The Journal acknowledges that a staff member is affiliated with one of the bands mentioned in the article. They were not involved in the editing and reporting process of this story.
After the loss of The Mansion, it looks like The Merchant is becoming a venue for student bands to come together and play.
On Sept. 10, The Merchant Tap House was filled wall to wall as students enjoyed a back-to-school concert.
TwoTime, Dutchbaby, and Doghouse played an electric evening of music to welcome students back to Kingston. Their set lists varied, featuring cover songs such as “Rhiannon” by Fleetwood Mac to original songs by the bands playing that evening. With this show setting the tone for bands this year, Queen’s students and Kingston locals alike can expect another amazing year of local music.
TwoTime opened the event at 9:00 p.m., with their setlist including songs by Kings of Leon, Wheatus, as well as an original entitled, “Tungtide.” TwoTime engaged the audience with their catchy setlist selection and crowd work, which consisted of banter between bandmates as well as pop culture references.
“If you want to listen to perfect music, go on Spotify, but if you want to have a fun time, go to a TwoTime show,” bassist Saif Amer said in an interview with The Journal. His statement rang true through the whole set, as the band spent their time between songs chatting to the audience and cracking jokes with other group members.
Dutchbaby followed TwoTime with both well-known classics and originals off the band’s self-titled EP. This show was a test for the band though as, following the exit of both their lead singer and keyboardist, Dutchbaby made a change to their lineup with Sara Lucia, ArtSci ’27, providing new vocals.
Lucia, who previously performed with The Bends, felt like a familiar face within the band as their new singer.
Despite the changes, Dutchbaby still rocked the Merchant, and the crowd piled onto the dance floor to sing and cheer for the group.
To close out the evening, Doghouse took the stage around 12:30 a.m., opening with “War Pigs” by Black Sabbath. Despite the late hour, the crowd was still packed with eager listeners. The rest of their set included other rock hits like “Are You Gonna Be My Girl” by Jet and “Take Me Out” by Franz Ferdinand.
When asked about what the band is looking forward to about the night, keyboardist Nathan Trudeau, ArtSci ’27 said, “I mean we’re all here because we have one thing in common. We love live music and we’re here to just have a good time with all the people that came to see us.”
Trudeau’s sentiment speaks to the joy of people coming together to watch live music.
If the back to school show was any indicator of how the Queen’s music scene is shaping up for this year, there will be many more great shows in the future.
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