Control
By Jaguardini
Humanity
By Jaguardini
Pick Me, Choose Me
By Her Majesty
Folsom
By Unmarked Pavement
Speed Racer
By Unmarked Pavement
01/10/26
It was winter break, and I hadn't been to any shows all month. I live in a college town, so when all the students disapear, so does the music. The couple shows thatwere happening I had missed, and I was leaving the next day. I wanted to go to at least one show before I went back to college.Also, this show was a benefits show for the Starbucks union in my area, so I wanted to go and support them. I love unions. Me and my BFF were paying at the door when all the sudden by little brother, who was also going to the show calls me. He was trying to tell me to wait and not go in yet because the guy playing was "The worst music he's ever heard." I thought he sounded fine lol.
I had to pee in the scary bathroom the venue had, but that's kind of a right of passage anyways. The venue we went to was one that every plays at in my town. I love it cause you see some really experimental stuff. It's maybe an old rock climbing gym? There's a rock wall, so who knows.
Me and BFF went around to all these little booths set up inside. There were lots of organizers, and I signed up for many mailing lists and took many informative papers. I even got a free Free-Palestine pin. The DIY-scene is a great place to remind you that there are people who care about the same issues you do. That you're not overdramatic or over-serious or anything. We got to talk to the Starbucks workers too. Great people :)
The guy playing had changed, and now someone very acoustic was on. The venue was really busy, especially for it being only townie. Me and BFF went outside and skipped in a circle linking arms. My glasses kept falling of though, so we calmed down.
We always feel so whimsical when we're at shows. Since we don't smoke either, there is less for us to do when outside the venue. We kept talking, seeing peoples outfits and such. Someone had a curly white tail on, which was fun. The age range for this show was great too. I like to see older people in the scene. They always dance in ways I've never seen before.
We went back when we heard the next guy start. He was wearing a mouthpiece. thing and a headlamp, so I knew it was going to be great. His name was Gull, and I loved him. Go check out his Insta he's a visionary.
His vocals reminded me of NIN. Like the kinda breathy angry singing. And he had the juiciest synths. I could chew on them. He had a keyboard, a drum set, and a bunch of peddles. The drums were played with his hands, no sticks, and he would play the keyboard at the same time. It's amazing to me that people with this kind of talent are happy to play for a room full of drunk people in all black with no stage for barely any money. Saints among us.
His set had great visuals too. Sometimes shows here have this beautiful psycodelic visuals in the background that play other footage on top of the technicolor. This guy has Godzilla in the background, with lots of red and yellow oil-spilling together.
We left after his set cause I had to wake up early and drive back to college, but I was happy to leave on a good note. Me and BFF complained about the 2025 Tumblr year in review on the way home. Perfect night. And here's some pics!!!
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14/09/25
This was while I was at college and going through show withdrawl. The town I study in has a much much smaller scene than my hometown. On a good night at home you can hop around to 3 shows in one night. At college, there might be one show a month, MAYBE. It's sad, but the shows that do happen are treasured.I had never been to this show house before, and I was also bringing one of my good friends to a show for the first time. She had always been interested in the scene, but lived somewhere with actually no shows, so it was a big night of firsts. We met up at her dorm before we left. We where messsing around and taking dumb photos, and I was trying to make sure she had all the essentials. I always take ear plugs, water, and a small crossbody to shows. Once we suited up we were ready.
The drive to the show was short but very rural. When we got there we were told that it was best to park at a nearby elementary school parking lot. We didn't really have a choice lol. The parking lot was mostly empty, but on a giant hill. We had to walk down the hill, past this scary ass daycare center, and across a field to get back to the show house. We were laughing the whole time.
When we got there we saw a couple other ppl from our school which was fun. The venue was a small house basement. I could touch the ceiling, and I'm 5'2. The crowd was nice and welcoming though. I could see a really good range of ages, which is always a good sign. There was even an older metalhead guy with his little son. I'll get to him later, but he had giant noise cancelling headphones on. Adorable.
The music started and the set was GOOD. We heard Magus the Giant first. So so so good. The guitars were amazing and you could feel every cord in the small room. A tiny tv hung next to the stage area (no real stage) and showed the band so people in the back could see them too. Lots of lights and fog as is typical as well.
The real highlight was the moshing though. You could tell these are people who are dying to mosh. Everyone was getting in on it as soon as ANY vocals started. I don't know if it's the size of the venue, or if the crowd was just really respectful, but this moshing was perfect. As said before, I'm short. I get pummeled at most mosh pits. I love it, but usually some college dude gets too excited, rams me in the head, and I have to take a break. Say what you will about how intense mosh pits should be, but I prefer it when everyone (not just big dudes) can mosh all night without risking a concussion. This pit had that vibe, and I was so sore at the end of the night I had to take an advil, which is the perfect amount of injured.
The music and exhaustion and vibe and lights were all coming together to make me feel like I was somewhere sacred. Sometimes the music is so good you have to start getting religious. I was swaying back and forth in a trance by the end of the set.
Speaking of that little kid, people had formed a small circle and were letting him "mosh" with them. Basically everyone gently pushed him around the circle. He was having the time of his life, and his dad thanked everyone after. I really mean everyone too, cause pretty much everyone there joined the circle at some point.
Magus the Giant ended, and me and my friend went outside to breathe a debrief. She was having so much fun, and said she wanted to go to more shows, which made me so happy. We went back in as the music for the second band started. I can't remember their name anymore, but I did like them. Great vocals, don't know how that guy could talk after.
We saw I think 2 more artists that night, all hardcore and talented. We kept moshing for hours and talking to the kids from our school. Some fun interactions I had was trying to help a goth girl find her nose ring that flew out, putting my glasses in their vent so they wouldn't break, and talking to a guy from west virginia about the scene there. It's smaller, but very intense, apparently. Me and my friend left a little before the very end. We were worn out and sweaty and needed to shower. You know the show was good when other peoples sweat is covering you too.
We walked back past that scary daycare, across the field, and actually crawled up the hill back to her car. We listened to NIN on the way back and stopped at 7-11 to get some snacks. We both kept yelling cause we were so hyped up. I was so tenderized I was just shaking for no reason. We parted ways after hanging out in her car for a bit. I was happy I got to go with her :)
I went home, showered, raved to my dear roomate, and fell asleep sore.
My pics aren't very good from this night, but you can see the low ceiling lol.
I have been going to DIY shows since highschool, and the creativity and community I have seen here is unmatched. Seeing people come together to create and love and celebrate these independant artists has genuinely given me hope for humanity. And the music is really good. Basically I love DIY-music because I feel DIY-music loves me.
This page aims to catalogue all the shows I have ever been too. The backlog might take awhile, but I want to remember them all. I won't list all the musicians I've heard because I don't always remember their names or stay for the whole show. I'll mention and link the bands that really stood out to me though.
Please enjoy the music player on this page as well! The songs are all of people I have heard live. I bought the music from Bandcamp for every artist I could, and I'll link their personal websites throughout my posts. Please check them out, you won't regret it.
