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off. The crowd started to
cheer, “Bray-ver-
ree. Bray-ver-ree.” You
got to hand it to Seattleites: they sure
do know how to party.
The Bravery recently took the stage
at Neumos in downtown Seattle, performing
alongside British rockers
Switches and This Vegas. And believe
me, this was a party.
Before the concert even started, a 100
- person queue had formed around the
block. Five minutes before This Vegas
were to play, Neumos had already
swelled to its maximum capacity–a
rare event by any Seattle standard.
This Vegas performed with all the panache
that their name suggests: lively
beats, the twang of a distorted guitar,
and a whole lot of head rocking.
The band writhed their way through
an impressive eight-song set, getting
Neumos to sweat and clamor for
Switches to come.
Next up were Switches, who began
their set by thanking Seattle. Humbly,
they said, “ ‘Ello Seattle, thank you for
having us.”
Truthfully, we were happy to have
them. The lead singer Matty Bishop
stomped his way through a frenetic set
list that included everything from punk
rock ballads to classic indie rock—recalling
the multiple sounds of bands
like The Shins. As with many concerts,
the crowd took some time to build momentum,
but through the band’s quirky
banter and edgy take on glam rock they
got pumped.
Those looking down from the balcony
saw a much different concert: a lead
singer hanging off the stage, a microphone
near-glued to his mouth—pulling
the strings of a sold-out crowd. By
the end of the set, the Brit quartet had
rallied the crowd to a dancing frenzy.
As The Bravery took the stage, silence
slowly crept over the masses. The lights
were turned off as the crowd shouted
the band’s heroic name. Clapping together,
the crowd roared as the band
began playing.
By the chorus on the first song, the
floor began to flex and bend under the
force of so many jumping fans. Opening
with their debut album hit ‘Fearless,’
‘Hovering Love’ comes to campus
Trio of indie groups rock
sold-out show at Neumos
Photo by da VID KASNIC
Bastai’s latest work, “Hovering Love” is installed at the ceiling of College Gallery. College Gallery is located in 1000 Building.
Photo by daniel berman
Switchers’ Matty Bishop rocks out in their show on Friday
they harnessed the crowd’s energy
song after song. The highlight
of their set was watching
the defiant and swaggering lead
singer Sam Endicott crowd surf
as the band screamed the lyrics
to “Unconditional.”
The band worked to build
rapport with the crowd and
seemed genuinely happy to be
playing in Seattle that evening.
The song “Swollen Summer”
played as the clock struck midnight
and it was time for The
Bravery to bid their goodbyes.
They bowed and left the stage
to a deafening din of applause,
but this crowd had not had
enough just yet.
So they started shouting.
They kept clapping. They
grabbed each other by the hand
and started pumping them in
the air. And then The Bravery
came back on the stage. They
promised just one more and
delivered two songs before gliding
off the stage and leaving the
crowd in awe.
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