In celebration of Boston College’s last day of classes, the Campus Activities Board (CAB) held its annual Modstock concert in the Mod Lot on Thursday afternoon. This year, Modstock was headlined by the rock band Neon Trees, and accompanied by indie pop artist Del Water Gap as the show’s opening performer.
Students began to line up outside of the Mod Lot before 5 p.m. in anticipation of the evening’s performances, kicking off with Chicken Liver Testimony, winners of this year’s BC’s Best competition.
When Chicken Liver Testimony’s set was over, Del Water Gap, wearing a black leather jacket and dark sunglasses, along with his band, got onto the stage to begin its set.
Del Water Gap was received enthusiastically by the increasingly large audience gathering in front of the Mod Lot’s stage.
(Callie Oxford / Heights Editor)
He went on to perform his most popular releases, including “Better Than I Know Myself” and “Perfume.”
During “Perfume,” the artist came down into the middle of the crowd, interacting with the students in the front rows as they held their hands out and cheered loudly.
For his last song of the evening, Del Water Gap took off his sunglasses as it started to rain heavily. Despite the unpredictable weather conditions, students waved their hands in the air and sang along to Del Water Gap’s most popular song, “Ode to a Conversation Stuck in Your Throat.”
A 30-minute intermission before Neon Trees’s appearance followed Del Water Gap’s performance. At this point, the sun started to shine brighter than before, forming a rainbow above the Reservoir while students waited for the rock band’s arrival.
Finally, Neon Trees made their way into the stage, immediately kicking off their performance with an “Intro” to their first official track of the evening’s setlist.
“What the f–k is up Boston College?” Tyler Glenn, Neon Trees’ lead singer, yelled right after their “Intro” as he tossed his sunglasses into the screaming crowd.
The band then played “Favorite Daze,” “1983,” and one of the night’s crowd favorites, “Animals.”
After “Animals,” the sky got darker and the rain began pouring, but Neon Trees continued to entertain the crowd through brief breaks in between their songs.
“Have you been pregaming all day?” Glenn asked the crowd.
For a slight mood shift, Neon Trees then performed a slow reverb of their third-most listened to track, “Sleeping With A Friend.” The song ended with transition to the bridge of Chappell Roan’s “Good Luck, Babe!” to match “Sleeping With A Friend”’s theme of a complicated romance.
Following this slower mashup, Glenn and drummer Elaine Bradley covered The Human League’s ’80s hit “Don’t You Want Me.” The complementary duo was followed by the band’s “Songs I Can’t Listen To,” “Nights,” “Used to Like,” “New Best Friend,” and “Losing My Head.”
Despite the rain, most BC students remained in the Mod Lot for Neon Trees’ biggest hit: “Everybody Talks.” This was the last song of the band’s set, and it was received with even more energy than the rest of their songs.
During a brief but memorable moment of “Everybody Talks,” Glenn turned the microphone to the crowd, as students sang loudly with him to the song’s lyrics.
“Y’all have been one of the best crowds ever, thank you Boston College!” Glenn said to the crowd to end 2024’s Modstock.
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