“We went to school here!” is probably not enough to warrant a homecoming response in a lot of places, but in Boston, LA-based dream rock quartet Winter were warmly welcomed by friends and family alike Wednesday night at Great Scott. Together with Tancred and Broncho, they created a diverse lineup that left everyone in the well-attended audience with something to enjoy.
Tancred has been a project of Now, Now’s Jess Abbott since 2011. Their full-length Out of the Garden came out in April, and it really delivers. They just finished up a tour supporting Speedy Ortiz and The Good Life, and played Allston last night as a final goodbye before Abbott, drummer Kevin Medina, and bassist Terrence Vitali had to go back home to different parts of the country. The trio was tight on stage, playing short catchy songs, and I heard so many influences spanning decades (From Hole, to Saves the Day, to Courtney Barnett), making their blend of pop-punk something unique and not to be missed.
Winter had undoubtedly the most fun on stage. Samira Winter’s vocals were dreamy and transfixing. Their sound was elevated to another level on stage, however, turning their brand of delicate shoegaze into a powerful odyssey of positivity. Winter left Boston in 2013, but the good folks back east never forgot about them, shouting out requests and proclamations of love to the band. These LA transplants brought a summery vibe to Great Scott on Wednesday night, which could have softened even the hardest of hearts.
Broncho was the headliner according to the set times, and their presence on stage confirmed that designation. They transformed the small stage at Great Scott by encapsulating it in a wall of mirrors, red light bulbs, and faux foliage. As an added bonus, they set up everything before the show began, so each act got to play with this backdrop, too. Lead singer Ryan Lindsey bobbed and bounced the entire set, which made his mumbling that much more indecipherable. The only word I understood during their set was when he shouted “Boston!!!!” at the very end. If you’re into hearing a very homogeneous sound for an hour, and having it delivered with non-stop moderate to high energy, Broncho’s set will suffice. They don’t mess around, not even with breaks between songs.
Each band brought a unique level of showmanship and solid tunes to the show on Wednesday, but if I had to pick, I’d say I walked away falling for Tancred. The garage pop sound made me nostalgic for the era of Sabrina the Teenage Witch (which now I think about while listening to “Hang Me”) and gel pens (very apropos for the track “Pens”). The underdog of the evening, they made me happy that I showed up on time (not early!) for the gig, and Winter and Broncho made the whole evening a good example of how genres and aesthetics can mix successfully at shows.
