When it’s 8 p.m. on a Saturday and MEISA is in the ballroom, you should be there for an amazing show. On Oct. 6, it was a lengthy, but incredibly phenomenal show featuring Smoke Signals, If I Were We, A Film In Color, HaborLights and Babytown Frolics. These bands used peculiar tactics, but it was still an amazing concert.
Smoke Signals is an ambient, heavy rock band from Marlborough, Conn. With Ben Kopchick on drums, Andre Nuzz on bass, Xander Kousen on guitar and backup vocals, and TJ Tetreault leading, they are a well-designed band with songs you should listen to. Their performance was so good; I wish I had recorded it. They were pumped, and it reflected onto the audience. The lyrics, guitar, bass and drums fit perfectly as they performed. Currently unsigned, they just play to have a good time and rock with the audience. Check them out on Facebook!
If I Were We is a post-rock band from the University of New Haven. They were such a good band to listen to. Consisting of Michael Quick on guitar, Jeff Eckhardt on drums, Nico Weilmann on bass and Thomas Stringer on another guitar, this band doesn’t need a singer to complete them. Most bands do, but because their melodies are so brilliant, their music functions exceptionally well without one. At one point, Quick played the guitar as if it were a cello and created mixed feelings to the song. All the players did superb, and you should go on Facebook to learn more about the band. There’s no music up yet, but keep an eye on them for their next performance!
A Film In Color was odd and astonishing with their performance. From Bergen County, N.J., members Alex, Eric and Josh used various guitar pedals, voice recordings and drums to smoothly sync harmonies into the audience’s ears. It was oddly incredible. The recordings sounded similar to something from The Exorcist, but functioned so well that it transitioned to the climax of the each song. It would get quiet, pianissimo almost, and the recording of a man just talking would play. Then the song drastically changes and sounds so good. This is another band that does not need a singer. All three are talented; find them on Facebook for more!
HaborLights comes from Revere, Mass., and is another band you have to listen to. Post-rock and with no singer needed, Matthew Wright, Matt Ellsworth and Andrew Diaz make music that is invigorating to the ears. Using similar pedals and recordings like A Film In Color, HaborLights make sweet melodies with smooth transitions look unbelievably easy. Matthew’s guitar playing, along with Matt’s drumming and Andrew’s bass skills, make the perfect combination of a post-rock band bound to be well-known pretty soon. With their tracks produced, engineered and mixed by Mike Moschetto, they’ve got songs that will reshape your stance on post-rock. Check them out on Facebook and Bandcamp!
Babytown Frolics, post-rock with UNH as their ground, is a combination of three dudes who know how to make music. DJ Cormier, Jon Scranton and Tim Burke (with Kevin Boettger and Greg Lake also playing part), are undeniably brilliant in creating pulsating tracks, which paint countless pictures in the minds of those who listen. Voice recordings and pedals are another element found here. Collaborating with Firehouse 12 (a well-known studio in New Haven), Josh Pettinger of Wicked Squid Productions, Pat Dowling and UNH’s Audio Engineering Society, these musicians have the tools and talent for becoming bigger than they already are. Their songs are wickedly good, with and without vocals. Check them out on Facebook and Bandcamp, you will not regret it!
Overall, all these musicians are talented and love what they do. They did an outstanding job on Saturday and are all well worth listening to. The shows MEISA puts out are phenomenal. If you’re missing out on these great bands, come to the next show. The ballroom is far, but it’ll be worth it. Don’t miss out!
