02/04/2014

Listen to the interview with Aer here:

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Aer Show Review by Ben Brondsky

On Friday, January 31st I interviewed and saw Aer at the House of Blues. Started by David von Mering and Carter Schultz while both in high school together at Wayland High, just 30 minutes outside of Boston. The two have been able to blend a mix of rock, rap, and reggae and make it their own creation. They released their first mixtape, Water on the Moon, while seniors in high school in 2010. When they released their first official EP, What You Need, in 2011 it rose up to the top of itunes’ hip-hop charts. They released their debut album, The Bright Side, in 2012 and have just released their self-titled second album, Aer.

You could definitely tell the House of Blues show was a sort of homecoming for Schultz and von Mering. Both had mentioned in my interview with them that they were excited to come back to Boston and were starting off their countrywide tour in Boston. Both of their parents were in attendance and so were a lot of close friends from Wayland and the surrounding suburbs.

On this specific tour, Aer was able to hire a partial live band. Behind Schultz and von Mering was a bassist and drummer along with a dj. After the two openers, the dj came on first and got the crowd pumped up with a very short EDM-based set. Then Schultz and von Mering came on stage and started into songs ranging from their earliest EPS and mixtapes to their newest album.

When making songs for the EPs/albums von Merling usually uses computer programs to make the instrumentals and the two of them sing/rap over them, but with the band behind them live it amped up the sound x1000. The bass was in the forefront and the bassist kept the rhythm tight and consistently bouncing. The sold out crowd was extremely into the music and all the girls, the majority of the crowd, went crazy over Schultz and von Merling the whole concert. Girls would reach out and consistently try to grab a hold of them and at one point when Schultz crowd surfed, the crowd kept ahold of him for a long time and it took a bit of time for him to get back to the stage. When Schultz took off his shirt halfway through the concert the girls in the House of Blues lost it.

Schultz and von Merling shared vocal duties pretty consistently and half way through von Merling strapped on a guitar and joined in with the band the rest of the concert. Both of their vocals were consistently strong and similar to how they were on the albums and EPs.

If you’re looking for summer songs the majority of Aer’s catalong will be perfect for you. Although it was the end of January and during the middle of winter in Boston, inside the House of Blues it seemed like it was July. Their songs are upbeat and discuss topics such as women, weed, and having fun.

Overall Aer puts on a very entertaining and fun concert. They seemed genuinely excited to be there and were very vocal about thanking the crowd and how appreciative they were. The sold out crowd was not passive and didn’t seem like they were a bunch of bandwagoners. Aer has a consistent fanbase and as they continue to travel the US and explore Europe I believe they’ll continue to rise in fame.