Rainhouse is kinda jammy at Midway Cafe on Sunday, 19 November 2023.

Bikethrasher, Heathmonger, and Supermarket Parking Lot trade pastelitos in the closing slots.

Ever been to Santia’s Bakery?

One of the perks of hitting a Midway Cafe matinee show on a sleepy afternoon is that the superlative sweets & savories shop is still open. You can browse their selection, pick a few winners, and nosh on the snack while listening to music down the block.

The place of pride in the display case is given to the sweets. The shop will bake-to-order specialty cakes for any occasion. Frosted barrels of indulgence, splashed with cursive ornament, are lined up along the counter waiting for pickup.

And if you just want a quick slice, they can do that too.

If you’re headed to a Midway Cafe show, though, with a tallboy in your future, you’ll probably lean toward the salty and savory collection at Santia’s. Go deeper into the shop, and just around the far end of the counter you’ll find a display case full of picaderas, which is a fried Dominican version of tapas.

How many ways can you combine bread, salt, meat, and cheese? A lot of ways, apparently. Pastelitos (with chicken, cheese, or beef), quipes, bollitos, croquettes, and empanadas. You won’t know which one you love best until you’ve tried them all.

Don’t wait too long. The picadero selection dwindles toward the end of the shift. You should be alright before the start of a Midway Cafe matinee, say 3PM or so. But wait until closing time as the clock nears 8PM and all you find left are a few lonely cheese pastelitos.

The next time you’re in the neighborhood, pay Santia’s Bakery a visit at 3381 Washington St. in Jamaica Plain.

Rainhouse

The local four-piece Rainhouse crafted a jammy blend of melodic psych pop. The frontman and chief vocalist sported a 12-string (and sometimes harmonica), which you don’t see enough of on stage. Guitarists can be really quick to turn to yet another pedal to freak out the sound of their instrument. But the doubled-up quality of the 12-string was the original way to subvert people’s expectations about what a strummer is supposed to sound like. Extra points for a solid rhythm section that handled the roaming and roving passages of the compositions with aplomb.

Supermarket Parking Lot

What’s the band Supermarket Parking Lot been up to since Autumn Nelson interviewed them back in September? This, that, and the other.

Frontman Marco Tewlow has been working on his lobster jokes. We won’t spoil the punchlines.

It looked for a moment like synth player Charles Greenberg was going to play the set from an upright stance. But before long he had returned to what has become a familiar position: stage right, seated, poring over his musical gizmos like a cross between a mad scientist and a toddler in a sandbox.

The five-piece closed with “Blue Light,” a jammy extended number that Tewlow described as “indulgent.” Was that a few bars from Radiohead’s “The National Anthem” squirreled away within the sprawling composition?

Heathmonger

Straight outta New Brunswick, New Jersey! It’s Heathmonger. The power psych trio served up a mostly instrumental set with wah wahs up the wazoo. Shades of a more minimalist Evolfo. Extra points for the knob twiddling solos.

bikethrasher

The four-piece bikethrasher dealt a final hand of heavy pop in the closing slot. Shout out to the jangly, spangly verses of “Vice Versa.” The sun had already set hours ago, but it was still a strange sensation to be rounding out a show with a full evening left to go. That’s what matinee shows are about. You can hear a full roster of music, nosh a pastelito, down a few tallboys, and still have time to catch the latest underwhelming film from David Fincher across town. Perfect Sunday.

Photo Gallery