On November 29th, a band called mewithoutYou rocked a local music scene at Guzman’s in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Half restaurant, half concert space, Guzman’s is a solid venue. The concert space half of the building is wide open, like a warehouse, except for the stage at one end which is dwarfed by the stacks of a dozen speakers on either side. Also, booths line one wall of the giant room while a bar lines the other. Black lights hang from the rafters in the ceiling, as well as a number of other lights. The crowd tonight is as diverse as one could expect at a local scene, with everything from dreadlocked hippies to emo kids filing in. The show kicks off with three bands: Yours for Mine, Maple Union and Shapiro. They bands play energetic, entertaining sets as the crowd stands around to listen. It’s not long, however, before mewithoutYou gets on stage. Far from the typical, glamorized look of rock stars we’re accustomed to seeing, some members of the group look like they just walked in off the streets of New York City. They’re all wearing heavy overcoats and thick hats, and while this may be necessary against the chilly November weather, it’s hot inside Guzman’s, but they keep their heavy apparel on. In addition to this, as a part of setting up their equipment, the band attaches bouquets of flowers to their mic stands (during an interview with the lead singer after the show, we discovered this was not a customary act, just a spontaneous decision).

The crowd presses in toward the stage as the group gets ready to play. The lights dim and they jump into the set. As they play, the band members get progressively hotter and are forced to strip off their outer layers (the drummer plays through the entire first song with his beanie covering his eyes). As for mewithoutYou’s music, it is difficult to categorize. They describe themselves as Indie/Post Hardcore/Rock. There’s certainly an experimental element in their sound, as well. The vocalist, rather than singing, uses a style of vocalization that could more accurately be described as shouting. Not as aggressive as the screaming one might hear in death metal, his voice takes on a story-telling quality, ranging from sadness to anger. He is occasionally backed up on vocals by the other band members. On the chorus of some songs, the others will sing a simple, haunting melody while the main vocalist shouts over top of it. The dynamics are incredible as the band plays through an entire album’s worth of music. The crowd pushes in closer and closer during the set, until they are packed in shoulder to shoulder around the stage.
Another facet of the band’s performance that sets it apart from many others is its wide use of instrumentation. The lead singer switches his acoustic guitar out for an accordion for some songs, also using a harmonica or even whistling for others. Similarly, other people—perhaps close friends or roadies for the band—jump on stage carrying sleigh bells, hand drums, brass horns, kazoos and everything in between. There’s almost a sense of community that develops between the band and the audience as they play and people come on and off the stage.

After an engaging set, the band thanks the audience and walks offstage to roaring applause. However, the applause hasn’t even died down before someone starts chanting, “One more song. One more song.” Moments the later, the chant has grown to the entire group. “One more song! One more song!” The band walks back onstage to thunderous applause and they strap on their instruments again. The lead singer apologizes, saying he doesn’t know what song to play. Then someone shouts, “January, 1979!” It’s the one song I know well enough to sing along to, so I join with the others in cheering my agreement. The catchy song throws everyone into a frenzy, and we continue singing the chorus even after the music fades out.

Overall, the show was one of the most memorable I’ve been to. Between their strangely catchy style, wide range of instrumentation, and every quirky facet of the band—such as bringing their dog, Penny, along on tour with them—mewithoutYou puts on a performance that will draw in the most skeptical of spectators. While they might not appeal to every ear the first time, they’re worth listening to again and again. And if they’re ever in your area, don’t hesitate to take the opportunity to catch their incredible live performance. Even for someone who wasn’t familiar with the band’s songs at the time of their performance, I give the show a 4.5 out of 5 on the sweetcripes.com scale of awesomeness.