Rock, pop, metal, punk — and more — were on full display last week, courtesy of student bands from Hopkins and the Peabody Institute. Harnessing the power of live music to raise money, two fraternities threw a Battle of the Bands event and donated the proceeds to charity.
First there was Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi), who partnered with Homewood United for Music (HUM) for their concert on Nov. 10. Then on Nov. 15, a second show was organized by Phi Kappa Psi (Phi Psi) and the Johns Hopkins Radio Club (WJHU). In the name of highlighting all of the performances on view and to create a bit of friendly competition, here are reviews of both events — a battle between each Battle of the Bands.
AEPi x HUM Battle of the Bands — Nov. 10
Inside the Glass Pavilion, there were 100 or so fold-out metal chairs lined up in front of the stage. At the door, everyone was asked whether or not they would like to vote at the end of the show. This was the concept behind the event: Nine bands would play — each one representing a different charity — and finally the audience would vote on the best performance to determine where the donation money would go.
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AEPi members perform sound checks before the performance.
Nine bands. When I saw the event flier, I could tell it was an ambitious lineup. As each group stepped on stage for sound checks, it occurred to me just how long it would take to coordinate and get through all of the performances — certainly longer than the two hours originally advertised. Still, everyone was excited for the show: You could hear it in the random whoops that came from the audience every couple of minutes.
The first band to take the stage was Eternal Moonlight with the 2000s rock classic “Dear Maria, Count Me In.” It took a moment for AEPi’s sound technician to adjust the volume levels so that lead singer Celina Chen’s strong vocals could be belted without overpowering the instruments. Once they got into their groove, the band continued on to other hits, including Jimi Hendrix’s “All Along the Watchtower.” With great emotion and little reserve, Eternal Moonlight set a solid tone for a night and ended on a glorious saxophone riff.
For the next performance, the air in the room totally changed. Introduced as a “returning favorite” and greeted by a wave of eager screams, Rope began with an iron grip on the audience and maintained it all the way through their set. Their sound was unexpected, steadily provocative and deeply interesting. Vocalist Warren Wang sent his chant-like lyrics into the microphone, where they traveled down and out through a distorted metallic filter. Like a piece of stainless steel, Rope’s music was as refined as it was cold and unnerving.
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Vocalist Warren Wang performs at AEPi’s Battle of the Bands.
Rope’s set was composed entirely of originals, performed with jerky movements and an unshakeable strangeness. For one of their songs, Wang and another member of the band stepped offstage and began moving a trumpet case like it was a baby, or a ship on the ocean. Watching and hearing them made you feel weird, cotton-mouthed and dizzy. Yet for some reason, everyone leaned in — you could sense it. At one point, they even got the crowd moshing.
After Rope came Friends and Kafoona along with a totally different sound. They were colorful and warm, opening with a song that lead singer Kafoona Huang said he learned in South Africa. “The Click Song” was lovely and refreshing to listen to — the way a watermelon is always good in the summer. As they continued through their set, I could tell that the audience loved this band too, but with a new kind of affection. When Huang took off his jacket between songs, everyone jokingly hollered and cheered. When he announced he would play “Edge of Desire,” someone shouted, “Oh my god, I love that one!”
The next group to perform was A Band in Theory. Dressed up in sweet sass and iconic outfits, they played some pop favorites like Chappell Roan’s “Red Wine Supernova” and Billie Eilish’s “LUNCH.” After them came _Band, a larger group who delivered incredibly polished and jazzy C-pop songs that the audience could wave their phone flashlights to. When I looked behind me, I noticed a row of people who knew every lyric to every song and had been singing along with great spirit.
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_Band performs at AEPi’s Battle of the Bands.
We were only halfway through the event at this point, and it had already gone on for two hours. Fortunately, the next group — Swiss Cow — was able to lift everyone’s spirits with their lively and humor-edged rock numbers. Starting with blink-182’s “All the Small Things” and ending with WALK THE MOON’s “Shut Up and Dance,” Swiss Cow was just playful and talented enough to invigorate the entire room. Memorably, someone started mooing.
Air was next, and they brought a low sultry sound to the stage that I was not expecting. Wearing all leather, the lead singer commanded attention and moved with an unwavering confidence. For their performance of Måneskin’s “I Wanna Be Your Slave,” two members of the band danced in an intense face-to-face position. As a band, they moved between what was sharp and smooth with such ease — it was all a little thrilling.
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Air plays “I Wanna Be Your Slave” by Måneskin at AEPi’s Battle of the Bands.
Following Air was The Hollow, who got the audience moving in their own right. Their vocalist sang with a steady rhythm and sense of fun, moving energetically from side to side while keeping her voice beautifully controlled. They played “A-Punk” by Vampire Weekend as well as the immortal hit “Supermassive Black Hole” by Muse.
NOËL DA / ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
The Hollow sings “A-Step” by Vampire Weekend at AEPi’s Battle of the Bands.
Finally, it was time for the last performance of the night. Paralysis had to face the challenge created by the length of the event — it was almost 11 p.m. at this point and most people had left. Still, the band was able to garner enough enthusiasm to finish off the evening. Formed mostly by Peabody students, they had the advantage of technical skill, and so their covers were impressive and enjoyable listens.
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Paralysis plays “Sk8ter Boi” by Avril Lavigne at AEPi’s Battle of the Bands.
Once the event was over, AEPi thanked the remaining audience for coming and quickly began packing up. It was too late in the night; no vote was cast to allocate the charity money.
Phi Psi x WJHU Battle of the Bands: Underground Sound — Nov. 16
I arrived early on Friday night in time to hear the scattered metallic whines of speakers unhappily placed too close to their instruments. For a moment, I listened as they echoed between the white brick walls of the Phi Psi basement. A few seconds later, the room briefly descended into darkness as the fluorescent bulbs overhead were shut, soon replaced by the warm string lights that crisscrossed the ceiling. I could already feel the room heating up as students filed in from the basement door and onto a wooden platform, just a few feet in front of where the bands were finishing tuning their guitars and adjusting the drum kit.
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The Bohs charm audiences at Phi Psi’s Underground Sound.
After a few final strums of the guitar, the first band Paralysis was ready to begin the show. Vocalist Cherry Nbo started off singing “Sk8er Boi,” embodying Avril Lavigne’s confident, monotone diction. Their ability to evoke the 2000s punk scene extended from their setlist to baggy jeans they donned on stage. The band followed with an excellently executed cover of Paramore’s “Still Into You,” getting the crowd to loosen their stiff stances and bob their heads.
Paralysis was quickly replaced with the solo artist for the night who went by Kayla. She sat down on a stool in front of the wide-eyed crowd and gave her guitar a quick tune before launching into her set. This included three original songs over chord progressions soft enough to relate to us her feelings of isolation, heartbreak and anger for a “Bitch Named Yemmi,” though with a voice that captured the intimate attention of the entire room. In her final song, she declared sinister intentions towards “Yemmi’s” dog with vocals as soothing as ever.
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3 Iron-Road plays at Phi Psi’s Underground Sound.
3 Iron-Road would soon take Kayla’s place on stage after a brief intermission. Some people walked outside at this point, seizing upon the chance to wipe off some sweat and breathe in the crisp night air before returning to the muggy basement. Others searched for the water bottles placed on the fraternity’s ping pong table in the adjacent room. But upon the first smacks of the drum by Claudio Silva, everyone returned to their places.
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Drummer Claudio Silva plays with The Bohs at Phi Psi’s Underground Sound.
Soon, the basement room flooded with a slow rhythm of wavy dissonant chords plucked by 3 Iron-Road’s guitarist. On Silva’s cues of speedy tapping on every part of the drums — including the wooden rim — the guitar entered into a squealing, monotone riff while new ominous chord progressions were forged. To finish off the set, the drums were hit with great force in increasingly short beats until a final crash of the cymbals, when the bassist and guitarists began a duel of deep instrumental cries.
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Guitarist Ewan Armstrong performs with Cataclysmic at Phi Psi’s Underground Sound.
Next up was Cataclysmic: a metal band who sustained a heavy blanket of thorny sound. Their vocalist stormed from one end of the room to the other throughout their performance along with another dancer. The whole stage became noise and movement, and the crowd backed up to make room. Actually, this was the overall effect of their set: Most people were taken aback or else absorbed by the sheet of sound.
The golden child of the night was also its closer: Hopkins students’ long-time favorite band — The Bohs. The group, which had been broken up for a while, temporarily reunited just for this event — which was incredibly exciting. With their easy charm and musical talent, The Bohs were always able to coax their audience into a having a great time. This performance was no different. They began with “Just A Girl” by No Doubt which — besides being a personal favorite — was also the perfect choice for an event raising donations for the Baltimore Abortion Fund. It was an anthem: Everyone danced and screamed along.
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The Bohs’ lead singer Faith McCarthy performs at Phi Psi’s Underground Sound.
After a suave performance of “Red Wine Supernova,” lead singer Faith McCarthy announced that more than $700 had been raised that night to support Baltimore’s access to abortion. The crowd cheered. The band glowed red, then blue and green from the colored lighting, and something radiant filled the room. Finally, the Bohs ended with Kings of Leon’s “Sex On Fire” to close the show. As people made their way out of Phi Psi’s basement, they echoed this last song of the night: “Youuuuu, your sex is on fire.”
Battle of the Bands versus Battle of the Bands
Side by side, these two shows each bring out each other’s strengths and weaknesses.
On the one hand, AEPi and HUM’s nine-band lineup made for a spectacular range of sound. Never before had I heard so many different kinds of live music in one night — from Friends and Kafoona’s sunny melodies to Eternal Moonlight’s hard-hitting rock, _Band’s intimate vocals to Rope’s fitful movements — the entire concert was incredibly diverse. By the end, I felt like I’d gotten a delicious cross-section of Hopkins and Peabody’s student music production.
On the other hand, this meant that their event lasted for almost five hours, especially with long sound checks and reorganization in between sets. As a band which performed at both shows, Paralysis was able to offer a unique perspective. In an interview with The News-Letter, guitarist Roy Heng spoke on the success of the event.
“Well, it went a little long,” he said. “The turnout was great — I wish more people could have stayed until the end, but it also went to 10 p.m., so. As far as logistics went, I think there just wasn’t enough time for sound checks... But I was just excited to play, honestly.”
By contrast, Phi Psi and WJHU’s Underground Sound kept the entire event under a clean couple of hours, sustaining good mood and ambience throughout. The basement — though humid — kept everyone close to the music while the colorful lighting provided artistic atmosphere. This show was also able to raise an impressive amount of donations (ultimately $1018, according to WJHU organizer Willa Farrell), and it was known from the beginning that they would go to the Baltimore Abortion Fund, as opposed to AEPi’s voting idea which — while creative — was not executed particularly clearly. Many of the bands did not announce what charity they represented, and a final vote was not cast after the event.
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Colorful lights provided mood lighting at Phi Psi’s Underground Sound.
Above all, though, the musicians shone. It would be more than fair to declare them the winners here, as they took the stage with unabashed expression and obvious talent. Each time a band performed a new song, the excitement would rush back into the room — so collectively that you could actually feel it. I feel very lucky to have watched both shows, and I know I’ll be looking forward to next year’s Battle(s) of the Bands.
