Wednesday was sort of what I hope my high school reunion will be like (but know full well it wouldn’t be anywhere as cool). Bent Shapes, Houseguests, Yeehaw!, and daphne played to a crowd of many friendly and familiar faces at TT the Bear’s in Cambridge. It felt like I was there to catch up with some old friends, rather than review a local music show.
I’m pretty bummed I missed daphne, a tough yet twinkly local band who opened the show. From what I’ve heard of their music, it’s dreamy and soft, with singer Alexa Johnson on vocals, yet moving and heavy with Caleb Kaiser on drums. They’ve also mastered the art of naming songs. My favorite title (and song) from daphne so far is “Driving Down a Country Highway Blasting Weezer.”
I got there in time to see Yeehaw! which sent me traveling back in time. It brought me back to high school again, and all the pop punk ethos I wished I was cool enough to embody at that tender age of 14. Yeehaw carried on the all-black wardrobe they adopted on their summer tour, adding a flare of gravitas to their energetic pop punk jams.
Their song “Life Is a Chore” also made me think of the hours I spent watching Street Sharks (the 1990s under-appreciated ripoff of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles about crime-fighting half-dudes/half-sharks) and how great the song would have been as the theme tune to that show.
Houseguests’ set at TT’s that night was their first in a little while, but now that school’s back in session, the guys are back to practicing and gigging around Boston. The crowd was definitely excited to have them back in the city –a minor mosh pit started during their set that required some crowd control.
Their sound ranges from high-energy guitar solos to slow and sultry doowop breakdowns. If we’re sticking with my high school reunion frame of mind here, I’d definitely want Houseguests to play at my prom (if only the student advisory council was cool enough to allow it…).
And they come with their own chaperones! Noah Yastrow, singer and guitarist for Houseguests, invited his dad, Steve Yastrow, on stage to jam with them during the end of their set. The crowd loved that too, and started chanting his name. Everyone loves dads who shred.
By the time Bent Shapes was about to go on, a lot of people were starting to remember it was a Wednesday night and not the weekend, but as soon as they started their set they drew the crowd right back in. Their jangly pop was real and good. Some might say it was real good. I’d agree with them. Nothing beats “Behead Yrself, Pt. 2” from their full-length Feels Weird.
When I left TT’s that night, I left with a broad spectrum of great local tunes bouncing around in my brain. For the small crowd, each band definitely packed a punch.
Check them all out here:
daphne: daphne-boston.bandcamp.com
Yeehaw!: yeehawma.bandcamp.com
Houseguests: houseguests.bandcamp.com
Bent Shapes: bentshapes.com