Articles and Photos by: Megan Niger

Driving a lifted truck has never been a walk in the park, but I really had a hard time doing so this past Friday. Finding a place to park  in New Haven was a real challenge; I circled the block around College Street Music Hall for about an hour and every time I passed the venue, the line outside the door had either stayed the same length or grown substantially.

By the time I finally found a lot to park in and had made it back to the venue, the place was packed on both levels with people anticipating the main act. Warming up the crowd first was rising hip hop artist, Kevin Abstract. Accompanying him on stage were about seven people; some holding hands, some holding flags and others sitting down creating a kind of united atmosphere amongst the crowd. His energy got them jumping and dancing together.

Following Kevin Abstract was alternative Brooklyn based band, MOTHXR. Their set included songs from their debut album, Centerfold, like crowd favorites, “Stranger” and “Easy”. Lead singer, Penn Badgley, really adrenalized the crowd whenever he hit and held out higher notes. Although they are just starting out, I think Penn’s reputation for his role as Dan Humphrey in Gossip Girl will soon be quite overshadowed by his up and coming band.

After a set change that felt like an eternity, the lights finally dimmed and the boys of The Neighbourhood took the stage. You could feel the excitement radiating from the crowd as the bright white lights rose and their silhouettes carved figures into the fog. “Greetings From Califournia” slowly unwound as the audience went wild. Following this was “Prey” and “Cry Baby”. For the first 45 seconds of “Cry Baby” lead singer, Jesse Rutherford, let the crowd sing the words without him and there was no shortage of breath. I found myself even screaming the words back to him for the entirety of the song, all while shooting photos.

Their set included songs from their previous albums as well as their newest, Wiped Out!. The enthusiasm in the crowd throughout the duration of the show stayed just as strong as it did when they first took the stage. It was very obvious that to many of the people in the audience, this band meant everything to them. Watching people see their favorite artist live is truly one of the greatest things.