Take a Spin Class to a Live Cover Band in Somerville
At Union Square's newest multi-use music venue called The Jungle.
Photo provided
If you’re an avid spin-goer at one of the many spots around the city, you know how similar spin classes are to a live music performance. The lights are low, the music is loud, and the instructor embodies everything a lead singer does—except for maybe some killer vocal chords. Well, the time has come for both worlds to actually collide at The Jungle, Somerville’s newest multi-use music venue.
Located in Union Square, The Jungle opened on May 10 by owner and manager Sam Epstein who wanted to create a community music space. The space is small and simple but can pack 85 people inside for concerts and will feature everything from live local music to food and drinks to yoga and cycling classes.
Spin classes are offered every Monday and Thursday from 6 p.m.-8 p.m. And yes, there are regular spin bikes but no special shoes are required. Your ticket in is $10 which you can apply to food or drinks at the bar—they even have smoothies which you can add protein powder to for added post-workout recovery. Menu items include things like sandwiches, burgers, salads, and hummus.
Unlike a traditional spin class, there will be no instructor and participants can come and go as they please throughout the entire two-hour performance. “The instructor is replaced by a band,” Epstein tells me. “I think a lot of true cycling instructors had much of their performance inspired by lead singers fronting rock bands. They yell things like ‘Yeah, Come On, Get Up,’ leading into a chorus and their crowd work between songs, in slow moments, are similar to that of an instructor.”
He adds that some lead singers will call out RPM’s, but generally the classes are led with fewer numbers and less specific instructions. So it might be best to attend a regular spin class first to get your bearings on the pedals because this class is really all about finding the beat.
“It’s just a different way to experience a spin class,” Epstein says. “The focus is shifted from instruction to performance. It’s a different way to motivate a crowd.”
$10, Mondays and Thursdays, 6 p.m.-8 p.m., The Jungle, 6 Sanborn Court, Somerville, thejunglemusicclub.com.
