Studio 52 is a community artist space located in the heart of Allston, and is proud to support the Boston music scene and local artist community.
The day is New Year’s Eve 2013.
The scene is Regina’s Pizzeria.
Since-disbanded Boston rock band You Can Be A Wesley are reuniting at the Allston pizza joint with CreaturoS and The Migs, and singer-guitarist Saara Untract-Oakner is kicking off her transition from the Wesleys to a new project called BOYTOY. It was the beginning and end of an era in more ways than one.
“It got pretty wild and I think that was Regina’s first and last show,” Untract-Oakner admits.
In the three years since that fateful night at Regina’s, BOYTOY have moved to Brooklyn, but their Boston roots run deep for Untract-Oakner in particular. They return to Allston tonight (April 10) at Great Scott, coincidentally joined by CreaturoS again. The New Year’s Eve flashbacks are sure to be plentiful.
“I’ve had so many countless fun nights at Great Scott so playing there is like a warm hug from a drunk old friend,” she says.
BOYTOY boast a decorated cast of punk characters; alongside Untract-Oakner are Chase Noelle of Thelma and the Sleaze and Lena Simon of La Luz. Vocalist and guitarist Glenn van Dyke balances out Untract-Oakner when she’s not at the helm of the group. Their last full-length release, 2015’s Grackle, sizzled and popped with energy under the guise of a slack attitude. With the band’s next album (title TBA) on the horizon, BOYTOY released 7-inch record Putty, a fuzzy ‘n’ grungy 45 combining “Want” and “Burning In Orange” to make the wait a little more tolerable.
“We were talking about the idea of making a few 7-inchs with their own cohesive sonic vibe,” Untract-Oakner explains. “These were the first songs we wrote with our new drummer Chase Noelle and Glenn has a little studio she rents out in the Brooklyn Navy yard, so we took a weekend and recorded three songs. ‘Want’ and ‘Burning In Orange’ make up Putty, put out by Little Dickman, and our cover of “When The Night Falls” by The Eyes is on a Swiss 7-inch split with a band called Schade on Swiss label Sacred Hood.”
While the band wrapped up recording their sophomore album this winter in Los Angeles, BOYTOY will sprinkling “just a few” bits of the new record into their sets. “Enough for a little taste, but not giving away too much yet,” Untract-Oakner promises.
If the new tunes are as potent as BOYTOY’s past garage jams, a little taste should be more than enough.
BOYTOY + CREATUROS + EARTHQUAKE PARTY! :: Monday, April 10 at Great Scott, 1222 Commonwealth Ave. in Allston, MA :: 9 p.m., 18-plus, $10 advance, $12 at doors :: Advance tickets :: Bowery Boston event page :: Featured BOYTOY photo by Noelle Duquette