Songs You Love by People You Know: Applejam's Valentine's Day Cover Show
Tufts turned out to see friends and acquaintances perform the day after Valentine’s day at Crafts House for Applejam Productions’ annual cover show. The first floor of Crafts House was filled wall to wall for the majority of the night, and bands kept the energy up for hours, switching off after sets of three or so songs.
Genevieve, followed by Isabela Sartain and Nate Hirsch got things started with some gentle and jazzy tunes.Then came solo acts by Paige Shephard and Bubó. Bubó really got V-day vibes rolling, with some slow songs over dreamy guitar.
The next few bands got the crowd dancing, even though it was a packed house. Bird Preferred got everyone pumped up with a fun cover of M.I.A. 's “Paper Planes”. At this point I was quite literally climbing the walls, clinging to furniture (and standing on a radiator) at the edges of the room to take pictures. Then Finn the Band (The Experience) came out with a daring cover of “xXXi_wud_nvrstøp_ÜXXx” by 100 gecs, and later a few mellower ones, which set the tone for a funky set by Mandevilla. Up next was TJAC, announced by their theme song (which has now appeared on more than one Applejam stage). The highlight of their set was an energetic cover of “untitled 05” by Kendrick Lamar, which was really fun to be in the crowd for, in addition to being well executed.
After TJAC, the crowd thinned out a bit, but the show was by no means over. A mix of nostalgic pop-punk (Fall Out Boy’s “Sugar we’re Going Down” performed by BEATs the Band) and classic rock (“Time is On Your Side” and “Walk on the Wild Side” performed by Bathtime) kept things going strong for the remaining audience. At some point the crowd broke into a gentle mosh; as many had been there for a few hours at this point, the pit really spoke to the flow and sustained energy the acts had provided.
Finally, Furious George took the controls for a DJ set, turning the concert into a real party. The cover show was a great showcase of Tufts’ music scene, and a great time as well. Come to Applejam’s next show, February 28 to see the guy who sings about cities and towns, Matt Farley, and Johnny No Graves!