I've found no time to write about shows lately. But here's something half-ass. Major Matt Mason USA performed as guitar and drum duo. But it wasn't that duo. It's a little anti-folk, a little pop, a lot lo-fi, without the explosive riffs. Lyrics right up front. They're somehow neither narrative nor oblique. Feels truthy. Show poem. The Burning Hell were delightful humans. Fun. Atlantic Canadian. Bass clarinet? Okay. Bouzouki? Got it. Brighter than MMM USA but still living in both indie pop and folk. Lyrics were literary yet still twee. Two new songs. Both about birds. Both some of the best of the night. I bought a patch. What should I sew it on to? Formalities headlined. Young band. Must have been 20 family members in the shop for the gig. It was too crowded before, now it was silly. I went outside and listened. No room to take photographs. Too dark anyway. Lots of things happening. Space rock, post rock, some sculpted noise from the second guitarist, even some experimental Radiohead textures if you held your head right. Drummer hits hard. Sometimes the rest of the band would join in on that rock. Short set.