Our small town of Eugene has a special draw. There’s something about the Willamette Valley that calls out to the artists, hippies, and hopeful students who wander the streets looking for trouble. The best kind of trouble can be found packed body-to-body in seemingly ordinary homes that are transformed by nightfall with the descent of some of Eugene’s most talented residents. House shows have been keeping the city’s blood pumping for years now. Candy Picnic, Grrl Band, Growing Pains, and countless other bands rise and fall through the scene. Some continue on after college to tour and release new albums. Some break apart and form into new projects again and again. However it may end, it all starts here. It’s the DIY, anti-frat party. Five bucks at the door and you enter into the turbulent energy that ranges from the intimate to the utterly chaotic.
So what’s the appeal of Eugene’s house show moment?
This connection between the artist and audience is the real beauty of house shows. There is an understanding of symbiotic exchange as one side wouldn’t exist without the other. The houses are a promised land to showcase rising talents who might otherwise struggle to find ways to get their music heard.
“Due to the fact that we are still a newer band in the scene here, it’s exciting to continue to see the various people we bring to our crowds, the connections we make with other local bands, and the opportunities that come with bookings,” said Grrl Band, comprised of Juliette Wheeler, Leah O’Brien, Kayla Krueger, Claudia Santino, Codi Farmer, and temporary member Owen Akiyama. Together, they form one of the most exciting new bands in Eugene.
The bands are also giving the audiences what they want – locally sourced live music. Fresh sound from people their own age, their friends, all along the cutting edge. You couldn’t ask for a better crowd really.
“I don’t think the Eugene scene is established in a set way,” said Growing Pains, a long-standing Eugene favorite, “There aren’t really any set aesthetics that we feel like we need to follow. Because of that, I feel like there’s a lot of artistic purity.” The combination of bandmates Carl Taylor, Jack Havrilla, Kyle Kraft, and Kalia Storer make for a powerhouse of talent.
This open mindset is a necessary survival mechanism when navigating the house show scene. If you go in expecting a flawless performance, you’ll have little luck. Don’t expect bathrooms, drinking water, or a personal space bubble either. What you will find is raw talent and unfiltered expression, commodities that are much more alive and exciting. In their own space, bands get to play on their own terms. They have the opportunity to perform for themselves and the audience only with no middle-man in the way. Ticketmaster can suck it.
While the ‘amateur’ nature of the venues does contribute to the chaos, it’s an essential attribute to maintaining their integrity. There is a genuine desire from everyone present to make the most of the night for whatever it has to offer. This freedom is the foundation that supports creative evolution.
“DIY shows are a great place for bands to share their music, and it’s always a learning experience for everyone involved,” said Candy Picnic. Stella Parker, Chris Heer (Steel), Spencer Misfeldt, and Tristan Day have been mainstays in the house show rotation for three years now. They just released their fantastic debut album Circus Dog this past June. Give it a listen – then go see them and freak out because they’re just as good live.
The scene has grown up fast in the last few years. This is in spite of the difficulty of actually figuring out when, where and who is playing. Have fun scouring Instagram trying to find out who’s on tonight. Have even more fun trying to figure out where to go – you usually have to ask by private DM.
In spite of the low-key advertising, more and more newcomers crowd the doors looking for a spot in the space-limited venues. You’re bound to run into the regulars time and time again, as well as the quiet kid from your chem lab who’s now crowd-surfing at the center of the mosh pit. That’s the kind of magic that happens here. It doesn’t matter if you’ve never heard of the band before or if you’ve seen them dozens of times already – you know there’s probably no better place to be tonight.
