By: Sofia Butler<\/p>\n
\u201cTiny revolution.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n This is the essence that permeates the The Ballroom Thieves\u2019 February performance in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The soft ocean air welcomes the audience gently into an evening that can only be described as a gathering of old friends\u2013 a homecoming.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Walking into the Spire Center brings a distinct feeling of stepping into an old friend\u2019s home. No massive crowds, frenetic energy, or yelling. Here, body and voice are called to whisper. As the crowd grows, many older folks enter with smiling faces as they chat with one another like old friends. There is no urgency. Everyone takes their time.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Ballroom Thieves are known for their energetic and dynamic shows, filled with soul stirring strings, electric guitars, drums, and harmonious vocals. They command a room with their vigor and passionate lyrics\u2013 calling light to the dark, cracking parts of our world. During this tour of their newest album <\/span>Clouds<\/span><\/i>, however, they shift the tone to give their audience a glimpse of the bones beneath their music.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n As Callie Peters, vocalist, cellist and bassist of The Ballroom Thieves, and Martin Early, vocalist and guitarist, walk out on stage, they are greeted with a warm round of applause. The lights wash over the modest set-up in a purple-blue glow. Callie peers at the audience and says through a sly smile: \u201cThey had us hold the show for <\/span>10 minutes<\/span><\/i> because the bar line was too long.\u201d She bursts into laughter, \u201cI thought <\/span>\u2018that\u2019s my kinda crowd!\u2019\u201d <\/span><\/i>The crowd whoops and laughs along.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWelcome everyone,\u201d Martin continues with a gentle half-smile. \u201cWith this show, we want it to feel like you have come into our living room.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n And with that, Martin and Callie dive into \u201cShine\u201d off of their newest album. The acoustic guitar and their delicate harmonies pull the audience into a gentle, lullaby state. As they play, the audience\u2019s energy becomes another complimentary tone within the band\u2019s harmonies. Music lives and breathes on its own, and songs have a way of transforming a thousand ways each time they are played. Instead of shying away from this elusiveness out of fear, the band welcomes it. They use this dynamic nature as an opportunity to give their audience insight into the depth and complexity of art.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Martin explains, \u201cWhen we put the record out, then that\u2019s the definitive version and then everyone that listens to us, it\u2019s that version or the live version\u2013 and those are the two points you can look at when you\u2019re looking at a song. We figured it might be fun to just show you a different point in that process.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n With this, the duo launches into an unreleased, unfinished song. The song feels like winter itself: biting, stinging, bleak, and yet gentle and tender. A combination of frost and snow.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cRemember when \/ your insecurities were more mysterious \/ there was less fear in us \/ and you never wanted anyone to know \/ now look, look, look around.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The urgency of Callie\u2019s cello playing cuts through the air in the room, intertwining with Martin\u2019s guitar, and lifting their voices. The song builds in intensity, and the cello echoes Martin and Callie\u2019s voices, almost like the call of a drum.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n As the final resonance of the cello and guitar ripple outward, the audience erupts in cheers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Martin grins. \u201cIf you have any feedback about that one, you can let us know after the show. If you liked it, didn\u2019t like it, hated it, thought it was okay\u2026those are pretty much the options.\u201d The crowd laughs. One woman calls out \u201clove love love!\u201d and everyone whoops in response.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The rest of the show unfolds in the same gentle, somber tone. There is an abundance of laughter and banter. Both Callie and Martin\u2019s parents are in the audience. The atmosphere grows warmer and tighter, like the band has simply woven the fabric of community right into our hearts just by giving us an authentic glimpse into their music and minds.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n After an encore cover of \u201cBlues Run the Game,\u201d the band receives a standing ovation. Callie and Martin make their way to the back of the Spire Center to hug and talk to anyone who wants to chat. A feeling of fullness permeates the room.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Ballroom Thieves\u2019 performance fashioned a container for community. They gifted the audience a reminder that, somehow, in the deepest, stark moments of winter lies an ember of warmth. A reminder that belonging is dynamic\u2013 and love is a verb. This winter tour continues to shine a light on dark spaces, but in a whole new sense, by weaving a fabric of intimacy through the bare nature of their performance. The Ballroom Thieves was courageous and raw, and in doing so, created a tiny revolution.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By: Sofia Butler \u201cTiny revolution.\u201d\u00a0 This is the essence that permeates the The Ballroom Thieves\u2019 February performance in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The soft ocean air welcomes the audience gently into an evening that can only be described as a gathering of old friends\u2013 a homecoming.\u00a0 Walking into the Spire Center brings a distinct feeling […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20911,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1523,15],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36842"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20911"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36842"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36842\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36843,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36842\/revisions\/36843"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36842"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36842"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36842"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}