If It's Too Loud...

I've been meaning to see The Mary Wallopers live ever since discovering them. The Irish folk-punk band has played Boston a few times over the past few years, but it just has not worked out for me so far. It finally did this past weekend, and might have been the least 4/20 thing to do in Boston on Saturday night. Playing as a seven piece that included a drummer, whistle player, and a pipes player, The Mary Wallopers took the stage of The Middle East in front of a rabid fanbase. They played a mix of originals, covers, and traditional Irish folk songs in their own folk-punk style. The crowd knew virtually every word and scream-sung just about every song. Songs like "The Rich Man and the Poor Man" and "The Blarney Stone" are both traditional songs that The Mary Wallopers have made their own. It was also a great mix of rowdy songs and quiet ones, hitting every possible mood.  At one point in the set, all three singers (Andrew Hendy, Charles Hendy, and Sean McKenna) a...

The Rock & Roll Rumble has been an institution in the Boston music scene for over forty years, showcasing the best up and coming bands in the Boston music scene. I try to go as often as possible, and made it to night three of the first round which featured one of the most diverse line ups in recent memory: Lovina Falls, Wire Lines, Other Brother Darryl, and Condition Baker. Condition Baker opened the night with a set of 90's style pop punk. They were playing at a disadvantage Saturday night without their lead singer who had to miss the show because of a family emergency. The remaining trio soldiered on (which is pretty punk rock) and delivered a solid thirty minute set. Considering how many lead singers have trouble remembering their lyrics, it was impressive that the guitarist and bass player of Condition Baker were able to fill in so well. They played the only cover song of the evening, which was Sublime's "Santeria." Unfortunately, they weren't at one hundr...

Photo by Jillian Clark I'm a bit of a Lydia Loveless superfan, so I'm always thrilled when she plays up in Boston. I was lucky enough to see her two nights in a row way back in 2015, but then her dates just didn't work for me, and... you know... the pandemic. I saw her opening for Drive-By Truckers last year solo, and back in May I saw her play down in Providence with her band on a day off from a DBT tour. Once I saw she was playing The Middle East, I knew I had to go. Seeing that Reese McHenry was opening, who we haven't heard from since 2019 and I've never seen live just sweetened the deal. Lydia Loveless has been avoiding the "alt-country" label for almost ten years. The last time she could have been considered alt-country was 2014's Somewhere Else . Since then she's been dabbling more in the worlds of pop and indie rock, and if anyone was looking forward to an evening of alt-country songs, Loveless and her band dispelled that with the opening s...

Photo by Ken Sears When Blondshell announced her first headlining tour, I was surprised to see Sabrina Teitelbaum's musical project was playing The Middle East, especially the upstairs room. It seemed like Blondshell had already outgrown a two hundred seat room, especially by buzz alone. It sold out almost immediately, and as her stature grew, I kept expecting the show to be moved to a larger room. But, Sunday night Blondshell played the dive-y Middle East Upstairs in a show that fans will be bragging about attending for years to come. From the opening song of "Veronica Mars," Blondshell had the audience in her hand. The buzz worthy stature was evident from the start, as I've never seen a band have a banner that large onstage at The Middle East, or a singer wearing in ear monitors there. Teitelbaum played her heart out, and her love of performing live was obvious. It was a diehards only room, and she loved every minute of that. The entire crowd sang along to virtually...

There's just something about the first really nice day of the year in Boston. Winters can be brutal, and even if an eighty degree day comes early and we know it's going to get chilly again, there's just a certain energy in the city on that day. Plus, we're in the middle of the first Rock & Roll Rumble in three years, so there was magic in the air Thursday night at The Middle East. First up were The Freqs out of Salem, MA. I've been enjoying the trio's recorded music since discovering them last year, but I wasn't prepared for their live show. They are a monster live, with a very specific blend of metal meets alt-rock that is always much better in a club than a computer speaker. "Witch" is my personal favorite of theirs, and they both opened and closed with the song. The Freqs make fast and loud rock that is actually clever and interesting, which can be rare in the genre. They definitely made my list of bands I'll need to see again and again....

Photo by Kendall Bessent Every so often you go see a live show on a whim, more out of curiosity than fandom. You just get a feeling about an artist, and you want to check them out just to see. That's how it was this past Wednesday night with Adi Oasis at The Middle East in Cambridge. Adi Oasis performed as a three piece band with herself on bass along with a drummer and a keyboard player. I was wondering how her blend of neo-soul with a modern pop flair would translate to the live stage, especially one I'm used to seeing indie rock and punk bands on. The answer was she did it impeccably.  At one point during her performance, Oasis mentioned that the last time she played here it was to twenty people. This time the place was packed. I'm not sure if it was at its two hundred capacity, but if it wasn't sold out it sure felt like it. And Adi Oasis wasn't playing in front of a curious audience who wanted to see what the buzz is about. This crowd adored her, and knew all t...

Talib Kweli is an absolutely legendary MC, widely considered to be one of the best around. He's one of those artists I know I need to get more into, especially after seeing him do a few songs with The Soul Rebels back in March. Since I'm trying to get to The Middle East as much as possible before it most likely closes at the end of the year, and STL GLD were opening, the show last week became a must see. STL GLD have to be a hard opening act to follow. Live bands always have an extra energy to them, and live they have more than a little bit of a punk and metal edge to them. Not that songs like "Wild Style" or "Resisting" have any rap rock in them, but there is an extra swagger to them live. Opening with "Shimmer," possibly their biggest song to date with Darlingside off last year's excellent Rock Boyega , STL GLD pulled out some absolute favorites like "The New Normal Pt. 1." Part of the appeal of their live show is the duality of Moe...

I'm a little bit of an obsessive Jon Spencer fan. I've seen Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Heavy Trash, and Jon Spencer + The HITmakers before, so I'm obviously going to try to see the man every time he comes through the area. With the release of last year's excellent Spencer Gets It Lit , I've watched the band play multiple tours without coming to Boston, or anywhere else I could feasibly get to easily. When he finally announced a Boston show at The Middle East, I couldn't pass it up. An added bonus were two local support bands I'd go see on their own anytime. Muck and the Mires were a perfect opener for Jon Spencer. They have this vintage garage rock sound that could be from anytime in the past six decades. It's the style started in hundreds of garages across America once The Beatles broke out that isn't exactly easy to tie down to a specific time since every generation has a handful of these bands. They're one of those bands that I would have sw...

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' rol...

Photo by Ken Sears I'm a late comer to the Fantastic Negrito phenomenon. I know a lot of people have been insanely into him, but it never quite clicked for me until Please Don't Be Dead  was released earlier this year. I had been toying with the idea of going to his show at The Middle East, but once Walter Sickert & The Army of Broken Toys were added to the bill, I knew I had to check it out. It's impossible to discuss Walter Sickert & The Army of Broken Toys's performance without bringing this up: Earlier in the week, one of the co-owners of The Middle East retired due to sexual assault allegations. This informed the band's performance. They chose to go ahead with their performance while many other bands had cancelled theirs in order to use it as  forum to discuss the allegations. They also donated their guarantee and all merch sales to the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center, and each band member had the organization's website written on their arms ( ...

Ever since they opened the Nines Festival last year , I've been trying to get out to an actual Walter Sickert & The Army of Broken Toys show. They just seemed like the kind of band you need to see on their own, not just opening a large outdoor festival at 1:00 pm in the bright sunlight. Last Friday night, everything finally worked out and I headed out to the Middle East to see them in a headlining slot. Seeing the Army of Broken Toys in a Friday night opening slot is a completely different experience. Their blend of folk/punk/gypsy/burlesque/hard rock needs to be seen late at night in a dark club. And I have to say, they rock far harder than you could imagine a band could with a frontman that stays seated the entire time. At The Nines, they confused at least half the crowd, but the Middle East was packed with converts. Opening with the frenzy of "Devil's In the Details," they tore through a set consisting mostly of tracks off Soft Time Traveler. Even slower ...