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The Tin Thistles

Rank #185 Somerville, MA Rock / Punk / Indie

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About

Members: William Callahan, Allen McRae, Kevin Bogart, Arthur Bergevin

Sounds Like: Off With Their Heads, Leatherface, Hot Water Music--Official, Swinging Utters, Nirvana

Bio: Born in the basement of a cell phone store in 2008 and remaining firmly underground ever since, Somerville’s favorite sons The Tin Thistles return June 26th to incite a drunk n’ roll revolution with their new E.P. We Were Promised Better.

Honed by a year and a half of bringing their signature br... See Full Bio

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Status

Arthur's first show back is on July 19th at Precinct in Somerville, MA with Wolfie Burns, New Years Revolution, and 3TV's!

Press

“Anyone trying to play accurate air guitar along with The Tin Thistles likely needed an IV halfway through their set. The self-described “token punk band” from Somerville earned that title before playing a single note – after emcee Angelle Wood introduced them by warning them “not to bust any heads tonight,” they immediately threw some sort of studded vest into the audience and hit a girl in the face. Then they played a barreling set of straight-up brawly punk songs. Guitarist Allen McRae made throat-slashing movements in between measures, as though trying to fight back his own unstoppable riffs.It didn’t matter when frontman Bil Callahan lost his microphone – he ripped through his syllables loud enough without one, and the crowd helped him out (at one point, he even pulled someone out of it to cameo on a Misfits cover). Drummer Arthur Bergevin pounded the skins with his mouth open, possibly to keep from cracking a tooth on his own sound waves."”

— Cara Giaimo, Ryan's Smashing Life

"Here’s where the night got rowdy. Somerville’s Tin Thistles were the powderkeg this year’s Rumble was desperately lacking so far, a hardcore punk beatdown complete with Boston-bred gang vocals, street-punk smarts, and enough spilled booze to fill vocalist/growler/screamer William Callahan’s proud belly. The Thistles faster/harder songs hit like a frying pan to the face, but in addition to the shamrock neck tattoos, shout-outs to PAs Lounge, Misfits cover (a set-closing “Skulls”), and on-stage neighborhood dissing (“Somerville is the only part of Boston that matters,” said bassist Kevin Bogart. “Sorry Allston.”), the real treasure of this band’s agro-punk hurricane is drummer Arthur Bergevin. Dude is a fucking animal behind the kit."

— Michael Marotta, The Phoenix

"The Tin Thistles may have been playing up the “token punk band” angle for their set during Preliminary Night #3 of the 2012 Rumble, but there was nothing perfunctory about their performance. These guys came out and gave the TT’s crowd a kick in the pants. It may not have been what everyone wanted, but it was what everyone needed. They just didn’t know it."

— DayKampMusic.com

“The Tin Thistles make a few commitments to us with this song title. Like, it’s named after the substance of the street. And much like the street, it’s going to be solid. And fast. And not flightily fast, but powerfully, take your-breath-away if it hits you fast. “Blacktop” delivers on all counts, with a straight-ahead attack that makes no false moves and no apologies. It is a brute, and it doesn’t care who knows it. This track’s straight-ahead nature comes due to its commitment to the root of its key signature and its usage of the basic chords in the hard-rock modality. I count a few more than three chords (and the truth, of course), but each chord in the progression points to the song’s tonic. This sounds elementary, but it lets you know, straight-up, where “Blacktop” lives. This makes it easier for you to know the song in that “I know where you come from,” essence. ”

— C.D. Di Guardia, Boston Band Crush

"Boston’s own Tin Thistles have somehow found a way to combine elements of Oi! and folk music into a rambunctious-yet-rootsy blend that’ll get your boot stomping and your beer spilling all over the place as you can’t help but throw a fist into the air."

— Bryan, Playground Boston

"Get your elbows swinging and your beer glasses clinking! New to the scene, The Tin Thistles are here to invite you to put an arm around a stranger and join in on the pub-style music you just won’t get anywhere else. The Midway Café in Jamaica Plain invited us in out of the cold Monday night as The Tin Thistles’ boisterous tone echoed down the street with the hearty chants of “Mutiny” and “Young Ambitious Women” cutting through the stale night air. The smooth and steady sound of the cello was missed, but songs mixed with heavy strumming guitars, and a few blows on the harmonica between verses, filled us with a sense of camaraderie and an energetic swagger within this cozy bar.."

— Haley Waugh, Boston Night Life

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Recent Blogs

New holiday cover of Oi To ...
Dec 19, 2011
Our Christmas present to you is a rowdy cover of Oi To The World by The Vandals ... [more]

NEW EP "WE WERE PROMISED BE...
Apr 9, 2011
We just finished up our new EP "We Were Promised Better" at New Alliance Studios... [more]

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Songs

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Oi To The World (Va…

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Accidents Happen

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Blacktop

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The Still Life

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All For Nothing

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Videos

[phlipcam video] The Tin Thistles @ T. T. The Bear's Place

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Shows

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2012
Oct 19

Cantab Lounge
Cambridge, MA, US | 8:00pm
Cantab Lounge
Cambridge, MA, US
Fri Oct 19, 2012 8:00pm
- Show Details
- Tickets
Details

The Young Leaves, The Tin Thistles, Wolfie Burns, The Dead Records (on tour from IN), and 3TV's.
2012
Sep 23

Middle East Upstairs
Mid-Cambridge, MA, US | 8:00pm
Middle East Upstairs
Mid-Cambridge, MA, US
Sun Sep 23, 2012 8:00pm
- Show Details
- Tickets
2012
Sep 23

Middle East Downstairs
Cambridge, MA, US | 7:00pm
Middle East Downstairs
Cambridge, MA, US
Sun Sep 23, 2012 7:00pm
- Show Details
- Tickets
Details

THE TIN THISTLES ARE DEAD Sunday September 23rd THE TIN THISTLES (Last show ever / Split CD release) HOOKERCLOPS (Hometown rock n' roll kings) WELTER (Philadelphia alt punks) OLD HAT (The only band that has ever mattered) 3TV'S (Jamaica Plain's equipment kings) at The Middle East (upstairs) 473 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02139 7:30 Doors (get there early) $9.00 18+
2012
Aug 25

ROSEBUD BAR AND GRILL
Somerville, MA, US | 1:51pm
ROSEBUD BAR AND GRILL
Somerville, MA, US
Sat Aug 25, 2012 1:51pm
- Show Details
- Tickets
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The Tin Thistles, The Caught Flies, The Murder Weapon, The Evil Streaks, and Old Hat. More info TBA.
2012
Jul 30

Midway Cafe
Boston, MA, US | 8:00pm
Midway Cafe
Boston, MA, US
Mon Jul 30, 2012 8:00pm
- Show Details
- Tickets
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Wolfie Burns, 3TV's, The Tin Thistles, and one more TBA.