ALAWALWAD at Smashachusetts; photo from Return to the Pit. 
The Hound; photo from Return to the Pit.
Circle pit action from the laser-tag stage; photo by Mike Johnson
Francine @ Smashachusetts; photo by Mike Johnson 
Evan Kenney from Read Yellow; photo by Mike JohnsonWe couldn’t make it to
Smashachusetts, the sick-sounding punk/DIY/singer-songwriter/metal/screamo all-day festival in Hudson, Massachusetts. Line-up was crazy:
Read Yellow,
Chinese Stars,
the Heuristic,
ALAWALWAD,
The City On Film (Bob Nanna of Braid/Hey Mercedes),
Mary Lou Lord (?), and a million other names. The OTD staff was pecking at their keyboards all yesterday, so we sent a spy, whose post-event round-up was something like, "Idea was good, running of it was done well,
but--." The
but was the high ticket price (25 smackers), the short-circuiting PA in the laser-tag room, and the low turnout (200-plus in a venue that hold 4,000). Whatevs: roller rink + laser-tag stage + the Hound = we like. Tons more photos here at
Return to the Pit.
Also,
ALAWALWAD MP3 here.