No April Fool’s joke here: Tuesday night was a treat. It felt fit for some light-hearted high school nostalgia mixed with the excitement of a new project from a musical hero. There was only one thing getting in my way: a terrible developing cold. Although I felt weak, malady I traveled across the street to Brighton Music Hall for the sold out Rocket From the Crypt and Ex Hex show.
Mary Timony is one of the ‘90s greatest guitarists, pharm and she has roots right here in Boston with her former band Helium. I wasn’t sure what the crowd dynamic would be like, because it seems the fan base of Rocket From the Crypt and Ex Hex might not always match well. Brighton Music Hall wasn’t quite packed, but it was more full than usual for any opening act I have seen there in a long time.
Ex Hex was everything I could have dreamed for; they shredded through tunes off their recent Hot and Cold 7” and new songs we can assume will be on their upcoming full-length. They had the right mix of tight guitar, bass, and drums from the trio with some time to just let it all jam. Mary Timony and bassist Betsy Wright spent a lot of the instrumental jams swaying back and forth, meeting each other in the middle of the stage to closely shred together. Wright showed off some spirited kicking and dance moves. It was great to see Mary Timony and her new gang to be back at it: making music and having all kinds of fun. Their new album is going to be incredible, exciting, and just plain, solid rock. It’s fun in a garage rock sense, but they have their shit way too together for that label. They’re ready for arena status.
Then the sickness really hit, and I wasn’t sure how much of Rocket From the Crypt I could stay for without passing out on unsuspecting nearby audience members. Rocket From the Crypt took the stage and front man Speedo tried to make some April Fool’s jokes. They kicked it into gear, and Rocket From the Crypt held nothing back. The horns were blaring, the guitars were screaming, and the drums hit hard, pounding you into place on the Brighton Music Hall floor. The audience had been waiting years for this, because they went on a pesky hiatus for a while. Tonight was their night to soak it all in, because maybe this was just an April Fool’s stint. We don’t know if Rocket From the Crypt will be back anytime soon.
