The music scene in New England is a vast Rube Goldberg device consisting of countless wheels spinning within wheels. And one of the spinning wheels that keeps the contraption clanking in good spirits is the North Shore/Boston-area circuit.
On any given night there might be a folk artist from Ipswich who performs at Club Passim, or a metal band from Marblehead that opens for a nationally touring act at The Sinclair, or the entire emo punk scene from Gloucester trucks down to The Jungle for a 10-band rager.
Whatever headaches come with living in the big city (okay, Cambridge isn’t Tokyo, but you get my drift) are offset by the concomitant luxuries, one of which is that art travels to you rather than you having to travel to the art. I’ll spare you the related quote by famous Athenian orator and politician Pericles (but extra points awarded if you can name it in the comment section).
The gifts that North Shore artists bring with them are many. Music lovers hear what new sounds are brewing outside of our own scene. Venues and bookers fill bills that would otherwise remain empty. And our local musicians make the kinds of contacts and connections that will serve them well the next time they look to book a tour northward.
While it’s great to have music find its way to our doorstep, sometimes you also want to complete the circle and go hear out-of-town sounds in their natural habitat. I did that this past weekend, jumping on the commuter rail to attend Moon Over Salem, a big, annual, underground arts and culture bash organized by Moon, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting music in Greater Salem.
Fifty bands, seven venues (including a few gigs at Salem Access Television), countless foam fingers with “Support Local Music” branding and a good time had by all.
Many of the bands that performed at Moon Over Salem have graced our Cambridge and Somerville stages. Rebuilder, Choke Up, Mallcops, Layzi, Harmony’s Cuddle Party, Parachute Club, Merry Merry, Cape Crush, the list goes on and on. More than a few of these bands are Cambridge or Somerville locals as well, which proves that the North Shore music community, always a great guest, can be a great host too by platforming our local artists.
Thanks, Moon!
Hit this
Friday and Saturday: Fuzzstival (The Armory, Somerville)
The festival dedicated to celebrating regional music in the weird, wild and experimental mode returns for its 11th edition. Which reminds me that the 10th anniversary sneaked past us last year without so much as a hint of hoopla. No gilded “10th Anniversary” edition hats, T-shirts or bath towels. No “10 Years Strong” fundraising drive. Hard to imagine in a moment when any multiple of five has us running for our Canva, socials and MailChimp to milk it for all it’s worth. The festival has always kept the focus on the musicians, though, and there’s plenty of music to enjoy in 2025. Eighteen bands take the stage, including favorites such as Landowner, Rong, Paper Lady and Winkler.
Saturday: Fluff Festival (Union Square, Somerville)
“20 Years of Sticky, Sweet Somerville.” Fluff-related fun for the whole family. Since I dragged the inaugural Cambridge Porchfest (a great event!) in July for waiting until the last second to announce its music lineup, I’ll do the same with Fluff Festival. Fair is fair. We’re less than a week away and the Fluff’N Jam Stage status still reads “More Information Coming Soon”? Trust me, I don’t want to earn a reputation as the neighborhood scold. But the musicians donating their talents deserve more notice, if they haven’t been booked already. And if they have been booked, why haven’t they been announced? Our local artists deserve all the pop they can get, and don’t underestimate the marketing mojo of a band with the time and opportunity to rally its fanbase. Let’s take our Fluff’N Jammers seriously!
Sunday: Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra: “Sweet Love, Wild Dance” (Sanders Theatre, Cambridge)
The musician-led cooperative chamber orchestra opens its 2025-2026 season with “Sweet Love, Wild Dance.” The program mixes musical selections from Mozart (the overture from “Don Giovanni” and a piano concerto) with a less well known nugget such as Alberto Ginastera’s ballet “Estancia.” Piano prodigy Seokyoung Hong, born and raised in South Korea, now attending the New England Conservatory of Music as a first-year student, will skip orientation to command the keys. Baritone opera vocalist Marcelo Guzzo will join the orchestra for “Estancia,” which tells the story of “a city boy and a rancher’s daughter whose love blossoms over the course of a single day.” Classic rom-com fodder. Add some stoner jokes, cast Uma Thurman’s daughter and turn it into a Judd Apatow film.
Live: Hack The Planet at Somerville Theatre
A multimedia, omnisensorial blitz landed on Somerville Theatre on Friday like an extinction-level asteroid in celebration of the 30th anniversary (multiple of five!) of the teen cyberpunk drama “Hackers.” DJs, band, light shows and star appearances by Renoly Santiago (Phantom Phreak) and Laurence Mason (Lord Nikon) scaled up what would otherwise have been your average nostalgia screening into a festival of fan service.
It was the second year in a row that Hack the Planet took over Davis Square. Was two times in two years an act of sheer hubris? Forget about it.
Adoring fans filled the theater from upper reaches of the balcony to the pit below with the kind of energy usually reserved for furry conventions and Apple product launches. Cyberpunk chic was appreciated but not required. Signature Hackers cocktails were available at the bar.
Theaters with the requisite chutzpah for late-night programming are always on the lookout for the next “Rocky Horror Picture Show,” the next “rinse and repeat” cult classic that will put meat in the seats on a yearly, monthly or even a weekly basis. Is “Hackers” a new cult classic, positioned to secure its own long tradition of raucous and ribald movie theater revelry?
Not. So. Fast. Until “Hackers” figures out how to incorporate the live-action performance element that spices up “Rocky Horror Picture Show” screenings, it will remain one of many runner-ups to the 1975 musical horror comedy. It’s always a thrill to see a real human being strutting around in Dr. Frank-N-Furter’s “transvestite scientist” outfit.
How to pull off something similar for Hackers? Maybe live “Starlight Express”-style rollerblading choreography to complement the on-screen action? Could the stage at the century-old theater absorb such abuse?
The live music and visuals were a fine addition at any rate. Wubson opened with a DJ set, chiptuners Battlemode showed off its new expanded lineup and latest single, “Nvr Kno,” while Danny Aye and Mike Videopunk delivered a visual wake-up call from the Nintendo generation.
See you next year?
Michael Gutierrez is an author, educator, activist and editor-in-chief at Hump Day News.
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