Can someone scan the Rock and Roll Rumble archives to check if a competing band has ever played “Careless Whisper”? Moreover, can they check if anyone’s ever played “Careless Whisper” and won? We’re not saying that a well-executed George Michael cover clinched the win for The Ghouls last night (May 4) at the annual Boston rock competition, but we are saying that the super-shredding sing-along certainly didn’t hurt when facing off against fellow finalists Other Brother Darryl and GUT HEALTH.
The Lowell band ascended to the throne at the Rumble finals at Sonia, accepting the crown from One Fall, whose face-melting skate punk secured 2023’s victory. This year the judges favored a springier alt-rock sound, seemingly choosing The Ghouls as a Goldilocks-esque middle point between Other Brother Darryl’s alt-country catalog and GUT HEALTH’s more hardcore heroics. Following a set from 1999 Rumble finalists Halfcocked, Rumble host and organizer Anngelle Wood unveiled The Ghouls as the new titleholders, capping off an evening that zagged between eclectic pockets of Massachusetts’ rock scene.
Rock and roll is, at its core, an exercise in risk taking. So as if to prove their mettle, wildcard and first act Other Brother Darryl boldly began their set a capella, reciting the opening lines of their 2022 single “Until I Do.” The seven-piece band — and only Boston act among the three finalists — leaned into their unique position as the evening’s sonic outlier, gliding through heartland Americana crafted with a duo of acoustic guitars, harmonica, a metal guiro, and their most poignant tool of all, nostalgia. “I miss your telegrams / I miss your letters,” sang vocalist Dan Nicklin on “The Ballad of Joni and Graham,” braiding a yearning for old love and its antiquated tokens, a prime example of the the band’s sepia-toned songwriting.
GUT HEALTH, on the other hand, spilled their insides with less subtly. The Worcester band’s set was an emotional purge that spewed a stream of well-planned crowd engagement. Ribbons of toilet paper shot through the dance floor as vocalist Gregg Kusumah-Atmadja wielded an invention resembling a TP-clad paint roller propelled by a hair dryer (or equivalent appliance). As cobwebs of paper settled throughout the crowd, the band dispatched a fully-dressed dummy for some faux crowd-surfing, followed by the distribution of hula hoops and handmade signs with slogans like “I’ve got a gut feeling” and “If you don’t meditate stay the fuck away from me.”
The tactics were some of the most respectful ways to Fuck Shit Up, especially compared to more common methods like spitting beer in fans’ faces or inciting an overzealous mosh pit. Kusumah-Atmadja’s jagged showmanship saw him switching between deliberate, labored steps, miming GUT HEALTH’s leaden riffs, then flinging himself straight into the air, breaking his erratic stride only to lunge over a suitcase of guitar pedals that tweaked his vocals.
Ultimately, though, it was The Ghouls who possessed a frightening pull with the crowd. The group began their set with “Helbound,” ripping through their 2023 single and campaigning to be crown-bound with a wellspring of joie de vivre. Performing to one of the most enthralled Rumble audiences in recent memory, The Ghouls ricocheted through the evening’s final round, proving that their stamina was elastic as their setlist when vocalist and guitarist George Danahy performed 1) throughout the crowd 2) flat on the floor surrounded by said crowd and 3) splayed on his back onstage with the neck of his guitar acrobatically tucked underneath his left leg.
Coupled with an endearing rendition of “Careless Whisper,” their no-frills, pure-grit approach ended the night with the same whimsical vigor often found in Allston (or Lowell) basements — which is perhaps why the judges ensured that The Ghouls didn’t get ghosted.
