7/28/24 Eat You Alive Truth Is a Cave Valley Reprise Rounds Apologies in advance -- the cameraperson was too overcome with joy to hold the camera properly
Totally agree with the cameraperson- "overcome with joy" is exactly how I feel watching an Oh Hellos show. I've never seen a band that looked happier to be onstage. It's clear how much Maggie and Tyler and their friends truly love playing together. I've seen 7 shows and every one has been amazing. (Videos on my channel btw). Thanks for sharing this behind the scenes look at the Newport show ❤️
Apologies for the novella of a comment, and I don't know if this message will ever make it to Tyler and Maggie, but on the off-chance it does, I want to say thank you so, *so* very much for everything you've done - and if it's alright, I have a story. When I saw this video pop up in my feed, I was ecstatic. But listening to the video this morning, I had trouble making out exactly what the last track was because of all the echoing and reverb from the speakers (this was before I looked in the video description lol). However, once I heard the line "a thousand words for every chord", I instantly knew what song was being sung, and I audibly gasped. I couldn't help but smile and begin to tear up. Zephyrus is my favorite album/EP not just from The Oh Hellos, but my favorite of all time. I've followed their progress since 2016 right before I started college, and when the Four Winds saga began in 2017, the thematic depth, the intricacies and beauties of the composition, and the sincerity in the lyrics were so apparent to me. The EP's reflected my own experiences in questioning my morality, my sense of self, and my ability to help those in the communities I dedicated myself to. For context, I'm an autistic researcher and advocate, and I've worked for the past ten years to help researchers and clinicians understand autistic perspectives, push for our rights to be respected as a community, and uplift and empower my community of autistic people who are struggling to be true to who we are and access the resources we need to survive, thrive, and be our most authentic selves. But in 2020, a lot changed for me - as it did for everyone. I started graduate school and moved into my own apartment, but being in the middle of the pandemic left me feeling isolated and scared beyond belief. More relevant though was being met by so many of my peers and professors looking at my mission and saying "it is the way it is" and telling me that I needed to compromise who I was and what I wanted in order to make systemic change. I tried to be hopeful and optimistic that I could convince people without needing to be complicit in systems of education and healthcare and therapy that so constantly marginalize and oppress autistic people like myself. But I was met with the sentiment that other people used to be idealistic too, but they needed to get by, follow orders, and put their heads down - even if it meant innocent people getting hurt. It shattered me - sucked out the joy from the mission I had enthusiastically committed myself to only a few years earlier, and I felt for the first time in my life that I wanted to give up. I felt utterly and completely alone. As I was living in the apartment, I distinctly remember when the announcement for Zephyrus dropped, and I was overjoyed. I stayed up until midnight for the release of Soap, and I danced in my apartment like a madman with tears welling in my eyes. The day the EP released, I listened to the other three first all in one go before making my way to the local river trail, and right as Rio Grande began to play. That entire walk I listened all the way through, as the sun beamed along the grass and pavement and the blue sky reflected off the river, and I couldn't help but sob tears of joy over and over again for that 20 minutes. That walk - and the emotions I felt listening to that EP for the first time - is burned into my memory like it was just yesterday. Hearing the span of that record reflecting the deepest core of my inner thoughts that I had tried to tell myself for so long was overwhelming. Bringing hope and joy and optimism into a weary world that may not be ready for it in Rio Grande, building bridges between struggling communities in Soap, the melodies and flairs of electric guitar on Murmurations, talking about keeping the best parts of yourself while still improving in Theseus, the gorgeous simplicity of the violins on Holding On Where I Am Able, the desire to make oneself part of building a better and brighter world from the ground up on the title track, and the somber yet wonderful harmony between Tyler and Maggie on Rounds. Most of the time I have to listen to songs and albums several times to understand the nuance and significance, but in this case, the meaning and emotions behind it all I immediately understood and felt in my soul - and I want to say that those words in those moments meant the absolute world to me. Today, I still deal with the same struggles I did in 2020. I'm still trying to find out how I can be true to my autistic identity, my belief in the capacity for goodness that so many of us have, and the unique yet infinite worth that each of us possess - the feeling that when I'm gone, that's a part of the world and the universe that will never exist again, and how if everyone felt that way about everyone else, so many of the ills and systemic barriers that cause so much needless suffering would be no more. But Zephyrus felt like an anchor back to the deepest and truest parts of how I feel, a treatise on how necessary it is to be critical of systems and practices that hurt everyone to the benefit of few while still keeping hope that we and the world can be better someday for all of us, and an encouragement that everything would be okay, that I was okay, that I’m not alone, that being good for the sake of good is possible and needed now more than ever, that what I was fighting for in my life wouldn't be in vain, and that I deserved to be true to myself and everything I stand for as an activist, a professional, a child and a friend. It felt like the biggest, warmest hug I could have ever imagined from a work of art, and without it and without you, I don't know where I'd be. Tyler, Maggie - whatever you choose to do from here on out, all I want you to know is how eternally and immensely thankful I am that you shared a piece of your inner lives, the hopes and dreams and vulnerabilities, with the world out there - your swears and hallelujahs entwined, so to speak. I wish words could express the enormity of what your music makes me feel, but there are none that can. You've made a college kid from New York more hopeful about the future and his life in a way that nothing else quite has, and I'm sure as heck not the only one who resonates with your music the way I do. If you ever go back on tour, I hope I can be there one day to dance and sing and cry all the way and celebrate the best of humanity with you and so many others in a collective hug of pure joy. But most importantly of all, thank you for being you, and thank you for being here. You bring something to this world and this universe that no one else ever can: you. And as Mr. Rogers always said, you've made today a special day just by being you - and I like you just the way you are. - Thomas ☺
This just made me cry😭 their music hit right as I desperately needed it as well, and I hope when they tour I can see them too. I would have sold a kidney to see them in Connecticut but it was already sold out 😭
so glad that they're playing music together again! i hope to see them play live one day myself
I love this band so much, The Valley Reprise is so incredible. I sincerely hope they visit the UK sometime soon.
Totally agree with the cameraperson- "overcome with joy" is exactly how I feel watching an Oh Hellos show. I've never seen a band that looked happier to be onstage. It's clear how much Maggie and Tyler and their friends truly love playing together. I've seen 7 shows and every one has been amazing. (Videos on my channel btw). Thanks for sharing this behind the scenes look at the Newport show ❤️
It's so wonderful to see them back on stage together. I hope we continue to have many more shows with them. Thank you for this video.
Apologies for the novella of a comment, and I don't know if this message will ever make it to Tyler and Maggie, but on the off-chance it does, I want to say thank you so, *so* very much for everything you've done - and if it's alright, I have a story.
When I saw this video pop up in my feed, I was ecstatic. But listening to the video this morning, I had trouble making out exactly what the last track was because of all the echoing and reverb from the speakers (this was before I looked in the video description lol). However, once I heard the line "a thousand words for every chord", I instantly knew what song was being sung, and I audibly gasped. I couldn't help but smile and begin to tear up.
Zephyrus is my favorite album/EP not just from The Oh Hellos, but my favorite of all time. I've followed their progress since 2016 right before I started college, and when the Four Winds saga began in 2017, the thematic depth, the intricacies and beauties of the composition, and the sincerity in the lyrics were so apparent to me. The EP's reflected my own experiences in questioning my morality, my sense of self, and my ability to help those in the communities I dedicated myself to. For context, I'm an autistic researcher and advocate, and I've worked for the past ten years to help researchers and clinicians understand autistic perspectives, push for our rights to be respected as a community, and uplift and empower my community of autistic people who are struggling to be true to who we are and access the resources we need to survive, thrive, and be our most authentic selves.
But in 2020, a lot changed for me - as it did for everyone. I started graduate school and moved into my own apartment, but being in the middle of the pandemic left me feeling isolated and scared beyond belief. More relevant though was being met by so many of my peers and professors looking at my mission and saying "it is the way it is" and telling me that I needed to compromise who I was and what I wanted in order to make systemic change. I tried to be hopeful and optimistic that I could convince people without needing to be complicit in systems of education and healthcare and therapy that so constantly marginalize and oppress autistic people like myself. But I was met with the sentiment that other people used to be idealistic too, but they needed to get by, follow orders, and put their heads down - even if it meant innocent people getting hurt. It shattered me - sucked out the joy from the mission I had enthusiastically committed myself to only a few years earlier, and I felt for the first time in my life that I wanted to give up. I felt utterly and completely alone.
As I was living in the apartment, I distinctly remember when the announcement for Zephyrus dropped, and I was overjoyed. I stayed up until midnight for the release of Soap, and I danced in my apartment like a madman with tears welling in my eyes. The day the EP released, I listened to the other three first all in one go before making my way to the local river trail, and right as Rio Grande began to play. That entire walk I listened all the way through, as the sun beamed along the grass and pavement and the blue sky reflected off the river, and I couldn't help but sob tears of joy over and over again for that 20 minutes. That walk - and the emotions I felt listening to that EP for the first time - is burned into my memory like it was just yesterday. Hearing the span of that record reflecting the deepest core of my inner thoughts that I had tried to tell myself for so long was overwhelming. Bringing hope and joy and optimism into a weary world that may not be ready for it in Rio Grande, building bridges between struggling communities in Soap, the melodies and flairs of electric guitar on Murmurations, talking about keeping the best parts of yourself while still improving in Theseus, the gorgeous simplicity of the violins on Holding On Where I Am Able, the desire to make oneself part of building a better and brighter world from the ground up on the title track, and the somber yet wonderful harmony between Tyler and Maggie on Rounds. Most of the time I have to listen to songs and albums several times to understand the nuance and significance, but in this case, the meaning and emotions behind it all I immediately understood and felt in my soul - and I want to say that those words in those moments meant the absolute world to me.
Today, I still deal with the same struggles I did in 2020. I'm still trying to find out how I can be true to my autistic identity, my belief in the capacity for goodness that so many of us have, and the unique yet infinite worth that each of us possess - the feeling that when I'm gone, that's a part of the world and the universe that will never exist again, and how if everyone felt that way about everyone else, so many of the ills and systemic barriers that cause so much needless suffering would be no more. But Zephyrus felt like an anchor back to the deepest and truest parts of how I feel, a treatise on how necessary it is to be critical of systems and practices that hurt everyone to the benefit of few while still keeping hope that we and the world can be better someday for all of us, and an encouragement that everything would be okay, that I was okay, that I’m not alone, that being good for the sake of good is possible and needed now more than ever, that what I was fighting for in my life wouldn't be in vain, and that I deserved to be true to myself and everything I stand for as an activist, a professional, a child and a friend. It felt like the biggest, warmest hug I could have ever imagined from a work of art, and without it and without you, I don't know where I'd be.
Tyler, Maggie - whatever you choose to do from here on out, all I want you to know is how eternally and immensely thankful I am that you shared a piece of your inner lives, the hopes and dreams and vulnerabilities, with the world out there - your swears and hallelujahs entwined, so to speak. I wish words could express the enormity of what your music makes me feel, but there are none that can. You've made a college kid from New York more hopeful about the future and his life in a way that nothing else quite has, and I'm sure as heck not the only one who resonates with your music the way I do. If you ever go back on tour, I hope I can be there one day to dance and sing and cry all the way and celebrate the best of humanity with you and so many others in a collective hug of pure joy.
But most importantly of all, thank you for being you, and thank you for being here. You bring something to this world and this universe that no one else ever can: you. And as Mr. Rogers always said, you've made today a special day just by being you - and I like you just the way you are.
- Thomas ☺
This just made me cry😭 their music hit right as I desperately needed it as well, and I hope when they tour I can see them too. I would have sold a kidney to see them in Connecticut but it was already sold out 😭
OUGHHAHHDHAHFHAH I WISH I COULDVE BEEN THERE😭😭😭
5:58
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