Live Shows: Glitterer, Glixen, and Gollylagging, Crystal Ballroom at Somerville Theater, Somerville, MA 3/7/24

Glixen
Photo by Ken Sears

It's truly tempting to make a joke about going to see three Gs on Thursday night. Since I discovered Glixen earlier this year, I've been swept up in adoration for the Arizona shoegaze band, and wondered if they'd make it all the way up to New England for a show. Once I saw they were touring with Glitterer, I knew I had to check them out at Crystal Ballroom. Plus, local phenoms Gollylagging were slated to open, and I've been meaning to check them out for a while.

Gollylagging
Photo by Ken Sears

Gollylagging opened the show with a short burst of a set. I've been hearing about how great they are live, and they did not disappoint. They played a high energy variety of indie rock with a slightly aggressive edge. It was loud, and noisy, and set the tone for the evening perfectly. They definitely had fans in attendance and won over those of us not familiar with them. They even inspired a short mosh pit at one point. It was the kind of local support set that challenges the national touring bands to step it up a bit.

Glixen
Photo by Ken Sears

Glixen came up next with their blend of shoegaze. They play a much more aggressive version of the chilled out genre, and live that is just amped up even more. This is mostly due to drummer Keire Johnson, who plays like he's in a hardcore band. I had unreasonably high expectations for Glixen, and those were far exceeded. For a young band, they melted everyone's face off as soon as they started playing, and just got better and better as their set went on. I heard a few people in the audience mention that they couldn't hear singer/guitarist Aislinn Ritchie's vocals well, but vocals can easily get swept away with shoegaze. Their set was simply astounding, and my only complaint is that five or six songs was not nearly enough.

Glitterer
Photo by Ken Sears

Glitterer is the band I was least familiar with, and they were the band most people were there to see. They have a very dedicated fanbase, many of whom were wearing Glitterer shirts to the show. Seeing that they're from D.C. makes perfect sense with their sound, which was an earnest version of alt-rock edging into pop punk at times. They played a fast set of catchy rock songs perfect for pumping your fist to. If you see them live, you'll understand why their fanbase is as dedicated as they are. Just a solid rock band that almost forces you to like them.