time I've seen them since April, but Samantha Hartsel and Danni Gannon just keep improving with every show while still tinkering with songs each and every time. If I had a free Friday night, how could I miss it?

Opening the show was Car Girlfriend. They had a very raw funk meets metal and alt-rock sound. Some songs were almost pure funk while others were almost pure metal, with other songs being nearly every step in between. Plus, with vocalist Garrett Hopkins mostly rapping during songs, it reminded me of a very, very early Red Hot Chili Peppers. Not many bands can pull off the party band vibe while still blasting an angry song called "Cop Killer" (not a Body Count cover, by the way), but Car Girlfriend pulled it off.

Next up was JVK, which I can't tell if it's a solo project or a band based on their social media. JVK play this interesting mix of straightforward alt-rock with a much noisier sound and an almost pop meets goth vibe. They continued the aggressive yet fun theme of the night. It's definitely music that's somewhat mosh friendly while still being nearly pop, even if no brand of pop is quite this noisy. It's always fun to see younger bands play around with styles and sounds to make their own.

I should be bored with seeing Tysk Tysk Task by now. A lot of bands will come around once a year and I'll skip it since I just saw them the year before. But something just connects me to their music. Hartsel seemed much chattier than normal on Friday evening and explained the stories behind a few songs. "Flies," which is quickly becoming a favorite, was written at the beginning of the pandemic when she was afraid to leave the house to bring out trash. The pairing of "Working On It" and "Working It Out" is starting to insert itself into my brain permanently and is haunting my waking hours. It was also the first time I saw "On My Own" live, which is just mesmerizing. When performing live, Tysk Tysk Task are developing a connection similar to The White Stripes, but more of an equal partnership. Their songs have a specific structure to them, but Hartsel and Gannon improve off each other with a comfort that you usually only see with musicians that have played together for years.

Closing the night out was Grizzlies, another band that had a familiar yet unique sound. They had a standard blues rock sound but mixed with indie rock. It was like Tedeschi Trucks Band and Lake Street Dive if they were filtered through 120 Minutes. To keep the Tedeschi Trucks band comparisons going, Grizzlies' singer had a voice far superior to what you typically get in an indie rock band, and their guitarist blew out these insane solos with an ease I've only ever seen with Derek Trucks. It's a great night when you can see four local bands all taking the familiar and transforming it into their own unique sounds.

Live Shows: Nice, a Fest, Somerville, MA 7/30/22

In its second year, Nice, a Fest took over The Rockwell and Crystal Ballroom at Somerville Theater for three night (four if you count the "after party" on Sunday). I wasn't able to go for all three (or four), so I made it for just Saturday. And seeing how I couldn't pull off twelve hours of live music at my advanced age, I made it a late afternoon/early evening start time. So apologies to all the bands I didn't see! Here are my five favorites from Saturday at Nice, a Fest, in no particular order.

Circus Trees

This one came out of nowhere for me. Circus Trees are a band out of Marlborough, MA made up of three sisters. Saturday night they had a replacement drummer, and they announced that they would be playing sad music before they started, which, they did. But Circus Trees are hardly a mopey band. Sure, their songs do have mopey parts, but it's more like if shoegaze was really, really heavy as well as beautiful. Their quiet parts were shockingly lovely, but when the loud parts kicked in they just brutalized the audience with the sheer hardness of the music without losing any of the beauty. Circus Trees are a band we can't wait to hear more from.

Lady Pills

Lady Pills is an artist I've wanted to see for a while now, and Saturday was the first time it worked out. Despite some sound issues early on (part of only having 15 minutes for each band to tear down and the next to set up was sound check was pretty much the first song or two), Lady Pills delivered. Pop-infused indie rock is all the rage these days, but Ella Boissonnault's trio brought a lot more noise to their songs live than I expected. The songs were still catchy as they could possibly be, but a song like "My Weight" had an unexpected grit to it live. I was a fan before, but Saturday night turned me into a superfan.

Hallelujah the Hills

Hallelujah the Hills have been covered here quite extensively, with good reason. As great as their albums are, their live shows are just next level. Seeing them live is just a celebration of music and life, even with a song like "People Keep Dying (And No One Can Stop It)." They only had thirty minutes Saturday night, and they did a mix of fan favorites and odd choices which quickly became fan favorites. "Transparent Chart of the Heavens" is a 6:12 epic on I'm You. At Nice, a Fest it seemed to expand for at least ten, if not fifteen minutes and became one of the greatest songs I've ever heard. Needless to say, this won't be the last time you read about Hallelujah the Hills here.

Rebuilder

I don't think I've ever been more wrong about a band than I was about Rebuilder. The first time I saw them live, they were fine but pretty standard pop punk which normally isn't my thing. The next time I saw them last year for Weakened Friends' album release show, they had transformed into a fantastic pop punk band. Saturday night they were somehow even better. I think what sets them apart is that while their sound fits into the whole pop punk/emo thing, they're more early/mid 90's pop punk and emo. They're more along the lines of Jade Tree and Vagrant Records than when pop punk ruled TRL while still having the pop hooks of those ultra mainstream bands. Plus, they are insanely fun live. It took until maybe the last three songs of their set for a little mosh pit to finally break out in the middle of the indie rock hipsters, but the music does call for such shenanigans. 

Weakened Friends

I've been going Weakened Friends shows for six years and three days as of the show on Saturday. (The first time I ever saw them was opening for The Sheila Divine at Ralph's Diner on July 27, 2016.) They've always been a fun little indie rock band to see, playing loosely and having a great time. 2022 is the year they became full fledged rock stars. I have no idea what happened between their album release show in November 2021 and now, but it was like seeing a brand new band. Everything I've always loved about them was still there, but it was like Weakened Friends are playing with a new confidence and purpose. If you've been meaning to get out and see them live, do it ASAP because they aren't going to be our little secret band for much longer.

Live Shows: Tysk Tysk Task, Kayla Blackburn, The Crawlies, and Dilemma Rose n' the Wailin' Milfs, Lynch Family Skate Park, Cambridge, MA 7/16/22

Tysk Tysk Task (Photo by Ken Sears)

I wasn't expecting to write about this show. It was a free outdoor show at a skate park with a bunch of newer bands I had never heard of. I went to get my Tysk Tysk Task fix and check out a band or two before heading over to the House of Blues to see The Circle Jerks. It turns out I had much more fun at this show and stayed much longer than I expected to. (Apologies to the bands that played that I missed!) Sometimes a little punk show under a highway overpass is more fun than a giant one in a corporate chain club.

The first band I saw was Tysk Tysk Task. I'm always amazed at how much they've changed their sound as a duo with Samantha Hartsel and Danni Gannon while still keeping what made me first love their music intact. An outdoor show powered by a gas generator is going to have some sound issues, but the extra fuzz fit Tysk Tysk Task perfectly. Their "woodland slumber grunge" was especially perfect outdoors, and they still played with the same intensity they do on their club shows. Their most recent single "Colors" is always a highlight (that line "Now we're just two people who don't know who we are anymore" always gets me), but their upcoming single "Rose Gold" is quickly becoming a new favorite. 

Kayla Blackburn was up next providing the most laid back set I saw Saturday night. She played a set of soul inspired folk on electric guitar. Following up the intensity and volume of Tysk Tysk Task with such a quiet style of music should be tough, but Blackburn was mesmerizing. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but she just has this certain quality that is just captivating. Even the loudest punks quieted down so they could pay attention to her. Expect her to start popping up opening for your favorite Americana acts around town before headlining her own sets in the very near future.

Philadelphia's The Crawlies made their Boston debut next. The three piece played a high energy set of noisy garage punk. Using an old timey sounding microphone and a dial up phone receiver for vocals, they sounded like Bloodshot Bill mixing with the unhinged side of Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, but less blues and more punk. Their music did not let up for even a minute. It was just fast and loud followed by more fast and loud in the best possible way. As much as I love outdoor shows in non-traditional venues, The Crawlies are the kind of band that needs to be seen in a basement or a dive bar. Hopefully they make their way up here again soon for the full experience.

The last band I saw was Dilemma Rose n' the Wailin' Milfs, who may have been making their live debut. The five piece band made up of a singer, two bass players, a synth, and drums played this absolutely insane set that mixed punk, metal, and New Wave. Songs would go from the most bubbly, sugar coated pop sound into this insane screaming metal and back again at a whiplash pace. It was seriously great. They played the heaviest song about recycling that you've ever heard and a cover of Talking Heads "Psycho Killer" that nearly completely reworked the original. Dilemma Rose n' the Wailin' Milfs are like if Yeah Yeah Yeahs' first album, but heavier.

Live Shows: Superchunk and TORRES, Paradise Rock Club, Boston, MA 6/13/22

Poster by DayKamp Creative

Do you ever realize that you've been listening to a band forever but have never seen them live? Superchunk were one for me. I've been listening to them since the 90's but just had never gotten around to seeing them live. No real reason, I just hadn't. Of course, once I made that realization it just never worked out for me. I'd already have plans, I'd be out of town when they'd come around, etc. Finally on Monday night the universe aligned and I got to see them play at the Paradise with another favorite: TORRES!

There are times when I realize just how out of whack my knowledge of the popularity of bands is. There are bands I've never heard of with hundreds of social media followers and others that I'm convinced are megastars but end up only with hundreds of followers. To me, TORRES is a huge band. I didn't expect the audience to be half Superchunk fans and half TORRES fans, but I expected maybe a 75/25 split. Instead when TORRES took the stage at exactly 8 o'clock there were maybe a few dozen people in attendance, and they came out to literally zero applause. (I was reading on my phone and missed that they were on stage until the house music stopped and they started playing.) Mackenzie Scott and her band definitely had an uphill battle.

And... they nailed it. TORRES played an energetic set that sucked in Superchunk fans as they filed in for the night. As the audience built, so did the applause between songs. While there were a handful of people at least partially there for TORRES, their fanbase increased with each song. This was definitely not hurt by the set closing four song run of "Hug From a Dinosaur," "Thirstier," "Sprinter," and "Helen in the Woods," which might have been one of the best four song runs I've seen in ages. The only complaint for the set is that Scott's vocals were quite muddied at times, and she's an artist you truly want to be able to hear. (Sound issues were an issue all night as Superchunk guitarist Jim Wilbur asked to have his monitor turned off completely due to sound issues.)

I don't know if I could have picked a better first Superchunk show than this one. Their most recent album (2022's Wild Loneliness) is a much more mellow album than we're used to from the indie rock legends, and I expected their show to reflect that sound. Even though they played five songs off Wild Loneliness, the band skipped the ballads (or hyped them up) and focused on just rocking out. For a band that's been around for over thirty years, they put most younger bands to shame with Mac McCaughan jumping around the stage with seeming reckless abandon, Jason Narducy almost constantly pacing around, and Jon Wurster pounding his drums wildly almost non-stop. They were playing so fast and heavy that I didn't even recognize a cover of Sebadoh's "Brand New Love" to start off the encore. McCaughan led the crowd in sing-a-long of "Digging for Something"'s "Whoah Oh Oh" chorus, but didn't need to encourage one for the next song, "Slack Motherfucker," which is just more fun to yell with a crowd of people. (Also, how crazy is it that a killer song like "Digging for Something" came along twenty years into their career?) They closed the night with "Fishing" and had Mackenzie Scott join them on guitar for the song. You've never seen anyone play guitar as joyfully as Scott did Monday night.

Live Shows: Ezra Furman, Evan Greer, and Tory Silver, Crystal Ballroom at Somerville Theater, Somerville, MA 6/9/22

Photo by Tonje Thilesen

Wednesday night I saw Paul McCartney play Fenway Park in front of almost forty thousand people, playing some of the most well known and beloved songs of all time. Despite being almost eighty years old, he played for almost three hours and wowed the crowd with fantastic songs, light shows, videos, fireworks, etc. Anything I went to see immediately after should have been a massive disappointment, but when the person you're seeing next is Ezra Furman, being disappointed is impossible.

Playing in front of a sold out crowd of five hundred, the show was just Ezra Furman solo with a borrowed guitar. As much love as the crowd showed McCartney the night before, Furman was shown just as much on a smaller scale. The crowd hung on every single word she sang and spoke, completely erasing my fears as they had been quite chatty at times during the openers. Words like enigmatic or captivating or mesmerizing don't do Furman's live show justice. She reminded me of artists like Elliott Smith, Kristin Hersh, and Tori Amos that have their own kind of stage presence that transfixes their fans. At one point Furman joked about an argument she was having in her head with an imaginary audience that was demanding hits, and her arguing back that she didn't have any hits. When she played "Love You So Bad" it was obvious she has one massive hit with her fans based on the audience reaction. I was a fairly casual Ezra Furman fan before Thursday night, but now I'm more of a diehard one.

Evan Greer played the last show I saw before lockdown, and hers was the last I was able to fully enjoy since the world seemed to fall apart just after her set. I really appreciated seeing her with things a bit more stable (maybe?). Focusing more on songs from 2021's Spotify is Surveillance, Greer played a short thirty minute set of her politically charged anti-capitalist folk punk, and led the crowd in a chant of "Fuck big tech!" at one point. "Back Row" is one of those songs that devastated me during the pandemic because I related to its theme of missing live music so desperately. Greer said that at one point she would have paid $500 to see the worst punk show ever, and I think we all related to that desire.

I discovered Tory Silver around when this show was first scheduled back in February. According to her electronic press kit, her big influences are The Beatles, Nirvana, and Feist. That truly summed up her set on Thursday night. It was a solo alt-rock set with electric guitar. Her songs were wonderfully moody and mushy, with the hard edge of Nirvana and the catchy beauty of The Beatles. Plus, they would meander around seemingly of their own free will. It's rare that a solo set can come across as unexpectedly fun as Silver's did, and I'm hoping to see a full band set sometime sooner than later.

Live Shows: Sapling, Tysk Tysk Task, Burp, and Red Ledger, The Worthen Attic, Lowell, MA 6/3/22

By now you all know that two of my favorite local bands are Sapling and Tysk Tysk Task, although at this point I should just say that they are two of my favorite bands. The members are friends, and I've been hoping they'd play a show together for a while now. Finally, Friday night one of my dreams came true so I had to head out to The Worthen in Lowell for one of my most wished for double bills!

When I first saw this bill, I checked out Red Ledger, the opening band. I really enjoyed their blend of mainstream alt-rock meets melodic hardcore. Friday night's set was a solo acoustic show by frontman James Dee. Dee went between acoustic guitar and ukulele for his set, mostly playing songs that he can't really play with a full, loud band. He also played at least one song off Red Ledger's upcoming album. It was hard to judge the new song based on a solo acoustic performance. This just gives me even more reason to get out to check out Red Ledger down the road!

I didn't want to like Burp. First of all, their name is Burp, which is the kind of band name I would never tell someone I was going to see. Second, they opened their set by announcing the first song was about their balls. I got fully ready to feel every bit of the old man I am for their entire set, and I did. But... turns out Burp is really good. They're a college aged band that imagines a world where bands like Blink 182 and Sum 41 make noisy art rock. Yeah, that is an insanely weird combination, but it somehow worked. Sure, I felt old during their set, but I should since I'm old enough to be their dad. It is refreshing to see noisy art punk being done in a fun way and not just in a very serious and important way.

Considering I just saw Tysk Tysk Task less than two months ago in the very saw room, it's going to sound strange to say that this show was considerably better than the last time... but it was. As good as their show back in April was, Friday night's was much, much better. Samantha Hartsel and Danni Gannon took a break from recording their upcoming album to play this show, and all that playing has made them that perfect combination of playing loose and free but locking in together more tightly. Their newer sound of "nature-meets-grunge-meets-jazz-meets-shoegaze-meets-rock" is becoming epic. Two new songs were played Friday night ("Working On It - Working It Out" and "On My Own") that have me wanting to skip the entire summer to get to September when the album is released. Both start off relatively quiet and just build to these epic and intense conclusions. Tysk Tysk Task have a ton of shows scheduled for this summer. Make sure you go out of your way to make at least one of these.

Sapling closed the night out. The Worcester/Providence trio opened their set with "Everything Was Better," which might have been the perfect introduction to the Lowell crowd. Their sense of humor mixing with anger has always been what draws me to their music, and the line "Don't leave that shit to Beaver" will always make me chuckle. For "Bitchshifter," guitarist/thereminist/singer Amber Tortorelli donned her Elon Musk mask from the video, wearing it while removing her clown outfit. I swear Musk's eyes were following me, and if you've never made eye contact with Elon Musk while he's performing a burlesque routine, I'd advise against it. Aside from a few minutes of intense discomfort, Sapling put on a fun, impossible to miss show.

Live Shows: Allison de Groot & Tatiana Hargreaves, Club Passim, Cambridge, MA 5/25/22

I almost skipped this show. With all of the horrific events of this week, I was in a fog all day Wednesday. I had little to zero motivation to do anything at work and just kind of went through the motions of my daily life. I certainly didn't expect to enjoy myself watching live music, and figured I might as well spend my evening doom scrolling while half paying attention to whatever I watched on TV. But... I headed into Cambridge and it ended up being just what I needed.

Somehow, even though I've been going to concerts in the Boston area regularly for over twenty five years and I've been listening to folk consistently for over ten, this was only my second time going to Club Passim. For those of you who don't know, Club Passim opened in 1958 as Club 47 and is just a legendary folk venue in Harvard Square. It's commencement week at Harvard, and as I walked through groups of graduating students and their parents, their cheer and hopefulness was fairly contagious. I'm a little too pessimistic to be fully cheered up from this, but it was at least nice to see people happy.

Allison de Groot and Tatiana Hargreaves were exactly what I needed Wednesday night. They played two sets. The first was mostly made up of songs from their 2019 self titled album and the second was mostly from their excellent 2022 album Hurricane Clarice. Their banjo and fiddle music just has a certain darkness to it, and sometimes that can be cathartic. The first set was mostly instrumentals, but when you're watching musicians as talented as these two, that's all you need. "I Don't Want to Get Married" was a highlight of the first set. I'm much more familiar with Hurricane Clarice, so the second set was my favorite of the night. "Ostrich with Pearls" was thrilling even without the recorded story from one of their relatives. The duo played a song called "Better Days Coming" that didn't make the album because it was too hopeful. As Tatiana Hargreaves said, "If you want to believe that, be my guest." 

Yeah, this kind of musical pessimism was exactly what I needed this week.

Live Shows: Bob Mould and J. Robbins, Hawks and Reed Performing Arts Center, Greenfield, MA 5/22/22

Bob Mould and J. Robbins are both legendary punk rockers who have been doing solo work as of late. The two are currently on a tour together showing the different ways punk rockers can go solo in different styles. Sunday night they came to Hawks and Reed Performing Arts Center, and I could not resist checking it out.

First of all, I have to say that I love how fantastic music venues are popping up in cities and towns not really known as huge music hubs. Places like Hawks and Reed and NOVA Arts in Keene are great alternatives to every concert being in Boston or Providence. Not dealing with traffic and having plenty of parking is never a bad thing, and these venues are first class and not just a PA in the corner of a rec center.

I'm much less familiar with J. Robbins, either as a solo artist or with Jawbox. (I know, I know... I need to listen to Jawbox more.) Robbins is doing the more traditional punk goes solo thing. His set was seated with an acoustic guitar. He even brought along cellist Gordon Withers for the tour. The cello was a great addition, adding some intensity to the music. Odd that a cello adds some punk to a show, but here we are! Robbins had a great set mostly taken from his 2019 album Un-becoming. I'll have to fall down a Jawbox/J. Robbins rabbit hole this week.

I've seen Bob Mould as Bob Mould Band before, but never solo. Turns out there's not truly a difference between the two. Instead of a more traditional solo show on acoustic guitar, Mould attacked his electric guitar like he had a full backing band. His songs don't lose any intensity with just him, and he certainly isn't playing them in a more relaxed manner. Mould got just as sweaty and his glasses just as foggy as any full band show you've ever seen. He bounced around the stage so much his microphone was swaying along with him. He made full use of the stage, stalking it and moving around the full area when he wasn't singing. Not only were Husker Du classics like "I Apologize" and the show closing "Something I Learned Today" highlights, but a newer song like "Siberian Butterfly" off 2020's Blue Hearts held right up with his classics. No matter what form Bob Mould takes next tour, be sure to get out to see him.

Live Shows: Sleaford Mods and Sorry, The Sinclair, Cambridge, MA 5/20/22

Even though I knew it was coming, when Sleaford Mods cancelled their September 2020 show at The Sinclair, it was devastating. Not only was it my last cancelled show in a long, long series of cancelled shows, Sleaford Mods never come to Boston. I think they played Great Scott once, but that was many years ago. When they finally announced a return to the States and a show back at The Sinclair, of course if was a night that wouldn't work for me. At the very last minute, my plans changed and a sold out show suddenly had tickets available. I was finally going to get to see Sleaford Mods.

And what a show. I've watched a ton of live performances of theirs and their documentary Bunch of Kunst, and I was still unprepared for Sleaford Mods live. Jason Williamson is a captivating performer and a true rock star. You can't help but watch him as he stalks the stage moving between being the best punk rock frontman you've ever seen and preening around like this generation's Mick Jagger. Every video I've seen shows laptop controller Andrew Fearn standing by his laptop with a hand in his pocket and a drink in the other, lightly bopping to the music. I'm going to assume he's sober, since there was no beer in sight Friday night. Instead Fearn did Punk Rock Aerobics for the entirely of their ninety minute set. The energy level was insane, and after pogoing for half a song and wearing out my calves, I was quite jealous.

One thing I wondered was how they would pull off a hit song like "Mork n Mindy." That song features vocals from Billy Nomates, and I doubted they'd have a second vocalist just for one song. They played it, and her vocals just played on the laptop, because of course they did. 

Sleaford Mods also included their cover of Yazoo's "Don't Go," and ended with the one-two punch of "Jobseeker" and "Tweet Tweet Tweet." Once that was done, Fearns unplugged his laptop and they walked off the stage. No encore, and none was needed after ninety minutes. It was the most punk rock show I've seen in years.

A couple of notes: Two years into a pandemic, and those spit droplets that come out of Williamson's mouth as he vocalizes are less punk rock cool and more foreboding. Also, the crowd skewed much older and laid back than I expected. t was more of an NPR crowd than a punk rock one. One audience member seemed shocked by their liberal use of c-bombs, and others seemed horrified when the crowd got slightly rowdy in their dancing. 

Since I bought a ticket a few hours before the show, I didn't have time to research the opening band, Sorry. This was the first time that's happened in years, and it was a fun throwback experience. Sorry plays a darker version of the more pop oriented indie rock that's all the rage right now. It was definitely not what I expected opening for Sleaford Mods, both genre-wise and energy level. They were much more laid back than the headliner, but they won over a good majority of the crowd by the end of their set. We'll be revisiting them sooner than later, hopefully!