Last Friday night, at Barefoots Joe’s second concert of the semester, current students and preview students gathered to hear And the Boys and Staying for the Weekend.
And the Boys were the first to perform, with three out of four of the bandmates being Union alumni. All were very honored to be back at Union to play their very first show, and warmed up the crowd with their energetic-carefree sound. Their songs included a Bombay Bicycle Club cover, a song they wrote while traveling down I-40 from Nashville, and a song about a boy they met off Craigslist. No matter the premise of the song, the sound was reminiscent of the Beach Boys, and Two Door Cinema Club, which gave the songs a jiggy, head-boppin’ feel.
After a short intermission and coffee break, Staying for the Weekend took the stage, and got comfortable. While the other band members plugged in their guitars and adjusted their microphones, the drummer took the time to take off his shoes.
He was literally barefoot in Barefoots.
Although he had a valid reason for doing this, as his boots were too stiff for him to pound on the bass drum pedal, the embodiment of the name is appreciated.
Whereas And the Boys’ rhythm encouraged a head bop from the audience, Staying for the Weekend went further to encourage a full-on head bang. During their set, both the lead singer and guitarist flipped their shoulder-length hair with the of the pulsing rhythm.
Unlike the usual practice of drinking alcohol or smoking a joint to loosen up before a show, Staying for the Weekend drank their courage at the coffee bar. At around their third song, the lead guitarist was visibly shaking as he picked up his water bottle, asking the crowd if they were as caffeinated as he was.
Besides previewing ‘High Tide’ and ‘Roman Pains,’ songs from their upcoming EP, Staying for the Weekend also covered the Beatles’ ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,’ and the Smiths’ ‘This Charming Man.’
“I have always been a Beatles fan, so I loved when they covered ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,’” said Hayley Lievers, a senior broadcast journalism major. “I really enjoyed the band’s energy and charisma.”
This energy was what broke the lead guitarist’s guitar string in the first song, while the band’s charisma was what made the show so captivating to listen to and experience.
For information about their upcoming shows, albums, etc. follow both @andtheb0ys and @stayingfortheweekend on Instagram