If It's Too Loud...

Doing Anything Fun 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. If you're looking for last minute plans this weekend, we recommend: Friday, February 9 Gretchen Shae & The Middle Eight, Looking Glass War, and Ex-Hyena at Faces Brewing Co., Malden, MA Follow Thru, One Fall, Sour Punch, and Jaimee Danger & The Dynamite at AS220, Providence, RI TELL, D-Tension and the Secrets, The Daylilies, and Charming Arson at The Middle East, Cambridge, MA Colleen Green, Kremlin Bats, and Kathy Snax at Myrtle, East Providence, RI JVK, hifi, and Rat Palace at The Rockwell, Somerville, MA Saturday, February 10 Motel Black, C.E. Skidmore, and Matt Charette at Thirsty First, Lowell, MA Lemmyfest V w...

At its very best, music can foster friendships and a true community. That was the case Tuesday night, for a quadruple bill of three Worcester musicians (Matt Charette, Michael Kane, and Christian Marrone) playing with Columbus, OH's Micah Schnabel. All four musicians have played together before and are all friends, and it was no secret that it was a show put together at Hotel Vernon to give Schnabel a place to play and make some cash on his way through. Virtually everyone in attendance knew at least one of the musician playing, and the community was truly showcased. Each of the local musicians played shorter sets to give more time to Micah Schnabel. Matt Charette played five songs, mostly from his excellent new album Lo-Fi High Hopes. I've been trying to get out to see him for months now, and he did not disappoint. He has a certain working class punk rock infused take on folk rock with a heavy emphasis on rock that came through perfectly even playing solo acoustic. His songs ar...

Sometimes you read an artist's bio and their sound makes perfect sense. Matt Charette was raised on his parent's Bonnie Raitt and John Prine albums, and then started playing in Boston punk and hardcore bands as a teenager. His favorite band was Darkbuster, and after they broke up he was inspired by singer Lenny Lashley's solo acoustic performances. "4X4," the new single from Matt Charette & The Truer Sound, fits all of that perfectly. It's roots music with a punk edge. That phrase gets used a lot, especially around here, but "4X4" just has a little more of an edge to it than most folk punk tends to. Maybe it's Charette's vocals that land somewhere between punk frontman and folk singer, or maybe it's the Drive-By Truckers-esque guitar solos, but it's a gruff and warm folk and punk song.  You can watch the video for "4X4" below. Lo Fi High Hopes is due out March 10. For more on Matt Charette, check out the artist on Facebo...