One last time before summer

Students gathered amongst the small space of Handsome Grandson Studios Saturday May 1 for a night to rock out one last time before the year ends.

A group of Keene State College bands strummed their strings to toast the school year farewell but the concert was far from final for the bands. In fact, it’s the dawn of summer tours, record recording and practice jam sessions for most of the bands.

The lineup featured The 123s, The Lake And The Lion, Young Mountain, Color of Mind, The Dirty Johns and the premier of Maryland My Maryland.

With such a variety of bands, the evening touched on varying genres including smooth indie, folk, rock and punk tone.

Maryland My Maryland kicked the show off on an acoustic note.
The band includes sophomore lead singer and guitarist Noah Therriault of Young Mountain and freshman Kevin McNair.

The two jammed out on their acoustic guitars while stomping their feet and singing. McNair said Maryland My Maryland is the result of improvising in his friend’s dorm.
“We started improvising just for fun for our friends and that’s how one of our current songs came about. We both have songs of our own that we play together,” McNair said.
The band is trying to plan a weeklong tour this summer.

Next, The 123s took the stage by storm. The trio played a traditional set that had the crowd feeling the rhythm. Senior Maisha Ragwar commented on the bands performance.
“They were good. They’re always spot on,” Ragwar said.

From another musician’s perspective, Sean Mahoney of Young Mountain was impressed with their set.

“I think tonight was one of the best sets I’ve seen them play,” Mahoney said.
Freshman Mason Dixon really enjoyed the bands performance.
“I really like the 123s because they were awesome and fun to move to. I love three piece bands,” Dixon said.

Lead vocalist and guitarist senior Jordan Reynolds said the band is currently recording their first album at Handsome Grandson Studios. The band expects the album to be complete by the fall.

In addition, bass player sophomore Chris Robinson said the band definitely plans to continue to play next year.

The band will play a show at the Drift Down, Get Down Festival this June in Maine.
Junior Georgia Cassimatis’ ear favored both the 123s and The Lake And The Lion.
“I loved the 123s and The Lake And Lion, they’re both equally great. The Lake And The Lion complimented the 123s even though they came on after them,” Cassimatis said
The Lake And The Lion and their famous eight instruments took the stage next as the 123s left the room with an increasing heat. The Lake And The Lion had the crowd singing along to the first song they played, followed by a premier of a new song.

Freshman Emma Rusnak found herself fascinated by the band.

“They were my favorite. I like that they have such an instrumental variety and you could feel they were so passionate about the music. I wanted to cry, the music is just so emotional,” Rusnak said.

Cello player sophomore Andrew Hodgdon said the band has a lot going on presently. They recently released their new EP called Dark Wood, Dark Water, which is going to be on iTunes in the next week or two. In addition, four new members joined the band.
“They’re all really good musicians, but they’re still learning the songs, it’s going well so far,” Hodgden said.

The band hopes to have an actual full length album out this summer. They’re currently in the process of planning where and when to record.

The Dirty Johns took the stage after The Lake And The Lion and turned things up with their raw punk riffs.

The room cleared out a bit, and made room for the crowd to rock out. “They’re fast and raw. They understand what the meaning of punk is and they’re only in high school,” Therriault said.

Similarly, Young Mountain kept the pace going. The crowd was grooving to the hype folk sound. Freshman Robin Harris said her favorite performance was Young Mountain.
“I came here to see Young Mountain, they’re great,” Harris said. 

Therriault said the band is looking forward to their upcoming four week summer tour to Florida and back then to Ohio.

Color of Mind closed the show on a soulful note. Fellow musician sophomore Joe McConaughy said he’s very inspired by Color of Mind’s music.

“I love them. The Color of Mind inspires me. I have an introspective appreciation,” McConaughy said.

By the end of the night, many were wiping the sweat off their foreheads. As far as the best band of the night goes, the consensus of the audience was scattered amongst all the different bands. Some people loved the 123s and or The Lake And The Lion while others loved Young Mountain.

In fact, some people didn’t have a favorite. According to freshman Andrea Macri, all the bands were enjoyable.

“I don’t have a favorite, I like them all,” Macri said. Fans of all the different bands can look forward to upcoming tours, records, and shows from their favorite band(s).

Danielle Rivard can be contacted at drivard@keeneequinox.com