Billy Ho-Ho-Hough!

Live Review

Dec 27

Written By Michael Gutierrez

Billy and Susan enter their Blue period at EventThem Studios on Saturday, 14 December 2024.

The “Scream Along” cabaret franchise enters its something, something, something anniversary year. In short, road-tested.

Presented by ONCE.

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Jan 29

Born Innocent makes the case for Redd Kross as the seminal West Coast band of the last half century.

Jan 30

Ani DiFranco on a wild road trip from her punk-folk past to her life today.

Feb 1

ONCE plants its flag at The 4th Wall in the Capitol Theater.

Feb 3

A triplestack of rock in Rat City, USA.

Feb 6

A tale of sex, LSD, and rock n roll with psych punk pioneers.

Rickshaw Billie's Burger Patrol / Lip Critic

Feb 7

The Austin, Texas band lays down the big dumb heavy riffs for all the party people.

Feb 8

A four-stack of indie rock served the right way at Midway Cafe.

Feb 14

Music, drag artists, probably not that much sex.

Feb 15

More music, drag artists, and probably not that much sex.

Feb 21

Sensory overload at the Capitol! Bands, arcade, 360 degree visual projection & screening of Scott Pilgrim vs the World.

Feb 23

Matinees are punk rock. Doors at 3PM.

Hump Nights

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Ace the Quiz, Win the Tix

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Hump Nights 〰️ Ace the Quiz, Win the Tix 〰️

Billy Hough and Susan Goldberg

Scream Along Blue Xmas

Half-song, half-storytelling, a bit of cabaret with yukz aplenty. The combo of Billy Hough, wearing a Warhol-style wig moptop, and Susan Goldberg entertained the cozy confines of a sold-out EventThem Studios in Medford.

Spotted Jim Sullivan, music writer at the Boston Globe, in the crowd. In conversation, he said there were at least four other “Jim Sullivan” writers in the area. He seemed at peace with the fact.

Spotted Thalia Zedek, who showed up a little late and looked a little peeved that she couldn’t immediately find a chair.

Spotted an old NBA Jams arcade game.

The night was billed as the “Scream Along Blue Xmas.” Billy and Susan dug into Joni Mitchell’s Blue album. A breakup album, one of many entries in the long & proud tradition of breakup albums. But this is Joni Mitchell, and Blue might be her best album, so we might be talking about one of the greatest breakup albums of all time.

A few change-of-pace covers included Velvet Underground’s “Pale Blue Eyes” and the Pogues’ “Fairytale of New York.” Hozier just covered the latter on the Xmas edition of SNL, trading a little smirk with the backup singers as they elided the “faggot” lyric.

By the way, the Hozier cover of “Fairytale” didn’t work because he was singing opposite a trio of backup singers. The soul of the song is a duet. You need two strong vocalists going at each other, or else the thing falls flat.

Very little screaming at the Scream Along, but the crowd was stirred enough to contribute some melodic mumblings to the closer classic “Feliz Navidad.” The season moves you according to powers of your own spiritual reserve. If the gas tank reads empty, fill it up.

God bless us, everyone.