Drops of the sun melted the hearts of those present at 9:30 Club Nov. 22 as The Mowgli’s and LIGHTS untangled the weights of the crowd.
It was all about the heart.
The communion of these two groups was beautiful—sculptures of skyscrapers and space and paintings that depicted heartbreak. Fleeting moments given immortality were strung up around the venue, dancing amongst the packed crowd, others catching the tears of some and holding them with care.
The concert felt like being crammed into a summer’s day—the sunlight beaming through every pore, the warm but delightful breeze of the earth’s yawns causing my heart to race and my mind’s worries to cease.
Every musician was simply phenomenal. Great minds and great souls intertwined along a road glowing with the promise of love and compassion in yelling together “I’m good! I’m good!” or swaying along with LIGHTS as she sang to “Portal,” a track that pushes you to stop criticizing yourself and begin to grow in acceptance of who you are.
I had never seen the Mowgli’s before but I’d heard of their charged message that “love is all you need.” Every show from their current tour has given donations to the International Rescue Committee, which aids those who have been affected by humanitarian crises, such as a natural disaster or war.
Songs such as “Sunlight” made me sway and cry under the fuchsia lights, especially as Colin, one of the band’s lead singers, said “We’ve been waiting our whole lives, carried away with the hard times.”
It felt like they were the audience’s guardian angels and we could finally see them, hanging on to their every word and knowing we were going to be okay.
But with this immortal presence, their down-to-earth personas were shown as well, as Colin looked at a poster on the second level of the venue that read, “COLIN, it’s my half birthday too!”
With an amused look on his face, he smiled and dedicated the next song to her. Throughout the show, he kept on saying, “Wow, it’s my half birthday!”
Their approachability was refreshing. The Mowgli’s guitarist, Spencer Trent, just so happened to be front of me in line but I didn’t even realize until later. If I had known, I would have complimented his long hair and rad leather jacket.
The numbers on the clock crumbled to ashes as songs like the upbeat “Summertime” and the hit single off their 2015 Kids In Love album “I’m Good” shook gravity off its throne.
“Whatever Forever” is already making the harsh cold days easier to breathe through, its electric and encouraging veins making my skeleton hum.
Oldies, such as “Hi, Hey There, Hello,” made everyone dance along, a super fan at the very front pumping his fists.
If The Mowgli’s are a summer hurricane, LIGHTS is the auroras gliding through the pitch darkness, a queen without a crown because her very presence is blessed with the roar of the supernovas.
In front of the drummer and guitarists were square lights with mesh camouflaging the musicians, their shadows amplified.
As LIGHTS, a.k.a. Valerie Anne Poxleitner, entered the stage and began to sing, she ripped the mesh and revealed them, the crowd roaring at the effect.
People moved closer as Poxleitner swayed to the music, her green military coat slipping off her shoulder as she sang “Same Sea,” one of my favorite tracks off her 2014 album Little Machines.
The alt-rock and contemporary pop artist charmed the audience, smiling and rolling her body to the youthful, nostalgic tracks.
Poxleitner surprised everyone with an acoustic set that included the throwback “Quiet” and “Meteorites,” which haunted me with the chorus: “We’re volcanoes in the night, we’re rolling like meteorites.” This line inspired me to write a poem at 4 a.m. the very next day.
You have to be some sort of magician in order to create a unique sense of time. The power of both bands’ messages and the energy they wove with their music, was one that anchored itself to one’s spirit.
Feature Photo Credit: Sept. 26 – Dave Appelbaum, (left) keyboard, and Josh Hogan (right), guitar and vocals, of Southern Californian alternative rock band, The Mowgli’s. Appelbaum treated the audience to his guitar playing during their performance at the Lincoln stage on Saturday at Landmark Music Festival. (Cassie Osvatics/Bloc Reporter)
Karla Casique is a sophomore journalism major and can be reached at karlacasique@hotmail.com.
