Bad Veins, Subjects offer varied indie pop tunes Bishop crowd

On the second stop in their cross country tour, bands Bad Veins and The Subjects, as well a performance by local artist Smedley Jergins did not disappoint an intimate audience who came to hear sincere indie pop and rock gathered at The Bishop late Tuesday night.

Regional band Bad Veins took the stage with an antique stage presence including an old house telephone as a microphone, green buttoned up military shirts and a 70s reel-to-reel tape machine used to play their haunting backing tracks. Between Sebastien Schultz banging out the drums and Benjamin Davis controlling the keyboard, guitar and vocals, there were simply not enough hands to produce the inspired instrumentation live.

After a friend’s suggestion, freshman Sarah Van Tassal started listening to Bad Veins a couple of weeks ago and hasn’t stopped.

"Their music is not completely out there and different, but they are good at what they do," Van Tassal said shortly after indulging in both a band tote bag and t-shirt.

Freshman Andrew Nelson said he appreciated how Bad Veins wasn’t your typically run-of-mill mainstream act, comparing them vocally to the late ‘70s alternative band Joy Division.

"Our lyrics are identifiable but kind of an obscure arrangement of the general theme of self-doubt," Schultz said. Davis said that he draws lyrical inspiration from "living life’s experiences" including relationships, hopes and fears with lyrics like "I want to hear your heart beating loud/And I want to hear you stand up proud."

The Subjects from Brooklyn, N.Y. just released a new EP called "New Soft Shoe," featuring bouncy chamber pop tunes channeling artists such as The Kinks or Peter Gabriel.

"A band can work really well with gadgets like Bad Veins or without gadgets and The Subjects work really well without gadgets," freshman David Gibson said. The Subjects showcased their guitars, drums, tambourine, morocco and their characteristically fluctuating vocals when playing their popular songs, "The Hard Way" and "The Hounds of War."

"On tour, the number one thing we look forward to is playing in Bloomington because it is a great music community and everybody really knows how to party," The Subjects’ drummer Matt Iwahusa said.