Michael Keehan
Staff Writer
When you’re about to give a performance, people usually tell you to “break a leg!” as a cheeky way of wishing you good luck. Seems rising pop-punk star Jhariah Clare, known anonymously as Jhariah, misheard it as “cut a leg!” instead.
The Bronx musician, who uses he/they pronouns, was performing in Philadelphia when he cut his leg from his energetic performance style. Despite healing, it sored back while he and his band performed at Millersville’s local music venue Phantom Power. In both scenarios, however, Jhariah’s “show must go on” mentality motivated them to continue the incredible show.
The two shows are kicking off their “Command” mini tour promoting their album “Trust Ceremony.” I arranged a questionnaire with Jhariah while he and his band packed up for their next show in Champaign, Illinois, giving me time to enjoy the show.
The opening act was an artist by the name of BoyJr. They performed the show themselves with a laptop and used a minimalist setup to connect with the audience. They ended with a group performance of My Chemical Romance’s “Teenagers,” a song the audience knew by heart.
Soon, Jhariah took the stage, and he rocked out with his “no genre, all drama” style. They combined emo, jazz, theater and J-rock to make an energetic environment that benefitted the abundant energy Jhariah had. They had fun with their bandmates and audience, and the backing band matched up to Jhariah’s high level of talent. It’s also the only modern rock band I can think of with a persistent saxophone player, further proving the unique nature of the show.
After an unforgettable show, they and BoyJr stayed after to sell merch and talk with fans. As the band loaded up the tour van, I got to meet with Jhariah and have a lovely conversation with one of the coolest people I’ll ever get to know. They talked about how this was the first of five shows they played in eight days, creating a rush to get everyone together and ready. None of them had heard of Millersville or Phantom Power, and found the campus and venue to be lovely, getting along well with the crew at Phantom Power. Jhariah gave a lot of love to their backing band, their opening act of BoyJr, and the band Pinkshift, a punk band from my home state of Maryland, who they collaborated with on the song “EAT YOUR FRIENDS.” He also recommended a few albums: Remi Wolf’s “Big Ideas,” Ashnikko’s “WEEDKILLER,” and Jean Dawson’s “CHAOS NOW.” They also talked about the song “MAYBE LATER DANCE.” The song is a vulnerable song about his fear of taking risks, and how he wants to participate in the things he finds exciting yet scary.
I definitely relate to that song, and while I am far from a musician, I know there is a strong music community here at Millersville, and I wouldn’t be surprised if many of them relate to this song.
Before I parted ways with them, I asked Jhariah if he had anything to say to musicians at Millersville, and he said “The cool thing about music is you get to access part of yourself that’s harder to access, and the best thing is to be brave and do things that are scary.”
We hope to see Jhariah at Millersville soon, and I will definitely be listening to them a lot more!
