Girl at the Rock Shows

You had two options last night. You could sit at home, fretting over the election results, or you could distract yourself with something like live music. I bet you’ll never guess what choice I made. Just kidding. Although I was optimistic about how the election would go, I loaded up my night with two amazing shows to distract myself, just in case the results didn’t go the way I wanted, so I wasn’t obsessively checking numbers all night. One of those shows was at my home away from home – First Avenue- and it was just the kind of energy that I needed to distract myself. Honestly, I think there were moments during my time at the iconic venue when I completely forgot an election was even happening.

Atlanta-based Lowertown opened and was the only band I knew absolutely nothing about on the stacked, four-band bill. With a very indie-pop sound (especially compared to the other three nights of the show), Lowertown got the night off to a great start and let people ease into the show. Lowertown is technically a duo consisting of Olivia Osby (lead vocals, guitar) and Avsha Weinberg (lead vocals, guitar), but on Tuesday night, they came in the form of a full band. Even with additional players on stage, Olivia and Avsha had no trouble commanding the crowd and the speakers throughout their quick opening set. Although their sound was definitely in the indie-pop vein, some moments felt a wee bit harder and a wee bit more angsty than I think you’d find on their recordings. Maybe that was to fit the bill and lean a bit more into the heavy side of things, or maybe that is just what you get when you see Lowertown live. Either way, I was here for it and really enjoyed my short time spent with this band.

I had honestly never heard the music of Big Boy (the next band to take the stage) before this show, but I had a buddy and fellow photographer talking this band up to the point where I felt I had been listening to them for years when they took the stage and leaped into their set. My buddy warned me this felt like a weird addition to the tour, since Big Boy is a much more straight-up hardcore band than the rest of the line-up, and he was right, but I think he and I both underestimated how well Big Boy’s sound would fit the overall night. Sure, it was hardcore, complete with vocalist Brandon Flores asking the audience to show him their best two-stepping, but at the same time, there was tenderness behind the intensity. It was subtle- don’t get me wrong- and maybe it was just because of the mood that I was in that I picked up on it, but there was an attention to detail and a feeling of care behind the quick, blasting songs that Big Boy performed during their set. Sure, moments of high-energy chaos and intensity highlighted Big Boy’s overall intense set, but I think what this band did best was introduce some people in the audience who may never consider themselves hardcore fans to the hardcore world. I wouldn’t call them a gateway drug in general, but, in the context of this show, that’s exactly what they felt like, and I loved that not just for the band, but for the audience.

I’ll never forget the first time I saw English rockers High Vis. It was at Riot Fest. I had been shooting on one of the smaller side stages and was about to pack up and shift to the main stage when a fellow photographer told me I would be a smart cookie if I stayed where I was and checked out High Vis. I did, and I haven’t looked back since. From the energy of this band to their overall sound, I was in love and, although it has taken years to get the chance to see them again finally, I was more than ecstatic and even slightly anxious as they took the stage on Tuesday night. Would the vibe be the same, or had High Vis changed like so many other bands? Well, the answer is that they have changed, but changed in a way, like a wine gets better with time. High Vis has perfected their unique blend of hardcore, post-punk, and indie rock, and their live show matches that perfection, as we all saw on Tuesday night. It’s not just the sound of this band; it’s the overall performance. The energy of every member was palpable throughout their set. I felt like vocalist Graham Sayle really wanted to spend the set doing epic jumps as I had at Riot Fest years ago, but the crowded stage kept him from finding the room. Instead of just giving in and leaning into a relaxed state, he did what he could with the space he was given. He and the rest of the band brought an intense energy to the room, but, like the previous two bands, there was something accessible and welcoming about it. If you were one of the many people in the audience who had never heard of this band before this show, you surely fell in love. If you, like me, knew what was in store for the set, I feel like you still walked away with a little more love for this band than you had walking in.

Basement closed out Tuesday night at the First Avenue Mainroom. I feel like this is one of those bands that I just never think of. That’s nothing against them or anything like that, but I feel like I’m quickly reminded how big of an idiot I am for not being obsessed with this group every time I see them live. Hailing from Ipswich, Suffolk, England, and getting started back in 2009, this band has been an almost constant in the post-hardcore world. Although I’d call them a post-hardcore band overall, I feel like they have so much more to offer than that. Some songs feel like classic, no-frills post-hardcore, but for most of their set on Tuesday night, I was being volleyed between worlds of pop-punk, grunge, alt-rock, and even some emo moments here and there. Although the sound kept changing and evolving on stage, one thing didn’t: the heart and intensity radiating from the stage. Whether it was moments when the entire band was jumping to the beat or moments when vocalist Andrew Fisher seemed to be having a slight breakdown based on the emotion he gave to every single word, there was something not just to see here, but to feel.

It wasn’t just the band that I was watching as my Tuesday night at First Avenue came to a close; it was also the audience. Just as you could feel and see the band’s passion on stage, you could feel and see the audience’s. From the hundreds of fists that shot into the air the second the band started playing “Covet” to the few brave souls that decided to surf their way up to the front of the audience, there was something electric in the air, and it wasn’t just because of the election results that were rolling in. Truthfully, it was during Basement’s set when I completely forgot what was happening in the outside world. All that mattered to me then was the music, the band, the people around me, and the feeling of seeing passion, dedication, and love come to life on a stage right in front of my eyes.

How did you spend your Tuesday night? Were you at home fretting over the election results, home ignoring the outside world, or out there celebrating community and music at a concert because, at the end of the day, the elected officials can only do so much, and we have to rely on ourselves and those around us? I hope you made the right call.

Line Up:

Lowertown

Big Boy

High Vis

Basement

Venue: First Avenue

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing Notable

Average Age of the Crowd: 34

Crowd Surfers- 4 Counted (but I’m sure there were more that I didn’t catch as I was bouncing between two shows)

Stage Divers- 0

Mosh-ability- 8 out of 10

Sausage-Fest-Meter- 7 out of 10

Amount of Beer Spilled On Me While Walking Around- $0

Broken Bones- None

Spotted Flying Through The Air- a few bodies

Fights- None

Pukers- None

Passed Out People- None

Celebrity Sightings – None

Overall Score – 8.8 out of 10

How Many Times I’ve Seen These Bands Before (or at least how many times I can remember)-

Lowertown – 0

Big Boy – 0

High Vis – 2

Basement – 3

Show on Deck – Post Sex Nachos / The Foxies / JACK

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