Papercage loses to Scissorscage at Midway Cafe on Saturday, 8 July 2023.

The Royal Me, Housefires, and Connor Storms & His Bouquet sandwich the four-stack bill.

Want to win at Rock, Paper, Scissors?

According to some idiot interviewed by the New York Post, rock is thrown out most often, followed by paper, then scissors. Know that and you can throw out the best countermeasures.

The choices seem to be gendered as well. Best-selling idiot William Poundstone reports:

““Rock is the testosterone choice, the most aggressive, and the one favored by angry players,” writes Poundstone.

It’s no shock, then, that most men play rock first. On your first throw against a male opponent, the best choice to play is paper, especially in a “one-shot” match. Women, meanwhile, are most likely to throw scissors.”

This counts as a public service announcement brought to you by Hump Day News.

Connor Storms & His Bouquet

The local five-piece Connor Storms & His Bouquet boasts a strong brass section that gives the upbeat folk rock jammers an extra tang. Extra points for some sweet saxophone swoons and trumpet trills.

Shout out to one song named something like “Thank You For Being My Friend.” Wasn’t that the theme song for Golden Girls? The old sitcom, not the Mass post punkers from back in the day.

Connor Storms reports that a new unnamed album is on the way…

Housefires

Housefires just dropped a self-titled three-song EP in June. You can find it on Bandcamp. Or is it just three songs, without the frame of an EP release?

What’s the difference?

In one instance there is a claim to a kind of thematic unity at an aesthetic and conceptual level. In the other instance it’s just, whatevs.

No, wait, they said at the show that it was an EP, so it’s an EP.

The four-piece plays medium tempo alt rock that triggers major 90s vibrations. Strong vocal lines and a steady backing groove.

Papercage

Papercage played musical chairs the entire set to the point that the violinist (who might have been the only band member not to take a turn at the drums) shouted it out between songs.

Speaking of the violin, it’s nice to see the instrument thrown into the mix of rock n roll band.

A lot of the sounds and structures that synths bring to pop music can be accomplished by violin – and in more nuanced ways.

Instead of just hammering on the plastic synth key to get that long spacey peal, you can pull a bow string and add some subtle flutter with the wobble of the wrist. Nice!

Extra points for the doom metal segue.

The Royal Me

Boston’s The Royal Me has been providing resistance to now since 2013. If you know precisely what that means, put it down in the form of a 3,000 word essay and submit it for a chance to win a free pair of tickets to the next Hump Nights. What do you have to lose?

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