Despite the single digit temperatures and the layer of fresh snow on the ground, Cayuga Lodge’s basement was full on Saturday night, thanks to four out of town bands. Ellen Siberian Tiger, Rickie & Aimee, And The Kids and Adult Mom brought a mix of performance styles, though their music was similar and went well together. The show was cohesive, danceable and fun.
Ellen Siberian Tiger, a five-piece group out of Philadelphia, opened up the night with sweet rock music that leaned toward folksy, but had its bold moments. Frontwoman and songwriter Ellen Tiberio-Shultz brought powerful vocals, and the whole band brought skilled instrumentation. They were fun and engaging, low-key enough to start off the night with a lot of bustling in the crowd, but energetic enough to be exciting and capture the attention of everyone walking in and finding their friends.
Rickie & Aimee put on a different kind of performance art than the other bands of the night. Their show focused on pop singing and well-timed dance moves, along with a recorded instrumental track. They bobbed up and down and threw their arms outwards rhythmically, in well-rehearsed and seemingly-automatic choreography. Their performance was flashy, interesting and fairly well-received. The crowd even agreed to sit on the floor with Aimee while she lit candles and shared self-affirmative messages. The duo excelled at putting on a captivating performance, but didn’t share the same depth or the same indie-band feel as the other groups.
And The Kids, a quartet from Northampton, Massachusetts, were up next, playing pop songs that seamlessly turned into electrifying rock. They played well, and had a crowd of fans singing along right up front. They had the best dancing music of the night so the crowd was the most mobile and excited then, especially as the room was finally filling up.
Adult Mom finished out the night. The band is fronted by Steph Knipe, who plays guitar and sings sweetly about relationships, sad nights and friends. Their songs are honest and heartfelt, and their performance was excellent. They sounded better live than they do in their recorded discography, taking the best parts of lo-fi music — honest lyrics and simple music, among other traits — and combining them with pleasant vocals and high-energy bass, guitar and percussion.
Someone walked up behind me during Adult Mom’s set and said, “I want this to be the background music for my whole life.” While that wasn’t the first thing that came to my mind, I think he’s got the right idea. It’s often upbeat, introspective, fun to dance to and easy to listen to. The music has a lot of thoughtful ideas about life, reflects on the good and the bad, but is overwhelmingly fun. While I don’t think the universe around us will play Adult Mom throughout the day, it makes pretty good walking-around-with-earphones music.
Katie Sims is a freshman in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. She can be reached at [email protected].