Whitney, Shannon and the Clams to fight finals stress with upbeat vibes

As the final days of the semester creep forward, students are often overwhelmed by final exams and papers, making a fun, relaxed Friday night well-deserved. One option this Friday is Tulane University Campus Programming’s Thank God It’s Over event, which traditionally marks and celebrates the end of the year.

For TGIO, TUCP will bring two bands — opener Shannon and the Clams, and headliner Whitney — to campus at 5 p.m. on Friday at the Lavin-Bernick Center Quadrangle for an evening of quality indie music.

“It’ll just be a really nice way to wind down after this busy week of finals,” incoming TUCP Recreation Chair Allegra Weingarten said. “We’ll get to listen to good live music for two hours.”

Hailing from Oakland, CA, Shannon and the Clams has been meshing classic doo-wop, soul and garage rock since its debut album “I Wanna Go Home” in 2009, influenced by the vintage pop and rock ‘n’ roll of the ’50s and ’60s. The band has since released albums “Sleep Talk” in 2011, “Dreams in the Rat House” in 2013 and “Gone by the Dawn” in 2015.

Shannon and the Clams’ set will be danceable at times and emotional at others, evident in songs such as “Ozma” from “Dreams in the Rat House,” as well as “It’s Too Late” and “Corvette” from its latest album.

“It will be a very fun show,” Weingarten said. “If you wanna move and dance, Shannon and the Clams will do that for you.”

Whitney formed in 2015 in Chicago as the brainchild of former Smith Westerns guitarist Max Kakacek and former Unknown Mortal Orchestra drummer Julien Ehrlich. In June 2016, the band released its first album “Light Upon the Lake,” which includes notable singles “No Woman,” “No Matter Where We Go,” “Polly” and “Golden Days.”

Whitney will perform at approximately 6 p.m. for an hour-long set of groovy, nostalgic music. Songs to look out for include these singles, as well as more recent cover songs, such as Lion’s “You’ve Got a Woman” and Dolly Parton’s “Gonna Hurry (As Slow As I Can).” Whitney’s renditions are remarkably its own, applying its somewhat psychedelic roots to these older tunes.

“Whitney is an experienced live band, so I think it’ll be really put-together and a really clean-sounding show,” Weingarten said.

Those who listens to bands such as Forth Wanderers, Hunx and His Punx, and Smith Westerns — a band that included Kakacek and Ehrlich before its breakup — will especially enjoy the show, which is free and open to the public, according to Weingarten. But even those who are unfamiliar with this music are sure to have an exhilarating night, whether they choose to dance in the front or relax in the back.

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