It would be impossible to walk away from last Thursday’s show at the Middle East without feeling a sense of empowerment. With a killer lineup and no bands sounding the same the night was brimming with a DIY attitude.
No wave duo Ursula started off the show confrontational and tense with dissonant guitarist Caity O’Hear stalking the stage backed by the minimal drumming of Sonam Parikh sounding reminiscent of early Sonic Youth. I couldn’t take my eyes off her guitar on “Prom Song” as she didn’t strum so much as stab her pick against the strings while holding down a chord and recounting an awkward prom night. Initially it’s hard to tell if their lyrics are meant to be funny but song titles like “President Garfield’s Spaghetti Intestines.” made it clear. At times it felt like a borderline art performance especially towards the end when O’Hear abandoned her instrument and walked through the audience singing and falling back into people.
Up next, Gauche helped ease the atmosphere and get everyone dancing. Fun and bouncy, the sextet felt like a reincarnation of the B-52s. With so many members the potential for band interplay was high and they didn’t disappoint. It became addictive to watch as the music pinged back and forth on stage between all the instruments and singers.
Making their US debut on this tour (and first time playing in Boston!), Shopping (UK) followed with a set inspired by one of their own countries great contributions to the world; Gang of Four. Shuffling beats, upstroke rhythms and steady base lines turned the crowd into a pogoing sea of people. The band looked like they were having the time of their life including the barefoot guitarist who treated the stage floor like hot lava.
Closing out the night The Downtown Boys set brought the audience to a near riot level. Speaking on behalf of the bilingual band, singer Victoria Ruiz riled the crowd up before songs with talk of entitlement, independence and rights like she was shaking a soda to throw. Her introductions were vital as many of their songs are in Spanish and no doubt the significance of the lyrics would be lost on some fans. Just as her words would peak the band would come on in a rush and start going off the rails like a speeding train. Despite a pepper spray bottle going off and broken strings during the show nothing could slow this band down. Ending with “Monstro” the stage became a picture of solidarity from handing the mic to a young black woman to sing “She’s brown, she’s smart” to Ruiz helping many black men and women on the stage to dance with the band.
Whether the night inspired some to join a cause or start a band a fire was undeniably set within the audience members.
