Girlpool
There were many familiar faces at the Girlpool shows October 5 and October 6 at the Middle East in Cambridge, advice both in the crowd and on stage, purchase considering that opening acts IAN (10/5) and Gracie (10/6) are locals. I used to work with Gracie drummer Travis Hagan at Trader Joe’s and the bass player is none other than Sam Potrykus, co-founder of The Boston Hassle. The idea of distinguishing differences between the two performances was confusing; for one thing Girlpool isn’t a jam band, they’re a punk two-piece, so the concept of commenting on the subtle differences in songs is lost. To me there was no difference. The set lists both nights were comprised of songs off their latest release, “Before The World Was Big”.
Jilian Medford of IAN kicked things off on the first night with her saccharine sweet vocals and lyrics about love, confusion, and being sad. It’s the sweetness of her voice paired with honest lyrics about relationship woes and uncertainty that makes her dreamy pop songwriting work. She sounds distinctly un-Berklee despite it being her alma mater; rather, the California native translates some Best Coast-esque melodies.
Told Slant took the stage next. The quiet indie four-piece is part of the Epoch Collective, which also includes members of fellow show openers Eskimeaux. It was like going to a Frankie Cosmos and Porches show back in the good old days when Greta Kline was in both bands. Told Slant delivered emotionally charged lyrics over powerful drum beats, and lead singer Felix Walworth repeatedly thanked the audience for staying quiet enough for his hushed vocals to ring out.
As Eskimeaux’s set began, singer (and Told Slant bandmate) Gabrielle Smith joked, “Round of applause for Told Slant, man I love those guys.” The set was really emotional; the four-piece played most of the O.K. EP, their newest release comprised of songs about hurting and being hurt, sadness, and nature.
When Girlpool began to set up I noticed they had coordinated outfits, intentionally or unintentionally, with Cleo Tucker in a black turtleneck and Harmony Tividad in a white turtleneck. The coordination reminded me of the chorus, “I just miss how it felt standing next to you, wearing matching dresses” off their title track from their second EP, “Before The World Was Big”.
Now here is where I’m going to make note of the ever-so-subtle differences in performances. The first night, October 5th, was hands-down the best. The Middle East Downstairs is far superior to The Middle East Upstairs; it’s a bummer, but it’s true. Downstairs can fit way more people. Eskimeaux was particularly stoked to be playing downstairs saying they had never before played to so many people. Also, for some reason, the sound was really funky the following night. Told Slant’s guitarist/keyboard player had issues with their amp, when they started to play there was considerable feedback which led to jokes about it being intentional and “so metal”. Told Slant also does this call and response thing with their song “Tsunami” with the chorus, “Isn’t this silly and aren’t you beautiful” being sung to the audience and then sung by the audience. The second night they didn’t ask for the audience to sing along for whatever reason. Girlpool also faced some difficulty with a faulty guitar cable that disrupted their set. Apparently mercury was still in retrograde or something? I was also pretty bummed when after the first night a small group of audience members began to chant “Jane” referring to the song off their self-titled EP, to which they ignored. Maybe they didn’t feel like screaming or playing old material, but there is something magical that happens when a band interacts with the audience, and they just weren’t down. It’s going to be hard to forget these shows and I’m certain no other show this October is going to measure up to them no matter how off-kilter the sound was 10/6.
