You may be familiar with Boston-based indie rock band Vundabar if you were on TikTok in 2021, when the opening guitar riff of “Alien Blues” played over alt teenagers’ GRWMs and impassioned lip syncs. But the band has existed long before TikTok. It formed from a couple of school friends in 2012 and has been playing jangly, surfy rock ever since. On October 28th, they graced the stage of The Independent in SF as one of many stops across the country for their 2024 North American tour.
The crowd was older than I had expected – I was flanked on all sides by millennials vaping Lychee Dragon and sloshing beer on the already sticky floor. The room was abuzz with energy as we all waited for the music to begin.
Supporting Vundabar was Courting, a rock quartet from Liverpool (not to be confused with the Beatles). They delivered a dynamic and raucous performance, singing ironic, tongue-in-cheek lyrics over punchy guitar riffs. The crowd clapped along, and even waltzed in pairs at the band’s behest. The lead singer, Sean Murphy-O’Neill, had a violently British accent and even sang what he called “the most British song ever” – an original called “David Byrne’s Badside.” It was all pretty British.
After bidding adieu, Courting exited the stage and made way for Vundabar. One by one, three scrawny-looking white guys schlepped onto the stage and, without a word, immediately started playing “Ash in the Sun,” a crowd favorite from their 2015 album Gawk. The crowd immediately started cheering and bobbing up and down as lead singer Brandon Hagen’s quirky, nasally voice floated over the band’s chiming guitar sounds. Bassist Zack Abramo held his bass low and kept tipping up and down with it when the songs would pick up, kind of like an animatronic from the “It’s a Small World” ride at Disneyland. Drummer Drew McDonald occasionally played the cymbals with his feet.
Vundabar kept the crowd hyped and engaged, at times abruptly stopping mid-song to generate some more cheers before continuing. The crowd moshed and sang along to more upbeat songs like “Worn/Wander” from Gawk and “Out of It” from their 2020 record Either Light. A wave of excitement rushed over the room as Hagen played the infamous opening riff of “Alien Blues,” with millennials and college kids alike jumping up and down and “na-na-na”’ing along. At the end of each song, he would say “thaaaaaank yew!” exactly the same way before breaking into the next one. The band reminded me of The Muppets a little, but I can’t put my finger on why.
Words between songs were sparse, save for a mid-concert appreciation chant for McDonald; Hagen rallied the crowd to chant “Drew! Drew! Drew!” over and over again as the drummer sat behind his kit, bashful but beaming through his thick-framed glasses. “He’s a tender little guy… a tender little guy,” remarked Hagen wistfully. Similar appreciation was given for Abramo – “I like Zack.”
The band concluded their show with a melodic-to-yelpy performance of “Smile Boyo” from Gawk. “Goodbye, goodbye,” bid Hagen, ghostlike, as we were sent out into the San Francisco night.
Review by Gaby Smith, photos by Aleeza Raveh
