Live Shows: Lucid Express, High., and Sophie's Body, O'Brien's Pub, Allston, MA 3/5/26

Photo by Aileen Lam

One of the negative aspects of having a music blog is that you start discovering bands from all over the world that you'll never get the chance to see live. It's fairly cost prohibitive for a band to fly across an ocean all the way to the U.S. to tour small clubs, and given everything going on right now, I certainly wouldn't expect a band to fly all the way over here since who knows what could happen. Imagine my surprise and delight when Lucid Express announced they were coming to the U.S. to tour, and were playing the tiny O'Brien's in Allston.

Opening the show was Boston's own Sophie's Body. They were a band I was completely unfamiliar with but they quickly won me over with their bubblegrunge sound. It was a fun, quick set filled with fuzzy indie rock gems with a strong pop streak. Vocalist Sophie McMinn implored the crowd to dance, but the Boston hipster crowd isn't known for its willingness to dance. By the end, many in the crowd tried their best, and that's what counts. At one point, they brought out a bubble gun during a particularly intense feedback session, and I immediately gave them a social media follow. Hopefully we'll be seeing more of them here soon.

I didn't realize I was a fan of High. until I was already at the show Wednesday night. Sophie's Body mentioned they were from New Jersey, and suddenly it clicked. I loved 2025's Come Back Down and was suddenly thrilled to get to see them live. They certainly did not disappoint. Their noisegaze sound was more traditionally shoegaze than I remembered, just a little noisier and more aggressive. I couldn't gauge how many people were there to see them, but they quickly won over anyone unfamiliar within the first few songs. Here's hoping we hear more from them sooner than later.

Closing the night was Lucid Express, who travelled the furthest to be there. They played classic, vintage sounding shoegaze that instantly won over the audience. It was mesmerizing music impossible not to sway to. They seemed to have some sound issues before they started, and I'm not sure if it was a technical issue or by design, but Kim Ho's vocals were barely audible. Of course, this is shoegaze, so the vocals are rarely the main focus, and they certainly wouldn't be the first band to choose this mix. The noise from the stage washed over a delighted crowd, and I was personally blown away that I was getting to see a band I never expected to make it to Boston, let alone play our favorite legendary dive bar.