Most people in New England stay home in the winter months, but I am not most people. On Saturday, Feb. 9, I had the pleasure of seeing The World Is A Beautiful Place And I Am No Longer Afraid To Die (often shortened to TWIABP). They are a band from Willimantic, Connecticut, and more specifically a band I have wanted to see live since 2016 when I first heard about them.

Yet, TWIABP has been around since 2010, but has had drastic lineup changes throughout the last nine years.

TWIABP did not come on their own, they brought some of their friends along. Those friends would be No Stranger from Pennsylvania, CT natives Ryan Patrick White and another band Tier, who were celebrating the release of their record “Ego Death.”

First up was No Stranger. The only shame in their performance was that they were so early, that many people had not made it to the venue. But that also made it better. It really was an intimate show.

I looked these guys up on iTunes back when the show was announced in January. I liked what I heard and did not think much of it again. But let me tell you, they truly blew me away. They had such high energy and were just so happy on stage; smiles never left their faces as they were on stage, and those smiles were passed on to the crowd.

It brought me such joy to watch them and be in that moment. If I had to categorize them, I would say they sound like The Wonder Years vocals over Knuckle Puck’s copacetic-style guitars.

Next up was Ryan Patrick White. I also looked a little into him before I went to the show, liking what I heard. Now the downfall was putting Ryan Patrick White after No Stranger. White’s performance was him sitting down with an acoustic guitar. As a result, he had very little movement in his set, where his only interaction to the crowd was talking to and with them.

After White, came Tier. This would be their record release show for their new album. They were the only band on the lineup I had not heard before, so I was excited to hear them and ready to support a local band in their endeavors. However, that hope was quickly squashed, because, if I am being honest, Tier was my least favorite band on the lineup.

I really liked one of the songs they played and moved my head to the beat, but I did not get the feeling of joy I got by watching other bands like No Stranger on stage. They did, however, have some movement to their performance and I think I might have enjoyed them more if I had known the lyrics to a song or two. I could not clearly understand what they were singing through the speakers.

Finally, it was time for TWIABP to take the stage. While the crowd was kind to the opening bands and even sang along with them, TWIABP was the band everyone was waiting for.

And they delivered.

Even though there were nine people on stage, no one overshadowed the other; they all needed to be there to make the performance come to life. They played their hits like “Getting Sodas,” “January 10th, 2014” and “Marine Tigers” as well as older songs. If you are going to look these guys up, check out “January 10th, 2014.” If you do not like their style of music, you may be intrigued by the story of Diana the Hunter, which is what the song is based on.

They also took a moment to dedicate some songs to Tom Diaz. Diaz was the founder of the band and did vocals, guitar and keyboards from 2009 to 2012.

However, on Nov. 1, 2018, Diaz passed away unexpectedly at 32-years-old. His memory was kept alive that night and as long as TWIABP keep playing, it always will be.

The only downside to this performance was that there was no definite end. No “here’s our last song, thank you for coming out,” no “thanks for stopping by, good night.” The reason everyone knew the show was over, was that the lights were turned back on.

With all that said, I am so happy I went to this show and got to experience all of these bands live and you best believe that I will be watching them the next time I get the chance to.