mclusky: The Missing Key To Happiness?
I keep on writing about it, I know, but, really, this was a rough week for me. Not mentally (thank God) but just with my workload. I never felt caught up and constantly felt like I was drowning without a chance of reaching the surface. I was still feeling that way when I made my way downtown to The Fine Line. Even when I was waiting for the music to start, I was still going through all of the things I needed to get done this weekend and dreading it all because, ultimately, there’s just not enough time. Taxes, cleaning, work, errands, the list was spinning around in my head, but as soon as the opening band hit their first note of the set, all of those swirling thoughts cleared, and I was left with nothing more than the music and the crowd– my happy place.
Boston-based Pile was the first and only opening act on Friday night. With nine full-length albums out there, this band has been a prominent band in the Boston scene, but seem to have skirted the mainstream. I’m not sure how because their show on Friday night was nothing short of explosive and perfect. Pile’s sound was this blend of perfectly curated chaos with a side of tenderness that could easily leave you choked up if you’re not ready for it. I wasn’t ready for it. Although I had a clear head for the first time all week, I felt myself going through a roller coaster ride of emotions throughout Pile’s opening set. There were moments when I was really tempted to ditch my camera at coat check so I could move a little bit into the always-shifting crowd, but other moments where all I wanted to do was find a hidden spot under the stairs to just sit and take it all in. It was exhausting in all of the right ways.
The band was clearly giving everything they could. I really don’t have all of the right words to describe what could be felt flowing off the stage, other than with the word “intense.” It was intense emotion, intense energy, intense sounds, intense everything, but the audience didn’t seem to react in the way I would have expected from such an intense showing. I expected flying limbs and sweat dripping from the walls, but, instead, it seemed as if people, like myself, were just so ready to have a night where the music and emotion could black out everything else going on in the world. Maybe it was a little sense of paralysis, or maybe it was just that this band felt like a musician’s band where you wanted to see everything they were doing rather than lose a moment to a sweaty pit; regardless, I just expected a bit more from the audience throughout Pile’s set, and it never happened. Don’t be fooled, the audience clearly loved this set, and the second that the house lights came on and the stage started being turned over for the headliner, every conversation revolved around how amazing the set was.
I’ve been a fan of Pile for some time now and had always dreamed of what it would be like to see them live. Although I had always imagined a bit rowdier of a crowd, Pile absolutely nailed it on Friday night and became one of those acts that I will absolutely be praying to the concert Gods about seeing live again sooner rather than later.
I don’t remember how or when I was introduced to mclusky but I know it was love at first note. This British post-hardcore band has a sound that is as unique as their personality. To say that this band is legendary would not be a stretch. They got their start in 1996 and, although there is only one remaining original member and there was a giant break in their timeline, mclusky has a very cult-like following that all seemed to come out on Friday night. I’ll be honest, although I’m a fan of this band, I don’t know much about them. I know that their music caught my attention that first day I heard it but, beyond that, I couldn’t tell you much about their recordings or history beyond what I’ve already said and, instead of just regurgitating what I can find online, I think I’ll just move onto trying to explain their set on Friday night.
Easier said than done. mclusky left me lost for words on Friday night. This trio, like Pile, has such an insane sense of power and emotion in their music and subsequent performances, with Friday night being no exception. There were moments when the audience seemed to erupt into a sweaty mass of people, and other moments where I felt like you could feel the audience gravitate ever so closer to the stage as if trying to see every movement and every note that this band played. Their set felt like an unrelenting barrage of everything. Whether it was the music or the emotion, it felt like you were being completely slaughtered by this band throughout their time on stage. I know that doesn’t sound pleasant, but it was a welcome feeling and one I think nobody in the audience wanted to end. I often talk about music and concerts being cathartic. It happens a lot, but there are some that are just a bit more cathartic than others and mclusky absolutely took the cake.
mclusky’s set consisted of over twenty songs on Friday night, which absolutely seems like a lot and really was given the amount of energy the band was giving the audience, but, at the end of the night, it wasn’t enough. mclusky is one of those bands that has so much material out there and has so much to offer as far as energy that, when they wrap up a set, you are left praying that it isn’t the end, just a break before they do it all again. They didn’t come back out on Friday night, and when I realized that “To Hell With Good Intentions” was truly the last song of their set, I felt a sense of dread take over. Okay, that’s a little dramatic. I was definitely still riding a high from what had just happened, but I think that having a couple of hours of pure bliss and solace from the insanity of the week was just so lovely that it was hard for me to realize that it was back to a feeling of stress and drowning.
As I woke up on Saturday morning, I realized that the feeling of stress and drowning, although still there, was not in the same form it had been earlier in the week. Although I was still coming to the realization that there just aren’t enough hours in the day, I had a feeling of being okay with it. It’s kind of hard to explain, but what it comes down to is the magic, passion, and fury that I felt throughout Friday night at The Fine Line with Pile and mclusky saved me. What concert saved you this week?
