Photo courtesy of Anders Helsby. Target Scammers singer screams into the microphone as audience members reach for the stage.
By Caroline Huber ’26
Staff Writer
Filtering in from the cold, showgoers crammed into a small shop at 90 King Street, Northampton, for a multigenre bill featuring emo, punk, hardcore and post-punk bands. Beginning at 7:30 p.m. on the night of Feb. 2, with an entry fee of $10, the space quickly filled with people.
Melodic-emo post-hardcore four-piece band Tributary opened the show with a rendition of their October 2023 single “Flourish,” which featured gravelly breakdowns and intense drumming contrasted with catchy choruses and a grumbling guitar. The band, despite initial technical difficulties, enthused the compacted crowd, creating the first moshpit of the night.
Jayden Axton, the guitarist and singer of Tributary, noted it was “cool seeing people still mosh and shit for our music when it isn't exactly similar to [the other bands].” Tributary meshed the characteristic grit of hardcore with melodic components of emo, pop punk, shoegaze and grunge, mixing intensity with softness for a set equally suitable for being moshed or swayed to. The crowd reacted to the intensity with high energy throughout the set, creating repeated mosh and push pits despite the packed space.
Next, four-piece class-punk-inspired band Target Scammers played an upbeat set. An enthusiastic crowd aggressively danced to the music, with some audience members even throwing around a rubber chicken. The band played songs from their self-titled debut, “Target Scammers,” including “STEVE-O (bank underwater)” and “STREET PUNK,” among others. The set was brief, composed of short and danceable songs, and concluded with a raucous pit and crowd surfing, both encouraged by the band.
Kyle Cohen, the guitarist of Target Scammers, lists the band's influences as including “Descendents, Circle Jerks, Black Flag … Wipers, [and] Negative Approach.” These references were evident in the vocals of singer Harrison Ouellette, who enthusiastically produces the scream-chanting vocals characteristic of classic punk. Combined with the rhythmic bass of Michael Morris and the danceable drumming of Anthony Franco, the result is a band that creates a constantly moving, moshing and exuberant audience. Morris noted that he appreciated playing in the area because of “the crowd … [and] people going crazy.”
Next, a five-piece — playing as a four-piece — Western Massachusetts hardcore band named SKUD performed a brief high-tempo set, producing a violent and responsive crowd. The band revved up showgoers to create the most brutal moshpit of the night, egged on by vocalist “Little” Avery Porier. SKUD and Tributary drummer Avery Garcia noted that he appreciated “being able to go to SKUD after Tributary or, like, vice-versa and being able to see the difference and the energy in the crowd … everyone came here for a different band, [and] I think that's really cool.”
SKUD’s music acted as the fuel for the wild aggression of attendees, at the band’s behest, and as a soundtrack to the resulting agitation. Their set was accompanied by showgoers two-stepping, thrashing, spin-kicking and windmilling. This dancing was punctuated by showgoers who threw themselves at the people lining the walls, imbuing the crowd with constant movement.
The band performed songs from their self-titled EP, including “As One as Many,” to which the crowd chanted along. Porier appreciated the crowd, remarking, “Even tonight, [I was] like ‘oh, I don't know how it's gonna turn out,’ [but then] like fucking two hundred people show up, and the room is packed, it's crazy.” Cohen and Ouellette both listed SKUD as their favorite act of the night.
Four-piece Burlington-based post-punk band Robber Robber closed the show with a slow and varied set that incorporated elements of grunge, jazz and indie rock. The set featured constant soft and rhythmic drumming and gentle and sliding vocals with a combination of grungy guitars, rhythmic melodies and repetitive drumming, creating a soothing but anticipatory effect. The mix of higher and lower intensity moments, alongside a harsher yet consistent instrumental accompaniment, motivated the joyfully dancing crowd.
Garcia felt that “Robber Robber was insane. I really liked their drummer … I was amazed by that [drumming].” The band’s vocalist and guitarist, Nina Cates, said she appreciated that “everyone was really attentive and really game to move around. I feel like I play so many shows to an audience that's just silent and listening, and it's nice to see people moving and trying to get into it. The energy was great.”
SKUD’s bassist, Cazimir Kokonowski, said, “I just love how everyone gave it their all to each band in their own way. And each band … brought something so different to the table, but everyone in the crowd was just so fucking ready for whatever.”
Porier added, “The mixed genre shows are sometimes a little weird ... but this one was so fucking good,” and Target Scammers drummer Anthony Franco further noted that “if you find a newer, smaller band that's from the Western Mass area, there probably is a good chance that they're pretty good.”