Lowertown @ Crystal Ballroom 4/30

Photography by Liana Snow

Review by James Klein

Opener Dogs on Shady Lane

Arriving early at Davis Square in Somerville, I spotted Olive and Avsha entering a thrift store, waving from across the street, a fitting preview of the night’s welcoming vibe. Inside the ballroom, purple lighting on the walls and chandeliers overhead set a warm scene as fans gathered near the stage, anticipating Lowertown’s performance.

Opener sweet93

The first opener, Dogs on Shady Lane, delivered alternative folk songs with soft-spoken lyrics similar to Faye Webster’s and bursts of distortion. Their use of maracas, drumsticks, and mallets gave their slow ballads a textured feel, ending with a stunning three-part harmony that set a high bar for the night.

Next up was sweet93, whose set leaned heavily into shoegaze. Cool-toned lights faced the crowd, leaving the band in near-darkness. Their set began with a droning horror-film-like soundtrack as singer Chloe emerged zombie-like from the floor. Chloe performed much of the set on the floor, menacingly breathing into the microphone between songs. The blue light and droning transitions left the audience dazed. The lights finally illuminated the band as the guitarist soloed erratically, threw the instrument in the air, and almost fell into the pit.

Lowertown

Then came Lowertown. Avsha opened with the acoustic “It’s Easy For Me,” calming the room after sweet93’s intensity. The rest of the band, composed of Immanuel on the drums, Eva on the bass, and Olive on guitar and vocals, joined him onstage as Olive grabbed the mic, glared playfully at the crowd, and demanded, “How are we doing tonight Boston?” and then further emphasized, “I SAID, how are we doing tonight Boston?!” to much more noise from the audience. “That’s what I like to hear. We’re gonna play music for you now.”

The band launched into “Seaface” engulfed in red light. Olive used a harsh vocal style, adapted the song’s gentler vocals to fit a more raw live style. Eva stared down, lazily plucked the bass, as Immanuel soloed. The band went with a chaotic ending, Olive swung the mic and wrapped it around her body, as Immanuel continued, and Avsha passionately played his riffs. Olive said, “The energy in here is good, but it could be even better,” prompting fans to “Say hi to your neighbor,” beginning a string of energy-boosting cues. “Now that you’re comfortable, let’s move a bit.” The band burst into “Debris” as the crowd started moving a little more, but not as much as Olive, who danced in a funky, bouncy dance, moving her arms and legs around. Avsha announced that the next song was from the new album, and they played “Worst Friend,” which featured back-and-forth vocals between Olive and Avsha, their harmonies contrasting yet complementary.

The crowd nodded their heads, but Olive wanted more, introducing “this thing called moshing,” saying, “I heard they do it at shows sometimes.” The band played “Scum,” accompanied by flashing red lights and moshing from the most passionate fans in the pit. Olive’s screaming vocals propelled the energy, beckoning more people to join the pit.

“So that’s what that is. I like that. You learn something new every day.” Another highlight came later on as Olive said, “This is my favorite song behind ‘Scum,’ and that means you should turn it up a notch,” as they went into “Antibiotics.” Avsha played syncopated guitar riffs, and Olive danced, energetically kicking around in circles.

The pace briefly slowed with “Bline,” during which Olive taught the crowd a new hand signal from their Philadelphia show, an L over a T for Lowertown. For the rest of the show, the crowd adopted this signal as if the band had been using it for years. Olive teased the audience, saying there were three more songs, but offering more if we were good. After the explosive ending of another new song, “Forgive Yourself,” Olive announced that they had two songs left, played “Bucktooth” and “The Best Person You Know,” leaving the crowd out of breath from spirited performances of two of their most popular songs.

“Thank you, Boston, you were lit. See you next time,” Olive said as she left the stage with the rest of the band. However, the crowd wasn’t over, as encore chants began and people put up the newly-learned “LT” sign.

After a short break, Olive and Avsha walked back out for one more song. Building off the crowd’s excitement, Olive said, “This last song, I think you’ll all know… It’s called the ‘Itsy Bitsy Spider.’ It’s a classic! Just kidding, it’s called ‘The Gaping Mouth.’” The duo left much of the crowd teary-eyed as they played their nostalgic hit, Avsha on guitar and Olive in her falsetto, pointing at lucky members of the crowd as she repeatedly sang, “You are the iris in my eye.”

Closing on this powerful, emotional note, Lowertown proved their range, not only musically, but in their ability to shape the room’s energy and make a crowd feel part of something bigger. The band left the audience buzzing, bonded by inside jokes, hand signs, and a shared experience, taking pictures with almost every fan after the show. After such a powerful performance and with a new album on the horizon, it’s safe to say Lowertown will be back in Boston soon.