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Sam Levin
It is hard for me to make it out to a show on a Sunday evening. I am not alone in this…
It seems like all the forces that push one out the door usually conspire against most working folks to keep us from getting out and about on the night we all used to watch HBO. For those who live those lives of quiet desperation, the work week begins on Monday, bright and early. We can side with Garfield as much as we want, but that alarm clock is going to go off (for me, at 5AM). The Sunday scaries are real.
But I was in need, so I pushed on my limits, finding myself at Holy Frijoles on Sunday, October 20th, to check out a three band bill. As I walked to the venue, Hampden was becalmed, the usual street scenes muted. Sunday night is not Saturday night on “The Avenue” by a long shot.
Sam Levin
It is hard to begin again, but that is what Julia Set is doing. Alex, formerly of Tripper, has joined forces with members of Powerwasher to do something new. With Spencer (drums), Eli (guitar), and Kendall (bass) ripping it up, Alex was up front vocally riding the storm in grand style. Self-described as from the “emoviolence” neck of the music woods, I heard and saw the first live set of what I was in dire need of, catharsis through heavy music. It was a promising beginning to what some are calling a “super group”. The set was super, in any case. I look forward to more.
Sam Levin
It is hard to make an impression on tour, but Balaclava certainly did, setting up and then solemnly walking away from their gear. Returning masked, the frenzy was on, a high energy set of raucous punk filtered through a fun house mirror of effects and tweaks that made the music entirely their own. More of what I was looking for, more of what my game has been missing. As the set ended, the band once again marched through the audience to de-mask as underground venues do not have Green rooms. Still, I like the impression of serious intent Balaclava’s entrance and exit made.
Jon Hughen
It is hard to headline a show on a Sunday night, but Muscle were able and ready. “Last show for a while” season is upon us, and Muscle ended a three show mini-tour run with energy, heat, and flash. It was great to see them in “battle ready” mode even as the clock approached midnight.
As the show ended, I faced my trek through the falling temperatures of mid-October in the Mid-Atlantic and silent streets of Hampden. For a time, the stresses of life in 2024 has been placed aside, the scaries very much at bay. I was glad I got to rip it up in grand style, an itch I needed to scratch. Sure, Monday awaited. I was not going to be rested, but I felt more ready.
