boston

Photos by Hunter...

I love it when your love of a band is born from a chance meeting. I didn’t know having my teeth cleaned was going to lead to long-lasting love of Gwar, but as my dental hygienist was making small talk, we somehow, SOMEHOW, came to the topic of music and she highly recommended I check out Gwar. I had heard of them and always thought of them as a joke band, but the joke was on me. As I heard...

OSEES have no right being as good as they are. They’re simply remarkable. They put out an album a year (sometimes more). There are certainly hits and misses among them, but I’d gladly play the “worst” OSEES album instead of 99% of music that gets put out nowadays. They have done nothing but gain momentum over the years and still (STILL!) show no signs of stopping. They are doing it for themselves and don’t care who comes along. They’re even...

How do you even define Billy Bragg’s music anymore? Nowadays it almost sounds like easy listening, but with a leftist political leaning. The man has always worn his heart on his sleeve and although his political songs can seem a little too on the nose and simplistic, his love songs are simply beautiful. I just love the guy, OK? The Chevalier is quickly becoming the cool spot to see shows. I remember it looking more like a rundown high school...

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In Penelope Spheeris’ Decline of Western Civilization Part I, X are depicted as the gatekeepers or elder statesmen of LA 70s punk rock. It’s hard to say whether that label really stuck, but whatever the case, they never asked for it. One thing is for sure, X have been a machine always on the move for the past 40 years, and the creative juices of “leaders” John Doe and Exene Cervenka’s never stopped flowing. X’s influence in music over the...

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Sometimes you miss the bus. A certain album drops, it creates a splash, it’s on everyone’s best-of lists of the year and FOMO sets in. You check out the album and try to hop on real quick, but for some reason, the inclination to do so never comes. What’s all the commotion about? That was my feeling on the 59 Sound when it came out in 2008. Everyone wearing a scallycap and donning nautical tattoos proclaimed it the second coming...

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Seeing a good opener can be a cathartic experience. Sometimes it’s interesting, and you check them out when you go home, but most of the time it’s forgettable. I can count on one hand when an opener has blown me away, and I don’t even need all my fingers. When I caught the last few songs of Die Spitz at an OFF! show years ago all I could think of is how loud it sounded. Then, watching them put their...