This past Saturday, Jan. 25, Fordham’s beloved student-run Rodrigue’s Coffee House (Rod’s) welcomed performances from dreamcrusher, Deli Girls, Bitchney Boy Fellowship and Black Ergot. If you are unfamiliar with Rod’s, it is not only a coffee house. It is a study space, a space for clubs and organizations to meet, a place for professors to hold office hours and of course, a venue for talented artists and bands to perform.

As a member of Rod’s and a regular show attendee, I knew we were all in for something new and experimental. Rod’s secretary, Jack McKernan, FCRH ’22, booked the artists for this show because of his own personal liking for each of the performers and their music. He told me he’d been eyeing dreamcrusher for a while because of their notable live performances. I would soon learn that McKernan was right; dreamcrusher would put on one of the most fascinating live performances I had ever seen.

Upon arriving a few minutes before 8 p.m., dreamcrusher was busy conducting a sound check when one of the monitors began smoking and nearly broke. This was simply the beginning of a night filled with excitement. Before the show began, I noticed both familiar faces and faces I’d never seen at a Rod’s show, or even around campus. Deli Girls’ and dreamcrusher’s monthly Spotify listeners sum up to approximately 15,000 individuals, so it only makes sense that some of their local fans would take advantage of a free performance.

First in the lineup was Fordham’s own Hugh Potter, FCRH ’21, performing as Black Ergot. As a container of complementary earplugs was passed around, those in the audience who may have shown up without expectations, myself included, began to understand the concept of noise music.

Noise music has been around since the early 20th century. Black Ergot’s set consisted of harsh and intense layers of noises that elicited an emotional experience usually evoked by a song’s lyrics, not its sound.

The turnout was so impressive that we ran out of earplugs during the first set. For the majority of the night, I walked around with one earplug in and one out so I could somewhat protect my hearing while maintaining the ability to converse with the people around me.

The following set was a performance from Bitchney Boy Fellowship, another one of Fordham’s own, comprised of Will Pasko, FCRH ’21 and Bryan Wozniak, FCRH ’21. I noticed a significant increase in both moshing and dancing during this set, and more people began to show up.

Despite similarities, I noticed some key differences between the first two sets. Pasko and Wozniak said Bitchney Boy Fellowship is a new project and this was their first time performing at Rod’s.

They told me they had recently performed at a fraternity at Seton Hall University and noted the difference in crowds in these two shows.

“We had a home field advantage here,” Pasko said. “Our music is a combination of techno, industrial techno and gabber,” which works well in an environment like Rod’s that usually draws in individuals with experimental music tastes.

Potter explained that when creating noise music as Black Ergot, texture was one of the most important things. I compared part of his set to the sound of a race car revving, a sound I was very familiar with as a kid watching my dad at the racetrack. Potter appreciated this sentiment and said that it is rarely his goal to create a specific sound, but to layer different noises to create an aural experience.

At this point in the night, Rod’s was packed, including the basement. During their set, Deli Girls performed songs from their recent album, “I Don’t Know How to Be Happy.”

Everyone around me was wearing earplugs and the excitement and energy throughout the night never simmered. In fact, it only increased as each performer went on. The music was so loud that the crowd became an ocean of people moving in sync with the vibrations that could be felt no matter where in the room you were standing.

What happened next is what I imagined to be the moment of peak excitement during the night.

As if on cue, everyone suddenly noticed the smell of something like burning plastic. Deli Girls stopped their set, and the lights came on. The monitor that nearly broke during dreamcrusher’s sound check smoked even more and unfortunately seemed to be irreparable.

During a brief intermission which the monitor was taken outside, most attendees stepped out for a breath of fresh air or a cigarette.

Next came the final performance of the night, a hardcore noise/punk set from dreamcrusher. The room was completely dark except for a single strobe light and several burning incense sticks that dreamcrusher lit on the table in front of them. The darkness intensified the importance of sound and movement during the set, and the audience seemed to catch on quickly.

No one seemed to care about a single thing besides enjoying the excitement of the set. The set also brought about one of the most memorable moments of the night. The smoke alarm went off as someone decided to crowd surf. The combination of a fog machine and burning incense is likely what set off the alarm.

It was chaotic to say the least, but the attendees of this show seem to enjoy the chaos.

“I think we counted at least 100 people,” said McKernan.

This will be one of the most memorable Rod’s shows for a while to come.

Next up for Rod’s is a show this Friday, Jan. 31, featuring PEAER, Spirit Was and Jadeworm.