Gig Watch – June 2023

Shows not to miss in and around Boston for the month of June.

Summer approaches at last and, much like the incoming weather, the gigs are hot. Check out my picks for June below.

6/1 – Pissed Jeans @ Sonia

Allentown sludge-punks Pissed Jeans haven’t dropped a record in over six years and pretty rarely hit the road these days, which makes any local appearance a priority.

6/1 – Panchiko @ Paradise Rock Club

But alternately, the Paradise boasts a pretty great bill on this Thursday night featuring once-forgotten U.K. dream-pop band Panchiko, local slowcore luminaries Horse Jumper of Love and west coast shoegazers LSD and the Search for God.

6/2 – Rezn @ O’Brien’s Pub

A great heavy bill for your Friday night at O’Brien’s welcomes Chicago heavy psych crew Rezn back to town, supported by Denver blackened sludge collective Oryx.

6/3 – Jerome’s Dream @ Sonia

Reunited screamo icons Jerome’s Dream top an early evening bill with always earth-shattering noise rockers Elizabeth Colour Wheel and the just reunited Sinaloa at Sonia.

6/3 – Cape Crush / Me In Capris @ O’Brien’s Pub

A benefit show for IBookThings‘ Cody Rico, who is dealing with some extremely not-fun medical stuff right now, features locals Cape Crush (for whom Rico plays drums) and the beloved Me In Capris plus Shiver and Sonder.

6/5 – Fucked Up @ The Sinclair

Ambitious Canadian art-punks Fucked Up bring their electrifying live show back to town this month with support from West Springfield hardcore rippers Restraining Order.

6/6 – Tinariwen @ The Sinclair

Tuareg desert-blues collective Tinariwen will mesmerize Harvard Square for their first local show in a minute, joined by psych-jammers Garcia Peoples. Sold out, as are a few others on this list, but, you know, keep your eyes peeled.

6/7 – Drain @ Middle East Downstairs

Santa Cruz hardcore band Drain just released their sophomore record Living Proof last month, and they’ll support it with one of the year’s most ridiculously stacked bills of any genre at the Middle East, joined by Drug Church, Magnitude, Gel and Combust.

6/8 – Pixies @ MGM Music Hall

Whether or not you’re keeping pace with the post-reunion Pixies (they’re four albums deep!), the mostly-original lineup still puts on a great show. They’ll make a hometown return at MGM this month, with some strong support from post-punk revival survivors Franz Ferdinand and noise-pop purveyors Bully.

6/10 – Yob / Cave In @ Middle East Downstairs

Local heavy music heroes Cave In and OR doom-sludge trio Yob team up for a very loud Saturday evening with Boston rippers Gozu. Downstairs is a small room for either band to headline on their own, let alone together, so this one ought to be special.

6/14 – The Magnetic Fields @ The Sinclair

And speaking of underplays, Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields are verified indie-pop royalty with local roots, which means they’re often playing theater-sized rooms when they come to town. Seize a rare chance to catch them somewhere rather intimate at The Sinclair this month.

6/17 – LCD Soundsystem / Jamie XX / Idles / L’Rain @ The Stage at Suffolk Downs

Boston got its fair share of LCD just last year when the band set up shop for a four-night residency at Roadrunner, but the dance-rock machine will be back to help open another new Bowery-helmed venue at Suffolk Downs this month as part of the traveling Re:Set concert series. All three nights (the 16th through 18th, headlined by Steve Lacey and Boygenius, respectively) have their merits, but a rare local appearance from enigmatic producer Jamie XX and an opening set from the great soul-psych experimentalist L’Rain tip the scales for Saturday if you ask me.

6/18-19 – Yo La Tengo @ Paradise Rock Club

Hoboken’s finest return to Boston for a two-night stint at the Paradise in support of February’s great This Stupid World. The indie rock legends will be in “evening with” mode, which means two sets, loud stuff, quiet stuff, covers and all other manner of treats.

6/21 – Wednesday @ The Sinclair

New album Rat Saw God is the most confident statement yet from Asheville alt-country-gaze band Wednesday, and they’ll headline their biggest Boston show to date behind it this month.

6/24 – Neptune @ Midway Cafe

Boston experimenters Neptune put on a show no one else could – quite literally, since they build a majority of their own instruments and noisemakers from scratch. Their first run of shows in a number of years is on the horizon, including this date in JP with local favs Rong on the bill.

6/30 – Squitch / Rick from Pile @ Yellow Mailbox

Closing out the month will be one of your last chances to catch soon-to-disband art-rockers Squitch at this local DIY spot, joined by a solo set from Pile’s Rick Maguire.