The Indie Pop Band That is Making Waves Across The Nation

A “clean slate” as he would describe it, is exactly what the guitarist of the expired band, FUN, needed. When FUN broke up, Jack Antonoff used the heartbreak and downfall to make a comeback. The band known as Bleachers was created by Jack Antonoff, who is now a guitarist and the lead singer for his new band. Bleachers was created from nothing but memories, tears, and passion. The music style, indie pop, offers a tone of levity, while the lyrics express the love, pain, and uncertainties that come with living.

On June 25, 2017, Bleachers performed at St. Andrew’s Hall in downtown Detroit. The mile long line of people waiting to filter into the Hall held an energy of pure excitement and joy. When asked what kind of experience one could expect from a Bleachers concert, a young couple said, “We saw Bleachers in Chicago only a few weeks ago. We had tickets for Train tonight, but when we found out Bleachers was playing, we came to see them instead.” This raised expectations, expectations that were exceeded nonetheless.

As people waited to see such an infamous show, security guards were walking up to people and asking, “would you like to see Jack’s room?” Puzzled by this, everyone who was asked, agreed to see “Jack’s room.” Jack’s room was just that: Jack’s room. The floor, ceiling, and the four walls of his old bedroom were quite literally ripped out of his childhood home in New Jersey and placed on a trailer, where his inspiration can now be viewed by all his fans. Along the desks and ceiling were original quotes and songs written in sharpie. Posters cluttered the walls. His room connected everyone with his soul, a very beautiful and vulnerable act.

Once the Hall was flooded with bodies and the air conditioning failed to suffice, Jack did something no one could have predicted. The music stopped, and Jack looked out at the audience, guitar slung over his shoulder. He said to everyone, “I spent so much of my life being sad and lost. Then one day, I realized so much of life is about celebrating the sad times.” With this, Jack began playing an acoustic version of “Carry On”, written by his old band, FUN. His band members on stage stood by, listening intently. The audience sang along, tears streaming down the faces of those who understood his pain; everyone understood his pain. Then, Jack slid into an acoustic version of a song written by Bleachers, called “Like A River Runs.” He finished the piece, saying to everyone, “Shake it off, let’s move on.” With that, the audience loosened up, letting go of the hard times they had in their own past. Everyone has triumphs, the moments that are easy to dance to and sing with. Everyone has failures and misfortunes, where it is much easier to fall and shatter. However, in that moment, everyone in St. Andrew’s Hall was celebrating the sad times too.