An Early November Reunion Brings Out the Youth in an Older Audience

By Lily Hartman
Edited by Carly Thompson

On Thursday, October 18, at Brighton Music Hall in Allston, Massachusetts, The Early November rekindle memories of the audiences’ teenage years as they bump their heads to the band’s songs that were written in the early 2000’s.

The group contains five members: Ace Enders (lead singer/guitarist), Sergio Anello (Bass guitarist), Bill Lugg (lead guitarist), Jeff Kummer (drummer), and Joseph Marro (guitarist).

Ace, Sergio, Bill and Joseph all stood evenly apart at the front of the stage, allowing the back lights to reflect their bodies with a warm tone so the audience could see them vividly. The lights shined the colors blue, pink, green and red, which stayed consistent throughout the concert.

Although there was not much communication between the boys on stage, they still found ways to interact with each other by facing during energetic songs and jamming on their instruments. The vocal-to-instrument sound ratio was perfectly balanced; neither one outweighed the other.  

They came onto the stage at 10 o’clock sharp; wearing skinny jeans, simple white t-shirts and flannels, not too different than the style worn by the audience members: dressing in beanies, flannels, snapbacks, leather, and denim. With no introduction, the band went right into performing “A Stain On The Carpet” from their album In Currents.

It kept the crowd, who were mostly in their late 20’s, quite mellow. Considering the band’s popularity, I expected the floor to be packed; although my prediction was not quite relevant considering that I was not very familiar with the band’s music. It ended up being very easy for fans to get to the third row, and no one was fighting for it.

Ace cited memories of playing in the band as a teenager which made the crowd cheer, reminiscing about their younger years. “This song goes to anyone who was around back then,” he said, causing the twenty-seven year old girl in front of me to turn around and scream, “I’m old!”

I was surprised by not only the age group of the band’s fans, but also how many have been around since they formed all the way back in 2002. The boys then proceeded by playing, “Decoration” from their album, The Mother, The Mechanic, And The Path, causing the energy from the crowd to pick up tremendously.

The audience seemed to be quite familiar with the music, making everyone, all the way from the audience to the stage, feel comfortable. Ace even pointed out that he recognized a few fans in the front row, and reminded the audience that he appreciates those who have been there since his earliest performances.

Although their performance was quite entertaining, it would be hard to feel the same level of satisfaction as the fans who have been there for The Early November and their music since day one. I personally felt like an outsider at the concert, considering I could not share the same memories and emotions as nearly everyone else in the room. “Was anybody here when we played fifteen years ago with Brand New?” he asked. A good amount of fans erupted with cheers.

Forming back in 2002 by lead singer Ace Enders in Southern New Jersey, The Early November began creating American rock music that got them a record deal with Drive-Thru Records. The band stopped making music in March 2007, but decided to reconnect and continue writing music in 2011.

It is not much of a surprise that The Early November does not have many younger fans, since their “prime time” was when current teenagers were nearly eight-years old. There is a deep bond between this band and the older fans that cannot be denied. “It made me feel human,” Ace openly describes his music to his oldest fans and when he was a musician just starting out, “It made me feel like I had a life.”
The Early November performed many other popular songs such as “Outside” and “Tell Me Why,” making the crowd sway back and forth while sipping their six-dollar beers. The performance overall could have had more energy, although there was some moments when Ace got the entire room to clap and cheer loudly. He was not short of resurfacing the bond that he has with his long-held fans. “That connection, that spark, whatever it was.” he emphasizes, “ I want you to know that I cherish that.”