Weekend Preview 9/24 - 9/26
Photo by Ryan Russell
WAXAHATCHEE (+HENRY HALL)
MEMORIAL CHAPEL // FRIDAY 10:00 PM
I’ve been waiting a long time for this show to happen. Not exactly for this particular mesmeric opportunity to see Katie Crutchfield, a.k.a Waxahatchee, play acoustic versions of songs that my 16 year-old self longed to hear (because whose 16 year-old self didn’t need to be reassured that their very strange existence in the world of teenage-dome was all okay), but this has been a long time coming to say the least.
This summer, I made the trek from the stagnant suburbs of Long Island (which btw Crutchfield was living on during most of the time she spent writing her newest album, Ivy Tripp) to see a riverside show with Speedy Ortiz and Waxahatchee with some Wes friends. Speedy Ortiz played an awesome set, but just as Crutchfield was about to start, the sky started bawling and we left soaked to the core and with a longing to hear Crutchfield’s oh so honest melodies.
Crutchfield’s experience writing and playing music is a pretty dense mix of d.i.y punky indie tunes to alternative rock made with her sister Allison Crutchfield of Swearin’ (who played at Eclectic in the spring semester of 2014). Moving from the louder sounds of pop-punk band P.S. Eliot she played in with her sister in earlier years, Waxahatchee’s music is clear and beautifully crafted. It’s frank and to the point and simultaneously truthful and personal. Listening to Crutchfield’s lyrics thoughtfully layered over sweet guitar riffs and drumming feels like all the nostalgia of summer you ache for because it was pretty great and now you have to prep yourself for the frigid winter of Connecticut.
So by some weird workings of the universe (and the fact that Wes kids have pretty sweet music tastes), Waxahatchee will be here in our very own Memorial Chapel on Friday to entrance you by candlelight for an intimate evening that I promise will make all your dreams come true, or least leave you feeling like everything is maybe o.k. <3
Henry Hall ('14), who some may remember from his Grand Cousin days, is making the trek from NY back to Wes with swoon-worthy melodies, ambient synths, and clean guitar-sounds. Budding off of Grand Cousin's sound, Hall's solo work is "kind of an extension of that, moving in a direction that’s more personal to me with lyrics and instrumentation". This little bit of falsetto echoing through dark crevices of the Chapel may be the cure to your sins.
A very ~rare~ photo of Maya Stevens '17 looking like Gerard Way
Maya Stevens (‘17), Delilah Seligman Cervantes (‘16), and Harim Jung (‘16) are morose and ready to unleash their angst on the school in their debut performance as Dark Circles, Wesleyan’s premier pop-punk cover band. Do you miss the days of overwrought scene hair, iPod Nanos and skinny jeans galore (I know I do)? If the answer is “yes,” then rummage through your emotional baggage, wear those bangs long and come on down to hear riotous renditions of all your favorite middle school jams.
Swipe Right is here to facilitate your reentry into the corporeal world with some good old-fashioned indie rock. They’ll be doling out tasteful covers and ostentatious originals for your aural enjoyment. I ask: “Send a message or keep playing?” Swipe Right plans on doing both.
Kicking things off is resident sound sculptor Matthew Chilton ('16). If you should embrace his dense, phantasmagoric loops, for a fleeting moment, your soul will slip through the bars of its battered prison and bask in the weightless splendor of sonic transcendence. Groovy? Groovy.
RUI BARBOSA(+MOM)
EARTH HOUSE // SATURDAY 10:00 PM
While Rui Barbosa is a Brazilian politician with a pretty wicked stache' it is also a Wes jamfunkrock band that loves bass solos, Whey station, and other jambands. Maybe covering Ariana Grande, maybe covering the theme song to your favorite childhood tv show...Rui is full of lots of surprises. Come to groove and lose yourself in the beat, stay for Steve.
Mom makes really good chocolate chip cookies and checks your planner to make sure you're staying focused on your studies. Mom is also incredible and manages to have the time to play for the third weekend in a row. Jonah is playing his fourth and fifth shows since the beginning of the semester. Come see Mom (and lots of Jonah) as they open for Rui. They "love nothing more than to make you say 'Wow I really like this band.'"
Jonah enoying a day at the beach
SUBLIME99
ECLECTIC // SATURDAY 10:30 PM
Sublime99 is a collective of artists, founded in exploration and meaningful discussion of visual art, music, design and life. They're stopping by Eclectic this Saturday on their fall tour, and are bringing musical artists such as The Nameless Vagrant, Jak Lizard, Yoh The Shaolin, Sado-San, and Devoye. Sublime invites you to chill and "come vibe, have fun and most of all peep the 99 style."
