At first listen, you might think Rubblebucket & Diet Cig sound like the antithesis of one another. While Diet Cig is a lo-fi pop punk duo who makes you want to scream into your pillow as you vindictively scroll through your ex’s Instagram, Rubblebucket is an energetic indie pop funk band who makes you want to say “Fuck them!” and go out dancing. But both bands’ lyrics share themes of resilience against feeling like shit. Diet Cig shouts hyper-specific yet highly relatable scenarios and Rubblebucket shares dreamy metaphors that resonate in your heart in ways you can’t fully explain. Their sold out show at The Paradise on Friday had a charged air and overwhelming feelings of inclusiveness, from Diet Cig’s impromptu motivational speeches to Rubblebucket’s crowdsurfing.

When Diet Cig opened the gig, lead singer/guitarist Alex Luciano announced it was a safe space: no groping allowed in the tightly packed pit, but she granted the freedom to “get weird” with whatever dance moves the audience had, so long as those moves didn’t impede on your neighbor’s good time. The band alternated between tender songs like “Sixteen” and “Leo” (where Luciano congratulated drummer Noah Bowman on an triumphant Capricorn season, and welcomed listeners to the first Friday of Aquarius season), and cathartic noisy songs like “Pool Boyz” and “Harvard.” Diet Cig brought a veneer of glitter and wild ear-high kicks to the stage that contrasted with their songs about feeling friendless on your birthday and the exhaustion that comes with trying to live up to expectations.

Luciano sprinkled in encouraging reminders that everyone—people of color, women, genderfluid folks, and other identities—was valid in this space. No one should let straight white cis men tell them they can’t play music or participate in the scene, because rock and roll was literally created by Sister Rosetta Tharpe, a queer woman of color. After that proclamation, the lyrics, “It’s hard to be a punk while wearing a skirt,” “Speak your mind, but not too loud,” and “I don’t want to hear about who you think I am,” smouldered all the more intensely. Although Luciano admitted that she had already given up on her New Year’s resolutions 3 weeks into January, Diet Cig still exhibited a hope that life will get better.

Rubblebucket lit the stage with blue and red bisexual mood lighting, and Alex Toth and John Smith welcomed the rest of the 6-piece band to the stage with the brassy trumpet proclamations from “What Life Is.” Lead singer Kalmia Traver’s smooth crooning was a sharp contrast from Luciano’s bubblegum pop punk style, but with lyrics like “How many hours a day are you a broken tape?” Rubblebucket felt like the continuation of a theme. The band launched into the hits off their 2018 Sun Machine album including the astute anthem “Party Like Your Heart Hurts” and their admittedly salty track “Lemonade.” Perhaps the name is a nod to Beyonce, or perhaps just a nod to the proverbial “making lemons out of lemonade,” because bandleaders Kal and Alex ended their 11-year relationship prior to writing and recording this album. But based on the band’s playful choreography and theatrical performance alone, the audience wouldn’t have known if there were any sour feelings.

Several songs into the set, Kal continued a Rubblebucket tradition by instructing the audience to take a knee. (Despite the sold out venue, everyone happily complied.) Kal told everyone focus on a body part that was hurting, then say the word “love” 4 times in a meditative chant, which inspired a feeling of connectedness. That connectedness later came in handy when Alex asked if he could play trumpet while sitting on an audience member’s shoulders, followed shortly by Kal bodysurfing and singing with mic chord and all.

The other backup band members got a chance to shine too, whether it was Noga Shefi’s “fat bass” on “Sunlit Sparks,” Ryan Dugre’s inspiring guitar on “Annihilation Song,” and Jeremy Gustin crushing on drums. The crowd was ecstatic to hear old favorites like “Carousel Ride,” “If U C My Enemies,” and “Came Out of a Lady” (made all the better by Kal’s and Ryan’s and moms being in the crowd). And for the finale, enormous balloons (at least 3 feet in diameter) floated in out of nowhere. The band marched off stage and played an acoustic reprise of “Party Like Your Heart Hurts” throughout the crowd, landing at the merch table, where they stayed to talk to fans and sign merch. Now over 12 years, 5 albums, and 1 romantic relationship later, the partnership between Rubblebucket clearly still holds strong.

See below for photos from the show (in order: Rubblebucket and Diet Cig):