Gig Watch – December 2022
Shows not to miss in and around Boston for the month of December.
Look, December’s never one of our busiest showgoing months. You’ve got Christmas parties, weird family stuff, the fact that it’s cold and dark by 5 p.m. every day…lots of other stuff going on. That’s not to say we’re looking at a totally bereft month though– scroll through some end-of-year picks below:
12/5 – Dreamwell @ Charlie’s Kitchen
RI screamo/post-hardcore rippers Dreamwell bring their gale force live show to Charlie’s upstairs for a cool $5, what’s not to like?
12/6 – Special Interest @ The Sinclair
November’s Endure –the third LP from New Orleans quartet Special Interest – is a late AOTY contender that finds the band’s no-wave dance-punk in peak form, and their live sets pack even more punch than the records. Not one to be slept on.
12/9 – Editrix @ Lilypad
Easthampton art-punks Editrix headline a Lilypad late show with local favs Squitch and Providence’s Theadoore. Watching bandleader Wendy Eisenberg shred is always worth the price of admission.
12/10 – Oneida @ Lilypad
A great weekend for weirdo rock music continues in Inman Square with NYC psych royalty Oneida, backed up by solo sets from Martin Bisi and Thalia Zedek.
12/10 – Counter Intuitive Records Holiday Showcase @ Crystal Ballroom
Or, for an entirely different Saturday night vibe: Counter Intuitive Records reprises last year’s holiday showcase party with a smaller-scale affair boasting sets from Nervous Dater, Oldsoul and others in the label’s orbit of catchy northeast emo.
12/12 – Lightning Bolt @ Royale
Providence noise rock vets Lightning Bolt return for one of their bigger headlining shows in recent memory at the Royale. Perhaps the sprawling space will motivate them to bring back the chaotic in-the-round/on-the-floor setup of LB gigs of yore? Gotta roll up to find out.
12/13 – Bonnie Light Horseman @ The Sinclair
Folk supergroup Bonnie Light Horseman returned with a sophomore LP this year, which they’ll support with an intimate Sinclair gig this month. Support from the great Cassandra Jenkins makes for an excellent double bill.
12/15 – Liturgy @ Middle East Upstairs
Perhaps the single most stacked gig of the month goes down this Thursday night, with esoteric avant-black metal crew Liturgy topping a bill that also includes the live debut of Umbra Vitae (the death metal supergroup headed by Converge’s J Bannon), VA screamo upstarts Infant Island and heavy shoegazers Elizabeth Colour Wheel.
12/16 – Modest Mouse @ Roadrunner
The novelty of full-album performance anniversary shows is somewhat lost on me these days, but for certain records, the thrill persists. Modest Mouse’s winter trek celebrating 25 years of their 1997 classic The Lonesome Crowded West is one such example. They had me at a guaranteed “Trucker’s Atlas.”
12/29 – Cave In / Piebald @ Royale
A pair of longtime local bands with not a ton of overlap in sound but probably quite a bit in fanbases team up for a holiday bash at Royale, ensuring a healthy balance of earnestness and headbanging (not to mention the incomparable Kal Marks to kick things off).
12/30 – Caspian @ The Sinclair
End the year on a crescendo, as widescreen post-rockers Caspian bring their annual “Last Night on Earth” gig to The Sinclair with Junius, SOM and The Burning Paris.