Late this past Saturday, Feb. 6, the lights in the Mabel Brown Room rose for the final time to the sounds of guitar cabinets feeding back, and the applause of over 150 people.
After a night full of pop culture references, emotional discourse about the trials of life and growing up, and the occasional breakdown, WKNH had thrown another successful spring semester show.
WKNH, Keene State College’s student-run radio station is known for bringing alternative music and entertainment to campus over the airwaves on the frequency 91.3 FM.
Luke Stergiou / Senior Photographer
Thanks to new event’s coordinator Nick Busby though, they brought three brand new artists from the New England area to the college’s doorstep.
Busby said he was committed to keeping the event student-run, and worked closely with both the WKNH executive board in the weeks prior, and the tech crew that evening.
“Everyone helped to load in and get the tech crew gear in…campus safety was there to make sure nothing got out of hand but…[only] students,” were involved with the event planning Busby said.
As a communication major, Busby said, “What I’m doing now is what I want to do when I grow up,” and that these types of events offer real experience for those involved. Sticking with the WKNH’s alternative music background, Busby said that although there are concerts on campus from other organizations, he “likes punk music, and [we] don’t really get that around here besides at house shows, and [he] wants something on campus that kids can go to that’s a good environment for everyone.”
Opening the evening was Leaner from Boston, Massachusetts. The band created a blend of fuzzed-out guitar chords with mellow, lower male lead vocals reminiscent of Dinosaur Jr. or Husker Du. The audience needed time to respond to the act, but there was plenty of murmur once their half-hour set ended.
Following Leaner was Perspective, A Lovely Hand To Hold, from the Nashua area; the sound is geographically extremely familiar. Embracing what the state is known for, they produced a sound that could easily draw comparisons to KSC alumni The 123’s or TheColorOrange.
Luke Stergiou / Senior Photographer
Ben Walker and Jacob McCabe of PALHTH said they were nothing but ecstatic about how the event turned out. Often playing in basements with friends, they said they were so excited because “you know there’s going to be a show…you’re playing to your demographic of kids…and the radio [air play] before and after really gets you exposure in the area.” This was their first time playing in Keene and they recorded their full set, which can be found on their Facebook page. Walker was very excited to be opening for such “an excellent band” Sorority Noise.
Hailing from Hartford, Connecticut, and fronted by Old Grey’s Cameron Boucher, these guys were no strangers to standing on the Mabel Brown Room stage.
After seamlessly playing through three tunes, the spaces in between being filled with Sonic Youth-esque feedback soundscapes, the band quieted as Boucher explained that Keene “is a pretty [expletive] crazy place for [him]” before going into a long talk about the pains of manic depression (which he suffers from) and the horrors of suicide or suicidal thoughts, begging the audience to love each other and give each other help if they need it.
Campus Safety Officer Mike Miskell, who attended the event, said, “It was my first event, it was a good event, and yeah, [the bands] were pretty good.”
The entire audience erupted with laughter and applause as they raced through their upbeat rendition of the “Tiny Rick” song from the cartoon “Rick and Morty,” acutely aware of the emo connotations of the lyrics and the satire it placed on their band.
As they finished the encore the lights came on in the room, and everyone was smiling.
Matt Bacon can be contacted at mbacon@kscequinox.com
