If It's Too Loud...

Doing Anything Fun this Weekend? is a new 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 2 PonyBoy, Muzzins, Minibeast, and The Z-Boys at The Parlour, Providence, RI Princess Bleach, Miracle Blood, and Burr, DNB Craft Kitchen, New Bedford, MA Baabes, Salem Wolves, Sexx Fix, and Komodo Rojo at Deep Cuts, Medford, MA Recent History, Kid Gulliver, and Eyrie House Ruins at JJ's Tavern, Florence, MA The Wolff Sisters and Hush Club at The Press Room, Portsmouth, NH Saturday, February 3 Gut Health, Miracle Blood, Fox Canadian, Superjerk, and Berm at Hotel Vernon, Worcester, MA  Happy Little Clouds, Crow Follow, and Cold Expect...

For those unaware, Death are the Detroit protopunk band from the 1970's formed by three brothers, and the subject of the 2012 documentary A Band Called Death. Rough Francis are a Burlington, VT based garage rock band formed by the sons and nephews of Death. The two bands have been teasing working together on social media recently, and the first phase of that is a split single. Death's contribution is "World In Disguise," a blistering protopunk sound with just a bit of psychedelia mixed in. This is a band that was at the forefront of the genre, and continues to be with a single like this. Their peers have slowed down, but "World In Disguise" could have been released fifty years ago, if it wasn't for the production being a little more slick. Rough Francis' contribution is "Haunted," which is just pure Rough Francis. It's the mixture of skate punk meets garage rock that we love about these guys. They're one of the bands on my personal ...

Photo via Facebook We've been digging the proto-punk garage rock of Rough Francis for a while. Garage rock is kinda one of our things, and no one really is doing it better than Rough Francis. On their latest single, "Tito's Revenge," they keep the bare bones of their sound but heavily tweak it. "Tito's Revenge" is much, much louder than what we've come to expect from the Vermont rockers. It's dancing in the realms of metal and dub. That's a sound I'm shocked I've never heard before, but that's most likely since metal dub could be the biggest musical trainwreck imaginable. But Rough Francis bring us metal/dub/proto punk, and they make this work better than anyone could have anticipated. You can watch the video for "Tito's Revenge" below. Urgent Care , the new album from Rough Francis, will be out soon. You can pre-order the album here . For more on Rough Francis, check them out on Facebook and their website . ...

Photo via Facebook It's been far, far too long since we've had new music from Vermont's finest purveyors of garage rock/proto-punk. Luckily, Rough Francis are back with a new song and upcoming album. "Deathwire" is exactly what we expect and want from Rough Francis: It's loud, it's fast, and it's that perfect proto-punk sound that could come from 2020 or 1968. One thing is definite: Rough Francis have just been festering and anticipating their return as much as we have. Right from the first burst of fuzzy guitars, "Deathwire" is the sound of a band that's been desperate to bring us all the rock. It's a breakneck song that just floors it for all three minutes.  You can listen to "Deathwire" below. Urgent Care , the upcoming album from Rough Francis, can be pre-ordered here . For more on Rough Francis, check them out on Facebook and Bandcamp .

Considering this came out way back in January, we kinda dropped the ball on this one, but better late than never, right? Even without that delay, it's been four years since Maximum Soul Power  came out, so we're thrilled to have any new music from Vermont's finest proto punk band comprised of the offspring of Death. On Don't Look Back EP , Rough Francis seem a little bit slower and mellow, but only just a little. The opening title track feels a tiny bit restrained but is still a rocker just waiting to break free live. "Hangin' On" almost channels The Stooges covering The Kinks. "Waiting" is where Rough Francis finally breaks free and break out like a cartoon train furiously careening down the track, but towards a party, especially halfway through once the guitar solo kicks in. It's the song on the album that almost captures the joy and energy Rough Francis exude when you see them live. Almost. You can listen to "Waiting" below. ...

I didn't originally plan to head out to this show, but once Ben Deily announced it would be the final Varsity Drag performance, I had to head out to it. Ben Deily is one of the most underrated songwriters out there today, so when he decides to stop a musical project, you have to make the time to go see it. Varsity Drag's set was pretty much perfect. They opened with favorites "Skinny Ties" and "Summertime." "Summertime" is such a perfect summer song, it fit for the show to be on one of the first amazing spring days of the year. They even played five of Ben's Lemonheads songs in a row (the most I've ever seen them perform in one show), including "Two Weeks In Another Town," "7 Powers," "Ever," and "Second Chance." Oddly enough, there was no mention at any point about this being a final show. They kept the stage banter light and playful. They closed with "Billy Ruane," which was originally...