By Mohit Puvvala, news correspondent
The atmosphere was cozy as people sat on the floor of AfterHours Thursday for three musical performances: Sidney Gish, Half Waif and the group From Indian Lakes. Audience members bunched together waiting for the chill music to serenade their night, hushing as the lights dimmed and Gish stepped on stage with her guitar.
While Gish is a third-year music industry major at Northeastern, she is also a rising indie songwriter in Boston. She was recently nominated for New Artist of the Year at the 2017 Boston Music Awards.
“I got a slight heads up the week before, but nothing was confirmed until the announcement of the nominees,” Gish said in an email to The News. “I’m stoked! I’m glad that people like my album.”
Gish stepped on the stage at AfterHours and played like a professional. All she had with her was a guitar and a set of recording pedals to loop sounds. However, she easily made herself seem like she had a full-on band by using the pedals precisely to record separate harmonizing sounds.
After Gish’s performance reeled audience members in, Half Waif stepped in to deliver a mind-bending performance that utilized unconventional, synthesized sounds and familiar instruments. Half Waif, an indie pop group from Brooklyn, has a huge range of songs and every song they played at the concert felt unique.
“I was completely moved by Half Waif’s performance,” said Sarah Witt, a first-year computer science major in the audience. “The band members were fully immersed in their experiential and emotive music, and their energy was contagious.”
Members of Half Waif said they were committed to displaying art to their audiences through their music.
“What people want most in art is authenticity, and that’s not an easy thing to share as an artist,” said Nandi Rose Plunkett, the lead singer and songwriter of Half Waif. “It’s taken me a while to realize the best thing to do is to be yourself.”
Finally, to round out the night, From Indian Lakes entered the stage. From the second Joey Vannucchi, the vocalist, writer and producer of the band, took hold of the mic, introduced himself and began singing, the crowd was drawn to his lyrics and wide vocal range. He didn’t hesitate to make jokes in between his songs, mentioning how he felt a little dirty playing in a corporate cafe chain, but Starbucks seemed fine.
He said his music comes to him naturally, and he frequently creates when he encounters spontaneous inspiration. He said he often leaves his songs unfinished, but hopes to one day complete them.
“Music should be exciting and magical, you know?” he said.
While the musicians from each group were packing up their instruments after the concert ended, they still found the time to interact with fans and sign autographs.
“The AfterHours show was awesome,” Gish wrote. “From Indian Lakes and Half Waif both make really cool music, and CUP (the Council for University Programs) booked a great show.”
