Fuck Russia. Fuck Putin. Fuck their homophobic Olympics. There are so many better ways to spend your Saturday night. This is Boston, viagra 100mg and the Speedy Ortiz Real Hair EP release show further proved the true magic of the Boston music scene.
First of the evening in our anti-Olympics adventure, buy steered by the great Boston Hassle, ampoule was The Channels, a side project of members of Guerilla Toss and Designer. This fact was evident in their fuzzed out art-rock sound that encapsulates the lineup of BUFU Records. The Channels featured double drummers, both standing behind a half kit. I thought it would be gimmicky, but I think that was exactly the point. The obscurity didn’t hinder their musical ability, and the dudes abided to the fun vibe of the evening.
Idiot Genes are the best new punk band in Boston. GET FAMILIAR, because these guys are face-melting fun. They mix hard riffs with an IDGAF attitude, and the crowd finally warmed up. They featured the rowdiest pit of the evening that peaked during their Allston-shout out tune, “Drunk Consistently.” Though we had left the borders of Allston on the other side of the river, its energy flowed through the basement of Tasty Burger.
The band gave mad props to all the others of the evening, and lead singer Pete stated, “unlike the Sochi Olympics, gays are welcome here.” Love for the scene was swirling. Pete and guitarist Kyle tongue-tied. It was beautiful.
Sneeze almost has their record ready, so this was also their quasi-release show for Wilt. Allston’s finest played an even mix of new and old tracks, and although the crowd seemed less familiar with their discography than that of Idiot Genes, the energy continued into their set. It wasn’t that hot in the basement of Tasty Burger, but drummer Julian Moore went down to his skivvies behind the drum kit before the second song. The band’s energy was at an all-time high, and I’ve never seen them this tight. I felt proud to watch this moment. 2014 is going to be a huge year for Sneeze.
The stage banter between band members Derek Desharnais and Danny Boyd was just as entertaining as their music. There may have been a story about dinosaurs and chants of “T-BURGS!” They also announced that they would be playing another show at Tasty Burger with Idiot Genes, so keep an eye out for details on that later.
This was my third Speedy Ortiz release show, and after all these years, I can confidently say that each one gets better and better. The Major Arcana release was at a point in their musical career right before the leap into stardom for the Northampton quartet. Now the band is still making the trek further and further up, and this was not just their release show, but the last Boston show before they head out on tour for a few months in Europe and the US. (I miss them already.) None of this fazes the band, who still hand write their set lists on whatever they find handy; tonight they were written on Tasty Burger French fries containers. Speedy Ortiz tested the audience’s “will power to not watch the homophobic Olympics” commented Sadie Dupuis. Jokes about “less coughing more Sneeze” and polls of “Failure vs Earl Sweatshirt: choose now or die” filtered through their stage set-up, and they began their set playing Real Hair EP front-to-back. With each release, Speedy Ortiz gets deeper and deeper. The guitar work is absolutely masterful on the new songs, and listening to the recordings and live versions, I can’t even imagine all the layers that went into the songs. Like many of their songs from Major Arcana, the Real Hair EP tracks have these subtleties to them that are both delicate and chaotic.
Matt Robidoux wasted no time with his stage antics, breaking out the crazy guitar moves in the second song of the evening. The stage was small and packed, often times with crowd members falling into it. (But luckily not breaking anything!) After the new shit, they broke into the single “Tiger Tank,” and I thought about how much fun the video shoot was and how tonight felt a lot like it. Friends of the band got together again to have a fun in piles and piles of people, flailing to the music and yelling along. Matt even joined the crowd and the chaos that ensued during the song. Sadie Dupuis said after that the other bands that played tonight are “three of the reasons they love this music scene.” I almost shed a happy tear. After a couple of other Major Arcana tracks, the band said “here is a new song” and played such a convincing cover of Blur’s “Bugman,” that most of the crowd believed them. Sadie Dupuis and Michael Falcone took turns on vocals, both screaming along at the top of their lungs about spiders while Matt Robidoux wailed along on guitar. Darl Ferm showed some extra speedy (haha get it?!) bass work as well.
The crowd favorite of the evening was “No Below,” and at least 20% of the audience Snapchatted the performance to friends who were probably left standing in line on the stairs all night. The band yelled out for a request to end the evening, and there was an almost unanimous response of “Indoor Soccer,” so Speedy delivered.
Tasty Burger started its residency of shows perfectly with the Real Hair EP release lineup. They have some other shows lined up for February, which will undoubtedly rule as much as Saturday night. From all of us at Allston Pudding, congratulations Speedy Ortiz on putting out yet another amazing release, and good luck on tour!
