Josh Hughes
As usual, there’s a lot going on at the Underground this quarter. On top of the normal Open Mics (that occur every Tuesday at 7 p.m.), the various trivia nights, and semi-regular poetry evenings, there’s also the Wednesday Night Concert Series.
Every Wednesday at 7 p.m., a couple of bands perform at the Underground for no cost to the public. This quarter is especially exciting because of Western’s yearly Battle of The Bands, the winner of which will get a slot at Lawnstock in June.
Even if you’ve missed the last couple of weeks, which included DJ Slab Serif, Razzleberry, and The Black Tones, there’s still plenty of music throughout the next couple months. This Wednesday, April 25, Porch Cat, Crooked Neighbors, and Bob Fossil will perform.
Porch Cat is a queer, feminist power pop band comprised of Chan Barraza, Emily Ayden and Molly Ada. They write songs about “queer pain and queer joy ” with specific focus on gender identity, illness and the assorted emotions that come with both. “I know I like my body when it’s with yours” goes the chorus to one of their two released songs on bandcamp, “Bummed Out.”
Crooked Neighbors, on the other hand, is a quintet that writes folk-influenced music with prominent cello and acoustic guitar. Their sound fluctuates between songs, even taking certain influences from bluegrass and roots music. They’ve been a staple of the Bellingham music scene for the last three years.
Last for the evening is Bob Fossil, made up of Kenny Clarkson, Hank Miller, Joe Canfield, Corey Teply and Alan Schellenberger. Another Bellingham favorite, they write and play richly arranged rock music that draws on funk, progressive rock and alternative music. They just released their debut album “Safety Meeting” last fall, which features short and sweet songs that hope to share “a meaningful human experience with people throughout the world via music.”
After their performance this week, the next four Wednesdays will be completed dedicated to the Battle of the Bands. The nine bands competing are as follows: Animal Inside, Mount Saturn, Great Snakes, India Glover, Cat Valley, Katerina Moran, Middle James, Laughingstock and Dirty Ferns. Each round will feature three of the previously mentioned artists and the three finalists will get to compete again on May 30.
On May 23, in between the preliminaries and final round of the Battle of the Bands, WWU Jazz Combo will give a full evening performance at the Underground.
Beyond the upcoming concerts, the UGCH will host a screening of the animated film “Your Name” by director Makoto Shinkai on April 30 at 7 p.m.
All of the above mentioned events are free for any and all to attend. The Underground is located on the third floor of the VU.