Liz Pelly works for the Phoenix and recently started a print publication with her sister called Cryptophasia? Issue 0 out the last weekend of January , issue 1 out at the end of February.

Liz Pelly’s Top 12 Boston shows of 2012 (in chronological order)

Waxahatchee + Procession @ the first night of Ladyfest (feb. 3)

all of ladyfest was great.
i also really enjoyed Honeysuck + Hilly Eye’s sets later in the weekend.
but the first night was the most exciting for me because i finally got to hear Waxahatchee play songs from American Weekend, which is one of the best records i’ve heard in the past few years.
also this was the first time i’d ever heard of Procession, a great shoegaze band from Michigan

Squarehead, the Clippers, Krill, Camp Hope @ Lorem Ipsum in March

this was so much fun
seriously look @ that line-up
Squarehead is a 3-piece indie-pop band i met when i lived in Dublin in 2010.
they played two more times this weekend, once in my living room and once at great scott. it was definitely one of the most fun weekends of 2k12.

Friends @ Butchershoppe in April (after their show @ brighton music hall)

a few weeks before their show at brighton music hall i sent a facebook message to sammy urbani from friends suggesting that they play a house show after their set at BMH. it didn’t start until around 2am (i think?) and was the most fun.

i love this band. they sound like a 80s avant-pop disco band, and one could easily like them for that alone, but if you listen more closely you will realize they are singing about really radical topics, like resisting brainwashing by the mainstream media (“mind control”) and street harassment (“van fan gor du”) and open relationships (“i’m his girl”).

Screaming Females + Modern Hut @ Lorem Ipsum in April

One of the coolest shows I’ve ever had the opportunity to book. Two of my favorite bands. this was part of a mini-tour of mostly record shops that screaming females did. modern hut is the solo project of joe steinhardt, who runs Don Giovanni Records, the best record label in the world.

at this show, I remember standing on one of the Papercut Zine Library chairs to snap an aerial-view photo of Screamales and the enthusiastic crowd that showed up on a Monday night
and feeling a real sense of excitement and energy about Lorem Ipsum.
during its brief golden age it was for sure the best show space I’ve encountered in this town.
but Even then it seemed like a space that was too good to be true in Boston.
(sigh)
miss it.

420 show @ dreamhaus w/ emily reo, noah klein, birthdays, mutual benefit, cuddle formations, SCAMMERS

so many excellent people + musicians in the same space at once. felt like a mini FMLY FEST in Boston. <3 Hear Hums & Mutual Benefit @ Dreamhaus / Weed @ Ted Saunders (in May)

We booked a really last minute show at my house w/ Hear Hums from Florida and Weed from Vancouver, and Mutual Benefit too. [[All of these bands rule.]] The Hear Hums set was loud and awesome. their tape OPENS was one of my favorites of 2012.

The cops came after Mutual Benefit + Hear Hums played, so we all moved quickly over to Ted Saunders and Weed played there, real late. [[Nice try]] …. [[allston summer come back]]

Milk Music @ WWTA in July

saw them at Primavera festival in Barcelona in May … and then at Pitchfork festival a few months later… both of which are really incredible music festivals, but as far as milk music sets go, this was the best 1 of the 3 for sure. their music translates better in a packed punk practice space than on a huge festival
stage.

DIIV the Butchershoppe in august

DIIV had a show in boston this summer, on a wednesday night, opening for Best Coast at Royale. i texted them that morning and was like “hey you guys wanna play a house show after” and they were like “hell yeah”. it was so good, their record OShin was one of my favorites of the year

Happy Jawbone @ Middlesex sometime this fall
best band in new england. please play at my house.

Hysterics @ Trouble Ahead
i saw an interview with Kathleen Hanna where she said she was excited about Hysterics. then i saw an interview with Calvin Johnson where he said he really liked an Olympia band called Hysterics. solid advice >>>>>> left totally overwhelmed, in a good way. they have a 6-song 7″ EP out on M’Lady’s Records, great label

Merchandise w/ California X, Cottaging @ WWTA

throughout the second half of 2012 i woke up every day and put on “Become what you are” by Merchandise, a Tampa post-punk band who put out one of the best records of the year, Children of Desire … was cool to see them play @ this space

Majical Cloudz @ dreamhaus

if you haven’t listened to the Turns Turns Turns EP, go find it ASAP.
slow-building mesmerizing electronics plus poignant, immersive lyricism ~ out via Arbutus, the label at the center of Montreal’s prolific underground music community.
listen to Turns Turns Turns and imagine these songs performed in a dim-lit third-floor living room … singer standing on a couch, holding a mic, singing to a packed room of kids sitting on the floor, all in awe. that’s what that was