During the Weaves' song “Walkaway,” guitarist Morgan Waters screamed into the holes of his electric guitar. He played the strings with his mouth like a harmonica. Lead vocalist Jasmyn Burke moaned repeatedly into an echoing microphone.
Varsity, an indie rock band from Chicago, and Stef Chura, a punk band from Detroit, opened for the Canadian pop band Weaves at The Bishop Bar on Thursday evening.
Varsity was the first band to take the stage.
Lead vocalist Stef Smith said Varsity was stoked to be there because she and guitarist Pat Stanton went to IU and love coming back to Bloomington.
Varsity released its first EP “Thanks For Nothing” in 2014 and its self-titled, full-length album in 2015.
Varsity released its album “Parallel Person". According to the Varsity Bandcamp website, the album is about the uphill battle of isolation, popularity and artistic frustration.
“We just did an album release show in Chicago,” Smith said. “It feels good to have these songs out in the world.”
Varsity opened with the song “Alone In My Principles” from the new album. Smith played the synth and danced as she closed her eyes and sang into the mic.
“We stopped for gas,” Smith sang. “I got out to collect my thoughts.”
The crowd was thin for the energetic show, but the band members smiled at each other and danced as though the venue was completely full. Members of the headlining band Weaves moved close to the stage and made up most of the audience.
Stanton wore yellow aviators and played rhythm on a red electric guitar. The red lights shining down upon the band made the venue feel like a photography darkroom.
The next song the band played was “A Friend Named Paul.”
“You know there’s nothing wrong here,” Smith sang. “It’s just my mind.”
Later in the show, Varsity played the song “Must Be Nice.”
Smith said the band created a music video for this song which was featured on NPR Music All Songs TV in February.
Varsity closed out the set with the song “Amanda."
“If we don’t talk about it, no one can get mad about it,” Smith sang.
Following the Varsity show, Stef Chura took the stage. The three piece band delivered punk songs.
While lead vocalist Chura tuned her bass, she bantered with the crowd.
"Anyone here like to pick their own scabs?" Chura said. "Satisfaction is a hard thing to get except for when you are picking your own scabs."
Weaves, a pop-rock group, hails from Toronto. It released a self-titled debut EP in 2014 and a self-titled, full-length album in 2016. The band played a NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert in June 2016, and the self-titled full length album was nominated for the Juno Award for Alternative Album of the Year in 2017.
Weaves released its sophomore album “Wide Open” in October 2017. This album was also nominated for the Juno Award for Alternative Album of the Year in 2018.
Weaves bassist Zach Bines took the stage with balloons tied to the neck of his bass, flowers tied to each tuning peg and blue lipstick on his lips. Lead singer Jasmyn Burke wore a crushed velvet bolero.
Weaves played the song “Coo Coo,” while audience members danced and batted balloons.
“Abortion of popcorn that's popping and shopping for a fair chance,” Burke sang.
In honor of Bines' birthday, the band sang a distorted version of “Happy Birthday” and Chura brought doughnuts from Rainbow Bakery on stage with candles in them. The band stopped the set to enjoy a few bites of the treat. Audience members enjoyed doughnuts as well.
“Does anyone want some?” Burke said. “Come on and share.”
Toward the end of the set, Weaves played the song “Shithole” while audience members headbanged and jumped to the rock song. The crowd created a dance circle and began to toss and kick balloons again.
“I’m living in a shithole not holding no one’s hands,” Burke sang. “Hoping for something to take me off of this land.”
