You could feel the bass thunder around as cheers, rain, lightning and guitars transformed Trinity Lawn into Chico’s version of Coachella.
KCSC Radio hosted its second annual Chicochella event Wednesday from 7-9 p.m. The event was open to everyone. It featured three bands: Farley Ct, YouthQuake and Repair Unknown.
The event was organized by Chico’s student-run radio station, KCSC. From booking bands to coordinating the venue, students at the station handled every aspect of the production. Associated Students provided the sound equipment.
KCSC has been preparing for the event since its second meeting of the semester, said Naydeline Corra Nava, KCSC DJ and member of the promotional team.
The set list began with DJ Lino, who’s an intern at KCSC. The audience came alive when the indie pop punk band, Farley Ct, came on stage, kickstarting Chicochella. The crowd turned into a full-on mosh pit by the time YouthQuake took center stage, carrying through until the final performance by punk misfits of Repair Unknown.
KCSC chose these bands based on their social media content and considered if the bands would be liked by the community, said Marley James, KCSC Radio’s promotion director.
For freshman Emma Rios, it wasn’t just the music that made this show worth it, it was also seeing her peers come together.
“It’s our first time here, and we think it’s really fun, we’re enjoying the hell out of it,” Rios said while dancing in the crowd.
Farley Ct performed in a sprinkle of rain, with claps of thunder to match the crowd’s escalating energy. Jake Chavez played bass as a fill-in for bass player Elliot Rogin; Phoenix Capwell played drums; Diego Rogers sang and played rhythm guitar; Michael Vixney played lead guitar.
The band was filled with excitement and were grateful for the chance to play. “It was more than we could ask for, even with the rain, it was still an amazing, fun show,” Rogers said. “Honestly, the rain made it more unforgettable.”
Farley Ct ended with their rock anthem, “Drowning,” which they also said was one of the most fun to play, as the crowd always gets really engaged. The song started with quieter vocals and progressively got louder. There was a steady rhythm throughout that the audience clapped along to, with layers of instruments of guitar, bass, drums and vocals that added life to the crowd.
Drowning highlighted Chavez’s bass playing as he carried a solo. He had only been a fill-in for the band a few times and it was their first time performing at a KCSC event.
“It’s giving a coming-of-age summer montage,” senior Jules Diaz said.
Longtime band listeners, like sophomore Gabi Burke, felt the same.
“I like them a lot, they’re great. I’ve known them since the beginning and really got to see their progress firsthand,” Burke said.
After the band finished, Youthquake took the stage. A Chico favorite that had performed twice at past KCSC events and was last semester’s Battle of the Bands winner. Despite the concert preparation being rushed, admittedly with only a couple of days of solid practice out of a week’s total, they were eager to perform.
The band members include Ethan Behringer as vocalist and guitarist, Warren Strieff as bassist, and Fernsby Rubbertramp as drummer. “Music is everything, nature is music, daily life is music, it’s a good medium for us to express how we feel,” Strieff said.
The punk band gets its inspirations from outcasts of music, such as — Dinosaur Jr., Pavement and Jimi Hendrix. The band wants to bring a 90s/2000s alternative vibe into their music. They’re also influenced by jazz,and rock & roll for their sound and chords.
The show got the crowd in such an energetic state that a mosh pit started to form. “Personally, it’s better than any show I’ve been to, and I’ve gone to a lot of punk shows in Chico,” said Butte College student Ava Puorizik “This is reminiscent of Green Day and The Moment.”
The crowd started getting hyped up around its song “Greed,” which will be coming out soon and has already been mixed and recorded in the band’s basement.
“Basement rock is back!” Behringer yelled, introducing the song.
The band was most excited to perform its debut single, “Daisies.” The band described “Daisies” as a metaphorical rocket-ship journey launching from earth into lush space with a slow orbit around the moon. Then, due to engine failure, it crashes back down to earth. The song brings a very dynamic and heavy beat that is intense yet spacious and melodic, explained Behringer.
At the end of “Daisies,” the crowd was absolute mayhem. Freshman Buddy Miller was carried on the shoulders of one of his friends and ended up jumping on stage, waving his arms up in the air before crowdsurfing.
“I love flying, I do it for the love of the game,” Miller said.
Rubbertramp said that an audience member knocked into his mic stand and into his drums. Despite that, he was happy about the crowd’s energy. The band encouraged people to go on stage and instigate the rowdiness.
“It was an absolutely astronomical crowd,” Streuff said. “They were loving it so much.”
The crowd began to disperse after YouthQuake ended, as the next band, Repair Unknown, prepared to take the stage.
On vocals and guitar were Ian Brown and Richard Gardenour; Sailab Khalidee on bass; John Gary on drums.
From Smashing Pumpkins and Arctic Monkeys to Sunny Day Real Estate, each band member brought different inspiration to the music. The band was inspired by a wide range of British punk and alternative bands for instrumentalization.
Being multi-instrumentalists, the band regularly switches around instruments, which helps keep the set dynamic and expresses the band’s range. On their song “Apparition,” Brown and Khalidee switched instruments.
They called the crowd “cool” and praised KCSC for being well-organized and having a great venue. The song “In Squares,” one of their favorite songs performed for the set list will be recorded later this weekend.
Cinthya Fernandez, a KCSC manager, said that her favorite part of the event was “to see all the students together dancing.”
Freshman Marianna Garcia, an intern for KCSC, said the concert met her expectations.
“I knew we were gonna rock, KCSC is just an amazing group and they put on so many cool events,” she said.
Between the music, the crowd and the vibrant atmosphere, Chicochella captured how music can move and connect people, even on campus.
Aiden Masson and Lucy Bakowski can be reached at [email protected]
