CRUMB @ ROADRUNNER 9/6
Photography by Zach Schwartz
Review by Carson Paradis
The walls of the Roadrunner Boston shone with deep purples, blues, and reds as Crumb began its ethereal set on Friday, September 6. Large mirror-petaled flowers that opened and closed had the audience questioning their sobriety.
The opening song, “AMAMA,” off of their newest album, started with chopped, distorted-sounding vocals that were sharply cut off. A slow build of a synthesizer and electronic drums led into a heavy drum beat that drew the audience and spit them out into a whirl of cheers.
Crumb is a Brooklyn-based psychedelic rock band. Its members are Lila Ramani on guitar and vocals, Jesse Brotter on bass and vocals, Bri Aronow on synthesizers, keyboards, and saxophone, and Jonathan Gilad on drums. The group met at Tufts University in Medford, Mass.
Fifteen seconds later, Ramani came in with dreamy, psychedelic, airy vocals. Another wave of cheers echoes through the venue. As she kept singing, a single flower on the right side of the stage began moving.
The audience appeared entranced as the flower’s mirrored edges reflected light around the room. These animatronic flowers are a Crumb specialty and will be present at their 2023 Boston show at Paradise Rock Club. One after the other, the flowers moved synchronously until they all flashed colors at the crowd— four in total, one for each band member.
The group produced an exciting mix of psychedelic rock and pop with kicks of jazz. “Locket,” one of the first EPs released by Crumb in 2017, emphasizes the loose jazz within the song’s intro, although not played at the show. Aronow repeatedly had their moment as a saxophone played, assumedly running through pedals that altered the sound.
Blaring, long, twisting reverb was added, creating an eerie yet warm sound that aided many of the songs played. The crowd’s reactions spoke for themselves as they cheered and looked at each other in awe, and the reverbing saxophone punched their ears.
As the show continued, Crumb went into one of their most famous songs, “Ghostride,” and the crowd knew it immediately. Bright guitar riffs melodically intertwined to a simple indie, jazzy beat accompanied by Ramani’s beautiful, almost ghostly vocals brought this song to life.
Dreamy lo-fi intertwining with unstructured indie rock within this song yet again proves the creative, musical genius behind the band.
So whether you are an old Crumb fan or someone who has yet to discover their music, if an intergenre mix of psychedelic rock, indie, and jazz peaks your interest, sit back and enjoy their music.
