Bradley’s Almanac

[Interview] In-depth with Peyton Pinkerton (on his new solo LP, New Radiant Storm King, Silver Jews, Pernice Brothers, & more)

Posted on December 30, 2013 at 9:24 am | 1 Comment

Earlier this year, Peyton Pinkerton quietly released his first-ever solo record – an LP that quickly became one of my faves of 2013 – and the only thing wrong with that sentence is the word ‘quietly’. It got lost in the shuffle, maybe due to its summertime release, or the never-ending glut of eponymous singer-songwriter fare, or the relative lack of promotion. Whatever the reason, it just didn’t get the attention and praise I thought it deserved.

I’ve often felt the same was true of Northampton’s New Radiant Storm King – the band he co-fronted for nearly two decades – and have tried in my small way to fight that here on the ‘Nac. My disappointment in the band’s break-up was accompanied by the worry that they’d leave music behind and disappear into the day jobs, so it was with much relief that Peyton’s first-ever solo release suddenly appeared last summer.

While his debut may share similar DNA with his band’s final couple records (like the stellar drum work of J.J. O’Connell), it’s a far different beast. Using a wide-ranging sonic palette, it packs genuine emotional depth while showing off some serious home-production skills. Easily one of the best “headphone-worthy” releases in recent memory, there’s a startling, meticulous attention to detail – even after dozens of listens, its many layers continue to reveal themselves. There’s a striking amount of six-string craftsmanship on display, with a bevy of guitar textures used judiciously – summoned as needed, then retreating, never overwhelming each song’s intent. Alternatingly catchy then weird, melodic then dissonant, there’s so much going on stylistically that it’s hard to pin down, difficult to describe. At its most reductive it’s “indie rock” – the label unavoidably pinned to his former band – but it often transcends that. As much as I love/loved NRSK, it feels like ending the band has set Peyton free.

Over the past couple months, he was gracious enough to honor my request for a back-n-forth email interview, and not only did he honor it, he went above and beyond – he was open to any questions, answered each thoughtfully, and as you’ll see, his genuine candor is refreshing. He dives deep into the early days of NRSK, his musical collaborations (with Silver Jews, Pernice Brothers, Miracle Legion’s Mark Mulcahy), and is very forthcoming about the impact of recently-disclosed mental illness on his creativity.

Peyton was also kind enough to offer up a couple of unreleased non-album tracks for sharing (instrumental “Bouzouki” and the recently-recorded “Silent Grotesque“), alongside my own two favorites from the record (the propulsive, paranoid “Pharmacies & Bars” and the elegiac “Arshile Gorky“).

So dig into these words (and sounds) from Mr. Peyton Pinkerton, look below for links where you can read more, and grab a copy of his LP from Darla. You’ll thank me later…

Brad Almanac: Let’s start with the new stuff. How exactly did this batch of solo songs come about? Was there much of a break after you officially retired New Radiant Storm King, or did you start on the album right away? I’m curious if the solo songwriting came easy after retiring such a long-standing collaborative outlet.

Peyton Pinkerton: When NRSK called things off in September of 2009 (after twenty years as a band) I was somewhat devastated – even though I knew all too well that we had definitely overstayed our welcome ( e.g. Pitchfork* – “why are these guys still around even – don’t they have lives yet?”).

I immediately went to work on some old songs that were decidedly “un-NRSK”. I’ve always written a lot of songs – for every album where I’ve contributed 8 or so songs there would be about forty songs or more that would fall by the wayside. The truth about New Radiant Storm King by 2004 or so was that we weren’t really collaborating on songs much anymore – just bringing in our respective tunes and adding a few things to each other’s songs.

My partner in crime Matt Hunter by this point lived in NYC and I had a lot of time on my hands to write songs alone, as opposed to the “slug it out in the basement practice room” approach that we had been accustomed to since our inception. This developed into what I’d describe as a ritualistic songwriting technique.

Matt Hunter & Peyton Pinkerton

I write by recording everything; every instrument and vocal. I can’t even distinguish my writing process from my recording process anymore – they are that intertwined. I would get used to my demos sounding a certain way and then would become very attached to my versions.

[MP3] Peyton Pinkerton – “Pharmacies & Bars” (from the new LP)

I became a control freak and a perfectionist with my tunes and left no real room for anyone else’s input or contributions when we’d go into the studio proper. In retrospect I think those songs of mine would probably have been better if I could have relinquished some of my tendency to be precious with my tunes and let the other guys feel some ownership of the songs too.

In sifting through the “attrition pile” from all of the NRSK rejects (rejected on the basis of sucking or not being NRSK-esque) I salvaged two songs for PEYTON PINKERTON that I thought might get me pointed in the direction that I wanted to go. I re-recorded them and then established my bearings. I did not want to make an NRSK record and these two numbers took me over (quite unexpectedly) into a Zoo/Korova/Factory Records territory that felt right at the time – without being too literal as far as the stylings of those label’s artists were concerned.

At this time an old friend of mine killed himself and I was still very depressed about the end of NRSK and I started to go to a dark and frightening place. I was soon hospitalized for bipolar disorder for two months and my illness was addressed with some new medications and a better understanding of my condition. After I got out of the hospital I had a remarkably productive period. I wrote two or three songs a day for a few months. I was on a serious and seemingly effortless tear. The songs on my record are culled from about 90 of these songs mentioned above.

I recorded everything as demos but soon realized that most or even all of the tracks were useable for a proper record. I figured my career (or whatever you’d call it) in music was over so I was really just hell-bent on making a record for myself. I truly didn’t care if anyone else heard it or not.

In trying to get out of the NRSK territory, and also trying to get out of my immediate comfort zone I played (and wrote on) a lot of twelve-string and baritone guitars in place of many of the six-string and bass lines that I originally conceived. It gave everything a slightly foreign feel and I began to gain confidence that I was actually covering some new ground and not recreating all of the sounds from my past recordings.

BA: I first became aware of you when the NRSK debut LP was released back in ’93, and I’ve always been curious about the beginnings of the band. How did you and Matt first get together at college? How long had you been playing guitar at that point? How did the collaboration work when you first started playing together, and how did it change over time?

PP: NRSK formed at Hampshire College in January of 1990. It started off with me, Eli Miller and Elizabeth Sharp on drums. Eli and I switched between bass and guitar depending on who wrote the song. This proved tedious and we wanted another guy to fill out the sound.

I’d met Matt Hunter by essentially barging into his dorm room to grill him about SST bands because he was blasting “Double Nickles on the Dime.” He was exotic to me in a West Coast way. I was pure East Coast so together we made Kansas! We would just sit and smoke weed and listen to all of the great bands on SST, Homestead, Touch and Go and the like – pretty much 90% of the bands from the book “Our Band Could Be Your Life.” He’d turn me on to Sun City Girls and I’d play him Phantom Tollbooth or Bastro. So that was a pretty instant bond. When we needed a bassist Sharp suggested we try Matt and we were all in agreement.

[MP3] Peyton Pinkerton – “Arshile Gorky” (from the new LP)

By this point I’d been playing guitar since 1978 – although I sucked until I figured out the all-important barre chord; and stopped trying to learn other people’s songs and just fucked around until I would actually “write” something of my own. My first guitar was a Memphis brand Les Paul copy – black and beautiful. My older brother picked it out and my folks got it for me for my birthday/Christmas present (I was born on December 22 so things often were merged!). It was the best gift ever.

When Eli left the band under very difficult terms that I don’t really want to exhume, the onus of songwriting really fell on me and Matt – as Eli was the chief song contributor; with Matt and me rounding out the material with a few songs each, per album. This pushed us into a far more creative period than we’d had in the past and we discovered our own voices – to use the cliche. We also spent all of our time together; writing and rehearsing. We supported each other to the point where no one person could claim full ownership of any one song. It was definitely one of those awesome, young band situations where it was hard to delineate where one person began and another ended – including body odor!

Over time this changed. Sharp left in 1994 and we went through a slew of drummers – never really finding one who felt like a true and legitimate member. By that point on record contracts it was just me and Matt. As time went on we got more confident but relied less and less on reciprocal involvement in one another’s songs.

New Radiant Storm King through the years

Matt moved to NYC in ’98 and that pretty much ended our “hey let’s go hash this progression out down in the basement” approach. I got obsessively into recording – first on cassette four track, then digital eight track, then sixteen track and so on and so on. That was how I wrote. I would record and treat every track on every demo as if it WAS the song that WOULD be on whatever album we were working on. Matt would come up with riffs or chord progressions and leave a lot of room for arrangements – much more undeveloped than my demos. He didn’t ever track any demos and usually there wasn’t a totally complete song-form to work with. This of course gave us room to play around with his ideas. I think I actually played better on some of his songs than on my own. Maybe the approach had something to do with that.

Matt was the Oscar Madison to my Felix Unger if that makes any sense. I had to have things tidy, tight and all worked out ahead of time and he was much more comfortable with ambiguity, looseness, letting the song reveal itself etc.. Subsequently his material allotted more room for collaboration in the end than mine did. Our last album “Drinking in the Moonlight” really does showcase the death of our collaboration. It was either my song or Matt’s song and often one of us wouldn’t be around for the tracking of the other’s song while in the studio.

Our styles had changed as well and Matt was doing a lot more with acoustic guitar and embracing a more traditional sense of “song” while I was desperately trying to perfect what I thought our sound should be. Trying to perfect rock and roll is a dangerous game and it seldom, if ever, has good results. At best it’s like trying to catch a trout in the water with your bare hands – you might get a second’s purchase but it will inevitably free itself and swim away, maybe even puncturing your hand with one of its spiny dorsal fins. But I guess it’s some feat to have caught it at all.

BA: On the subject of collaboration, I wondered if you could talk a bit about your work with other musicians outside of NRSK. Your various musical bios always include a mention of time spent in Silver Jews & the Pernice Brothers, and your new LP features a guest appearance by Mark Mulcahy (of Miracle Legion). Could you share a bit about how these musical relationships came to be, what the experiences were like, and what, if anything, you took away from each? (I know this question could cover A LOT of ground, but it’s something I’ve always been curious about.) Let’s start with Silver Jews…

PP: I met David Berman (DCB) when he attended UMass Amherst for the MFA Writing Program in 1992 – I was in Northampton at the time where he lived also. We became fast friends and bonded over lots of music, writers, American presidents and Civil War history – the latter being a big interest for us both especially. I was aware of the early Silver Jews records and enjoyed them very much. A lot of people kissed his ass while he lived in town and I didn’t so I think he trusted me a bit more than most folks.

In 1995 DCB asked me to play bass on what would have been the album “The Natural Bridge.” He had the original Jews (Stephen Malkmus and Bob Nastanovich) as well as newcomer Pavement drummer Steve West. We went to Easley Studios in Memphis to track the record but from the start it didn’t feel right; competitive tension between DCB and Malkmus, David’s natural insecurity and his panic attacks, and a few other factors made for an uncomfortable setting. We recorded half a dozen songs and then DCB called it and made the engineer burn the tape. He said he was done with music forever. I half-believed him.

We tried again in 1996 with much better results – even though it still took a massive toll on David. Matt Hunter ended up playing bass, I was on guitar and Rian Murphy from Royal Trux, Drag City staff etc. was on drums. DCB’s decision to not have the Pavement guys was controversial but necessary I think to DCB’s sense of autonomy. The Jews had been labeled as a Pavement side project for so long that he needed to show what he was capable of – and had been capable of since the inception of Silver Jews. In the end I think that record turned out really well considering DCB had panic attacks throughout and got about an hour’s sleep a night during tracking. It’s one of the records I’m most proud to have been a part of.

Playing with David on “The Natural Bridge” was a great thing because he never told you what to play – but rather he’d say something like “your guitar solo needs to smell like old brown leather and oak.” Most of the time I’d know what he meant too. Before recording each song he’d read a motivational passage he’d written about the song – sort of a prompt like in the method acting style. It was a great way to work.

[MP3] Peyton Pinkerton – “Silent Grotesque” (non-album track)

I ended up playing on the final album additionally, “Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea” in 2007. By then the band was a tight unit that had worked out any kinks from the extensive touring we’d been doing for over a year. I was the only non-Nashvillian so I learned a lot from the band who were comprised of stone cold ringers. David was more comfortable but there was definitely a “safer” approach to the material. He had a difficult time getting his voice the way he wanted it to sound and the mixing of the songs presented myriad issues. In the end it was a fun experience but it was no Natural Bridge as far as comradery in the studio went.

BA: How about getting involved with the Pernice Brothers?

PP: I met Joe Pernice in 1995 while I was the soundman at the Baystate Hotel in Northampton. At that time he was playing with the Scuds – soon to change their name to The Scud Mountain Boys. I remember liking him right away when he asked me to “just make sure to keep my acoustic from sounding like a bag of nails – or giving it that singer/songwriter sound.”

By the Summer of 1997 we became friends and he’d ask me along on half-day fishing trips in and around the Pioneer Valley. He was an avid fly fisherman at the time. I was not but I’d sit on the bank of whatever river we went to and just smoke cigarettes and shoot the breeze with him while he’d cast. He never caught a fish when I was with him but he kept asking me to go with him. I figured I might be bad luck as far as brown trout were concerned.

Later that Summer the SMB’s broke up and Joe asked me to be a part of his new project The Pernice Brothers who were gearing up to make a record that Fall. I was kind of shocked since I was quite a different guitar player, stylistically speaking, than the type of guitarist I’d expect him to go for. I guess by that point he wanted to get away from the “twang thang” associated with the SMB’s and I definitely did not have much twang in my playing at the time.

Since making that first album (Overcome By Happiness) I’ve been on six Pernice Brothers records and a handful of E.P.’s, 7″s and side projects (Chappaquiddick Skyline and Big Tobacco). We’ve also toured the world pretty extensively. Playing with Joe took me to places I thought I’d never have the opportunity to see.

I also learned a tremendous amount from playing with Joe. He has an extensive chord vocabulary and I had to quickly learn a lot of the more difficult “Beatles chords” as well as many different voicings for chords I was already familiar with. Very often learning a song involved Joe shouting out names of chords and me having to be totally on top of it; changing to the appropriate chords in time as he barked them out.

He writes these songs that sound simple enough and then you learn them and realize just how complex and sophisticated they really are – crazy turnarounds, key changes and close interval chord progressions. I owe him a lot and am definitely a better guitar player from my experiences playing and recording with Joe.

[MP3] Peyton Pinkerton – “Bouzouki” (non-album instrumental)

BA: And Mark Mulcahy? He’s got a great new solo record of his own out this year (note: MM plays Great Scott in Allston, MA on March 13th), and I was psyched to see his name show up in the credits for your record. How’d that come about?

PP: Mark is a staple celebrity here in the Valley. He has fans going back to his days with Miracle Legion and his solo efforts have only made more fans of his incredible talent as a songwriter, singer and overall musician. I can’t really remember meeting Mark so much as becoming a fan after seeing him perform a number of times. I guess we were seated next to one another at a wedding in 2009 and that was maybe the first time we spoke extensively.

I remember shamelessly offering my services if he ever needed a guitar player. Later he actually took me up on it and I played on about five or six songs on a record of his that has yet to be released. I hope it eventually sees the light of day because the songs are really great.

I asked Mark to do just a little bit of singing on my solo record. His voice has so much personality that I knew I shouldn’t put it up against my voice too much (one can’t have the best vocals on the record be those of the backing singer).

He sings on one song, “Blackout ’77“, and it is a wonderful yet brief appearance. He channeled this creepy vibe at the bridge of the song and it was just the perfect part for that moment. It took me about two minutes to record him. He just sang, having never heard the song before and I thankfully hit “record” while he was trying something. We triple tracked his part to smear it out and I’m proud as hell to have him on there.

> Ken Maiuri (one hell of a musician in his own right) wrote a great piece on Peyton for the Daily Hampshire Gazette.

> Another write-up of the new record can be found over at the Valley Advocate.

> For a more in-depth read on the mental-health issues Peyton’s been dealing with, check out this piece from the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

> Stream/download a live recording of a 2008 New Radiant Storm King set in Cambridge, MA that I shared a couple years back.

> Buy “Peyton Pinkerton” at Darla Records.

I’ll leave you with some very welcome news: New Radiant Storm King will be remastering and re-releasing their “Winter’s Kill” (2002) and “Singular-No Article” (1998) LPs with bonus material. No word on exact dates, but keep an eye on the NRSK Facebook site for updates.

(* as ever, fuck Pitchfork)

Comments

One Response to “[Interview] In-depth with Peyton Pinkerton (on his new solo LP, New Radiant Storm King, Silver Jews, Pernice Brothers, & more)”

  1. Faxx
    November 23rd, 2015 @ 5:11 pm

    Almost 2 years after this article was published, but I gotta thank you for this great interview. I suppose I’m one of these NRSK fan lurking in the shadows, and it’s always good to get to know more about this elusive band.

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    Saturday, June 21st
    BRADLEY'S ALMANAC
    (that's me) presents...
    SAVAK
    Lupo Citta
    The Whimbrels
    Andy Cohen (of Silkworm)
    @ O'Brien's

    Saturday, Jun 21st
    Hallelujah the Hills
    DECK release show
    with Bongwish and
    Choo Choo La Rouge
    @ Deep Cuts

    Sunday, Jun 22nd
    Todd Rundgren
    @ Cary Memorial Hall, Lexington

    Tuesday, June 24th
    EARFULL Series
    Writers reading. Songwriters singing.
    with authors
    Jessica Berger Gross
    & Jessica Shattuck
    and musicians
    Tenzin Chopak
    & The Starlings
    @ Branch Line

    Saturday, June 21st
    Outloud Music Festival
    with Kim Petras, Trixie Mattel (DJ set),
    Flo Milli, Rebecca Black, G Flip,
    Frankie Grande, Oompa, Hannah Rad,
    Big Body Kweeng, MATH3CA
    @ Suffolk Downs

    Wednesday, June 25th
    Deerhoof
    @ the Crystal Ballroom

    Wednesday, June 25th
    BABYMETAL
    Black Veil Brides
    Bloodywood
    @ MGM Music Hall

    Thursday, June 26th
    Faster Pussycat
    The Supersuckers
    The Rumours
    The Lonely Ones
    @ Koto in Lowell

    Thursday, June 26th
    Benmont Tench
    @ City Winery Boston

    Thursday, June 26th
    Counting Crows
    The Gaslight Anthem
    @MGM Music Hall

    Friday, June 27th
    Khruangbin
    John Carroll Kirby
    @ Suffolk Downs

    Saturday, June 28th
    Friendship
    2nd Grade
    @ Deep Cuts

    Saturday, June 28th
    Godspeed You! Black Emperor
    @ Roadrunner

    Saturday, June 28th
    Tree
    @ Brighton Music Hall

    Sunday, June 29th
    Preoccupations
    @ the Middle East

    Tuesday, July 1st
    Julie Doiron
    Caged Animals
    @ the Middle East

    Sunday, July 6th
    Greg Norton & Büddies
    Celebrate 40 Years of Hüsker Dü
    @ Faces Brewing

    Monday, July 7th
    OMD
    @ House of Blues

    Tuesday, July 8th
    Lifeguard
    @ Deep Cuts

    Thursday, July 10th
    Wavves
    Beach Goons
    chokecherry
    @ the Sinclair

    Friday, July 11th
    Winona Fighter
    @ Crystal Ballroom

    Friday, July 11th
    Cap'n Jazz
    Coffin Prick
    @ the Sinclair

    Friday, July 11th
    Wu-Tang Clan (final tour)
    with Run the Jewels
    @ the Garden

    Tuesday, July 15th
    Weird Al Yankovic
    @ the Wang

    Tuesday, July 15th
    Daryl Hall
    Glenn Tilbrook (Squeeze)
    @ Lowell Memorial Auditorium

    Wednesday, July 16th
    Shakey Graves
    Hovvdy
    @ the House of Blues Boston

    Wednesday, July 16th
    Tripping Daisy
    @ Brighton Music Hall

    Wednesday, July 16th
    Mekons
    Johnny Dowd
    @ City Winery

    Thursday, July 17th
    Cyndi Lauper's
    Farewell Tour
    with Jake Wesley Rogers
    @ Xfinity Center

    Thursday & Friday
    July 17th & 18th
    The Lumineers
    Young the Giant (on the 17th)
    St. Vincent (on the 18th)
    Hippo Campus
    @ Fenway Park

    Friday, July 18th
    Samantha Crain
    @ Warehouse XI

    Friday, July 18th
    Dinosaur Jr.
    Snail Mail
    Easy Action
    @ Roadrunner

    Friday & Saturday
    July 18th & 19th
    PIXIES
    performing "Bossanova"
    & "Trompe Le Monde" (18th)
    and a set of classics (19th)
    with Kurt Vile & the Violators
    @ MGM Music Hall

    Saturday, July 19th
    Michael McColgan
    & the Bomb Squad
    with Badterms and
    Nick & the Adversaries
    @ the Middle East

    Saturday, July 19th
    Bad Moves (farewell tour)
    Theo Grizol (of Nana Grizol)
    @ Deep Cuts

    Saturday, July 19th &
    Friday, September 5th
    Men I Trust
    @ Roadrunner

    Sunday, July 20th
    Thus Love
    Lahnah
    @ O'Brien's

    Monday, July 21st
    Ghost
    @ TD Garden

    Wednesday, July 23rd
    Ben Folds & a Piano
    @ Shalin Liu, Rockport

    Thursday, July 24th
    Kesha
    Rose Gray
    @ the Xfinity Center

    Saturday, July 26th
    Toto
    Christopher Cross
    Men At Work
    @ Leader Bank Pavilion

    Saturday, July 26th
    Rod Stewart
    Cheap Trick
    @ the Xfinity Center

    Tuesday, July 29th
    Goo Goo Dolls
    Dashboard Confessional
    @ the Pavilion

    Wednesday, July 30th
    TV on the Radio
    @ Roadrunner

    Wednesday, July 30th
    The "Happy Together" Tour
    featuring The Turtles,
    Jay & the Americans,
    Little Anthony, Mark Lindsay
    (of Paul Revere & the Raiders),
    The Vogues, & the Cowsills
    @ Lynn Auditorium

    Wednesday, July 30th
    The Offspring
    Jimmy Eat World
    New Found Glory
    @ Xfinity Center

    Thursday, July 31st
    New Bob Turks
    The Drowns
    Static Friction
    @ Sonia

    Friday, August 1st
    LOST 80's LIVE
    with A Flock of Seagulls,
    Big Country, General Public,
    The Vapors, Belouis Some,
    The Icicle Works, China Crisis,
    Josie Cotton, Polecats,
    and more
    @ the Wang

    Friday, August 1st The Church @ the Somerville Theatre
    Saturday, August 2nd
    Pantera
    Amon Amarth
    @ Great Woods

    Thursday, Friday, & Saturday
    August 7th, 8th, & 9th
    Somergloom V festival
    in Somerville

    Friday, August 8th
    Stevie Nicks
    @ TD Garden

    Tuesday, August 12th
    John Moreland
    Jared Hart
    @ the Sinclair

    Wednesday, August 13th
    Clipping.
    @ The Sinclair

    Wednesday, August 13th
    Nick Lowe & Los Straitjackets
    @ The Center for Arts, Natick

    Friday, August 15th
    The Doobie Brothers
    The Coral Reefer Band
    @ Xfinity Center

    Saturday, August 16th
    The Black Keys
    Gary Clark Jr.
    @ MGM Music Hall

    Saturday, August 16th
    Architects
    Erra
    Holy Water
    @ House of Blues

    Saturday, August 16th
    Toad the Wet Sprocket
    KT Tunstall
    Six Pence None the Richer
    @ the Chevalier Theatre

    Saturday, August 23rd
    Tugboat Annie
    Vic Firecracker
    Forevers
    @ the Burren Back Room

    Tuesday & Wednesday
    August 26th & 27th
    James Taylor
    @ MGM Music Hall

    Friday, August 29th
    Nine Inch Nails
    @ the Garden

    Saturday, August 30th
    Coheed & Cambria
    Taking Back Sunday
    Foxing
    @ MGM Music Hall

    Saturday, Sept. 6th
    The 13th Annual JP Music Festival!
    @ Pinebank Field in JP

    Saturday, Sept. 6th
    Slow Crush
    Faetooth
    @ the Sinclair

    Saturday & Sunday
    September 6th & 7th
    "Seisiún: a two-day Irish
    music & cultural gathering"
    6th: Dropkick Murphys,
    the Hold Steady, Stiff Little Fingers,
    The Scratch, The Rumjacks,
    Holy Locuts, & more
    7th: The Pogues, The Waterboys,
    Cardinals, Just Mustard,
    Lisa O'Neill, Mairead,
    John Francis Flynn, & more
    @ the Stage at Suffolk Downs

    Sunday, September 7th
    The Outlaw Music Festival
    10th Anniversary Tour
    @ the Xfinity Center

    Sunday, September 7th
    Rilo Kiley
    @ MGM Music Hall

    Sunday, September 7th
    My Chemical Romance
    Idles
    @ Fenway Park

    Tuesday, September 9th
    Mac DeMarco
    @ Roadrunner

    Thursday, Sept. 11th
    Sparks
    @ Berklee Performance Center

    Thursday, September 11th
    Bruce Dickinson
    (Iron Maiden)
    @ the House of Blues

    Friday, September 12th
    Superchunk
    @ the Crystal Ballroom

    Friday, September 12th
    The Brian's Jonestown Massacre
    @ the Sinclair

    Friday, September 12th
    Ethel Cain
    9million
    @ Roadrunner

    Friday, September 12th
    Supergrass
    @ MGM Music Hall

    Friday, September 12th
    Saturday, September 13th
    Black Moth Super Rainbow
    Ricky Eat Acid
    @ the Sinclair

    Saturday, September 13th
    Pulp
    @ Suffolk Downs

    Sunday, Sept 14th
    Alabama Shakes
    @ MGM Music Hall

    Monday, September 15th
    PUP
    Jeff Rosenstock
    Ekko Astral
    @ Roadrunner

    Monday, September 15th
    Steve Winwood
    @ The Cabot

    Wednesday, September 17th
    Alison Krauss & Union Station
    Willie Watson
    @ the Pavilion

    Thursday, September 18th
    Garbage
    Starcrawler
    @ Roadrunner

    Friday, September 19th
    George Thorogood
    & the Destroyers
    @ Lynn Auditorium

    Sunday, September 21st
    Sebadoh
    @ the Middle East Downstairs

    Sunday, September 21st
    Shonen Knife
    @ Sonia

    Monday, September 22nd
    Elvis Costello & the Imposters
    "Radio Soul!" tour
    with Charlie Sexton
    @ MGM Music Hall

    Tuesday, September 23rd
    The Minus 5
    The Baseball Project
    @ the Crystal Ballroom

    Tuesday, September 23rd
    Viagra Boys
    @ Roadrunner

    Thursday, Friday, & Saturday
    September 25th, 26th, & 27th
    John Mulaney
    "Mister Whatever" tour
    @ the Wang Theatre

    Friday, September 26th
    Stereolab
    The Memorials
    @ the Royale

    Saturday, September 27th
    Car Seat Headrest
    @ MGM Music Hall

    Thursday, October 2nd
    Elbow
    @ Roadrunner

    Saturday & Sunday
    October 4th & 5th
    An Inconceivable Evening
    with Cary Elwes
    & a screening of
    The Princess Bride
    @ the Wilbur

    Monday, October 6th
    Swans
    @ the Paradise

    Wednesday, October 8th
    Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
    'Howl' 20th Anniversary Tour
    with Humanist
    @ House of Blues

    Wednesday, October 8th
    The Murder Capital
    @ Sonia

    Friday, October 10th
    Destroyer
    @ the Paradise

    Saturday, October 11th
    Kneecap
    @ the House of Blues

    Sunday, October 12th
    The Miki Berenyi Trio
    (that's Miki from Lush)
    Gina Birch
    The Unreasonables
    @ the Sinclair

    Monday, October 13th
    My Morning Jacket
    @ MGM Music Hall

    Tuesday, October 21st
    Everclear
    Local H
    Sponge
    @ Big Night Live

    Thursday, October 23rd
    Neko Case
    Des Demonas
    @ The Wilbur

    Thursday, October 23rd
    Belly
    "King" 30th Anniversary Tour!
    @ the Paradise

    Saturday, October 25th
    Rufus Wainwright
    @ City Winery

    Saturday, October 25th
    Minus The Bear
    @ the House of Blues

    Monday, October 27th
    Autechre
    Mark Broom
    @ Brighton Music Hall

    Wednesday, October 29th
    Herbie Hancock
    @ the Wang Theatre

    Wednesday, October 29th
    The Beta Band
    @ the Royale

    Friday & Saturday
    November 7th & 8th
    Steve Martin & Martin Short
    three shows @ the Wang

    Saturday, November 8th
    The Mars Volta
    @ House of Blues

    Thursday, November 13th
    Janeane Garofalo
    @ the Somerville Armory

    Saturday, November 22nd
    Couch
    @ Roadrunner

    Monday, November 24th
    Patti Smith
    Horses 50th Anniversary Tour
    @ the Orpheum