Lowertown at Crystal Ballroom, 1/24/24
I came across the New York/Atlanta-based band Lowertown during quarantine, when I had nothing else to do but expand my music taste. They fascinated me with their narrative lyrics, distinct vocals, and complex guitar riffs. The simplicity of the band’s origin story struck me as beautiful; as sophomores in high school, Olivia and Avsha met and bonded over their shared taste in music. Each had been individually releasing their own music (solo projects which are still active). As they entered their junior year, they decided to form a band as just the two of them, with Olivia as the lead singer, and Avsha as the lead guitarist. Under the name Lowertown, they released their first project, titled Friends, written, recorded, performed, and produced entirely from the comfort of Avsha’s basement. Since then, they have released countless singles, EPs, and albums. In 2022, they worked with record producer, mixing engineer, and audio engineer Catherine J. Marks in London on their album I Love To Lie. Olivia has come out to tell the story that inspired the album, which talked about their nostalgia for home, as the included old country and blues music. Ever since then, they have been evolving from their original lo-fi approach to the more slick tone they discovered while in London.
Lowertown came to Boston last September, which was the first time I was able to see them live and it was truly a wonderful experience. I had a chance to meet the members after the show that night and chat with them about how great their performance was. Lowertown released their brand new EP Skin of My Teeth in late 2023 and began a winter tour in early 2024, when I was able to catch them live a second time at the Crystal Ballroom. The night before the event, two tickets were given away on 91.5 WMFO, the radio station run by Tufts University and the surrounding community. After the show, I met with them again, told them about the ticket giveaway, and once again applauded how wonderful they were on stage.
Lowertown always starts off their set with their fully instrumental song “It’s Easy For Me,” highlighting the beauty of Avsha’s guitar technique and talent. When he started picking the strings of his Fender guitar, everyone fell silent, knowing they had to focus in on what was happening on stage. As the song reached its end, Olivia very performatively made her way to the stage, and the crowd went wild.
After a second song, Lowertown played “Debris,” a hit off their album The Gaping Mouth (which they performed other songs from as well), and really got the crowd ramped up. This was around the time that the pit opened up and the ballroom started to get steamy and about the time I had left the photo pit. At no point in the night did the energy drop; regardless of whether they played a slower song or a new one off Skin of My Teeth, there were still people passionately yelling along to the lyrics. In September, they had just released a single titled “Bline.” When they performed it that night, no one knew the words. But 4 months later, the crowd at the Crystal Ballroom was begging them to perform the song and did not disappoint the band members when it came to singing along with Olivia’s dark but sweet-sounding voice.
As the night drew to its end, they finished their set with the title track from the album The Gaping Mouth–one of their most experimental songs, as they described it. It’s a beautiful anthem, but it was hard to hear over the entire venue singing along. At the end of the song, the band quickly said their goodbyes and made their way off stage. Little did the crowd know that they were coming back out for one final song: a song that they don’t play often because it’s one of those songs that were recorded in Avsha’s basement. It was only Olivia and Avsha on stage for the encore, which, after they had made so many comments about how grateful they are to their fans for getting them to where they are, made it feel like a full circle moment, from the writing and recording of this exact song to the performance of it so many years later. The opening riff of “Charlie” started to echo throughout the venue, blending their voices into a perfect and simple harmony. Around me, I heard people express disbelief: this song was out of a whole other era of Lowertown, one that had not been performed in a long time. As the song winded down, the room flooded with applause and cheers, and once again said goodnight.
One thing I love about Lowertown is that “goodnight” is never goodbye; they will always be around, releasing new music. I, and the rest of their fans know that they will be around and will continue to move us with their music for a long time yet to come.
