By Meg Keough
Gainesville DIY house venue The Roadhouse welcomed music enthusiasts for a night of letting loose and enjoying rock music on March 31st. Red string lights framed collage posters from previous shows on the house’s walls. A performance space with carpet and amps flanking either side marked where bands Earworms, Lovers Booth, Klept and Daydreaming performed. Rather than a typical elevated stage, the even-level living room fostered a sense of closeness between the bands and audience.
Opening the night was Gainesville-based bubble-grunge rock band Earworms. From their interactive live sound check to the encouragement of singing and dancing, Earworms’s performance was centered around bonding with the Roadhouse crowd.
“It feels like they’re people waiting to be our friends and part of the Gainesville music scene,” said Earworms bassist Mia Posada. “It makes it 100 times easier to be vulnerable as an artist and fully there to play music.”
The vulnerability shown by Earworms showed best when embracing the sweet heat present in their sound, like the taste of an Atomic Fireball candy. With anthems like their original song “ex-girl” and Alanis Morissette’s “You Oughta Know”, Earworms readied everyone to channel their inner rage with screaming and moshing to come.
After Earworms, Gainesville-based Lovers Booth brought a distinct classic rock style complemented with fry screams that cued in a harder sound. Lovers Booth’s original songs are ideal for rocking back and forth in the sweet spot between soft swaying and head-banging. One of the hallmarks of their performance was how they effortlessly jammed together, especially with the cohesion between drumming and guitar hooks that closes their songs. Lovers Booth ended on a high note, as the Roadhouse crowd helped finish their set while moshing to the last songs. The atmosphere that formed while building up towards the end of their performance felt larger beyond the Roadhouse’s living room.
Savannah-based Klept followed Lovers Booth. Klept’s genre-fluid post-hardcore style shined through with their fusion of punk energy and electronic elements. The synths incorporated at the beginning of original song “Cottonmouth Cloudy” seeped into the floor and its vibrations traveled like a spider’s legs, gently dancing up to the crown of everyone’s heads. The soft hi-hat clashes and elongated waves of sound from the synthesizer were reminiscent of a snake hissing, a stunning example of the experimental live experience that Klept creates.
“I like to make people question what’s going on a little, especially at a local show,” said Klept drummer Luke Rola.
Gainesville-based Daydreaming closed the night with indie punk beats. Always one to rile up a crowd, bassist and vocalist Angus Mclelland jumped into the mosh pit. Vocalist and guitarist Joel Adcock then spun around on the floor like a Beyblade with his guitar in his arms. Perfectly paired with guitarist Collin Crews and drummer Geo Fuller, the band played in a way that uplifted each other and their listeners. Daydreaming’s knack for harnessing the audience’s infectious energy ended the night on a high note and a new way to discover the essence of punk rock at The Roadhouse.
With Earworms, Lovers Booth, Klept and Daydreaming creating an intimate connection with everyone rocking to the rhythm of the music, The Roadhouse became a “Road-home.”
Comments