There’s just something so disarming about a crudely drawn mascot.
With a face reminiscent of early South Park episodes, a beard that abruptly squares itself off, and a knowing smirk that says, “hey man, I know your cat’s been at the vet a lot lately and everyone’s gotta buy groceries sometime, so don’t worry about paying me back,” the cartoon Bob of Bob Records just feels like a true pal watching over us via street signs and poles around Boston.
Lucky for us, the real human Bob Reider is just as widespread in influence, acting as a champion for now-beloved locals like Krill and Boytoy. Continuing the inspiring positivity that his cartoon form evokes, the inaugural Bob Fest feels like an absolutely essential matinee celebration on Halloween Day.
“Bob Fest is designed to be just like the shows I remember having the biggest impact on me,” Bob asserted regarding his self-titled fest’s inspiration. “All ages, low admission price [$5], small rock club, and a handful of loud bands. I couldn’t be more excited to finally see something I’ve been dreaming about for years come to life.”
Fitting five bands in a compact 4-8 PM slot at the Midway Cafe seems like a risky proposition, but Reider has compiled five of Bob Records’s finest current signees and affiliates for the Fest, starting with Somerville’s own Future Spa.
Their name sounds like a needless subgenre formed in the bowels of Tumblr, but Future Spa serve up scuzzy, fuzzed out garage punk on the same PBR-infused wave most of the Fuzztival scene originated from. Mull whatever skeptical feelings you might have over a young band that lists “a prisoners of war camp on the southern tip of Uranus” as their Bandcamp location, but they have a song called “Fuckin’ Mick Jagger” and I think I am okay with them solely for that.
People In Cars act as a sort of legacy act for Bob Records considering the group’s live EP was the label’s first release, but frontman Etay Pisano has been kicking around in bands like Aberdien and The Dangerous Summer for the better part of a decade now. The band’s self-titled 7” (which was also the label’s first vinyl pressing) is the sugary, post-rock tinged result of Pisano’s past projects, which will surely leave the Midway feeling confined underneath their stadium-sized riffing.
Maybe this is because I’m slowly becoming my grandfather and Tanqueray no longer makes me feel like I’m gonna dry heave pine needles, but I think I’d like to be a part of whatever a Gin War is. Other than the hope that they’ll bring copious amounts of tonic in their arsenal, expect the New Jersey natives to deliver nasally, emotive anthems recalling the heyday of Man Overboard minus all that self-righteous “defend pop punk” bullshit.
Fun fact: in my early days of Boston squalor, I slept on an… err, aged futon in The Rococo Bang’s jam space before finding my own apartment. While I wouldn’t recommend the futon or really sleeping in any band’s jam space, the instrumental improv duo certainly provided decent background music for existing in a temporary bedroom. Although I dubbed their sound “Miami Vice-core” to guitarist Zohar Azoulay one drunken night (and proceeded to post the genre name straight to Tumblr), their unabashed soloing in a canyon of reverb keeps away from indulging in retro cheesiness while still inspiring a deep desire to don the Don’s pastel shirts and brood. Zohar simply responded to the genre with a tentative “hmm… okay,” so maybe just stick to the simple “instrumental rock” tag around them?
Closing out the Fest, Rye Pines offers the chunky, off-kilter brand of guitar rock Allston is currently thriving on, while distinguishing themselves outside the du jour Exploding in Sound scene. With songs that detail demon dogs devouring them in bed and demented whistling following them through their ‘limbo shuffles’, there’s a certain folk/rootsy storytelling behind Edward Maguire’s Malkmusian delivery on their Dead Ocean EP that inspires immediate appreciation. It’s certainly not all good will and cheer though; the 8-minute “Drone Tone” is downright assaulting and brilliant for its curveball nature on Dead Ocean, cementing them as a band to watch over the next couple years.
Tickets are available now through The Midway Cafe’s Ticketweb page. For more information, consult the Fest’s Facebook page or your nearest Bob sticker for spiritual guidance.
Nice Guys, and Black Beach and Midriffs welcomed touring band Lil Tits from Chicago for a power house show this past Friday. You know how much we love these three local bands, site and Lil Tits put on a killer set that night too. They have a split tape out with Nice Guys, so listen below while peeping these photos from the gig.
Eye Design Records has a fun-filled week leading up to Halloween all held at Firebrand Saints. Growing Up Spooky! is a week long event where they’ll be playing Halloween movies and songs from the 60s-00s, every night starting 10/26-10/30. *note: They made a playlist featuring spooky songs from each decade. Check out their event page for more info.
Monday – 10/26
9PM – The Birds
Tuesday – 10/27
9PM – Alien
Wednesday – 10/28
10PM – The Lost Boys
Thursday – 10/29
10PM – Scream
Friday – 10/30
10PM – Shaun of The Dead
And there’s more!!
Trick Or Treat Yo Self!
To close out the week they’re hosting their annual Halloween show at Firebrand Saints. Trick Or Treat Yo Self! on 10/31 features Sneeze as Nirvana, Today Junior as The Jimi Hendrix Experience, and Peachpit as The Velvet Underground. The event will also feature art galleries from Krista Perry and Brian Barresi. It’s going to be a good time! For more info check out their page.
Looking for something noisy to blast this Friday? Grungy shoegazers Coaches have it covered with a premiere of their latest single, click “Elizabeth Warren”. The band are poised to release their new EP “Shush” in December, doctor but in the meantime check out this latest tune.
Turns out “Elizabeth Warren” is more than than just a politician with a potential future as a presidential candidate, view but also the subject of Coaches’ new grinding anthem. It’s a somewhat odd but clever take on our state senator, using twisting lyrics and the band’s core of noise to make an interesting new single. It’s a nifty concept, and it creates intrigue for the band’s forthcoming EP.
Check out the song below . “Shush” will be released from Disposable America, and if you dig what you hear go ahead and pre-order it. If you are hanging in New York, you can also catch them at Shea Stadium TONIGHT with Infinity Girl.
Grant Kwiecinski’s success would have been unimaginable just a few years ago. The future funk artist, diagnosissearch better known by his moniker GRiZ, thumb began his career in a time when the electronic scene was still saturated with bigroom house, brostep and moombahton. While all of these party-centric genres had their own merits, they had one unfortunate thing in common: when the artists played to a crowd it was always simply as a DJ, playing track to track with visual accompaniment. There was rarely any sign of an instrument, analog or digital, in sight.
Fast forward five years and things couldn’t be more different. While the older stalwart producers, from Skrillex to Tiesto to Deadmau5, are still making bank as festival headliners, the most buzzed about artists have moved toward live instrumentation. While for some this is confined to clip-launching, where the performer uses a program like Ableton to launch and arrange different stems on the go, more and more are turning to a stagier setup. From fast-rising duo Odesza’s bombastic drum pad work to the full band reworkings that Pretty Lights and Emancipator have attempted, these newer takes on an electronic live show have received an immensely positive reception.
Kwiecinski’s music has been playing into the trend fantastically. Since his days of crafting more sample-driven tracks, he has made an effort to keep the heart of the melody in something analog: primarily with his own excellent saxaphone work. As his profile (and recording capital) has risen, he has moved towards recording instrumentally with a host of collaborators, recruiting big-name friends like Gramatik and Big Gigantic for tracks as well as working with the talented performers signed to his label, All Good Records. His sound is rooted in traditional funk, with blistering breakdowns and heavily distorted synth work adding flavor and depth.
GRiZ live shows are always a spectacle. Working with pads and keys, Kwiecinski keeps a high energy throughout, busting out the sax for soulful bridges and drops. His excellent performances, combined with his “everything for free” philosophy when releasing new material, has earned him one of the most dedicated and passionate followings in electronic music.
Kwiecinski released his fourth album, Say it Loud, earlier in the year and has been touring aggressively since. His goofily named “Super Shagadellic Tour” will be coming through the Royale this Sunday, 10/25, and we caught up with him in anticipation. On the eve of his monumental Red Rocks show last month, Kwiecinski told us about his approach to touring, working with friends and the status of his collaborative project with Gramatik.
Allston Pudding: So before anything else, I wanted to ask you what your thoughts are going into the Red Rocks set this weekend?
AP: (laughs) Pretty exciting moment though, right?
GK: Yeah, absolutely. I’m prepping right now and hoping that I’m playing all the right tracks for everyone. I’m putting some old cuts in there and some new crazy stuff. The big thing is that I’ve never been able to play for so many people that are close friends, family and fans all in the same place. Pretty remarkable.
AP: Checking out Say It Loud earlier in the year, the first thing I noticed was how feature-heavy it was- 2 songs were just you. Was this a conscious decision for the album, or did you just have a bunch of great collabs done that you wanted to release together?
GK: When you have someone singing or playing a prominent part in your track you want to make sure that you give them a feature. You’re totally right, the only two songs that don’t have features on them, I’m doing the vocals myself. It was a feeling of “fuck it, I just need to put this out!”
Before I was sampling stuff more, so there I wasn’t going to feature a sampled singer or performer. You wouldn’t sample Marvin Gaye and then have “Griz ft. Marvin Gaye”. I’m sure that’s pretty fucking illegal! (laughs) But now I definitely want to give all these collaborators big ups!
AP: Would you say you prefer making recording a collaborative process rather than just going solo?
GK: I think I’ve always been kind of a solo person. It’s always been difficult for me to let someone else steer the ship or even take their ideas. That being said, the new album really pushed me to get outside the box, get outside of myself and listen to other people more. It really, really helped to create some amazing moments musically.
AP: Looking back a bit, when did you first realize you wanted to start fusing hip-hop and electronic sounds with funk?
GK: I started out making IDM (intelligent dance music). Weird sounding computery music; Aphex Twin kind of stuff. I was listening to early drum and bass and IDM, but then I started listening to hip-hop and I was like “fuck yes, this is exactly what I love!” From there, instead of producing hip-hop beats I was producing dancey instrumental hip-hop. When you get rid of the rapper you have to add the electronic elements to it to fill the gap.
AP: Would you say your approach to songwriting has changed at all since your first album as GRiZ?
GK: Totally. I’ve moved myself away from sampling, at least when releasing albums. Recently I’ve been writing songs through the different individual tracks; not starting anywhere specific. I understand that’s not a new idea by any means, but it was new for me on this album.
AP: When you were coming up, electronic music, at least at festival headliner level, was very focused on DJ’d EDM. We’re definitely at a point now where more artists have some level of instrumentation. As an artist who has always played an instrument on stage, was that a shift you saw coming?
GK: No! Well, I thought that maybe people would gravitate towards DJs that incorporate live elements into their show, because a show’s a show. Really though, I just thought it was strange that DJs were a show in the first place. I didn’t understand that. It was when I went to college that I first learned this idea of DJs, DJing dance music. I always thought the DJ was the guy who spun the tracks for a rapper or someone who spins vinyl in a club.
I guess I didn’t see the proliferation of the live element in the electronic world. I guess what I did see is that things evolve. It couldn’t always just be a guy or a girl up there DJing. Eventually it would have to be more.
AP: You have one of the most loyal fanbases I’ve ever seen. Has having that really palpable support affected the way you put together live performances and approach recording?
GK: Yes. When people are paying attention they keep me on my game. They listen and I listen to them. It matters.
AP: So you premiered the Griz live band a few weeks ago on Snapchat. Are you planning on more performances with that group in the future?
GK: Shit yeah! Am I currently planning right now? No. But down the road when I have a little more breathing room and do another album I’m going to focus on it. Seriously though, arranging that and playing in my own band was some of the most fun I’ve had in a long time.
AP: We’re a good few months into All Good Records now. How has life as a label boss treated you?
GK: It’s been great. I love this little ship we’ve got sailing. It’s a bunch of super-creative people that inspire and push me. I like bringing on the shared responsibilities with people I care about, because the people I’ve hired came up with me. Also, it’s cool just to be in the scene in that sense. We’ve got this really good collection of people. This record label is all of ours; it’s not any one person’s. It’s anyone who participates. That has taught me a lot. It’s been a great running lesson and I’m continually surprised and excited by everyone’s work.
AP: Do you tend to get involved in the recording of signees or just let them do their thing and get involved when they ask you?
GK: If someone wants my opinion I will give it to them, but I tend not to. They should make what’s in their heart; that’s what matters. I fuck with these people as people. They are MY people. We’re all together at All Good Records. I wouldn’t want to impede anybody in making the best music they can.
AP: Speaking of “My People”, we haven’t heard anything from Grizmatik in awhile. Anything in the cards for you and Gramatik coming up?
GK: I don’t know, that would be a good question for him! I’ve personally been working terribly hard on my stuff and collaborations with other people, and he’s off doing his own thing right now. We’ll see if we can’t link up soon!
AP: Looking forward to it if it happens!
GK: Yeah, dude’s always somewhere else and I’m always somewhere else. It may be a little difficult.
AP: Moving onto the “Super Shagadelic Tour”… I assume with that name you’re a bit of an Austin Powers fan?
GK: Yeah man! I was trying to come up with a tour name and I don’t like to repeat ideas. I didn’t want to call it the “Say It Loud Tour” again. I don’t want to sell people the same thing; I want to sell them something new and fun and interesting. “Super Shagadellic” was the goofiest thing I could think of.
But yeah, Austin Powers is great. I watched the first one again a few months ago and I was hella inspired!
AP: What’s going to set this tour apart from previous Griz tours?
GK: I don’t think it has to be set apart. Every tour we do is kickass! We don’t have to try to make things special or different, because we already put so much work into each tour that they just become special and different. I’m not sitting around wondering how I’m going to make the next tour the greatest tour ever. The standard is so high that I’m always just naturally pushing myself.
That said, we’ve never done the same production look on any of the tours so that sets things apart. From one tour to the next you’ll never see the same show. I have a team of people that I can really push to help me facilitate and co-create whatever it is that I’m thinking. Keeping that within budget is always difficult. If I didn’t give them those options and that drive to inspire this whole thing would fall apart. No one wants to be doing the same thing every single day. I want to keep learning and discovering.
AP: You’ve said headlining Red Rocks was a goal in your career. Are there any other big goals you’d like to knock out in the next couple of years?
GK: I haven’t quite thought of that yet. My longterm goals escape me, in a small sense. I’ve almost not needed them. My sights are set on 2018 right now, so I guess my goals are always long term goals. I want to tour with a full live band. I’d love to write more music specifically for that round. I’d love to write more songs that I could here on the radio. More than anything though, I want to make music that continually makes me happy.
GRiZ will be playing the Royale this Sunday, 10/25, with openers Big Wild and Muzzy Bearr. The show is sold out.
I first saw Bay Faction about three weeks ago at Out of The Blue Art Gallery. They blew me away with their sincere and soul-baring lyrics and calm and in-control performance. The trio has just released their first album, a self-titled EP. The release ended up on vinyl after their bassist, Kris Roman, posted their music on Reddit and a fan invested three thousand dollars to have it pressed. On their bandcamp they describe themselves as “post-coital,” and it’s oddly fitting. It’s the kind of music you want to smoke a cigarette or sip a cup of coffee to in your bedroom.
It’s about 1 p.m. on a Saturday in Allston and I’m waiting with Connor Godfrey in his basement apartment for the other Bay Faction members before we head to In House Coffee. Kris the bassist can’t meet us but singer James Mcdermott arrives with his manager, Andrew Moltz in tow. It’s rare that a band this young has a manager, yet here they are— 21 years old, about to embark on their first tour.
Allston Pudding: How did you meet?
Connor Godfrey: Through Facebook.
James Mcdermott: Through like a Massachusetts musicians page. I was like 17 and I was like, “I want to start a band.” I posted and Connor [and Kris] responded.
CG: Were we the first to respond?
JM: First and only. Then we all happened to go to Berklee, it was very serendipitous.
CG: We had a show the first week of meeting. It was at McNeil’s Tavern in Providence with Head North. We were terrible.
AP: So this is your first tour?
JM: Yes. It’s probably going to be kind of a train wreck.
AP: Where are you most excited to play?
CG: The New York show and Atlanta for sure. It will be our first time playing both places.
AP: How long did it take you to write and record the album?
JM: I wrote most of it when I was 18. Writing took a year and then it took two days to record it. We recorded it at Rotary Records, it’s a hollowed out Lutheran church. It’s called Rotary because that was the only thing in that town, a rotary.
CG: And an IHOP.
AP: How are you preparing for tour?
JM: We’re freaking out. We’re still figuring out places to stay. I just don’t know what to bring. I guess we’re camping in Asheville, North Carolina. We’ll hopefully camp in most places. Probably no hotels, just Walmart parking lots because you can park over night. We’re also probably going to die.
AP: What bands are you playing with?
JM: Altopalo in New York, a CMJ after party.
AP: What local bands do you like?
JM: Vundabar, Horse Jumper of Love, Shark Rock and Ginger Sunburn.
AP: What was up with those photos of you covered in fake blood?
CG: It was for a short video to promote the single off our album called “Bloody Nose” so we made fake blood and covered ourselves in it. We were naked mostly to avoid getting our clothes gross. We tried a few different recipes. I think we settled on Gatorade and corn syrup.
JM: We did a glitch video of our friend puking to promote the album as well. He can do it on command, I mean—we paid him though.
AP: What are you doing after tour?
JM: Breaking up.
CG: Playing as much as possible, planning another tour. Planning better. Please buy our album so we can drop out.
Stream Bay Faction’s work on Spotify, Bandcamp or Soundcloud, or purchase their album here.
Sound of Our Town 2 courtesy of Cara DiFabio of Vanyaland
We are super excited to announce that we are nominated for Best Music Blog at the Boston Music Awards! You can vote for the awards NOW here!
Congrats to staff photographer (and homie) Ben Stas for getting nominated for Best Live Music Photographer for the 2015 Boston Music Awards! Ben Stas, aside from being one of the nicest people in the world, is an excellent photographer who currently shoots for The Boston Globe, Tastemakers, Invisible Oranges, and (us) Allston Pudding. He also has a dope photo blog called Noise Floor. You go Ben!
Ben Stas Photography
Another friend nominated is Boston Hassle for Best Music Blog. The Boston Hassle is a non-profit organization that throws hundreds of shows a year, prints a new issue every month called The Boston Compass, and runs a locally-focused music blog.
This year’s awards show will be two nights, both held at The Sinclair in Harvard Square December 9th and 10th. The Boston Music Awards explained in a press release the order of business:
“the first night will be half award ceremony, half rock and roll show and will be free to nominees. The second night will be a ticketed event headlined by our Hall of Fame inductee and an opening performance by our New Artist of the Year Award winner”.
Here are all the nominees, good luck and please vote!
BOSTON MUSIC AWARDS 2015 NOMINEES ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Bad Rabbits
Michael Christmas
Ruby Rose Fox
Speedy Ortiz
The Ballroom Thieves
ALBUM/EP OF THE YEAR
Cousin Stizz – “Suffolk County”
Krill – “A Distant Fist Unclenching”
Session Americana – “Pack Up The Circus”
Sidewalk Driver – “Everybody Loves My Face”
Speedy Ortiz – “Foil Deer”
SONG OF THE YEAR
Dirty Bangs – “I’m In Love With The Summertime”
Ruby Rose Fox – “Golden Boy”
Sidewalk Driver – “Everybody Loves My Face”
Speedy Ortiz – “Raising The Skate”
The Ballroom Thieves – “Archers”
NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Oh Malô
Palehound
Party Bois
Vundabar
Worshipper
LIVE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Dirty Bangs
NEMES
Party Bois
Tigerman
WOAH
Zip-Tie Handcuffs
ROCK/INDIE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Dirty Bangs
Hallelujah The Hills
Speedy Ortiz
Palehound
Pile
HIP-HOP ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Cousin Stizz
Dutch ReBelle
Michael Christmas
STL GLD
Termanology
POP ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Meghan Trainor
PVRIS
Ruby Rose Fox
Shea Rose
Will Dailey
R&B ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Bad Rabbits
Barrence Whitfield & The Savages
Jesse Dee
Sebastian Mikael
Shea Rose
AMERICANA ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Grey Season
Honeysuckle
Session Americana
The Ballroom Thieves
These Wild Plains
BLUES ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Barrence Whitfield & The Savages
Gracie Curran & The High Falutin’
Peter Parcek
Toni Lynn Washington
Willie J. Laws Band
DJ/PRODUCER OF THE YEAR
DJ Knife
Frank White
KON
LeahV
Statik Selektah
ELECTRONIC ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Bearstronaut
Let’s Wait
Radclyffe Hall
St. Nothing
Skinny Bones
FOLK ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Dan Blakeslee
Grey Season
Honeysuckle
Ian Fitzgerald
The Ballroom Thieves
INTERNATIONAL ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Debo Band
Dub Apocalypse
MAMADOU Band
Roberto Morbioli
Shun Ng
JAZZ ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Alison Keslow
Esperanza Spalding
Grace Kelly
La Vie en Rose
Lake Street Dive
METAL ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Converge
Lunglust
Protean Collective
Rozamov
Worshipper
PUNK/HARDCORE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Raw Blow
The Hotelier
The Warning Shots
Trophy Lungs
Zip-Tie Handcuffs
SINGER-SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR
Abbie Barrett
Danielle Miraglia
Lori McKenna
Ruby Rose Fox
Will Dailey
FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Abbie Barrett
Ellen Kempner
Lyndsey Gunnulfsen
Marissa Nadler
Ruby Rose Fox
MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Barrence Whitfield
Evan Kenney
Louie Bello
Peter Wolf
Will Daley
STUDIO PRODUCER OF THE YEAR
Benny Grotto
Brian Charles
Dave Minehan
Ed Valauskas
Paul Q. Kolderie
VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Eldridge Rodriguez – “Giving Myself Over To Boston”
Fran-P Ft REKS, SPNDA & Moe Pope – “Hypertension”
Hallelujah the Hills – “We Are What We Say We Are”
It is hard to immediately say why a show could be so inspiring when the frontman barely lends a glimpse in the crowd’s direction.
Standing directly in front of the mic, Joe Casey’s mouth pulls down to one side and pours out a low registered line, winding it out to create a whole song. Occasionally, Casey will itch his face and reach down for a drink while the rest of the band moves furiously, often cross-eyed with emotion. For showgoers uninitiated with all things Protomartyr, I would hope that they would think Casey to be a genius, constantly pondering his powerful lyrics with occasional drink breaks amongst his storm of a band.
Our friends at Boston Hassle set us up in a perfect place to take in the long awaited return of Protomartyr, beginning with local act The Channels. Their members contribute to a few other local bands (i.e. Designer and Guerrilla Toss) and the zany contrast in tones plays as proof; the trio provided anxious swirls of guitar waning in and out between their deep voiced singer. The band uses any opportunity to push the sound in directions that you had yet to expect, including introducing a plastic fork to their guitars. If you have never seen plastic utensils used in the process of a set, don’t sleep on The Channels.
Hailing from Detroit and neighboring Protomartyr, Growing Pains made for the poppier sound of the night. The keyboard played a more vital role live than in recordings, shaping the whole feel of their set immensely. Matching electronics with traditional punk elements proved incredibly satisfying, especially with the ascending bass thump and bright chords of “Forever and Always”, which found itself stuck in my brain for the next 48 hours.
Protomartyr stepped up with steadfast enthusiasm coming off of “Maidenhead”, the first song from their 2014 release, Under Color of Official Right. The most comforting aspect of this show though was that these songs that broke Protomartyr into popularity received the same reaction as songs off of their newest LP, The Agent Intellect. “The Hermit” revealed itself as one of the newer songs that could stand out as easily as old favorites. Pushing everyone to their full potential, the song explores the more devastatingly beautiful edge of the band’s songwriting and performance. Drummer Alex Leonard looked like if he had thrown in any more dedication, his arm would disconnect. Scott Davidson, swiftly paced back in forth with his bass in contrast to guitarist Greg Ahee, who hurled down as if in pain. Casey offered a closed eyed croon, gave the floor a look of disdain, and stared down until his time to add the voice again.
Review by Jenny Usovicz
Photos by Christine Varriale
Girlpool
There were many familiar faces at the Girlpool shows October 5 and October 6 at the Middle East in Cambridge, advice both in the crowd and on stage, purchase considering that opening acts IAN (10/5) and Gracie (10/6) are locals. I used to work with Gracie drummer Travis Hagan at Trader Joe’s and the bass player is none other than Sam Potrykus, co-founder of The Boston Hassle. The idea of distinguishing differences between the two performances was confusing; for one thing Girlpool isn’t a jam band, they’re a punk two-piece, so the concept of commenting on the subtle differences in songs is lost. To me there was no difference. The set lists both nights were comprised of songs off their latest release, “Before The World Was Big”.
Jilian Medford of IAN kicked things off on the first night with her saccharine sweet vocals and lyrics about love, confusion, and being sad. It’s the sweetness of her voice paired with honest lyrics about relationship woes and uncertainty that makes her dreamy pop songwriting work. She sounds distinctly un-Berklee despite it being her alma mater; rather, the California native translates some Best Coast-esque melodies.
Told Slant took the stage next. The quiet indie four-piece is part of the Epoch Collective, which also includes members of fellow show openers Eskimeaux. It was like going to a Frankie Cosmos and Porches show back in the good old days when Greta Kline was in both bands. Told Slant delivered emotionally charged lyrics over powerful drum beats, and lead singer Felix Walworth repeatedly thanked the audience for staying quiet enough for his hushed vocals to ring out.
As Eskimeaux’s set began, singer (and Told Slant bandmate) Gabrielle Smith joked, “Round of applause for Told Slant, man I love those guys.” The set was really emotional; the four-piece played most of the O.K. EP, their newest release comprised of songs about hurting and being hurt, sadness, and nature.
When Girlpool began to set up I noticed they had coordinated outfits, intentionally or unintentionally, with Cleo Tucker in a black turtleneck and Harmony Tividad in a white turtleneck. The coordination reminded me of the chorus, “I just miss how it felt standing next to you, wearing matching dresses” off their title track from their second EP, “Before The World Was Big”.
Now here is where I’m going to make note of the ever-so-subtle differences in performances. The first night, October 5th, was hands-down the best. The Middle East Downstairs is far superior to The Middle East Upstairs; it’s a bummer, but it’s true. Downstairs can fit way more people. Eskimeaux was particularly stoked to be playing downstairs saying they had never before played to so many people. Also, for some reason, the sound was really funky the following night. Told Slant’s guitarist/keyboard player had issues with their amp, when they started to play there was considerable feedback which led to jokes about it being intentional and “so metal”. Told Slant also does this call and response thing with their song “Tsunami” with the chorus, “Isn’t this silly and aren’t you beautiful” being sung to the audience and then sung by the audience. The second night they didn’t ask for the audience to sing along for whatever reason. Girlpool also faced some difficulty with a faulty guitar cable that disrupted their set. Apparently mercury was still in retrograde or something? I was also pretty bummed when after the first night a small group of audience members began to chant “Jane” referring to the song off their self-titled EP, to which they ignored. Maybe they didn’t feel like screaming or playing old material, but there is something magical that happens when a band interacts with the audience, and they just weren’t down. It’s going to be hard to forget these shows and I’m certain no other show this October is going to measure up to them no matter how off-kilter the sound was 10/6.
“Keep your feet on the ground and have a good time,” said Patrick Stickles, his furrowed brow piercing the Thursday night crowd at Brighton Music Hall. He absentmindedly strummed the opening chords of “Upon Viewing Oregon’s Landscape With the Flood of Detritus,” a song from 2012 by his band, Titus Andronicus, as he waxed poetic, as he often does, about the delicacy of human life and emotion, and how violence and moshing had no place in it, or in his band’s show in Boston. Stickles tends to embody the purest of punk ethos in his dogged dedication to art and its expression– his songs lay bare his struggle with mental illness and misanthropy with brutal candor, all wrapped in chord progressions and rousing choruses so catchy that you can’t help but jump around just a little.
After solid opening sets from Baked (featuring guitar from Stove/Ovlov’s Steve Hartlett, who was pulling double duty after opening for Krill earlier that night at Great Scott) and Spider Bags, Stickles and co. proceeded to dive into an epic two-hour set that pulled material from all four of the band’s studio albums, including their most recent release, the 29-track rock opera The Most Lamentable Tragedy. It’s tough to keep a crowd interested in any one thing for two hours straight, but Stickles’ dynamism as a performer, along with that of his bandmates (especially keyboardist and Somervillian Elio DeLuca), kept the crowd buzzing and eager for more.
Titus Andronicus is a band that lays it all on the line for every show, and their strength as a live act draws from this sense of urgency and manic energy. Brighton Music Hall, packed end-to-end with fans and bearded Stickles look-alikes, seemed to shake on its foundations as the band launched into “A More Perfect Union,” an old hit that chronicles the end of a relationship and era Stickles spent living in none other than Somerville, MA. In what seemed to be another nod to Boston, the band closed out their encore with a rousing rendition of The Modern Lovers’ “Roadrunner”– which, you may remember, our own mayor Marty Walsh pushed to make the official state song of Massachusetts.
It’s pretty safe to say that no one’s feet remained on the ground for the entirety of the show, but, with a band like Titus Andronicus, that’s an inevitability. Their technical prowess, along with their raucous energy and swelling punk anthems, make for a two-hour set that, when it’s over, leaves you wondering how two hours could possibly pass so quickly, and how one band can produce such raw emotion from a few choice power chords. After leaving Brighton Music Hall last week, the only lamentable tragedy stuck in my head was that everyone at the Krill show couldn’t have been in two places at once to see Titus, too.
