REVIEW: Remo Drive @ Spotify HQ Somerville 04/26
Remo Drive are an emo rock band from Minnesota. The band is composed of brothers Stephen and Erik Paulson, playing bass and lead guitar andvocals respectively. The group came through in March of 2017, touring their debut album ironically titled Greatest Hits. It oozes teenage angst and is filled with fun, fast-paced indie tracks that are still a blast to listen to. About a year later in March of this year, the group released a short three-track EP titled Pop Music. As the title suggests, the sound was sweetened for a set of short and sweet songs, however it definitely wasn’t as interesting as their previous project.
Remo Drive weren’t scheduled to play in Boston this week, but Monday I received an email from Spotify about a free secret show for fans in the Boston Area. I missed the group on their last headlining tour, so I wasn’t going to let this opportunity pass. The concert took place at Spotify’s Boston headquarters in Somerville. The address was literally an office, and there were signs for other companies that rented out other portions of the building, but the Spotify crew turned the space they had into a well-done DIY venue. It felt like an underground basement concert, with even free beer for those over 21 (which I of course did not participate in because I am 19).
The band came out with touring members Zack Cummings on backup guitar and Braeden Keenan on drum set. The group was having fun, joking about being the Dave Matthews Band and Stephen pointing out his “Going Bananas in Florida” t-shirt that he was ironically wearing. This made the me feel closer to the band as they weren’t taking anything too seriously and just wanted everyone to have a good time. The boys kicked it off with the first track on Greatest Hits, “Art School,” and the show was underway. The energy was great and could be felt throughout the crowd. Keenan started a little loud on the drums, really abusing the cymbals, but after a couple songs he quieted down to a good volume. His drumming was really fun and fast-paced otherwise and fit right in with the feel of the concert.
Erik Paulson struggled with some of the high notes on a few of the tracks, but when he went into his falsetto his voice sounded really nice. His guitar playing was also really accurate, even playing with the guitar behind his head on their finale, “Yer Killin’ Me.” The band did lots of their fun tracks from Greatest Hits, like “Strawberita” (my favorite from the album), “Eat Shit,” and “Name Brand.” The tracks from Pop Music were definitely less exciting to hear, and this could be felt in the crowd. The most lackluster of which had to have been “Heartstrings,” but this lull served to break up the faster songs.
The real strength of the performance was the intimacy with the band and the chemistry between members. I was able to get right up close to the stage and Erik smiled at me a couple times when he made eye contact and saw me singing along with him. The show felt so tight-knit and the band stuck around after to chat and take pictures. The boys were clearly having fun onstage, and before their last track, they messed around playing chords and a jazz swung version of
“Yer Killin’ Me” before going on to play the original version. It was during this last track that the crowd broke out into a mosh pit and went completely crazy. Although this was fun, it did distract a bit from the performance.
Remo Drive put on a great show, and their indie sound thrived in a small DIY venue like the Spotify office. The concert was a lot of fun and I would definitely see the band again.
-Matt Bandel
