Hats off to the Somerville DIY venue, the name of which shall not be spoken, that turns 20 on Saturday. It’s throwing a party to celebrate.
That’s 20 years. Not days, not months. Which is nearly inconceivable for a number of reasons. I’ll name at least two of them.
First, it’s amazing that after 20 years of gentrifying hurly-burly, a DIY series for underground and under-the-radar music performances is still plugging away in the same location.
Second, it’s unusual that the space hasn’t evolved into a “legitimate” venue or disappeared entirely at this point. There’s usually a “shit or get off the pot” moment for DIY venues when they do one or the other. But this venue, whose name shall not be spoken, continues to persist and thrive in the gray limbo between existence and nonexistence.
The 20-year celebration party will include plenty of storytelling about the inconceivable, amazing and unusual history of this local DIY venue. Plus, a potluck, documentary screening, music and dancing. If you want to learn more, go join the fun. The venue isn’t hard to find.
Hit this
Shout out to the Allston Street Fair (Sunday), one of the last offerings on our Summer Fest Guide. Does that mean summer is over? Cue Boyz II Men: “It’s so hard to say goodbye …” The brisk fall temperatures and promise of holiday-themed lattes almost make up for it.
Friday: The Collect Pond, The Pangs, Lekha and Friends, Vices Inc (The Jungle, Somerville)
A quadruple stack of rock ’n’ roll at The Jungle. Not a single band link at the ticketing page leads to a place where you can stream music. All roads lead to Instagram, which means, at best, that you’ll Linktree a few more steps until you reach something resembling audio stimulus. Maybe it’s a Youtube page that hasn’t seen a new video for three years. Maybe it’s a TikTok page that no longer exists. Maybe it’s a landing spot in the dreaded Spotify dimension. There’s something about underground music that seeks the shadows and fears the light of day, but this is ridiculous. You’re a band that plays music – link your music the first chance you get. The Collect Pond gets partial credit for linking its new album “Absence of Something” from the IG page.
Tuesday: Cautious Clay (The Sinclair, Cambridge)
Genre-smasher Cautious Clay makes the rounds on the pop, rock and jazz circuits. He’s rolling through Harvard Square on his “Hours” tour. His latest album (or pair of albums) flirts with conceptual art. “The Hours: Morning” writes an autobiographical song tied to each of the early hours, from 5 a.m. to noon. “The Hours: Night” does the same from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. It sounds like the sort of pleasant contemporary R&B fodder you might stream on a playlist regardless of the time of day. Presumably the noon-to-9 p.m. gap is set aside for sleep, which is typical for heavy giggers and vampires. Oakland’s Elujay opens.
Wednesday: Burt Seager’s Heart of Hearing (Lilypad, Cambridge)
Pianist Burt Seager leads a pun-laden jazz ensemble through its paces on the first Wednesday of every month at The Lilypad. He exercises a light and luminous touch at the keys and always leaves breathing space for his talented collaborators: Rick DiMuzio on tenor saxophone, Andrew Schiller on bass and Dor Herskovits on drums. Album titles such as “Kindness” (2025) and “Generosity” (2024) might make you feel like you’ve been transported back to Sunday school. But the dharma rings true with this one, little grasshopper. If you’ve given up on music as a path to moral and spiritual enlightenment, you’re probably playing or listening to the wrong kind of music.
Live: Fuzzstival at the Armory
Another Fuzzstival is in the books. The 11th edition unfolded this past weekend at the Armory in Somerville. Artists and audiences from all corners of New England gathered beneath the shiny industrial chic of the venue’s exposed HVAC system (RIYL Charles Sheeler) to hear the Good News delivered by and for the underground music faithful.
Organizer Jason Trefts (who might be allergic to interviews, but didn’t miss the opportunity to hold forth from the stage on both nights of the festival) instructed the congregation to turn to their right, or left, and say hello to someone they’ve never met before. In Christian services this moment is referred to as “passing the peace,” though you’ll find versions of the same exercise in more profane settings such as corporate retreats and college orientations.
Whatever the setting, the point and purpose is clear. Make a human connection. All the come-ons and enticements with which purveyors of live entertainment promote their services are just a million different ways to ask the same question: Do you want to share a space with your fellow humanity? Hopefully you do, because the prospect of personal growth as a result of another night on the couch in front of a screen is dim.
For some, making the human connection at Fuzzstival is about what’s new – the new person they met or new band they heard. I enjoyed seeing Nova One for the first time. The Providence-based four piece performed dream pop while dressed in a band uniform of pink wigs and black pencil dresses. The entire set felt like it was directed by David Lynch.
KO Queen was another new treat for me. They gig all over town, but the Yahtzee dice never landed right for me to see them until Friday night. At a festival that swims laps in the sea of postpunk, KO Queen makes a good argument just keeping it plain punk. Loud, simple, short, effective. In fact, the entire Friday slate was a throwback to low-frills punk, with acts such as Makeout Palace, Warmachine and Nurse Joy (last show) mixing it up while the pit swarmed.
Deathless Forever was a new name for the band known (and billed) as Space Camp. Apparently the government sent the regional noise punk outfit a cease-and-desist letter with regard to “Space Camp”? Your tax dollars at work …
Shout out to heavy poppers Ohio State Fair, which previewed some new material off a forthcoming EP, dropping in the fall.
For others, making the human connection is about reconnecting, deepening the ties that already bind. Volunteers, who have been volunteering for years, were back in action. Artists and bands, such as Doug Tuttle, Paper Lady and Rong, who have played Fuzzstivals past, turned up to perform again. Local photographers and bloggers, who have documented this scene from countless angles, converged at the Armory to add another page to their infinite archives.
The gang was all here! Even local indie rock superfan Phil B., who sent me a nasty email in April celebrating Rumeysa Öztürk’s abduction by Ice. Oh well. Like any family reunion, there’s always at least one person you’d rather not see. Just forgive, forget and try not to be that guy yourself.
Michael Gutierrez is an author, educator, activist and editor-in-chief at Hump Day News.
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