And now for something completely different…

The Boise area has surprised me with its vibrant music scene. It might not get many of the ‘big names’ coming through, but I’m enjoying the ones that do make it here. I wanted to make a few notes on my favorite shows of the year.

Favorites

The Lemon Twigs, with The Umbrellas (November 12, Shrine Social Club basement) There has been a lot of buzz about the group and while I enjoyed their latest album it didn’t quite match the enthusiasm I heard from friends. “Go see them live!” they constantly told me. So I did, and wow they were right. I was blown away. Their high-energy power pop seemed to be amplified in the intimate (a nice word for cramped) setting. While I don’t recall seeing anyone this year that looked like they were just going through the motions on-stage, the Twigs were by far the most enthusiastic. They genuinely appeared to be having a blast, and I have a new appreciation for both their songwriting talent and musicianship. Everything clicked that evening, including the opening set by The Umbrellas. I’d love to see a full-length set from them next time they are in the area. 

The Beths/Alvvays (August 22)  I attended this show for The Beths, but was also impressed with Alvvays. If The Beths had played a full show instead of being an opener I might have chosen this as my live show of the year. As it was, they scored additional points for patiently signing my t-shirt when I bumped into them after their set. Great songwriting, awesome performance. Alvvays surprised me. I have had many of their songs on my playlists over the years, but I was even more impressed hearing them live. The only other drawback to this show (besides The Beths’ short set) was that it was the same night as X’s appearance on their farewell tour. Since I saw X twice early in the ‘80s, I went with this show. And I’m glad I did.

Waxahatchee (August 19) My initial bias in favor of Katie Crutchfield was due to me growing up not too far from Waxahatchee Creek and canoeing on the Coosa River (what feels like several lifetimes ago). Biases out of the way, their live show was impressive. While they worked in old songs along with the entirety of this year’s Tigers Blood, my favorite song was one announced as a new unrecorded one. If they’re continuing at this level they are going to fun to see again and again.

Phosphorescent (October 3) Billed as “A Night with Phosphorescent,” Matthew Houck started with a solo set, then a full set with the band. I believe he played all of this year’s release Revelator along with plenty of older songs. His recorded output has been sporadic but consistently of high quality. Both his performance and that of the band’s followed the same level of quality. There was a constant intensity that occasionally broke out in a full force passion. An incredibly satisfying evening. 

Built To Spill (August 9) Boise’s claim to rock fame (excluding an opening line of a Skynyrd song and as home base for Paul Revere and the Raiders). Celebrating the thirty years anniversary of There’s Nothing Wrong with Love, Doug Martsch and group recalled the mid-‘90s indie sound perfectly while traveling to places before and after. Playing to a home crowd always helps, but Martsch was in great form this evening and played and played and played. Melanie Radford (bass) and Teresa Esguerra (drums) looked like they were having a great time backing him. 

Illuminati Hotties (October 4) I saw them open for boygenius in 2023 and really enjoyed their show, thinking they were so close to hitting a new level of songwriting and performance. They hit it this year with Power and their tour. I also benefitted from the intimacy of them playing in a small bar for this show, which (similar to The Lemon Twigs) seemed to amplify every part of their performance. Sarah Tudzin wandered out onto the floor in front of the stage for a bit, which made the evening even more intimate. Looking forward to seeing them again in a few months, unfortunately as an opener, but I’ll take what I can get in seeing them.

Worth mentioning

• The New Pornographers: I have wanted to see this band for years. Carl Newman has consistently been a great songwriter, the ad hoc lineup of the band over the years not affecting his output. I was happy to see Neko Case in this live roster. With a mix of greatest-hits from the past 20+ years with several songs from 2023’s Continue as a Guest I had an incredibly fun evening introducing them to my son. (Note: I realized after I writing this that the show was in November 2023, not in 2024.)
• Sheer Mag: An acquired taste, especially regarding the lead singer. I enjoyed focusing on Matt Palmer and Kyle Seely providing a great rock/punk-infused guitar combo behind everything. Since it was a small bar, the atmosphere was just a tad rowdy (OK, a lot) and a whole lot of fun. Having a guest from the audience come up and play bongos on “Moonstruck” was the highlight of the evening.
• Say She She: My guilty pleasure of the year. Despite the heat in such a cramped and well-attended setting (with a tiny stage that didn’t allow for full choreography), they put on a pleasurable show. I had only heard a couple of songs ahead of time, but they won me over in person. Their cover of the Talking Heads “Slippery People” was the high point for me.  The women were a joy to listen to (OK, and watch), plus the backing band showed incredible talent. 
• Hazel English: I love the releases I have heard from her so far and was eager to see her even though she was in an opening set limited slot. It turned out to be a solo set, but the ethereal nature of her voice and songwriting shone through. Here’s hoping she makes it this way again with a full band backing her.
• Buck Meek and Adrianne Lenker: unfortunately different shows and not together. I have not had a chance to catch Big Thief live, so I had to make do this year with seeing two of its primary members on their solo tours. Buck Meek had a full backing band and relied heavily on his recent Haunted Mountain album. Performing in a small bar where the jukebox mostly had songs from Waylon and Willie, Meek fit right in, albeit with a harder edge at times. Adrianne Lenker performed a solo acoustic set of songs she has written over the years, mostly from her recent solo album. Despite the laid-back atmosphere in a larger venue and Adrianne’s single guitar, the crowd responded raucously most of the evening. Lenker seemed to really enjoy the feedback and audience participation in her songs. It was nice to see her interaction with the crowd was beyond the simple, “Hey, it’s great to be in Boise tonight.” 

The only live music disappointment I can think of during 2024 was Kurt Vile’s cancellation due to his tour bus breaking down on the way to Boise. While the rapid ticket refund was appreciated, I would have much rather seen him perform.

A quick acknowledgement of Boise’s community radio station KRBX and the magnificent job they do in supporting the live acts that come through town. Not to mention getting to guest DJ a three-hour slot one afternoon was another highlight of the year for me. Great people (mostly volunteers), plus their fundraising shows have various combinations of DJs performing covers of entire albums from groups such as the Ramones, The Modern Lovers, and Cheap Trick. Always a fun evening out with them.