Slow Pulp bring Melodie to Roadrunner on Nov 14

The band's biggest North American tour yet reaches Boston Landing a day after Brooklyn, with Her New Knife and Ivy opening.

Roadrunner is named for a song about driving around Massachusetts at night with the radio on. On Saturday, Nov 14, it gets a band that has spent the fall doing exactly that across North America.

Slow Pulp plays Roadrunner on Saturday, Nov 14, at 8 p.m., with Her New Knife and Ivy opening. Tickets are on sale through AXS. It is a 3,500-capacity room, which tells you how far the band has come.

The occasion is Melodie, Slow Pulp's third album, released Sept 18 on ANTI-. The band announced it in June alongside the lead single "Better Man," BrooklynVegan reported, and followed with "Not for Nothing" in July and "Spill" in August, so by the time the record landed, a good chunk of it was already in fans' rotation. The tour behind it is billed as the band's biggest North American run to date, per Melodic Magazine. It started in mid-October in St. Louis, has worked its way through the West, including Phoenix on Oct 31 and Dallas on Nov 3, and includes what the band calls its biggest hometown show yet, at Chicago's Salt Shed.

Boston comes right on the heels of New York: Slow Pulp plays Brooklyn Paramount on Nov 13 with the same two openers, mxdwn reported, then makes the drive up for Saturday. Openers on this tour vary from city to city, so Boston getting both Her New Knife and Ivy is a good draw; show up for the early sets. After the North American run, the band heads overseas, with UK and European dates starting Jan 29 in Glasgow.

As for the room: Roadrunner opened in March 2022 at 89 Guest St., inside the Boston Landing complex next to The TRACK at New Balance, with Billy Strings playing the inaugural show, Vanyaland reported. Run by The Bowery Presents, which also operates The Sinclair in Cambridge and Royale in the Theatre District, it was billed at opening as the largest indoor general-admission music venue in New England, according to WBUR. The name is a nod to the Modern Lovers track, which Bowery called a musical love letter to Massachusetts.

For a band that has moved up through Boston's smaller rooms over the years, a headline night here is a statement. A general-admission floor this size rewards early arrival if you want to be close, and it is roomy enough in the back if you would rather just listen.

Getting there: Roadrunner is in Allston-Brighton, and Boston Landing has its own commuter rail stop on the Framingham/Worcester Line, per WBUR's coverage of the opening. Leave time either way; Saturday nights there move slowly at the doors.

Three bands, one big room, and a new record to hear out loud. That is a good Saturday.

Sources: Slow Pulp announce new album, share 'Better Man' (BrooklynVegan) (brooklynvegan.com); Slow Pulp announces biggest North American tour to date (Melodic Magazine) (melodicmag.com); Slow Pulp at Brooklyn Paramount on November 13th (mxdwn) (music.mxdwn.com); Slow Pulp - Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org); Roadrunner opens (Vanyaland) (vanyaland.com); Bowery Presents new venue Roadrunner (WBUR) (wbur.org); Roadrunner music venue (WBUR) (wbur.org); AXS - Slow Pulp tickets (axs.com)