November 2016
Navigating you to underground, aboveground and all around awesome happenings in the Greater Boston Area
#81
FREE
THE BIG THREE
MUSIC
ART
HASSLEFEST 8
Nov. 4 & 5 - BRAIN Arts Org/ Boston Hassle presents...Hassle Fest 8 @ Brighton Music Hall w/ Wolf Eyes, Girlpool, Silver Apples, Rhys Chatham, Guerrilla Toss, Doomsday Student, Ava Luna, Sad13, IAN Sweet, Surface To Air Missive + many more ALL AGES - MORE INFO: bostonhasslefest.com Hopefully you snag this rag before 11/4 so you can be reminded to head over to BMH in Allston for our de-facto birthday party freak-fest of sorts. We wanna connect you to all that this country’s (and city’s) underground has to offer. We hope that through a DIY spirit and community mindset, we can all work together to help sustain the independent cultural character of Boston and New England. We got SADIST now - demonic experimental hardcore that makes people cower. Incentive? No? Maybe something more “out there”? How bout the addition of Mark Johnson to the already mindexpanding duo of Andy Allen and Arkm Foam transforming this almighty trio into the legendary, world record holding BANG BROS?! One night only! In that same experimental vein we got Id m Theft Able - just wait and see how he makes you re-think reality. Macula Dog is gonna creep up from NYC and give us all a jolt, techno synthsters Forma have RSVP’d and there’re also The Craters!! Familiar faces, head-scratching headliners, and some otherworldly outliers - all combined into one delectable cocktail . We love making new friends, establishing face to face connections, and talking to folks about the city and scene we care so deeply about. So put the phone down, forget Facebook, and come join in this culturally driven, all volunteer-led, communal collective. -Michael Achille
FILM
EBONY G. PATTERSON: DEAD TREEZ
MADELINE ANDERSON IN PERSON
The façade of the spectacle is only in the first fleeting moments of encountering the work of Ebony G. Patterson. The large multi-media installations that make up Dead Treez, currently on view at Boston University, are as initially dazzling as they are intimate and powerful. Using found objects, Patterson weaves together large tapestries that cover the gallery walls and floors. Through layers of lace and sequins the shadowy outlines of prostrate figures appear. In another installation, mannequins slouch on a float-like platform heavily adorned with patterns. Influenced by Jamaican dancehall culture and images of violence on social media, Patterson investigates the dynamics of control over one's environment and body within a postcolonial context. The work describes negotiations made by marginalized young men in their desire to absorb Western Pop culture and traditional gender codes of masculinity, while at the same time embodying a theatricality of assemblage that is stubbornly resistant to cultural whitewashing. There is a sense of strength but also extreme fragility in the pairing of these figures with the more ominous outlines that peek through the debris. As viewers, we are extremely aware of that terrifying moment where celebrations of identity can so easily turn to violence. Ends 12/4 @808 Gallery ―-Maggie Jensen~
Somehow off everyone's radar is the RETURN of Boston Not LA legends and Lowell Punk heroes THE PROLETARIAT! playing November 3rd at Once Somerville with local political punks Ancient Filth and The Pragmatics. As you'll read elsewhere in this rag Nuke York's Mommy will be returning to Boston to play this year's Hassle Fest with Wolf Eyes, Sadist and about 40 other bands Nov.5th. On the 6th Nuke York upstarts Haram play their Boston debut at Holden Chapel (a church in Harvard?) with some pop punk bands? and St.Ripper. Friday the 18th the Boiler Room Crew take a trip to Framingham State University to play a benefit gig for No D.A.P.L featuring Savageheads, Dame, Bombers and Contingent. Rotten UK from (Upstate NY not England!) round off the month with a technicolour line-up at Koto Salem with Splatter, St.Ripper, Mooseknuckle and DestrOi! Nov.28th.
Google “famous documentary filmmakers” and here’s what you’ll see: a collection of white men, with only a few, marginalized exceptions. Knowing how clouded the film industry is with this lack of diversity, it is without hesitation that we celebrate the work of Madeline Anderson, one of the most influential African-American documentary filmmakers. With much of her work concerning social issues, Anderson is both a veteran of fighting with a whitewashed industry and a firm believer that documentaries wield tremendous power in inspiring social change through powerful representation. Her first film, Integration Report One (1960), was produced during the Civil Rights movement and meant not only to capture the waves being made during this time, but to provide an explanation for why social change was necessary in crafting a safe world. This film, like others, had difficulty finding distribution, serving as a case study for how the documentary industry has excluded, and continues to exclude, filmmakers of color. Harvard will be screening this on Monday, November 7, along with two of Anderson’s other works—A Tribute To Malcolm X (1967) and I Am Somebody (1970)—and a discussion with Madeline Anderson herself on her revolutionary career. Mon 11/7 @HFA Free! -Andy Houldcroft
Also this month:
November 24. Coles Hill Plymouth, MA The 47th National Day of Mourning. A gathering of indigenous people and supporters to honour ancestors lost to the genocide of Native people and to speak against the whitewash of Native history and a day to stand in solidarity with current day Native struggles.
My space is here limited but please educate yourselves and support www.UAINE.org MALLEUS interview MEMBERS: The Channeler - Bass/Vocals, The Relentless - Drums, The Hammer - Guitar INFLUENCES: Lemmy, Tom Warrior, Quorthon, Cronos, Bones LYRICAL CONTENT: The horrors of human nature viewed through a historical landscape of oppression, pain, and suffering. RELEASES: "Storm of Witchcraft" 8 Song Cassette FUTURE: Release a single, play shows, continue writing for an LP. CLOSING STATEMENT: Embrace pestilent thoughts and be free. Got a new band? Want your event listed? SuffocatingMadness@gmail.com
NOTES // FROM // THE // CREW
IN MEMORIAM: Tom Boland aka "Harmonica Tom"
The Inman Square neighborhood has recently lost one of its beloved characters: Tom Boland, aka “Harmonica Tom.” For decades, Tom was a fixture on the benches outside 1369 Coffee House on Cambridge Street, spending warm summer nights busking with his harmonica, a tiny amp and microphone, and oftentimes a handmade sign on which he’d scrawled “Jam with me!” In his later years, he sported an oxygen tank and a homemade Mbira thumb piano that was gifted to him by one of the baristas at the coffee house. Even into the last stages of his life, Tom had a vibrant and youthful energy about him. We will not forget his dedication to bringing people together through his creativity and spirit. He will be dearly missed.
WITH SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR BIGGEST HASSLE FEST SUPPORTER!
Hi Everyone! It’s Molly Dower, your friendly neighborhood accountant. If you keep up with the Hassle, you know our annual fundraiser towards opening our own space is happening right now! You may be thinking, “I already pay money to go to Hassle shows—why should I pay more?” or “I donated to the telethon in March—what happened to that money?” Those are all good questions which will finally be answered. When you come to a Hassle show approximately 70% of the money you pay at the door goes directly to the bands you see playing that night. About 20% goes to the venue, and then the remaining 10% goes to the Hassle. To put it in perspective, if you pay $5 for a show, $3.50 will go to the bands, $1 to the venue, and $0.50 to the hassle. This model comes from our ethos of putting artists first. In 2015, we paid over $50k to local and touring artists! With the 10% we receive we produce the Compass (7,500 copies a month), operate the website, and throw other events around Boston. Those who watched the telethon know we raised a little over $5k in 24 hours. We appreciate the support! After the costs of the telethon, we had $3.5k which is sitting quietly in our bank account as we search for a space that can fit our needs and provide you with a sick all-ages venue. Please stay tuned because our second goal of the fundraiser is to help us solidify our goal of opening this venue.
This Compass was illustrated by Tim Moores and designed by JS O'Connor
photoconnor.com