See you in the pit
Students share their local concert photos and experiences with the Justice.
The pandemic brought the Boston area’s active live music scene to a grinding halt. Over the past year, local venues gradually reopened as artists went back on the road. Brandeis students have been making the most of the return of concerts in (and around) Boston.
“I love live music so much. When you're at a concert, you have to be in the moment — it’s a very visceral experience. There's simply no better high than a concert high,” Jane Flautt ’23 said.
“Nothing is better than the energy of live music," Anna Martin '26 told the Justice.
Aileen Cahill ’23 was introduced to the underground music scene in Lowell, Massachusetts through her brother, who started a band along with two of Cahill's high-school friends. "I came to a random show once to support them. I was thinking I would be there for maybe 30 minutes, just to show my face, because punk shows are not my thing," Cahill explained.
LOCAL: Sludge, a Lowell band, at a basement show at a house venue; "The biggest venues for shows are these massive ten-bedroom houses from the late 1800s, like Tango’s and The Valley. Everyone that lives in these houses are in multiple bands," Aileen Cahill '23 said of the Lowell music scene.
At that first show, Cahill ended up meeting the members of other local bands. "They told me about their shows next week, and I thought they were cool people, so I went again," she said, adding "They all take their art incredibly seriously. They practice constantly and their whole lives are about this."
“The Lowell scene is a genuine community. … Once you go to one show, you’re in," Cahill said, "It’s impossible to not feel like you’re part of it, even as a spectator. … I know it’s the same guys playing every week, but the houses have this vibrant energy to them. I can’t help but go — I’m in it now.”
HOUSE SHOWS: The Roaches are a local band in the Lowell music scene, which primarily consists of shows in large houses where many band members also live.
The iconic emo band My Chemical Romance embarked on a reunion tour in 2022, their first tour in almost ten years. The pandemic delayed the tour, which was originally set to begin in 2020. "It’s really exciting to see them being weird and having fun on stage again!" Zoe Popovic '23 said. They saw the band perform in Boston in early September, then flew to Atlanta less than two weeks later to see them again.
"I really valued being able to hear songs that were so important to me when I was younger performed live, when I thought I never would," Popovic said, adding, "That experience caused me to reflect a lot on what the band means to me and how I have grown with them."
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