By Jordan Stovka
The crisp winter chill gently blowing through the streets of Baltimore was long forgotten by those in attendance of The Metro Gallery Sunday night.
Fans were not merely warmed by the sheer presence of one another or by the alcohol from the bar, but rather were blanketed with a coat of powerfully atmospheric melodies, harmonies and buzz as indie-emo group The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die (TWIABP) took the stage.
The talented seven-piece originally hailing from Willimantic, Connecticut, notoriously mesmerizes fans with swirling keyboard effects, intricate layering of guitar riffs, raw vocals and thundering drums interwoven with empathetic sentiment and loaded rhetoric in every verse, bridge and chorus.
With wonderfully euphoric albums like 2013’s Whenever, If Ever and 2015’s Harmlessness amongst a plethora of other projects, TWIABP has amassed a uniquely dedicated following, a feat that was easily observed in Sunday’s audience, which was made up of various ages, genders and walks of life.
Baltimore-native, indie-rockers Purrer and Us and Us Only set the tone for the night, opening the show with their musical talents while also acknowledging unsettling feelings regarding the state of the country. Us and Us Only frontman Kinsey Matthews in particular encouraged those in attendance to be there for one another and perform random acts of kindness “even if it’s just paying for the person ahead of you.”
From the moment the iconic bass line intro of “January 10th, 2014” resonated through the venue at the beginning of the set, the crowd was entranced: every bodily movement thereafter was in rhythm, every eye wide and every mouth moving with lyrics delicately falling from their lips.
The group’s appreciation of their fanbase was as clear as the smiles of gratitude on their faces at the end of the set; their authenticity as evident in every autograph as it is in every carefully chosen word of their songs.
Time seemed to have been nonexistent.
TWIABP’s stage presence effortlessly wicked away the numbers on the clock, transporting us all to an almost transcendental, dreamlike state. Politely rejecting encore requests for “Getting Sodas,” a track admittedly unpracticed, the group satisfied their fans with a finale nonetheless, a sensation that continued the ear-ringing warmth long into the night, or at the very least, long enough to make the treks back to parked cars tolerable.
Featured Photo Credit: Tyler Bussey of The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die during the group’s powerfully transcendental show Sunday, Jan. 29, 2017. (Jordan Stovka/Bloc Reporter)
Jordan Stovka is a sophomore journalism major and can be reached at jstovka@icloud.com.
