As the fall season sets in and students return to their busy schedules, the house show scene in Eugene is back up and running.
On Sept. 28, The Limelight, a local house show venue, held their “End of Summer” pirate themed bash. For a fee of seven dollars, people attended the show in pirate costumes to see local bands Housekeeping, GrrlBand and Bowl Peace rock the house with electric performances.
The Limelight is a newer addition to the list of venues in Eugene. Lucas Carroll, a resident of the house, started hosting shows there in the spring 2023, when he realized that the house had a big backyard and a deck that would be perfect as a stage.
Carroll said he has been interested in the music scene for years and jumped at the opportunity to join the house show community with his own venue.
“It’s been chaotic as hell and I’ve had a great time putting the shows together,” Carroll said. “If I couldn’t find people to play with in a band, I could at least be a part of the whole house show scene here by throwing them.”
When asked what makes a good house show, Carroll said, “A killer house show is all about the connection between the audience and the band. If the band brings the energy, the audience is gonna bounce it back.”
This connection between the crowd and the bands was evident during the last Saturday night of summer.
Band members donned eye patches and flashy pirate costumes as they performed. The first set was Housekeeping, whose lead singer Ashley Michael Epstein sang her heart out to both originals and covers. Next up was GrrlBand, sporting a sparkly purple guitar and killer vocals.
The closing set was Bowl Peace, who performed the covers “Disco” by Surf Curse and “Black Licorice” by Peach Pit, as well as a handful of originals.
With Elise Benton on vocals, Owen Akiyama on bass, Holden Hunt on guitar and Elizabeth Bailey on drums, Bowl Peace has become a staple of the house show scene here in Eugene over the past year. Their energy-filled performances and bit-filled shows have kept audiences on their toes.
“I feel like family with these guys. Shows are probably my favorite part of it,” Benton said. “To do all the bits, have a great performance, and have this 30-45 minute set where you give everything you’ve got. It’s an awesome experience and I wouldn’t rather be doing anything else.”
When asked what keeps the shows exciting, Benton said, “We want every show to be different. We always try to change up the covers and what we’re doing to keep it fresh.”
Bowl Peace followed through with this goal on Saturday night, capping off their performance with their bass player, Owen Akiyama, walking the plank.
Akiyama built the plank himself and reinforced it before the show. During the band’s dynamic performance, Akiyama walked across the plank into the crowd and jumped. The crowd caught him and he surfed across the sea of pirates attending the show.
“We decided to have a pirate theme for this show and walking the plank just kinda came to mind,” Akiyama said. “No one thought I could do it. I was at Home Depot buying the plank like, ‘how is this gonna work?’”
The bit was a welcome reminder of just how exciting these house shows are. With live performances, fun themes and a community of music-loving students, house shows are a unique part of the student nightlife in Eugene.