Gig Watch – April 2024

Swami with Hot Snakes at Brighton Music Hall, June 2018

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

__________

Sure feels like the dead of winter in Boston right now, but I can assure you that it is – technically – April, which means another slate of monthly gig picks.

4/6 – Destroyer @ Brighton Music Hall

The enigmatic Dan Bejar brings a rare solo iteration of his shapeshifting Destroyer project to BMH on this Saturday night. Based on the last time he did this (about a decade ago), it’s prime time for deep cuts.

4/8 – Swami & The Bed of Nails @ Crystal Ballroom

Veritable underground rock legend John “Swami” Reis (of Hot Snakes, Rocket from the Crypt, Drive Like Jehu, etc.) brings his new solo band to town for the first time.

4/9 – Zombi @ Middle East Upstairs

Bridging the gap between electro-prog and horror synth, Zombi bring their space-y sound to a cozy show at the Mid East Up.

4/11 – Hotline TNT @ Arts at the Armory

November’s Cartwheel rightfully made a big splash for Will Anderson’s fuzzy, slacker-gaze band, and they’ll play a pretty big show at Somerville’s Armory supporting it this month.

4/12 – Friko @ Brighton Music Hall

Chicago’s Friko dropped one of my favorite Indie Rock records in recent memory with Where we’ve been, Where we go from here, making April’s debut (I think anyway) Boston show a can’t-miss.

4/12 – Agriculture @ Deep Cuts

But if you have to miss it, LA black metal band Agriculture with a stacked bill at Deep Cuts (including sludge masters Chained to the Bottom of the Ocean and Have a Nice Life offshoot Consumer) is a pretty solid reason.

4/14 – Actor Observer @ O’Brien’s Pub

Local post-hardcore heroes Actor Observer are an explosive force in a room the size of O’Brien’s, and while you’re securing a ticket for this one, consider throwing a few extra bucks the way of sidelined guitarist Nick Grieco as he recovers from a gnarly recent car wreck.

4/17 – Metz / Gouge Away @ Crystal Ballroom

Reliably raucous noise-rockers Metz and recently-reactivated (post-)hardcore crew Gouge Away team up for a wild one at the Ballroom.

4/19 – Drop Nineteens @ Paradise Rock Club

Rescheduled from last October, O.G. Boston shoegazers Drop Nineteens finally play a hometown reunion gig on their first tour since the ’90s.

4/27 – Belle & Sebastian @ Orpheum Theater

Indie pop vets Belle & Sebastian always put on a crowd-pleaser – and I don’t know about you all, but it’s been long enough since I’ve logged an Orpheum show that I’m almost excited to go back.

4/27 – Kal Marks @ O’Brien’s Pub

Onetime fixtures of the noisy Allston scene, Kal Marks aren’t so omnipresent since a Providence move, which is all the more reason not to miss them here with Philly’s Grocer and the excellent supporting cast of current locals Main Era and Bedroom Eyes.

4/28 – Oneohtrix Point Never @ Royale

Following a high-profile stretch working with The Weeknd and soundtracking for the Safdies, Daniel Lopatin returns to the road for his first major tour as boundary-pushing electronic alias Oneohtrix Point Never since 2018.

4/28 – Early Day Miners @ O’Brien’s

Alternatively (and I know I’ve got a lot of doubled up nights this month, not my fault!), Midwest slowcore/post-rock greats Early Day Miners embark on a rare tour that takes them to O’Brien’s for their first Boston appearance in what I can only guess is many years. (They also play Providence’s Machines With Magnets on the 26th, if you’ve gotta make the OPN date).