A Night Jamming to Emo With Some Poorly Named Bands |

I thought I liked emo a lot; turns out I love it.

Important: I’m not talking about emo pop like My Chemical Romance or Fall Out Boy. Please abandon those presumptions before continuing.

I came to this show for the opening act, The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die. (It kills me to say it out loud and it’s a pain to type but I love them still.) They’re an 8-piece project from Connecticut and a key player in the recent emo revival. They are also super nice and normal people and strikingly receptive to fans. Their Facebook page, for example, is full of affable requests for places to crash along their tour (and enthusiastic replies of hospitality).

Their show came midway through a tour with Caspian and 65daysofstatic, two instrumental post-punk artists from Massachusetts and England, respectively, that I had never heard of. But I was so eager for TWIABP that I didn’t care.

Still, I was hesitant about being a part of the crowd. I’ve never seen any sort of live shoegaze so I wasn’t sure how the audience reacts. I usually listen to emo when I’m driving or walking or chillin’ in my room, and my heart jams so hard but my body stays pretty neutral. I couldn’t even imagine a mosh pit, despite the more punk-inspired moments.

When we got there, there wasn’t much distinct passion emanating from the crowd. It was like I imagined but for some reason I thought it wouldn’t be. It felt like a house show, and it was fantastic. Between songs, anonymous audience members would yell out song requests or compliments on the band’s latest release, slightly endearing in their excessive volume. The band’s response was just as good as the crowd’s active passion in the music. They would reply to the comments in soft candid remarks, sometimes gracious for the compliments, sometimes offering a playful “fuck you” to the goofy yells. Besides this great atmosphere, and probably because of it, the music somehow sounded way better. I recommend emo, but try it live before you knock it.

Bottom of the Hill itself, despite being a bit scrappy and geographically lonely, is strikingly real and personal and feels like an important part of the neighborhood. There are polite signs about noise outside the doors and it turns out neighbors rallied against the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control when the all-age club was almost shut down. I can tell there isn’t much else that brings people to this area.

I liked Caspian a lot but I was nearly asleep by the end. The 45-ish minutes of dreamy ambient rock completely enveloped me. The songs smoothly oscillated in intensity and were equally appealing during both peaks and lulls in energy. Whenever I remembered to lift my sleepy head, the dark gray-clad, somewhat burly crew of men was displaying commendable stage energy, humbly passionate. They felt so alive and it didn’t surprise me when I went home and found out they’re mourning the recent loss of their bass player. A fan behind us excitedly praised them to his friend, having also just heard them for the first time: “It’s like my ears had a fucking musical orgasm.” I wouldn’t sacrifice anything to see them live again but I still want to download them and jam it as homework soundtrack or nighttime driving music.

Once 65daysofstatic took the stage, we walked out during the second or third song. One couple had left seconds earlier and another was right behind us. I think it would’ve helped to be drunk, like most of the crowd was at that point. I tried to check them out online a month or so before the show and was never inspired to maintain that, but I’m also not as into heavy post-punk. Most of the room was visibly into the show, driving their heads and bodies like high-speed Infamous Drinking Birds. It was a fun environment to be a part of but I was too tired after Caspian and too unenthusiastic about the relentless and aggressive sound to stick around.

Before you dismiss a genre, see it live first. Music isn’t meant to be limited to isolated online tracks stripped of artist context. The musicians’ and crowd’s mutual dedication to the experience of live performance elevates the significance of any composition. I probably won’t be listening to 65daysofstatic again but I feel comfortable about that decision. I’m glad I felt what it’s like to see instrumental rock like Caspian, because I never would’ve otherwise. And, of course, I love TWIABP a whole lot more.

Check out TWIABP, Caspian, and 65daysofstatic at their websites.