{"id":43043,"date":"2024-10-02T19:35:33","date_gmt":"2024-10-02T23:35:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/?p=43043"},"modified":"2024-10-31T16:45:57","modified_gmt":"2024-10-31T20:45:57","slug":"review-valley-house-of-blues-9-29","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/2024\/10\/02\/review-valley-house-of-blues-9-29\/","title":{"rendered":"REVIEW: VALLEY @ HOUSE OF BLUES 9\/29"},"content":{"rendered":"

Photo Credit: Becca Hamel<\/span><\/p>\n

Review by Ashley Duong<\/span><\/p>\n

Valley\u2019s performance at House of Blues in Boston\u2019s Fenway area marked their return after a difficult year since their last tour back in 2023. One of their core band members left to pursue music production, leaving the band in a tumultuous state. Since this Boston show was their second show on the \u201cWater The Flowers, Pray For A Garden\u201d tour, the pressure was indisputable.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But if the pressure got the best of them, or if the struggles from this last year plagued their mind, it remained invisible to the audience because Valley\u2019s ability to make a smaller Boston venue (2,200-person capacity) come alive with their magnetic stage presence, dynamic set production, and innate musicality is a testament to their growth as an indie\/alternative band.<\/span><\/p>\n

Openers Charli Adams and Mickey Darling prepped the crowd for what to expect from Valley, with Charli emulating the musical equivalent of a warm hug and a cup of tea, illuminated by two lamps by her side and her acoustic guitar\u2019s soothing tone. Mickey Darling took the stage soon after, an indie-pop duo that wholeheartedly juxtaposed Charli\u2019s calming presence with their energetic, eclectic, and theatrical nature. Lead singer Skyler Molina set the tone, dancing with no shoes on.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The sound of rain noises and a soothing synth hum cut through the crowd\u2019s anticipation. Valley walked on stage, followed by a sound byte from their newest album saying, \u201cGood morning, you\u2019re listening to a band called Valley.\u201d The black and white tapestry with the name Valley behind it dropped to showcase a brand new tapestry with the scenery from their latest album. The stage was a bed of grass and flowers, letting the band physically dance in the symbolic garden they were praying for.\u00a0 They open with \u201cWater The Flowers, Pray For A Garden,\u201d an optimistic and upbeat song that foreshadows the theme of the album and the rest of the concert with lyrics like, \u201cJust open your eyes ’cause It’s always the bright side.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Valley\u2019s tour experience shined through with their use of stage production and refashioning old songs to keep the crowd on their toes. With \u201cA Phone Call In Amsterdam,\u201d they used light production to their advantage, cutting the lighting right before the climax of the song. Hearing \u201cSucks To See You Doing Better\u201d live was therapeutic, allowing the crowd to scream, \u201cYou\u2019re doing better than me, I admit it \/ Found someone better than me, and I hate it.\u201d Lead vocalist Rob Laska lets a fan choose their next song, giving nostalgic choices like \u201cPark Bench,\u201d \u201cSports Car,\u201d and \u201cCloser To The Picture,\u201d and finally settling on \u201cName Drop.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>The band\u2019s theme of living and pushing through is apparent not only in their lyrics but also in their ability to revitalize a show. I found the star player to be the woman behind the drumkit, Karah James. She provided stability with her masterful drumming, all while playing the harmonica and occasionally singing backup vocals, but truly shined stepping in front of the kit for \u201cMosquito\u201d and \u201cLet It Rain.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLet It Rain\u201d took us through a synthesis of the band\u2019s journey, with Karah explaining the difficulty of playing the new album since it was created in and fueled by a sad time for the band, \u201cGetting on stage and playing these songs tonight isn’t about playing in the sadness, but it\u2019s about connecting.\u201d Part of me thinks playing this music live was perhaps more for the band to have their creative, cathartic release\u2014and I\u2019m more than happy to simply stand and appreciate it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There was something outright sacred about experiencing the bridge of \u201cLife Goes On Without Me,\u201d the culmination of the hardships Valley\u2019s been through together, and the active choice to persevere. It is a feeling that was strikingly obvious with the momentous build-up.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Arguably, the most anticipated song was the penultimate one, \u201cThere\u2019s Still A Light In The House,\u201d which was done with a glitch in the studio version\u2019s recognizable instrumental introduction. Once the crowd heard the chorus\u2019s familiar lyrics, \u201cI’d like to call you on the way home \/ Another precious call to waste on my mouth,\u201d there was nothing but smiles in the small room. The concert ended with \u201cBop Ba,\u201d which felt like an awkward pick, being a slow song that left crowds wanting more.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As they joined for their final bow, I realized that I experienced a culmination of Valley\u2019s career\u2014their hardships, metamorphosis, and desperate grip on hope. And I\u2019d choose to experience it again, simply because I found myself believing the same words they wrote: to choose to let it rain and water my flowers in a blind hope that a garden grows (because that\u2019s our only option).<\/span><\/p>\n

The house lights come up, and a familiar sound byte plays, \u201cThank you for listening to a band named Valley tonight.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Photo Credit: Becca Hamel Review by Ashley Duong Valley\u2019s performance at House of Blues in Boston\u2019s Fenway area marked their return after a difficult year since their last tour back in 2023. One of their core band members left to pursue music production, leaving the band in a tumultuous state. Since this Boston show was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24057,"featured_media":43047,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1525,1523,15],"tags":[202,31,2097],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43043"}],"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\/24057"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43043"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43043\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44216,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43043\/revisions\/44216"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43043"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43043"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43043"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}