On November 7 & 8, Boston Hassle Fest 6 will be taking over Cuisine en Locale in Somerville, Massachusetts, bringing with it an incredibly talented lineup of underground and not-so-underground acts from the States and abroad. After the immense success of last year’s festival (sell-out crowds gathered to see the likes of Black Dice and Lightning Bolt), this year’s offering is shaping up to be even more impressive. Headliners include No Joy, Chris Corsano/Bill Orcutt Duo and Body/Head, the latest project from Kim Gordon (Sonic Youth) and Bill Nance.

The focus won’t be entirely on the nationally-known acts--local and regional favorites like Guerilla Toss, Pigeons, Couples Counseling and Pile are among the will be among the roughly 40 performers to take the stage over the two-day aural extravaganza.

Advance tickets are no longer available, but tickets will be sold at the door each night of the fest until the venue reaches capacity. $17-20 sliding scale, ALL AGES. Friday’s performances run from 6PM to 12:30AM; Saturday 3PM-12:30AM. After-parties will be held each night at a “secret” location, announced at the fest.

For more info about Hassle Fest 6 (and to check for updates about set-times, etc.) visit the Boston Hassle Facebook page or check out the Boston Hassle website.

-Dan McMahon (@dmcmhn)

 

It's always slightly unsettling when - after dedicating almost a decade to the mission of informing the public about the best emerging/obscure NYC artists - we find out about a really interesting band that's been active for what seems like an eternity - i.e the mid aughts. Bronx Soft-Psych band Pigeons plays uber blurred litanies with occasional both Eastern (see embedded track) and Western accents. The band released their debut album in 2006, and their latest in 2011. Admittedly the guys aren't too interested in self promotion - you won't find a band Facebook account, and to get a picture of the band we had to do some serious digging. Shots of them playing live are even rarer, which implies they don't do it often. However we found out about them because Brooklyn DIY guru Todd P booked them to open for Major Stars last Friday night at Kent 285. It's not clear from the info available online if Pigeons is working on new material, but we hope so, because we are really enjoying their tunes.

Once upon a time great rock and roll was derived from thriving pianos. Fortunately for many, this trend made its return in the middle of last decade during the indie rock revival. Pigeons rely heavily on the same acoustic instruments that gave indie rock prominent place in modern music. They have a very diverse sound that consists of guitars, drums, bass, and a piano; all topped off with a sweet violin. Each song brings something unique as they go from slow and very harmonic to thrashing noise that somehow manages to stay together, which can be heard throughout their 2010 album The Talking Wire. Pigeons have the rare ability to play the softest instruments in the hardest way possible. It’s sweet, smooth, raw and everything in between. - Colin Hudson