Editor's Note: Usually, any sort of hassle is not worth the effort. That's never the case for Hassle Fest. Now in its ninth year, Boston Hassle's annual showcase of the New England underground and beyond landed at ONCE in Somerville this past Friday and Saturday (November 10 and 11), packing more than 30 bands, artists and performers across multiples stages and rooms. The "headliners" -- Dan Deacon, Pere Ubu, Xiu Xiu, Sunburned Hand of the Man -- are fit for any diverse music and arts festival, and the "undercard" showcased a lot of faves current faves makes a sweet racket in our city, like Lady Pills, Salem Wolves, Sidney Gish, Ed Balloon, Nice Guys, and Leopard Print Taser. And of course, there was plenty to discover in between and all around at the all-ages, all-welcome two-day get-together. The indefatigable Ben Stas spent the weekend on Highland Avenue to document pretty much every performance at Hassle Fest 9, and you can flip through his full gallery below, and eyeball the fest's full lineup after the jump.
