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Sorority Noise : Rock & Roll Hotel

[dropcap size=big]T[/dropcap]here is power in a band’s genuine relationship with their fans. A tangible connection that is somehow greater than simply good energy at a show, or a particular song resonating with fans. I was lucky enough to shoot Sorority Noise’s sold out show at Rock & Roll Hotel, in Washington, D.C. and got to bear witness to the incredible power that this obvious connection has. To describe Sorority Noise’s sound as simply “pop punk” or “alt-rock” are both wrong. Carrying elements of each, as well as a noticeable influence of mid-2000’s bands like Brand New, Thrice, or Taking Back Sunday, Sorority Noise has a subtle power in the “things unsaid” by their music. Lyrically intimate, often darkly introspective and brutally honest about grief/loss, depression, relationships, addiction, and the trials of modern coming of age, the band’s sound grips the listener with a sense of empathy about any given topic. Their was a connection to the band that was evident as the mostly under 21 crowd carried a seething energy from the minute the band came onto the stage, and didn’t stop for anything as body after body crowd surfed onto the stage then dove back into the melee without hesitation. As the final stop of the US Tour for the 2017 release, You’re Not as _____ as You Think, the band hadn’t lost an ounce of the energy they carried when I saw them a year prior on the beginning of the same tour. Opening with “Blissth” the quietly building song off 2015’s Joy, Departed, they continued in the same vein to draw the crowd in with “Leave The Fan On” before exploding into crowd favorite “Rory Shield” off their debut album.

“Tell me again that you don’t wanna break my heart
And I’ll tell you again that it’s already broken
Beg me again to get out of your head
And into your bed so you can fuck me like the rest”

– Sorority Noise “Rory Shield”

Powering through a mix of material off all three of their albums, Sorority Noise’s performance was nothing less than amazing, every single fan in the crowd singing along with every song they could. Crowd surfing. Mosh pits. Hot, sweaty, and loud as hell, the set paid homage to classic punk shows in small clubs filled with disenfranchised teens. The thing that set Sorority Noise apart from others was the bands genuine message to the crowd to “take care yourselves, take care of each other” in between songs. Signing off the night with an encore performance of “No Halo,” Sorority Noise couldn’t have picked a better crowd to end their US Tour with.

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