On most Tuesdays, students probably aren't out partying at a concert. They're more likely camped out in Tisch Library, desperately trying to study. But tonight, three AppleJam-sponsored performances at Oxfam Caf?© make staying in awfully hard, even if midterms are right around the corner.
The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. at the caf?©, which is hidden behind Miller Hall and regularly hosts concerts on weekends and serves vegetarian cuisine during the day. It is free, open to non-Tufts students and will include Chin Up Chin Up, The Appreciation Post and Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin. These three distinct indie bands promise to give an exciting and varied performance.
Hailing from Springfield, Mo., Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin offers catchy tunes along the lines of The Shins, but with a more forceful beat and a louder chorus line. They combine perfectly timed pauses, foot-tapping beats and creative lyrics to produce something reminiscent of typical popular music, but altogether original. Their music has been touted by the LA Times as "some of the sweetest and most disarming pop music you will likely hear this or any year." With a sound as original as their name, it's no wonder that Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin is rapidly gaining popularity around the country.
With more aggressive, distorted melodies and vocals, The Appreciation Post departs from the sound of Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin with their own very style and sound. In their Myspace.com biography, the band describes their music as "heavy on melody" with "sincere vocals over thick distorted guitars." Originally from Boston, they have opened for groups including Dashboard Confessional and The Forecast.
Finally, Chin Up Chin Up, arguably the best known of all three bands, offers a still different sound, something in between The Killers and Modest Mouse. Many of their songs speak of hopefullness in the face of adversity, a topic that is painfully applicable to the band's history.
While recording their album, "We Should Have Never Lived Like We Were Skyscrapers" (2004), the band suffered the loss of bassist Chris Saathoff, who was hit by a drunk driver in Chicago. His injuries were fatal, and for a long time after his death, it was impossible for Chin Up Chin Up to even consider performing or writing music.
But after some time spent in mourning, Chin Up Chin Up regrouped and decided to persevere. They finished "We Should Have Never Lived Like We Were Skyscrapers" using many of Saathoff's original bass lines that had been recorded during the band's practice. Thus, as expressed in their official Web site, Saathoff's "talent and creative spirit live on through the band's music."
Chin Up Chin Up's continued musical efforts have been well rewarded. In Oct. 2006, they recorded their new album, "This Harness Can't Ride Anything" with indie label Suicide Squeeze. As described by Chin Up Chin Up's Web site, the band "makes music about hope, about persevering through tragedy and the redemption of optimism."
The indie pop performed by all three bands tonight at Oxfam Cafe is sure to be original and exciting. Unlike the typical pop music so often heard on the radio, these bands offer something that hasn't been churned out by a media company. Their music is intended to convey a message and communicate a feeling.
All in all, the conglomeration of Chin Up Chin Up, The Appreciation Post and Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin promises to be a refreshing and creative experience for anyone who attends this Tuesday night performance.
