The University of Rhode Island’s Marble House made their debut performance as a band at 193 Coffeehouse on Thursday, Feb. 15 after colliding by chance at November’s Rock N Swap event.
Music of differing genres poured out of electric amplifiers in the Memorial Union, as two more bands followed behind Marble House that catered to more of a heavy-rock sound. Fat Moose and Iowa Highway were not new to the stage in a general sense, but this was Fat Moose’s first time performing at URI. Iowa Highway, on the other hand, consisted of members that had already graduated and were familiar with 193’s crowd.
Students in attendance wore shirts with lead singer Gwen Kavanaugh’s first name on them to show support for the first act.
Indie-rock band Marble House kicked off their set with “That’s What You Get” by Paramore. This was followed by an interactive game of Simon Says, before then moving on to an original song called “Going Going Gone.” Other songs were performed, including covers of My Chemical Romance and Bruno Mars, but throughout each performance the band was sure to include the crowd into their set.
“I think seeing that people were enjoying it and having fun, it made it feel like all the practice we did paid off,” Kavanaugh said.
Despite Kavanaugh having played at 193’s open mic events prior to this, the coffeehouse welcomed Marble House to the stage for the first time by singing along and cheering loudly. Friends of the band members surrounded the stage and lined the walls.
“I don’t know if it’s destiny or fate the way they ended up together,” third-year Elena Silva said mid-way through the performance, who was there to support her friends.
Marble House closed out their set, which prompted Fat Moose to take the stage. The band’s members range from 15 to 18 years old, attending different local high schools. They formed last year and have played about 10 gigs, according to bass guitarist Collin Amaral, 15, who attends Seekonk High School.
Fat Moose began their set with “Them Bones” by Alice in Chains, then moving on to “Lonely Day” by System of a Down. The crowd immediately took the heavy metal as an opportunity to throw their bodies into a mosh pit. As the setlist progressed into Green Day, My Chemical Romance and more System of a Down, the pit never ceased and continued to explode in front of the stage.
“[It was] probably the most fun gig we’ve played so far,” Amaral said.
As Fat Moose’s set wrapped to a close, Iowa Highway returned to the stage after last performing at 193 Coffeehouse in October. The band exuded a natural stage presence, communicating effortlessly with entrances between the guitars and percussion, ending notes perfectly in sync.
Iowa Highway began with five of their own original songs, maintaining the rock sound that Fat Moose had introduced previously, but with more of an alternative angle. After performing “Pig” by Sparklehorse, the band slowed the crowd down with “Fake Plastic Trees” by Radiohead. Members in the audience swayed their flashlights in the air before the heavier instrumentals entered, leading the electric guitar and drums into a synchronized crashing entrance.
After closing out with “Alison” by Slowdive, the band said their goodbyes and ended their performance.
After experiencing mosh pits, cheering fans and headbanging, 193 Coffeehouse closed their doors on yet another successful night of giving three ambitious bands the traffic-light-illuminated stage.