Frankie Cosmos played afterHours at Northeastern University – 1/26

Frankie Cosmos played afterHours at Northeastern University – 1/26

Singer/songwriter Greta Kline, better known as Frankie Cosmos, rounded out a remarkably strong week at my alma mater’s Starbucks performance space last Thursday with Western Mass. upstarts And The Kids. 

Grouper played afterHours at Northeastern University – 1/23

Grouper played afterHours at Northeastern University – 1/23

For Grouper’s first Boston show in a good long while, Liz Harris brought her haunting ambient folk to Northeastern’s hybrid Starbucks/performance venue, of all places. The night was rounded out with solo sets from Japanese Breakfast’s Michelle Zauner and Boston’s Bedbug. 

Truckfighters played ONCE Ballroom – 1/18

Truckfighters played ONCE Ballroom – 1/18

Swedish riff-dealers Truckfighters headlined a heavy bill at Somerville’s ONCE Ballroom last week with support from Brooklyn’s Kings Destroy and locals Gozu and Leather Lung. 

Lee Ranaldo and Steve Gunn played Arts at the Armory – 1/10

Lee Ranaldo and Steve Gunn played Arts at the Armory – 1/10

Almost three years to the day after their last Boston appearance together, former Sonic Youther Lee Ranaldo and troubadour Steve Gunn teamed up for the start of an acoustic co-headlining tour with Meg Baird at Somerville’s Arts at the Armory on Tuesday night. 

Kurt Vile & The Violators played Royale – 12/30

Kurt Vile & The Violators played Royale – 12/30

Amid the desolate concertgoing landscape of late December, Kurt Vile and his Violators swung through Boston for a pair of shows to save us from staying home last weekend. 

Windhand played ONCE Ballroom – 12/2

Windhand played ONCE Ballroom – 12/2

Virginia doom metal band Windhand returned to Boston on Friday night during their tour with Washington DC’s Ilsa, joining up with locals Z/28 for a gig at Somerville’s ONCE Ballroom. 

Dinosaur Jr. and Buffalo Tom played House of Blues – 11/25

Dinosaur Jr. and Buffalo Tom played House of Blues – 11/25

Western Mass legends Dinosaur Jr. and Boston’s Buffalo Tom joined forces for a post-Thanksgiving indie rock summit at the House of Blues last Friday. 

True Widow and E played Great Scott – 11/14

True Widow and E played Great Scott – 11/14

Boston’s all-star post-punk group E and fuzzed-out Dallas trio True Widow teamed up for a Monday night show at Great Scott last month. 

High On Fire and Meshuggah played House of Blues – 11/2

High On Fire and Meshuggah played House of Blues – 11/2

A few weeks back, Swedish avant-prog mainstays Meshuggah brought their tour with Matt Pike’s stoner-thrash power trio High On Fire to Boston’s House of Blues. 

Temples played Brighton Music Hall – 10/29

Temples played Brighton Music Hall – 10/29

U.K. psych rockers Temples returned to Boston on Saturday night for a Halloween-adjacent show with Los Angeles’ Vinyl Williams.