Island of Islands

Pink Navel headlined an eclectic mix at Notch Brewery (Brighton) on Thursday, 29 December 2022.

The Michael Character, Carol, and Vulpes Vulpes played in support. DJ River Spiral filled in the blank spaces.

“Geography is destiny” is a quote oft-connected with Napoleon Bonaparte. It means that the fate of nation-states is largely determined by material accidents rather than individual choices of the people who are usually picked out as the protagonists of history. Britain, for example, was fated to become a great seafaring power – or come to nothing at all – because of its island status. The kings and court administrators who ushered their country along this path were merely following a path preordained by the coast line.

What’s true for Europe at the turn of the nineteenth century is true for Allston today. Geography is destiny for Rat City. The Boston neighborhood is no less an island, in spirit if not in substance. Along with its sister neighborhood Brighton, Allston is surrounded on all sides by rival towns or the river’s edge, with barely a sliver of land connecting it to the rest of Boston. That doesn’t make it a great seafaring power, but lends the neighborhood a funky, stepchild status that has defined its character. As long as this accident of urban geography lives on (and the rents don’t get too damn high), Allston will always be a home to a special breed of Bostonians.

On Thursday night Notch Brewery hosted a slate of musicians in Lower Allston. If Allston is an island, Lower Allston is an island within an island, a forlorn mix of residential, industrial wasteland, and gentrifying properties on the far side of the turnpike. Eight lanes of screaming traffic barricade this corner of Boston from the rest of Allston and humanity, which kills the incidental foot traffic for businesses, but guarantees that everyone who shows up shows up with purpose, moxie, grit, courage, and a bit of initiative.

Vulpes Vulpes

Is Vulpes Vulpes Tony Bullets or is Tony Bullets Vulpes Vulpes? There were two different announcements circulating for this show, each version advertising a different moniker.

But it all amounted to the same thing: one man behind a turntable, churning out Berlin-damaged techno beats with some duuurty knob fiddling. A future cog aesthetic in leisure wear. TB powered through some technical difficulties with aplomb.

Carol

The New Year’s Eve Eve show was co-presented by Disposable America, a Boston-based record label that is “for true believers only” and, like many purveyors of roast beef sandwiches, is “#1 in the world.” Its artist roster includes local luminaries such as Squitch (shout it 3x: SQUITCH! SQUITCH! SQUITCH!), Pink Navel, theadoore, Doll Spirit Vessel, and Carol.

Carol was on hand to play a short set of country folk, spackled with glitter and glissandos. Rumor has it she has a new album on the way, release date pending.

Pink Navel

Pink Navel has graced the pages of Hump Day News a few times before. It might have been a track writeup off his album EPIC. It might have been a live review of his Nice, A Fest appearance or his support slot for NNAMDÏ. Or it might have been a random sighting at the Silhouette Lounge on a Music Monday. He shouted out his forthcoming album, producer Kenny Segal, video games, and closed with a jam about the Beedle character from Breath of the Wild.

The Michael Character

The Michael Character has a pots & pans, plus kitchen sink, music collective feel. It was the deepest band roster by a long shot, fielding six or seven musicians, spread across a minor galaxy of guitars, bass, keys, and drums. A washboard might have made its way into the mix at some point. The creative approach is DIY, elemental, and the lyrics are politically conscious. Union strong!

Extra points for the good vibes in the audience. The lineup could have played any neighborhood in Boston, but the crowd has a Rat City energy that you can’t quite duplicate outside that island of islands, Lower Allston.