Last Friday night, the lights in Sarner Underground illuminated the stage with mood-setting hues as Grace Carney ’17, member of the Rockapellas and winner of Dartmouth Idol 2016, took the stage along with her band Grace and the Carnivore to headline a Friday Night Rock show that featured a trio of Boston-based alternative bands. FNR, a student run organization that works to bring alternative music acts to campus, have welcomed notable past performers such as Danny Brown, Titus Andronicus, The World Is a Beautiful Place and I’m No Longer Afraid to Die, Of Montreal, The Mountain Goats and The Front Bottoms.
Persistence finally paid off for Carney, who said she had been working with FNR since her freshman fall to play a show at Sarner.
“It’s been a long journey with FNR,” she joked.
The show turned out to be a homecoming of sorts for Du Vide and Horse Jumper of Love, the two bands that opened for Grace and the Carnivore. All three of the bands know each other well and admire each other’s work.
“Favorite Boston bands, the two of them are so good,” John Carney of Grace and the Carnivore said in praise of his fellow performers.
The bands also often collaborate with each other by playing shows together in Boston and borrowing band members from each other to round out their lineups.
The opening band, Du Vide, composed of band members Harrison Smith, Alex Fatato and Thatcher May greeted the early crowd to a show of self described “reverb indie rock,” playing songs off of their EP “Clutter.” The experimental use of reverb and raw vocals made the band stand out as an exceptional opening act.
Horse Jumper of Love, a regular in the top ranks of the Boston house show scene, played next, entertaining a larger group with their self described “slow rock” sound. Horse Jumper of Love’s mix of soft, washed out vocals along with lugubrious strumming and lyrics that can only be described as ingeniously visceral earned the band a 5.9 Pitchfork rating on their debut, self-titled album as well as an enthusiastic response from the FNR crowd.
Grace and the Carnivore took the stage last and treated the packed crowd to an outstanding show. An empty keg, a floodlight that painted the stage and crowd blue and powerful vocals accompanied by the jazz-pop-rock sound of Grace and the Carnivore was enough to work the crowd into a frenzy with many students dancing and some students even singing along to the songs.
Emily Golitzin ’18, a member of the Rockapellas, commented on the special opportunity to see a friend perform.
“I was so excited to hear her play. Her band’s new album came out last year, but I hadn’t gotten the chance to hear them live until Friday,” Golitzin said.
Although Golitzin has performed alongside Carney countless times in Rockapellas shows, she remarked that, “It’s nearly impossible to ascertain someone’s musical personality when you’re just imitating instrument sounds for six hours a week.”
FNR has been working since 2004 to make up for the lack of live music in Hanover by bringing their own shows to campus. Based on Friday’s high attendance, it seems that people crave these sorts of shows.
Vanny Nguyen ’17 who attended the show noted that the live performance creates a new kind of energy on campus.
“FNR is great because it brings night life to campus, live music is a great way to end the week and start the weekend,” Nguyen said.
Du Vide is set to tour in May with Sports Coach. The band compiled selected demos into an EP titled “Clutter” available to stream on Bandcamp.com. Horse Jumper of Love is playing next in Shea Stadium BK on May 14, and their debut self-titled album is also available on Bandcamp.com. Grace and the Carnivore is working on a new collection of songs, and they hope to tour after they complete this work. Their record, “Look at Me,” is available on Bandcamp.com.
FNR returns this Friday with a battle of the bands. Doors open at 9 p.m. and the show starts at 9:30 p.m.
