The Mowgli's

by Zachary Jones

The Mowgli’s bring you great feel-good music that can immediately boost your mood. On Wednesday, February 27, The Mowgli’s took the stage along with Jukebox the Ghost and Arrested Youth at Terminal West in Midtown Atlanta. The smaller venue made up for the lack of size with the high energy of the show. More specifically, The Mowgli’s seemed to bring out the best in the crowd, putting smiles on everyone’s face.

The show was the second from The Mowgli’s and Jukebox the Ghost’s “Making Friends Tour.” Their opening act, Arrested Youth, got the crowd warmed up with his unique indie rock with a twist of rap. Next up on the stage was Jukebox the Ghost. When Jukebox reached the stage, the crowd grew with energy and happiness right up until the end of the show. Jukebox has a sort of melting pot of genres including piano rock, electronic, pop and hip hop. I had never heard Jukebox the Ghost, so their name had me unsure what to expect. After hearing their mix of instruments and styles, it was a surprise.

Finally, the Mowgli’s got their chance on the stage with the crowd energized. The band played some new songs from their upcoming EP, along with some of their classics.

The crowd at Terminal West was filled with Mowgli fans, and their reaction to the brand-new music was a telling visual. It did not matter if it was a classic song or a new one, the vibe and energy were always the same. One of the biggest hits of the night was one of their new songs, "Norman Rockwell." For their classics, they played tracks like "San Francisco" and "I’m Good."

The Mowgli’s are a relatively popular band, with over a million monthly listens on Spotify. They have a few hits, with their biggest being "San Francisco," which was explained as being written due to their love of the northern California City. Their hit song grew even more in popularity when the San Francisco Giants of the MLB used it as a celebratory song during their path to a World Series Championship.

The Mowgli’s, similarly to Jukebox the Ghost, use an assortment of instruments as well as vocals. They are made up of six band members with each member of the band contributing vocally and instrumentally to create a unique form of alternative rock. They use those instruments to make most of their songs to an up-beat feel-good rhythm. The collection of voices also meshes well together even in their live performance. That was one pleasant surprise of the whole experience. I went in unsure of how six people singing and playing different instruments at the same time would sound, but it was surprisingly smooth.

Terminal West was a perfect venue for this concert. The venue, which was once a part of a plow factory, is part of the King Plow Arts Center located in West Midtown Atlanta. They renovated the factory to become studios in the 1990s. From the simple backdrop with fonts that gave off what the band is about to the lights and technology, the show was a great success. The venue was the right place for the show that was put on. I have been to plenty of concerts where it felt like the wrong venue for that certain act, but not at Terminal West.

The acts meshed together well into a similar genre and all have a sort of upbeat tune. Everything with this concert felt right, whether it was the vocals, instrumentals, setting, and more. The crowd reception was overwhelmingly positive with most of the people attending were dancing, smiling and keeping their hands in the air for most of the show. It was truly a great experience with such feel-good atmosphere that it could leave a smile on any music lover’s face.