Spirit Hotel checks in at The Jungle on Saturday, 14 June 2025.

Ghosts & Shadows and Past Life Crisis sandwich the triplestack bill.

Pride meets No Kings around town.

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

Bottom Bracket / Clipboards / Oldsoul / Trash Rabbit

Jun 26

Rock n roll fourstack extraordinaire at Deep Cuts.

Jun 28

The legendary documentary about the legendary rock n roll band.

Jun 29

Matinees are punk rock at Midway Cafe.

Jul 1

Know Your Scene free show series returns to Deep Cuts.

Jul 5

Sensory overload at the Capitol! Music, film, video games, and multi-media explosion…

Jul 7

Monster slate at Jamaica Plain’s premiere music joint.

Jul 11

Build-Your-Own-Guitar Night at Deep Cuts.

Jul 12

An Allston Pudding x The 4th Wall collab at Capitol Theater.

Jul 13

The story of groundbreaking slide-guitarist Ellen McIlwaine.

Hump Nights

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Ace the Quiz, Win the Tix

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Hump Nights 〰️ Ace the Quiz, Win the Tix 〰️

Past Life Crisis

Every party around town on the night of June 14th was a Pride/”No Kings” post-party, officially or not. So it was at The Jungle, where three rock bands were shaking off the wet of a drizzly Saturday and tuning up for the early show, 4-7pm. The opener, Past Life Crisis, a quartet with rock opera flair, wished everyone a Happy Pride, and got down to business.

Early shows are a blessing for out-of-town bands, which might otherwise be scared off gigs that involve a late night trip home along dark highways. Especially for bands whose members have a few more miles on the odometer, who are no longer “made out of rubber,” as Steve Albini used to say about 20-somethings, who feel that extra drink (or two) and lost hours of sleep like a sledgehammer through a plate glass window in the morning.

What is true for bands is true for audiences too. If you grabbed a pre-show libation in the neighborhood, you might have overheard a guy from Woburn having a loud, brusque, performative telephone conversation with his wife. After he hung up, he turned to his two buddies at the bar and complained that “the old lady” was giving him a hard time about “enjoying rock n roll with the boys.”

Strong Tim Robinson energy with this one – I half-expected him to order a Sloppy Steak.

Now, Woburn isn’t situated on the far side of the moon. In fact, it’s barely a 20-minute drive between The Wu and Union Square, thanks to I-93. Every minute matters, though, when you want to lay into multiple rounds of Crispy Boys before “the old lady” spoils the fun and you have to clock back into work on Monday morning. An early Sunday show is just the ticket.

The trio made the trip to The Jungle in support of their friend’s band Spirit Hotel, an alt rock quartet playing the second slot. An extra rack of guitars at stage right promised a gazy, hazy set. The rhythm section delivered a medium tempo grind while the guitars droned and the lead singer floated smoky, sultry vocals in the breeze. Shades of The Jesus and Mary Chain with hints of western twang and hard boiled blues.

While the music rattled around the hollows of the old police garage, the trio were already plotting their next rock n roll adventure. Bigger, longer, uncut. A Labor Day excursion to East Rutherford, New Jersey for an Oasis show.

Mr. Sloppy Steaks said out loud what was on everyone’s mind: “No chicks?” The other two waved him off, wordlessly. “Right,” he concluded, “No reason to muddy the waters.”

Before closer Ghosts & Shadows played a single note, the trio hit the trail. If this was an old western, the three caballeros would’ve flipped the barkeep a silver dollar, hopped onto their mounts, and rode off into the setting sun in search of a new adventure.

But this wasn’t an old western. Somewhere in Woburn “the old lady” was about to get a beery peck on the cheek along with late breaking news about a guys-only weekend to watch Noel and Liam Gallagher temporarily set aside their eternal beef for a massive payday at MetLife Stadium. She won’t be missing much.