A Night of Pain and Joy and Hope and Anguish
The evening of Sunday, September 21st ended up being an incredibly cathartic experience. My friend Cassie and I headed to the Pyramid Scheme (best venue in the world, of the many venues I’ve attended) to cover the sold out La Dispute show, also featuring Glitterer (Washington, DC) and Tummyache (United Kingdom). Cassie was there as a first time concert photographer, though her photo credits for other types of work are extensive. She is also a longtime La Dispute fan, seeing them several times, including in the early days of their career. I came in as a pretty casual La Dispute fan, knowing nothing about the openers, and then had my life changed. All photos by Cassie Groters.
Tummyache
Coming into the evening, I knew absolutely nothing about either opener. Tummyache in particular were a revelation. Wow, just wow. Beautiful compositions. Beautiful, heartfelt vocals, with lyrics that felt very personal. Lyricist/vocalist/guitarist Soren Bryce shone bright. Excellent support in laying the rhythmic foundation from bassist Linus Fenton and drummer Darin Harger. I found this set very moving. Tummyache presents what felt like mostly dreampop, but with some real visceral punk teeth at times, as well as a (to me) Sinead O’Conner vibe. I will be watching their career from here forward.
Glitterer
Glitterer includes Ned Russin (Title Fight) on bass and vocals, Nicole Dao on keys, Jonas Farah on drums, and Connor Morin on guitar. The band came out and rocked a strong set of emo/screamo anguish which was very well received by the audience. I love the inclusion of strong keyboard parts in the compositions, and Dao rocked them, a real standout for this band to me.
La Dispute
Of course, everyone was really there for hometown heroes La Dispute. I’ve heard them called lots of different genres – screamo, emo, indie rock, posthardcore – but after seeing them, it is very clear to me that they are the embodiment of punk. As a decades long punk, I mean that as a high compliment, and hope it lands that way. The power and emotion conjured by drummer Brad Vander Lugt, guitarist Chad Morgan-Sterenberg, guitarist Corey Stroffolino, bassist Adam Vass, and vocalist Jordan Dreyer was overwhelming (complimentary). The lyrics of these songs are so poetic, so wrought with visceral emotion, so confessional in ways that feel personal to me as someone seeing them live for the first time. And then the musicians frame the lyrics so expertly in whatever soundscape best highlights the message, regardless of genre convention. There is a beautiful synergy in what they do.
Biography: Hayduke X has been writing for MoshPitNation since June of 2016. He is also a contributor to The Metal Wanderlust. Prior to joining the MoshPitNation team, Hayduke published reviews on his own blog Rage and Frustration. In addition, he has DJ’ed an online metal radio show of the same name as his blog, written for TOmetal.com, done interviews for Metal Rules, and collaborated with The Art of B Productions to create video interviews with a wide variety of bands.
