A Partially Open Mic

Live Review

Jan 6

Written By Michael Gutierrez

Rappers pass the mic, and the signup sheet, for the Winter Showcase at The Jungle on Monday, 16 December 2024.

Presented by SFC, Hustle Killer, and Super Party Bros.

Say goodbye to Mondays at The Jungle…for now.

Ace the Quiz, Win the Tix

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Hump Nights

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Ace the Quiz, Win the Tix 〰️ Hump Nights 〰️

Hump Nights

Apr 19

A rock n roll fourstack at Jamaica Plain’s favorite dive.

Apr 26

Slo-Anne returns! or debuts! at Jamaica Plain’s favorite dive.

May 3

Foxtails (CT) headlining a bill of rah rah raw rock n roll.

May 7

A triplestack of rock in Rat City, USA.

May 10

The 4th Wall celebrates its 18-month anniversary at Capitol Theater.

May 14

Rock n roll legends The Zombies on the big screen.

HOUND HANDLER / SWEET PETUNIA / NEMARCA / KEEGAN JAMES

May 19

A quadruplestack of folk rock in Rat City, USA.

May 20

BIMBO (MI) brings a night of art punk vibrations.

May 24

Matinees are punk rock.

May 31

Maine backwards at Jamaica Plain’s favorite dive. Don’t miss this!

Hump Nights

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Ace the Quiz, Win the Tix

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Hump Nights 〰️ Ace the Quiz, Win the Tix 〰️

The word is that The Jungle will put a temporary pause on Monday nights at 6 Sanborn Court. January, “dry” or not, can be a bit of a bust in terms of overall numbers for music venues. So it’s not unusual to see establishments scale back hours, retreating into their den like a wintering bear, until the warmer days (or college kids on winter break) return.

What event served as the Big Temporary Monday Sendoff? A Winter Showcase with a mile-long bill, multiple co-presenters, a DJ, an emcee in a holiday sweater, and vintage arcade games (courtesy of Super Party Bros.) littering the all-in-one-room fun of The Jungle.

Kind of an open mic, kind of not? The laundry list of performers was secured in advance. Who would show up to perform, and in which order, was an open question. If you showed up, you signed your name at the bottom of the list sitting on the lip of the stage, and waited your turn.

Shout out to Maxedout for opening the festivities. The long arc of A Winter Showcase bent towards hip hop, with the house DJ accompanying various solo performances.

Shout out Dying Star, serving up a kind of Esham-inspired terror rap.

Shout out to King Loopz for his ode to joltin’ Joe Biden.

Shout out to Zach Vincent, who didn’t realize this was a hip hop show and only showed up prepared to deliver a few American Idol-style pop ballads. The crowd dug it.

And shout out to the young woman at the bar who was trying to talk the bartender into regressive sexual politics under the banner of some misguided, “through the looking glass,” umpteenth generation version of tradwife feminism. Are you ready for the Trump Years: Part Two? It’s going to be weird.

(Wrote up this event for my Cambridge Day gig as well.)