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The Student Underground Benefit Show Keeps Music Where it Belongs: Underground
By Alex Billig |
 | | Archaeopteryx : Photo by Alex Billig |
Despite the appeal of Pitchfork Media-acclaimed atmospheric rock collective Broken Social Scene playing across town at a glitzy Clear Channel venue on the evening of October 22nd amidst a thunderstorm, over a hundred music fans gathered in a dingy Allston basement to support The Student Underground. Though some arrived late due to the storm, the basement slowly filled up, proving that, thanks to the Internet, environmentally friendly publicity is a viable alternative to the wasteful and just goddamn annoying methods utilized by certain businesses on Lansdowne Street. The event had been announced less than two weeks earlier, and the performers were largely unknown to the attendees. Still, Bostonians with varying musical tastes came with an open mind and left feeling satisfied. Not only had their money gone to a worthy cause, but they discovered some great up-and-coming artists and witnessed the launch of a new underground venue.
The event space, dubbed The Boiler Room, is about what you would expect from its nickname: a windowless, pipe-entangled, brick dungeon. By running an extension cord to an outlet into some other out-of-sight nook of the cavernous basement, the event organizers were able to power everything they needed: some thrift store purchased lights and a couple of beat-up guitar amps. With such exorbitant production values, you would have thought U2 was about to take the stage. This brings us to the next point: there was no stage.
Noah Britton is not Bono. In fact, he may be Bono’s polar opposite. Armed with just an acoustic guitar and a distinctive baritone voice, Britton awed the audience with his simple albeit overwhelmingly soulful songs. His commanding croon delivered melodic tales of failure, tragedy, and love which somehow straddled the line that separates the sincere from the comic. Backed occasionally by alluring female cellist Jen Page, Britton, who may be Boston’s best kept secret, managed to charm his audience without any masturbatory guitar solos or pyrotechnics.
Next up was Jacob Berendes, another solo folk-inspired act. After introducing himself as “the guy that none of you know,” Berendes ditched the microphone, jangled some chords off on his electric guitar, and passionately projected his strangely appealing voice out into the crowd. His songs were as melodious and stripped down as Britton’s, but rather than being about death and frustration, the highlights of Jacob’s set were spirited tunes about pizza, synchronized swimming, and his favorite drug: sugar. His odd but captivating lyrical style provided the perfect compliment to his untamed vocal tone. By the end of his unique and engaging set, it was clear that everyone knew who Jacob Berendes was.
The final act was Archaeopteryx, a Brooklyn-based band making their first Boston appearance. There is no doubt that they surprised those who had yet to hear them. After two singer/songwriters, this cacophonous math-metal duo is probably about the last band one would have expected to see. This made their set all the more intense. With the exclusive use of drums and bass, Archaeopteryx skillfully summoned devastating vibrations which penetrated every pore of the basement. The meticulously plotted rhythms triggered some spastic dance moves from members of the crowd. The band fed off the energy and blared on, even during a momentary loss of power.
It’s true that you’ll never get to see Aerosmith or Boston (the band) in an Allston basement, but whether people know it or not, that doesn’t mean that you have to camp outside a ticket booth for three days so that you can pay Ticketmaster $50 to see them through binoculars at the Fleet Boston Pavilion Bank of America Pavilion Just Give Us Your Fucking Money Already Pavilion. There is real music in Boston. This show was proof.
Noah Britton -- www.tastygrits.com/higrecords
Jacob Berendes -- www.fujichia.com
Archaeopteryx -- www.myspace.com/archaeopteryx
Other articles by Alex Billig |
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