It’s live music at the Sil, if you can believe your eyes and ears
A brief report from the venerable Allston dive bar’s first summer of live programming.
There are many things I love about Allston, Massachusetts, but near the top of the list is the beloved Silhouette Lounge. A crucial part of the neighborhood dive-bar axis, the wood-paneled, free-popcorn-serving establishment serves to balance its scuzzier cousin The Model (where there’s fewer games and more dancing) and offer a welcoming townie feel that’s miles removed from the hopeless, high-gloss sports bar sheen of a certain Tavern or Draft. When the Sil came under new ownership post-COVID, fears were stoked that somebody was plotting to remodel the place and strip away its charms, but as it turns out, things are pretty much the same now as they’ve ever been – better, maybe. There’s a credit card option, for one; cash-only feels more authentically dive-y, but bolting to the ATM up the street or suffering the indignity of a fee that costs as much as your next beer for the one inside gets old. And there’s pinball! Future Teens’ Daniel Radin (who’s an actual pinball wizard in his spare time) has helped to bring a couple of vintage machines to the back room, which is good news for everybody.
Most importantly though, the Sil’s dart room is now hosting Monday night gigs, booked by the same minds that bring you the ongoing free music series at Brighton’s Notch Brewing. So yes, think small, think local. Major tours aren’t rolling through anytime soon. But another space for low-key bills of neighborhood bands is something we should all champion. O’Brien’s, which is largely booked seven nights a week these days, can only do so much heavy lifting. And while we wait (and wait) for news of Great Scott’s mythical return, it’s reassuring to see new spaces and old opening their doors to live music in Greater Allston (a term I use to encompass Harvard Square and include Charlie’s, which has brought back its own Monday night show series in recent months).
I missed the historic first Sil show while abroad (part of the reason the pages of Noise Floor have been quiet this past month), but have managed to catch two shows since. Alexander, the legendary Bad History Month and The Calendars comprised the first, while Grace Givertz and Marquis Lavoie (solo project of Actor|Observer’s Greg Marquis) played the second. The full-band bill had an easier time overpowering the din of the bar (which is, after all, still a dive where you can get drunk and yell about your game of pool) than the folkier of the two, but by and large, the dart room is a pretty solid spot to catch a show. The sound works for the space, you already know the atmosphere, and on a random Monday night you might as well be hanging out at the Sil anyway.
You can keep track of what’s coming up at the Ibookthings Facebook, and scroll down for some photos of the aforementioned shows below.
