Up-and-coming bedroom pop champions Summer Salt performed at Gateway City Arts in Holyoke on Friday, Feb. 28. The show was a perfect blend of a concert and a close gathering for a crowd mostly made up of young people.
Summer Salt is currently touring the U.S. with two other bands, Okey Dokey and Breakup Shoes. The three groups have similar vibes: a mix of shoegaze (a dreamy, distorted alternative sound), 1960s pop and modern psychedelia. Breakup Shoes started off the gig with their upbeat small band sounds. Okey Dokey followed, bringing with them a hint of psychedelia and alternative. Summer Salt took the stage at 10 p.m. with a colorful flower-laced set. The concert was dominated by synthesized melodies that explored both experimental sounds and chillwave.
Summer Salt played many of their top hits. They opened with “One Last Time” — a fitting start to represent their shoegaze-y vibe. The crowd sang along in perfect unison to the mellow “Sweet to Me” and “Candy Wrappers,” and danced to songs like “Revvin’ My Cj7.” The group ended with “Oh Dear,” but the crowd clearly hadn’t had enough. A minute after they left the stage, the crowd started chanting, “One more song! One more song! One more song!”
The band had no choice but to come back. The informal setting made it possible to get out of the headspace of the set and just have fun.
The band really came out of their shell after their return, playing three songs: “Driving to Hawaii,” “One Last Time” (for a second time) and “Going Native,” which ended the show with a blast.
The Music Hall at Gateway City Arts in Holyoke is a quaint and spacious club with a stage and bar in the back. The venue offers exactly the experience an indie band demands — a small gathering of people who truly care about the music, away from the hype. Unlike most popular concerts, where it gets difficult to see the stage without having people holding their phones up, there weren’t many phones in sight. People were there to truly enjoy the music and live in the moment, away from the urge to record anything. The audience instead waved their hands and dancing along to the soft music.
“There was great crowd interaction,” Liv Aries ’23 said. “I especially loved it when Eugene [the band’s drummer] went into the audience to dance with everyone.”
Between and during songs, Matthew Terry, Summer Salt’s vocalist, broke out of the flow of music to make casual conversation with the crowd and his bandmates. The bands stuck around after the concert was over and chatted with the audience.
“After the concert while they were breaking down the stage, we went up to Eugene and he just came and spent time with us. It was like talking to a friend,” Zainab Umar ’23 said. “It was the best night ever.”