The Smiths, unfortunately, did not attend the event.
After Griffen Alexander finished his set about the constriction of major labels and Facebook and heart break and romance and every other theme spun by Jason Mraz and the Abercrombie model looking, acoustic guitar wielding mafia present in the music industry, the MOBROC show was set to commence. The setting was intimate; the lights dim, the expectations high, the coffee brewing.
This show was the first MOBROC ‘show case’ of the semester. The first band to kick things off was a project called Alas, Nebraska, a guitar duo made up of James Finucane ’13 and Alex Vancil ’13. The songs alternated between being folk-core and art-beat. Finucane strummed acoustic while Vancil picked ‘lectric. Though they weren’t backed by drums, Alas, Nebraska provided strong rhythm and tasty vibes. It was a nice intro set to the evening, the obvious highlight being their much-acclaimed single, “Popular Girl.”
Next up was Fleur de Lise, a guitar, cello and drums three piece headed by songstress Liz de Lise ’13, with Dan Shoukimas ’13 on cello and Gautam Sinha ’13 on drums. She describes their sound as, “Oy…um… 90s folk pop,” but to me it’s more fem-beat or girl-core. The band provided a mellow atmosphere as vocals and cello braided together seamlessly, belting out hits such as “Army Bag” to an adoring crowd. It was a great string of songs.
Nixon Fingers, a new Andrew Crimer ’11 couples project, was arguably the cutest band to play. Sloppy, gritty and dusty, Nixon Fingers churned out 15 minutes of skinny-jean’d post-punk. Nate Pope ’12 banged drums and Crimer’s girlfriend (Nixon) fingered bass for the group. The songs were catchy, layered with a nice Epiphone crunch characteristic of Worcester-core and choco-beat. It was Watergate set to music.
Teddy’s, an experimental grape-gaze duo consisting of Josh Gottesman ’11 and Jon Markson ’12, played afterward, signaling a turn for the absurd at the concert. Jon’s pedal chain was lit up constantly as Gottesman’s glasses consistently slipped down his nose bone during their set. It was (I believe) an improvisational set, a tribute to the Fibonacci sequence. Bleeps, bloops, zurps and da-da-da’s were abundant. Overall, their jam was confusing and a bit uncomfortable for the crowd as a whole (though the “La Bamba” cover was among the best pieces of music ever performed).
Then, Lacrosse (LAX) played and everyone bled. LAX is a sports-punk band influenced by equal parts Stalin, Black Flag and sandwiches. Members include Jon Markson (drums), James Finucane (bass) and an unidentified Ashkenazi Jew in a Duke jersey. The set was 10 minutes of chaos. Imagine a Dreidel in a blender.
The closing band was another Liz de Lise concoction titled Mostly Dimes. Their name refers to the fact the band is primarily girls, excluding Nate Pope on drums. De Lise played electric guitar for the first time in her life accompanied by Emily Bernstein ’14 on bass. The lyrics were lush with feminist slander and shouting, while the music was sweet and saucy. The sound was somewhere in between Sleater-Kinney and an easy-bake oven. Would listen again.
Overall, the MOBROC show was a huge success. Everyone was hanging out and listening to the music at their own pace, drinking mochas and grooving to the tunes. Start a band, join MOBROC and divulge your soul to the campus next time around. ;) •
An easy-bake oven is not a sound
Comparing a female artist’s sound to an Easy Bake Oven was not your best choice as a writer.