{"id":46087,"date":"2025-02-06T10:49:26","date_gmt":"2025-02-06T15:49:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/?p=46087"},"modified":"2025-02-06T10:51:30","modified_gmt":"2025-02-06T15:51:30","slug":"something-in-the-way-fest-roadrunner-2-1-2-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/2025\/02\/06\/something-in-the-way-fest-roadrunner-2-1-2-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Something In The Way Fest @ Roadrunner 2\/1 + 2\/2"},"content":{"rendered":"

Day 1<\/strong><\/p>\n

Review by Cathy Trabazo<\/p>\n

The crowd bustled with quiet chatter, waiting in anticipation for the eleventh set of the \u201cSomething in the Way Fest<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/i> at Roadrunner. The room was buzzing with anticipation and nostalgia, the venue filled with a crowd of beanies and flannels. In the wake of her latest album, \u201cEvergreen,\u201d the lights dimmed as indie rock singer-songwriter Soccer Mommy, aka Sophie Allison, prepared to take the stage.<\/span><\/p>\n

Allison, born in Zurich but raised in Nashville, first gained attention through Bandcamp, where she shared raw, bedroom-recorded tracks that captured a cult following. In the years since, Allison has evolved from her early lo-fi, indie sound into a more polished, intimate, musical style. With \u201cEvergreen,\u201d her latest release, she delves deeper into the complexities of adulthood, grappling with themes of loss and healing, all while maintaining the sparse instrumentation that first defined her work.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAbigail, it isn\u2019t fair,\u201d her set begins with a wistful love song inspired by the \u201cStardew Valley\u201d character. <\/span>The bittersweet lyrics and dreamy instrumental set the tone for the evening, her music often infused with a sense of longing. Allison\u2019s voice captivated, delicate yet powerful.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As the set progressed, the intensity began to build. The guitar grew heavier, setting the stage for \u201cDriver.\u201d The crowd swayed to the beat as Allison asked, \u201cWhere are we going now?\u201d before launching into the next song, \u201cShotgun.\u201d The band\u2019s lead guitarist offered embellishments, adding dimension to each song\u2019s third act. At times, the guitar seemed to screech through the venue\u2019s speakers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Before \u201cCool,\u201d Allison tells the crowd, \u201cThis one\u2019s a bit older,\u201d eliciting a cheer from the audience. The performance became more nostalgic, balancing older fan favorites with newer material. While much of the night\u2019s setlist was dedicated to \u201cEvergreen,\u201d the delicate balance of old and new tracks ensured that longtime fans could experience her hits alongside the fresh emotions of her most recent work. The setlist transition, from \u201cEvergreen\u201d and its themes of grief to the more youthful energy of earlier tracks, was smooth yet striking for frequent listeners.<\/span><\/p>\n

With pain hiding beneath her voice, Allison transitioned into \u201cM,\u201d an emotionally potent track where she sings, \u201cI hear your voice in all my favorite songs.\u201d Despite the large festival setting, there was a profound intimacy in her performance. Even when listeners weren\u2019t entirely focused, melancholy reverberated in the room.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At one point, the band exited the stage, leaving Allison alone to perform her haunting track \u201cLost.\u201d As watercolor mountains were projected onto the backdrop, she pulled back into a quieter moment, singing, \u201cI don\u2019t know what\u2019s in her dreams, it\u2019s lost to me.\u201d As sounds of nature filled the background, the album\u2019s themes of reconnecting with the outdoors and healing were brought to light.<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite her reserved stage presence, rarely speaking to the audience beyond the occasional \u201cthank you,\u201d Allison’s performance was powerful and intimate. Her ability to command the stage without relying on theatrics made her set all the more compelling. The simplicity of her delivery, paired with the depth of her music, allowed the songs to speak for themselves.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When the opening riff of <\/span>Your Dog<\/span><\/i> blared through the speakers, the entire crowd reacted, their excitement evident as they sang along, uniting for one of her most beloved tracks. The collective energy was undeniable, and for a few minutes, the audience shared the cathartic experience.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThank you so much for sticking around, and I\u2019ll see you next time, Boston,\u201d Allison said in her soft-spoken manner, bidding the crowd farewell. As the last notes of her set faded away, people slowly turned back to their conversations as the performance lingered with a sense of quiet reflection.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the end, Soccer Mommy\u2019s set was an emotional journey that encapsulated the best of her evolving sound. It was a testament to Allison\u2019s growth as an artist and her ability to connect with listeners on a deeply personal level.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Day 2<\/strong><\/p>\n

Review by Jaya Kohol<\/p>\n

I severely underestimated how packed Roadrunner would be in the late afternoon. The festival started at 1:30 p.m. with opener bands My Fictions, Wishy, Portrayal of Guilt, Mini Trees, TAGABOW, Glare, and Sadurn. Around me was an ocean of black band t-shirts, tattooed arms, and Doc Martens. The concert hall was a warm and inviting solace away from the bitter, below-freezing temperatures that lingered outside the front door. As I snuck my way through the crowd, I quickly realized there were not one, but two stages opposite each other at either side of the venue. There was a main stage with a massive banner reading \u201cSomething in the Way\u201d where performances usually occur at Roadrunner, and the second stage behind the tech pit, only a foot off the ground, surrounded by speakers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Photo credit: Lexie Alley<\/p>\n

Just as I found a gap in the crowd, Militarie Gun took the main stage with a palpable sense of urgency. The band began and without hesitation, the mass of bodies directly in front of the stage began to move and collide. I watched as heads bobbed up and down while frontman Shelton sang his characteristic \u201cooh ooh.\u201d The set ended after only 30 minutes, but the band thanked the crowd for their wonderful energy and quickly rushed off stage. Suddenly, the room seemed to buzz with movement as everyone turned around to look at the second stage at the back of the venue. I pushed past idling people to snag a spot to the right of the stage, only feet away from One Step Closer who were plugging in their instruments.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Photo Credit: Lexie Alley<\/p>\n

Just as the clock hit 6:15 p.m., One Step Closer began their set with an unmatched fervor. The band jumped into playing a breadth of songs from their catalog, pulling from their most recent record \u201cAll You Embrace\u201d from their 2021 album \u201cThis Place You Know.\u201d I was nowhere near prepared for how rowdy the crowd became in a matter of seconds. As lead singer Ryan Savitski began the lyrics of the first song \u201cLeap Years,\u201d body after body clambered up onto the stage, narrowly avoiding the band members, and flung themselves off into the pit with reckless abandon. The crowd became a pile of bodies clinging to one another, people falling over, others helping shove people on stage, sweat on nearly everyone’s forehead. Originally from Philadelphia, the melodic, hardcore band made the nearly sold-out venue feel like a true intimate basement hardcore show. As quickly as it started, the band concluded with \u201cThe Reach\u201d and began to pack up their instruments.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I turned my attention to the main stage to watch Mannequin Pussy as lead singer Marisa Dabice emerged in a pale green dress with the rest of her band. Being only vaguely familiar with some of their songs, I was surprised by the energy the band brought to the stage. Bathed in purple lights, they played through their catalog of four albums, giving everyone a taste of what they had to offer. In the middle of the set, Dabice took a moment to address the men in the room, asking them all to scream the word \u201cpussy\u201d as loud as they could, laughing into the microphone as she remarked how men are afraid of that word. She didn\u2019t hesitate to address the anxiety around today\u2019s political climate or the hopelessness many young people feel. The crowd cheered ecstatically as the band played \u201cI Got Heaven\u201d and their final, most popular song, \u201cRomantic.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Once again, I turned to the back of the room to watch Fiddlehead begin their set. If I had thought the One Step Closer crowd was a mess, the Fiddlehead crowd was even more chaotic. The stage was lit with nothing besides red lights, and as the band began furiously playing, the mass of bodies began to push and crush me against the speakers. Feet flung themselves off the stage and over the crowd, knocking heads and shoulders, arms and elbows were protruding everywhere. Under the red light, it almost felt like a total bloodbath in the audience and on stage. Lead singer Patrick Flynn, nearly out of breath, took a moment to dedicate their final song to his mother who recently passed, as well as all the loved ones of those close to him, reminding the audience that we\u2019re never really alone, even after death. The band blew me away.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Photo Credit: Lexie Alley<\/p>\n

Finally, it was time for shoegaze icons Slowdive to take the main stage. Without much to say to the audience, the band opened with \u201cAvalyn.\u201d The slow hypnotic nature of their sound, coupled with the scintillating and oscillating visuals on the backdrop behind them, seemed to enchant the whole audience. The whole crowd was swaying in unison to song after song. Rachel Goswell\u2019s ethereal vocals echoed throughout the venue, enrapturing me, especially as the band played through my favorite song of theirs, \u201cWhen The Sun Hits.\u201d After a magical hour-long performance, the band concluded with an encore of \u201cMachine Gun\u201d and \u201c40 Days.\u201d The night had come to an end, and the second day of the festival had been a huge success.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Day 1 Review by Cathy Trabazo The crowd bustled with quiet chatter, waiting in anticipation for the eleventh set of the \u201cSomething in the Way Fest\u201d at Roadrunner. The room was buzzing with anticipation and nostalgia, the venue filled with a crowd of beanies and flannels. In the wake of her latest album, \u201cEvergreen,\u201d the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21925,"featured_media":46108,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1895,1525,1523,15,1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46087"}],"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\/21925"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46087"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46087\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46110,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46087\/revisions\/46110"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46108"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46087"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46087"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46087"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}