By Lauren Sheffer
As the lights turned low, the chattering crowd of 80 students nearly went silent as the first of three bands to play in last night’s concert at afterHOURS took the stage.
The show, sponsored by the Council for University Programs (CUP), began with the band Fit for the Crown, followed by Teamwork and Lions Lions.
Dozens of seats remained open, yet nearly everybody stood gathered around the front of the stage. Still, lead singer of Fit for the Crown, Nick Conway, beckoned everyone closer. Big, bold strikes on their electric guitars and heavy pounding on their drums characterized the band’s style, with a simple, consistent, Johnny-Cash-like use of rhythm.
“We all feel very good. We’re friends with all of [the bands],” Conway said in an interview with The News. “I love Lions Lions, they’re great.”
Conway said he felt the audience was more receptive to Fit for the Crown’s style than he originally anticipated.
“We thought it was going to be a Dave Matthews sort of crowd, since that seems to be the popular thing at colleges,” he said.
Next up was Worcester-based band Teamwork. Lead singer and guitarist Chris Curran described the band’s sound as a combination of pop rock and dance, adding that Teamwork is influenced by bands from the ’90s, like Third Eye Blind.
Of the three bands, Teamwork was the only one to use a synthesizer and a tambourine. The guitar playing consisted of colorful notes, and the vocals were clear and had a joyful tone. The number of toes tapping and heads bobbing seemed to pick up as Teamwork delved further into its six-song set.
Although stylistically different than the other bands, the last band Lions Lions also emphasized the feel-good vibe. Throughout their four-song set, Lions Lions members repeated sentiments like “thank you guys so much from the bottom of my heart” to the crowd.
Between thanking the audience profusely for its support, Lions Lions head-banged, hopped and leapt around the stage as guitars were thrashed harder, drums were pounded in a rolling sort of rhythm and the lead vocalist screamed out to the audience.
The longer Lions Lions played, the wilder the audience grew. An increasing number of people in the middle of the audience began to twist and leap around, lashing their arms and kicking out their legs.
For a band that’s only existed since February, Lions Lions had a large following, with many students saying that Lions Lions was the band they came to watch.
Nick Fiorenza, a freshman biology major, said he liked the band’s energy.
“I really like [Lions Lions] because their music’s pretty good, and the way they carry themselves onstage,” Fiorenza said. “It’s really eccentric.”
Audience members seemed to react enthusiastically to Fit for the Crown and Teamwork.
“It’s awesome,” said middler music industry major Chris Celentano. “We get a lot of big international tours that come into Boston. It’s good to have a … showcase for the local scene at Northeastern.”
After receiving a good reaction from the afterHOURS crowd, Davis said he plans on touring the country beginning in the summer. The band also announced in the middle of its set that it has new songs that it plans to record on Dec. 5 and Dec. 7 at the Hit Factory in Webster.
CUP Concert Chair Caitlyn Margulis said she decided to bring Lions Lions to Northeastern based on discussions that took place at committee meetings.
“We try to make sure the community and music lovers are happy,” she said.
