Review by James Klein<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Just hours after releasing their second album, Swedish band Weatherday delivered a passionate and electric set on Wednesday at Arts at the Armory in Somerville, Mass. Weatherday has pioneered a lo-fi emo sound that has influenced countless acts, including Parannoul, BrokenTeeth, and Asian Glow. Despite their underground acclaim and influence, the band has maintained a distinct DIY ethos, which was evident from the moment fans arrived at the venue.<\/span><\/p>\n Arts at the Armory is an unassuming, solid-white historic armory nestled in a Somerville neighborhood. Early arrivals found themselves double-checking the location, as the venue looked more like a community center than a concert hall. Bulletin boards were littered with flyers for local events, and Gen-X patrons of the caf\u00e9 inside the venue seemed confused by the growing Gen-Z crowd. As this crowd grew, the armory doors opened, revealing the three bands, godf*ck, Combat, and Weatherday, carrying in their gear and introducing themselves to the staff. About 400 fans crowded the small hallway and sidewalk until 7:25 p.m., when the doors opened to reveal the cavernous, purple-lit venue, with merch tables on either side of the stage and a bar at the back. The crowd stirred, not only for Weatherday but for the two opening acts as well.<\/span><\/p>\n Amherst-based electronic screamo band godf*ck kicked off the night with an explosive and interactive set, immediately urging the crowd to form a mosh pit. The audience responded with enthusiastic running, kicking, and punching, feeding into the raw energy of the performance. Halfway through, the band revealed that they had been in a car accident earlier that day but refused to let it derail their show. Closing the set with their song \u201cEnd of Everything,\u201d fans screamed the lyrics as the moshing intensified. Following them, Baltimore indie-punk band Combat maintained the high energy with a lively and irreverent set. Drummer Isabella DeVarona realized she didn\u2019t have drumsticks and had to ask the crowd for a spare pair. After borrowing some from godf*ck, she delivered a standout performance that propelled the band’s punk rock energy.<\/span><\/p>\n By the time Weatherday took the stage at 9:15 p.m., the anticipation was palpable. The band spent 20 minutes setting up, embodying the DIY aesthetic as they ran on and off the stage adjusting their equipment. The bassist entertained the crowd by playing the basslines from \u201cMoney\u201d by Pink Floyd and \u201cSeven Nation Army\u201d by The White Stripes, laughing with the audience. The guitarist followed suit, playing the classic surf rock riff from \u201cMiserlou\u201d by Dick Dale & His Del-Tones. Finally, Sputnik, the enigmatic force behind Weatherday, announced, \u201cYeah, so we\u2019re good to go.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Dressed in pigtails tucked under a black hat, with their signature pink circles painted on their cheeks, Sputnik greeted the audience with a quiet but warm \u201cHi everyone! How are you doing? We\u2019re gonna perform some songs for you.\u201d The crowd roared. The band almost launched into the first song before Sputnik casually added, \u201cOh yeah, my new album dropped today.\u201d The drummer, wearing only a white sleeveless shirt and short shorts, counted in the track \u201cMeanie.\u201d Despite being less than a day old, the song was met with immediate recognition, as fans passionately sang along. The band erupted into quick riffs and bopped their heads. Sputnik, always understated, followed the song with a simple \u201cThank you,\u201d before kneeling to retie their shoe and adjust the sound levels with the engineers.<\/span><\/p>\n Once the technical difficulties were resolved, Sputnik flipped the mic and announced, \u201cOkay, we\u2019re gonna do another song,\u201d launching into the album\u2019s lead single, \u201cAngel.\u201d The crowd erupted, chanting the lyrics, a testament to Weatherday\u2019s dedicated cult following. The bassist bounced around the stage, energetically playing the song\u2019s driving bassline. Afterward, Sputnik joked, \u201cThat was song two, not by Blur, sorry\u2026 What\u2019s next, \u2018Blanket\u2019?\u201d The bassist hesitated, replying, \u201cI don\u2019t think so,\u201d before the band started playing it anyway. The guitarist, wearing a Kirby hat and a shirt that says \u201cI HEART MY HOT GIRLFRIEND,\u201d plucked intricate melodies while Sputnik half-sang, half-screamed the track\u2019s numbing lyrics.<\/span><\/p>\n Midway through the set, Sputnik announced, \u201cThe next song is from \u2018Come In,\u2019\u201d before noting that it shared the same key as the previous track for the music nerds in the audience. They played \u201cOlder Than Before (Oswald Made No Way for Himself),\u201d a dynamic piece that showcased Sputnik\u2019s vocal and instrumental range, as the overhead lights pulsated between deep purple and red, amplifying the intensity. As the song ended, the crowd erupted in cheers, but Sputnik announced \u201cMy bottom string snapped,\u201d leading to moans from the audience. Combat\u2019s guitarist yelled \u201cI got you\u201d from backstage. To kill time, the drummer broke into a jazz shuffle as Sputnik joked, \u201cHas anyone seen \u2018The Incredibles\u2019?\u201d The rest of the band joined in, improvising a jazzy superhero theme. Sputnik, laughing at their bandmates, finally adjusted their new guitar and broke into a solo that led into another new song, \u201cRadar Ballet.\u201d This electric song is underscored by the drummer\u2019s performance, breaking off parts of the cymbal with each crash.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n One highlight was during \u201cRipped Apart by Hands,\u201d where Sputnik\u2019s voice floated under layered vocal effects, culminating in raw, full-throated screams. As the set neared its end, they promised to wrap up with \u201ca couple of bangers,\u201d launching into high-energy performances of \u201cCome In\u201d and \u201cTiara.\u201d Though released five years apart, the songs shared Weatherday\u2019s signature drowned-out vocals and epic guitar riffs. Before leaving the stage to go to the merch booth, Sputnik expressed their gratitude: \u201cThank you for singing along while my voice kinda gave.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Weatherday delivered exactly what fans wanted: atmospheric yet electrifying music, intricate melodies, and a sense of humor and humility that made the show feel intimate despite the band\u2019s influence. The DIY spirit was alive and well, proving that even with internet success, Weatherday remains true to its roots.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Review by James Klein Just hours after releasing their second album, Swedish band Weatherday delivered a passionate and electric set on Wednesday at Arts at the Armory in Somerville, Mass. Weatherday has pioneered a lo-fi emo sound that has influenced countless acts, including Parannoul, BrokenTeeth, and Asian Glow. Despite their underground acclaim and influence, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21925,"featured_media":47287,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1525,1523,15,1],"tags":[1936,2324],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47271"}],"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=47271"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47271\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47288,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47271\/revisions\/47288"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}