When it was announced back in October that one of our favorite bands Speedy Ortiz was putting together a holiday residency at Great Scott this month, we here at Allston Pudding couldn’t have been more psyched. The lineups for all three shows were incredible. I was actually able to catch the final show of the residency, in which Two Inch Astronaut, Krill, Lemuria, and another secret special guest were featured as the openers. And I definitely wasn’t the only AP person there. As what is quickly becoming the norm for my reviews, I have to throw down a personal disclaimer that this was the actual first time I had the chance to see all of these bands live, including Speedy Ortiz. But, now that the show has come and gone, it’s time to reflect on all its chaotic happenings.
Krill started the night off and really set the bar high for everyone else to follow. Math rock sounds were abound as guitar and bass riffs felt like they were thrown on repeat as the band toyed around a lot with the pacing and timing of the songs they played. As for those, Krill started with a classic with “Purity of Heart”, but quickly ended up in really unfamiliar territory for me as they spend a lot of time wading into new material from their upcoming album. It ultimately felt like Krill was relishing in the free bedlam of the stage, bucking musical expectations with the guitar and bass switching roles at various points in songs. Jonah accentuated the devil may care attitude of the band, showcasing a bit of a manic persona on stage.
Traveling from MD, Two Inch Astronaut followed up after Krill and dialed into a really similar realm of disarray from the MA compatriots that played just before them. But where Krill very purposefully bucked any expectations that people might have had, Two Inch Astronaut really grounded themselves a little more in the past. Measured threads from bands like Guided By Voices and Dinosaur, Jr. could be felt in a performance that channeled the feeling of a more composed maelstrom.
It was after Two Inch Astronaut played their set where the special guests Ovlov made themselves present to the sold-out crowd. Building on the trend of stripping away the upheaval that the previous two bands started, Ovlov were even more upfront with their sound. It was plain and out there that they were there to play some good ol’ fashioned alt-rock and all that entails. It almost felt very Pixies-esque in that sense. Any veils or frills were coming off by this point to reveal the essence of the night, but some shockers were still to come.
NY punkers Lemuria took the stage in the most surprising way to both the crowd and the band themselves. Right before getting into their set, Great Scott suffered from what was described as a “tile explosion” where part of the ceiling collapsed. And, in a painful twist, most of the debris that came down was centered around all of the merchandise of Lemuria, who was on stage at the time and understandably in an awkward pause, trying to figure out how to handle the situation. At first, the band told the crowd they were going to take a 5-minute break to sort out the mess, but they gracefully ended up moving ahead and playing a tight set.
Speedy Ortiz wrapped up the night and brought back some calm into the whole situation. Anchoring down the mayhem that came before them with the staple “Tiger Tank”, that isn’t to say that the band didn’t relish in the freedom of the night, playing quite a few numbers outside their normal wheelhouse including a Cardigans cover. But, by the time they swung back towards the familiar “Hitch”, it was clear that the band was meant to be the proverbial lighthouse in the dark. That being said, a definitive feeling of close personal fun was had in a show centered around this guidepost in the local Boston music scene.
