When Jack Senff - former frontman of the now-defunct emo/skramz band, William Bonney - would scream the lyrics to songs like "Drug Lord" or "See Ya Later," he'd do so facing the same direction as the crowd. This unique approach to live music performance blurred the lines between the audience and the band; they were, in effect, all one organism, possessed by an unspeakable catharsis.
"The crowd would sort of become part of the band," Senff Remarked in a YouTube interview. "There were no barriers. It's not like we played stages; we played living rooms and basements and stuff..."
You might not particularly care for the caustic riffs and yearning screams that typify William Bonney's distinctive sound, but anyone would appreciate the remarkable collective displays of midwestern angst and sweat as seen in this live video.
Senff, in his classic 3/4 sleeve baseball shirt, screams his heart out into the mic. The concentrated energy in the room is almost biblical.
This was in South Bend, Indiana in 2013. I watched this from my parent's apartment in Brooklyn, envious of these kids' tight-knit emo community. I think it existed in Brooklyn at the time. Maybe a bit in Bushwick, I don't know. But, man did I wish I was in that sweaty venue with all of them, screaming until my throat was sore.
To be integrated into a little community like that is an incredible feeling. I know because I've had little tastes of it throughout the years.
We all need some outlet like this: somewhere where there's no judgement and friends abound.
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