Jeromes Dream played Sonia – 2/9
Screamo legends Jeromes Dream hit Central Square with support from Sinaloa, New Forms and lonelyisaneyesore.
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By some measures, you could make the case that revered screamo three-piece Jeromes Dream chilled out between their 1997-2001 first phase and reunion in 2018. Bassist/vocalist Jeff Smith no longer does that neat (if terrifying) trick of screaming his vocals above the band’s maelstrom sans-microphone, for one. This is not to suggest that they’ve sacrificed their intensity though, even some 25 years later. Friday night at Sonia, the trio (which now features Loma Prieta’s Sean Leary in place of original guitarist Nick Antonopoulos) ripped through a furious, feedback-drenched set befitting of their legacy as an essential pillar of the screamo/noise rock/post-hardcore axis. Their second post-reunion LP The Gray In Between dropped last May, and the band covered ground new and old in a set that cohesively bridged the years while still clocking in with a no-nonsense brevity.
Sinaloa – who formed around the time Jeromes Dream initially called it quits, and also reactivated from hiatus pretty recently – brought a less caustic strain of late ’90s/early ’00s emo to the party that also brought some sonic balance to the bill. Openers New Forms and lonelyisaneyesore put their own spin on the fast, loud and abrasive tradition of night’s headliner, and both delivered powerful sets proving how effectively they carry that torch.
Scroll for photos from all four bands below.