Story and Photos: Spencer Fleming
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Now back to the story....
The Slowdown was swirling with sounds of post-rock Wednesday night as the Bostonian band Caspian took over the front room along with locals Lucida Dark and tour-mate Arms & Sleepers.
I was eyeing a bigger arena show going down in the metro Wednesday, but when our good friends Lucida Dark announced they would be playing with Caspian I quickly changed my plans and opted to support the local scene.
After checking out Caspian on Spotify to get more familiar I anxiously anticipated this show and how much fun it would be hanging with friends and jamming out to the hypnotic post-rock sounds.
I arrived early as I typically do, and it's a good thing I did. I was under the impression the show was going to be in the big room, but the bands were just shy of the tickets needed. Even in the smaller "front room" you still get a great show when visiting The Slowdown, but there's definitely no barrier or "photo pit" so getting a good spot up front is a must.
Though there were a pretty good amount of tickets sold, the room didn't get packed in too crazy and I was able to move about freely. Yay, courteous concert-goers!
Lucida Dark was the first band up and they absolutely destroyed the small Slowdown stage. With six band members things were a little cramped but they didn't let that stop them from producing some of the most hauntingly beautiful noises. Guitarist Spencer Rosenberg kicked off the set with a bow-string guitar riff! The metal symphony was now in session.
Each song starts slowly then builds to a crashing crescendo of epic proportions. You would think with six players that things would sound too busy or distracting, but no.
All the notes meld together into absolute ear-candy that will soothe your soul!
I think this was the fourth Lucida Dark show for me and they just keep getting better. The band ended with a new song that included a tribal drum solo from Spencer. Bass player Ian addressed the crowd several times and gave their appreciation for everyone coming out. For an opening set there was a great amount of support and the room felt full. I took some video that I'll post to our Facebook page. Make sure you give a follow while you're there!
After Lucida's set local band dudes like my brother Stu and resident rock star Coop Schuh helped tear down gear. Way to go band dudes!
In between Lucida Dark and Caspian was the electronic artist Arms & Sleepers. He introduced himself and said "It's just me with some keyboards, I'm not for everyone". To which someone shouted some nonsense and Arms & Sleepers said "See yeah, that guy doesn't like it". Glad he could take everything in stride. I hung around for a song or two but ultimately decided to spend a little time with my friends on the patio. When I came back in a bit later I did see a few folks in the front getting down to the dark synthwave beats so it was someone's cup of tea.
You can find more info about Arms & Sleepers here: https://armsandsleepers.com/
After a short setup post-rock masters Caspian took the stage. With warm glowing Edison bulbs placed around the stage and the house lights turned down the mood was spooky and ethereal. Ever so softly the guitarists plucked away slowly building the tempo, the drums joined in with a pitter-patter beat. Lastly, the bass player picked up his axe and the band was forging ahead full steam! The crashing waves of sound hit the crowd and washed over the room. The folks up front were beaming with excitement as they pulled out their phones hoping to capture a clip or two.
The guitarist near me on the side picked up a Afuche/Cabasa ( ya know the shaker thing with beads on it, haha). I thought "ooh this song is gonna be spicy". Spoiler alert: It was. I knew Caspian had some fairly rocking songs but man, this one hit hard! The crowd was grooving and fists were pumping. After the song of course some joker said "Play some heavy stuff!"
Caspian spent the next hour captivating everyone with their soft/loud dynamic. One of the coolest parts for me personally was seeing Lucida Dark get a shout-out from guitarist Phillip Jamieson. "You know sometimes on tour you don't know what you're going to get from the local support. Lucida Dark was awesome. Keep doing what you're doing".
This show was a huge win for the local scene. I'm really glad I got to take in such awesome tunes and connect with friends. It's what makes this "job" so much fun!
Huge shout out to Caspian and their management for photo access and to the homies in Lucida Dark for crushing this opportunity.
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Caspian
Lucida Dark
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