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Before rocking out on stage, Vir Batra manned the merch table in the back of the Westcott Theater. He socialized with other students as they came in and prepared for his act. Batra is the lead singer of house band Studio89 and plays guitar in Picture Us Tiny— on Thursday night, he performed in both groups at Bloomfest II, a show dedicated to the house band scene in Syracuse at the Westcott.

“It’s gonna be fun, it’s gonna be energetic,” Batra said before his performance. “Hopefully people are jumping around and it sounds as good as it’s been sounding in practice.”

Following the success of the first Bloomfest back in April, the Westcott Theater hosted a new slate of local bands for the second installment of the show. The lineup, consisting of Mnemonic Advice, Lauren Juzang, Studio89 and Picture Us Tiny, only included bands featuring Syracuse University students.

Bloomfest II gathered a healthy crowd on Thursday night, with attendees dressed in unique attire. From animal print flare pants to sparkly tops, cowboy boots and cargo pants, the crowd spoke to SU’s eclectic house band scene and the variety of people who enjoy it.

One attendee, Sam Ronan, a senior at SU studying sound recording technology, has been following the house band scene since he was a freshman. He’s made friends with people in the bands and enjoys going to shows to support them.

“The house show scene has been like my home at Syracuse,” Ronan said. “I just saw some super close friends of mine just perform and it’s great. It’s a great feeling to be able to support them and just get to hear great music.”

As the crowd grew larger closer to the start of the show at 8 p.m., fans were excited to hear what the bands of the night had to offer. Mnemonic Advice, the project of senior Bandier student Josh Carus, hit the stage first. Their indie-rock sound reverberated through the building, with drum beats the crowd could feel in their chest.

Lauren Juzang performed second, also with a collection of originals and covers. Her chill, indie-pop sound and melodic voice got the crowd swaying, with some members even waving their hands in the air to her set.

Between acts, attendees could check out offerings from two of SU’s music-related extracurriculars, 20 Watts Magazine and WERW Radio, which were stationed next to the bands’ merch area at the back of the Westcott. 20 Watts, SU’s leading music publication, had past print editions on display and information available for interested patrons, and WERW, SU’s student-run independent radio station, was giving away t-shirts, temporary tattoos, frisbees and water bottles to advertise the station to attendees.

Peri Friedman, a junior PR student at SU, tabled for WERW at Bloomfest II and encouraged students to get involved. He said that the station plans to branch out this semester, expanding its reach to YouTube and TikTok, while still maintaining its free-form radio play.

“You can have your own radio show for an hour a week where you can play your own music or talk or do a little bit of both. We basically say, ‘shoot your sh*t, say your sh*t,’” Friedman said.

Studio89 and Picture Us Tiny brought up the second-half of the show, continuing the high energy of the night. Studio89 rocked the crowd with a series of high-energy covers that Batra said were new for their set.

During Studio89’s performance, a mosh pit started up at the front of the crowd, sending attendees crashing and jumping into each other. Others in the crowd stuck to jumping and singing along with the covers and originals the bands played during their respective sets. Picture Us Tiny kept the audience going with their signature pop-punk sound, for which frontman Jackson Velli went viral on TikTok. 33col3 also showed up during their set as a special guest.

Prior to his performances, Batra said that using the energy of the crowd was one of the advantages to playing on an elevated stage, like that of the Westcott’s, as opposed to basements. House bands often play shows in basements and other settings more accessible to students than a stage, so being on a designated stage for the night gave the bands the opportunity to interact more traditionally with their audience. Seeing the crowd, Batra said, is one of his favorite parts of performing.

“Being able to see everyone and get that energy off of people, it’s kinda unreal. Especially on a stage like this where you can really see the whole crowd, it’s pretty cool,” Batra said. “Normally we’re playing basements where you can see like three people in the front and nobody else.”

As Batra said, the energy of the crowd and performers feed into each other. Syracuse’s house band scene is both a musical and social experience, and for Ronan, the bond that’s created between people and performers at house shows is why he keeps coming back.

“The community, that’s the main thing for me,” Ronan said. “The community and seeing how much great music can be made by people I know, people who are in my life here.”

Published on September 4, 2022 at 9:18 pm