Hosted by the radio club KCSC, Chicochella kicked off just after 7 p.m. Thursday on Trinity Lawn. Students slowly gathered, with flower headbands and festival fits, often stopping at the Mi Taquito truck for tacos, huge burritos and free horchata.
The lawn soon filled up and Cherry Ghoul, a local garage punk band, made their way onto stage. Energetic and loud, they ripped through a set of originals including “Clarinet Queen,” which the singer and bassist Corban Fowler announced is now on Spotify.
Shooting Losers stepped up next, urging the crowd to move closer to dance. Although Kyle Richardson, singer and guitarist, said he prefers off-campus shows where “people get rowdy and misbehave,” they did a great job at turning a stagnant crowd into a close, moving audience.
The set had that raw, indie punk feel – very “college house show” energy. The band announced that their 14-song album will drop this summer.
“We sacrifice a lot to make songs,” Kyle said, “Shows are the only way we can let people know they exist.”
Events like Chicochella are clearly important to a lot of starting artists and create a space for their work to be shared. The community formed at shows like these, with students dancing and mingling on the grass and encouraging their peers helps keep Chico’s music scene alive.
The sun went down, and Rodeo, a self-described nu metal and alternative band from Redding, took the stage. They managed to get the growing crowd to inch closer as they started off their show with an intense rockstar presence that raised the energy to a high standard and maintained that level throughout their performance.
“Rodeos get rowdy, and that’s what we’re into,” said Warren Strieff, the bassist of the band.
They primarily played originals, but threw in “Break Stuff” by Limp Bizkit, which got the crowd jumping and singing along. Midway through Rodeo’s set, the band paused to celebrate their drummer’s birthday, engaging the crowd and starting a sing-along of “Happy Birthday.”
“We don’t care where we’re at, we’re gonna play the hardest and pull the best crowd every single time,” said guitarist and singer Ezra Hamilton.
Rodeo continued to play, unfortunately leaving less time for the last band, Sarah Good, to play. Sarah Good ended the night on a calmer note, opening with a cover of “August 10” by Julie Doiron. Then moved on to play some originals.
Bassist and singer Maile Ariza said she prefers on-campus shows as opposed to somewhere like Naked Lounge because of the community aspect and because they get to use really good equipment provided by Associated Students.
Chicochella ended just past 9 p.m. but it made a big impact. It did more than bring music and good vibes to campus, it brought people together. True connection can feel hard to come by in college, but events like this remind us that we are more than just students; we are part of a scene, a community that shows up for each other.
Maya DeHoyos and Marianne Akre can be reached at [email protected]
