Gig Watch: November 2023

Deafheaven at TT the Bear’s, July 2013

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

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Halloween has left us behind and the temperature’s dropping, but November’s got a bevy of shows to keep us warm. My picks for the month below.

11/3 – Slow Pulp @ Brighton Music Hall

After hitting Roadrunner last year in support of Alvvays, dreamy Chicago indie rockers Slow Pulp bring their great new record Yard to town for a headlining gig at BHM.

11/4 – Blonde Redhead @ Crystal Ballroom

Nearly a decade after their last local show, revered dream-pop trio Blonde Redhead are back for a (currently sold-out) visit behind new record Sit Down for Dinner.

11/4 – Amyl and The Sniffers @ Roadrunner

Across town, a rowdier bill unfolds at Roadrunner with the raucous garage-punk of Amyl and The Sniffers, plus ace support from RI’s Gymshorts and Austin’s Die Spitz.

11/6 – Yeah Yeah Yeahs @ MGM Music Hall

After the NYC indie legends had to drop from this Spring’s Boston Calling due to last-second illness, Karen O and company will make it up to us with their long-awaited return to town at MGM this month.

11/8 – Codeine @ The Sinclair

Rescheduled from earlier this year, slowcore greats Codeine finally bring their 2023 reactivation to Cambridge. I’ve already caught two gigs on this run and if you’re of the genre persuasion, they’re unmissable.

Noise Floor Photography: 2023/02/12 - Codeine &emdash;
Codeine at Union Pool in February

11/9 – Katatonia @ The Sinclair

Stockholm’s death-doom turned gothic-alt-metal troubadours Katatonia take over The Sinclair for a dose of majestic heaviness.

11/11 – Magik Markers @ The Lilypad

Drag City noise rockers Magik Markers make a rare live appearance alongside psych-jam outfit Wet Tuna at the ‘Pad.

11/12 – Mutoid Man @ The Sinclair

Stoner metal supergroup Mutoid Man (featuring Cave In’s Stephen Brodsky, Converge’s Ben Koller and now High on Fire’s Jeff Matz) returned with a new record this year, and their always-entertaining live show returns this month too.

11/13 – Saturniids/Still Life Sounds/Slow Quit/Vivid Bloom @ Silhouette Lounge

A stacked night of local shoegaze-y sounds awaits at the Sil dart room.

11/16 – The Armed @ Paradise Rock Club

As they wage a campaign to crown themselves The World’s Greatest Band amid the rollout of new album Perfect Saviors, cryptic art-punk collective The Armed bring their chaotic stage show to the Paradise.

11/16 – Full of Hell / Inter Arma / End / Wake @ Middle East Downstairs

Tours don’t come much heavier than this one, which unites a quartet of forward-thinkers in the realms of grind, metalcore, sludge and black metal for what promises to be a truly bludgeoning evening.

Noise Floor Photography: 2021/11/06 - Inter Arma &emdash;
Inter Arma at Middle East Upstairs, November 2021

11/17 – Botch @ Roadrunner

Speaking of metalcore, the feverishly beloved Botch launched an unexpected reunion this year that brings them to Boston in November for a huge Roadrunner show supported by local royalty Cave In and Converge.

11/21 – Liz Phair @ Roadrunner

Liz Phair’s era-defining indie rock masterpiece Exile in Guyville turns 30 this year, which she’ll celebrate with an anniversary tour that hits Allston just before Thanksgiving.

11/26 – Coven / Lucifer @ The Sinclair

Modern doom practitioners Lucifer team up with the current iteration of ’60s/’70s occult rockers Coven for a devilish good time at The Sinclair. Sure Halloween was last month, but the true freaks are down with the devil year-round.

11/30 – Deafheaven @ Royale

Last but not least, forerunners of the shoegaze/black metal collision Deafheaven mark 10 years of their instant-classic sophomore LP Sunbather with a date at Royale (and the added bonus of the great Touche Amore as support).