The Courtneys and Jay Som played Great Scott – 3/28

Vancouver indie pop trio The Courtneys and Oakland, CA’s Jay Som co-headlined a packed Great Scott last Tuesday night. 

After seeing Lambchop up the street earlier in the evening, I made it over to Great Scott just in time to catch most of Jay Som’s set. There was nary a space to stand (nor an angle to shoot from) anywhere near the stage, doubtless thanks to the band’s rapidly rising profile. As a four-piece, the group led by singer/songwriter Melina Duterte offered bouncier renditions of the melancholic dream-pop that makes up last month’s acclaimed Everybody Works to a crowd eager to join in on the singalongs.

The room reconfigured but certainly didn’t clear out for Flying Nun signees The Courtneys, who closed out the night. The trio also had a buzzed-about LP released earlier this year, and played plenty of those new songs alongside a few older cuts (including “Manion,” which is the cheeriest song about mandatory suicide this side of Slayer). The band’s jangle-y sensibilities and wry sense of humor were suited to their charmingly unadorned live set.

Photos from both sets below.