The Districts @ Great Scott

The Districts
December 1st, 2016 at Great Scott

By: Shannon O’Dwyer

The Districts, an indie-rock band from Lititz, Pennsylvania, have been touring for most of the fall, recently taking a short break to record new music. Although most of their new content has not yet been released, the band still set on a series of live shows playing the old and new. This tour brought The Districts to the Great Scott in Allston, Massachusetts, where a crowd eagerly awaited in the indie-rock basement club and bar, with the expectation of good music and casual vibes.

The show started with the Tangiers, an indie punk band from Philadelphia. By the end of the first song, the crowd was pretty hooked. Their long hair and angsty vibes fit the setting of the dimly lit basement stage of the Great Scott perfectly. The Tangiers did exactly what openers should do; they quickly got the crowd moving and intrigued for the rest of the show.

One thing that is great about Great Scott is that there is no backstage, so The Districts began setting up and playing almost immediately after Tangiers played their last song. They opened with “Fourth and Roebling,” a popular and catchy song that immediately sent a wave of energy through the crowd that you could literally feel through the shaky floor and conglomeration of lyric-yelling. They followed up with “Rocking Chair,” another popular track by the group which continued this unification of the crowd. After these songs, the band played some of their unreleased new songs. The band alleviated the lull in the crowd that naturally occurs when hearing new songs for the first time with jokes of irrational stage fears and playing fan-favorites off their albums, A Flourish and a Spoil and Telephone. One of the louder and more dramatic songs by The Districts, “Young Blood” from A Flourish and a Spoil was the best of the set, filling the venue with increasingly loud guitar riffs and passionate lyrics. The set came to a close with “Funeral Beds,” an emotional track where lead singer Rob Grote’s vehement voice brought a quality show to a close.

The show had a unique crowd experience of feelings of community and casual vibes where everyone was there for the same reason: to listen to good music. Fans were committed and genuinely enjoyed an authentic set with a band that clearly had the same love for music as the crowd.