Kacey Musgraves @ Wells Fargo Center - Philadelphia, PA
Words & Photos courtesy of Carolyn Lederach | January 26th 2022
Queen Kacey made her triumphant appearance in Philadelphia this past week at Wells Fargo Center, the fifth stop on her Star-Crossed Tour. Bringing along with her a stellar opening line-up including MUNA (yes they played ‘Silk Chiffon’, duh) and King Princess.
Kacey donned an amazing all-white jumpsuit, scattered with a tiny sword pattern. Just like the rest of her wardrobe on tour, it was nothing short of amazing. Oh, and of course, she was barefoot. The set included a great heart-shaped production, including little cute surprises along with the way like pink confetti for ‘Cherry Blossom’, and a money gun for ‘Breadwinner’, just to name a few. However, there seems to be a fail on the giant fire heart during ‘Star-Crossed’, which seemed to be a letdown for some. But the excitement of the rest of the show easily made that a forgettable issue.
The set consisted of songs that would appeal to old and new Kacey fans alike. Starting off with the first five tracks from Star-Crossed, then a nice selection of the hits from Golden Hour, with not a lot of looking back to releases before then. Another fan highlight was the cover song toward the end, where Kacey covered Dolly Parton’s iconic hit, ‘9 to 5’. Overall, a great night, filled with many flashy cowboy hats.
King Princess & MUNA:
The Aces @ House of Blues Chicago - Chicago, IL
Photos and words courtesy of Emily Nava | December 1st 2021
The Aces brought their tour supporting their latest album "Under My Influence" to a packed House of Blues Chicago on Wednesday, December 1st 2021. Opening bands Sawyer (Nashville, TN) and The Beaches (Toronto, ON) got the crowd excited for the show with energetic performances. The Aces then took the stage and played "Under My Influence" nearly in its entirety with a few songs from their debut album "When My Heart Felt Volcanic" included. The crowd remained engaged throughout the entire set as lead singer Cristal Ramirez shared short backstories to songs about heartbreak and maturity. The Under My Influence tour continues throughout the United States through December and resumes in Europe and the UK in Spring of 2022.
The Aces
Sawyer
The Beaches
Starset @ Irving Plaza - New York, NY
Photos and words courtesy of Ana C Santos | December 4th 2021
It’s been over two years since STARSET was last in New York City. At the time, I remember leaving that particular show with such a buzz of excitement because the band felt like it was literally blasting into the stratosphere. A new album, Divisions, had just come out and the conceptually-driven band was poised to tour and expand its intriguing lore. And then the pandemic hit. Fast forward two years and a couple of months later, STARSET returned with its fourth studio album, Horizons and New York City was ready.
Playing in the newly remodeled Irving Plaza, STARSET blasted off with a symbiotic exchange of energy between the stage and the audience that felt purely electrifying. For the first time since I discovered them accidentally in another NYC stage in 2014, STARSET played as a full seven-piece ensemble - something that frontman Dustin Bates revealed had always been his vision. Clad in Mad-Maxian dystopian aesthetic for the first half of the show before donning their staple space suits, the band swept through an extremely well balanced setlist. While it naturally focused more heavily on new songs from 2019’s Divisions, and Horizons there was a helping of older stand out tracks like “Monster,” “Carnivore,” “Satellite” and the finisher “My Demons” to make veteran fans happy.
With a track record of incredible shows (which the band calls demonstrations), strong performances and an ever-growing fanbase invested in the sci-fi saga that has been unfolding over the last four albums (not to mention a novel and comic book), I’m looking forward to what STARSET has in store for us next.
Setlist:
01. The Breach
02. Where The Skies End
03. Infected
04. Carnivore
05. Let It Die
06. Trials
07. Manifest
08. Echo
09. Monster
10. Point of No Return
11. It Has Begun
12. Earthrise
13. Satellite
14. Devolution
15. For Whom the Bell Tolls
16. Ricochet
17. Die for You
18. My Demons
The Word Alive
COIN & Mazie @ Mercury Ballroom - Louisville, KY
On December 4th, Nashville pop-rock band COIN and LA bedroom-pop artist Mazie brought a fun night of music to Mercury Ballroom in Louisville, KY. Having formed in 2012, COIN has developed a loyal following of fans, as evidenced by the sold out crowd this evening! The floor was packed from front to back and from side to side, as well as the balcony area, with a sea of excited fans, bursting with a fun and infectious energy for the evening ahead. Starting the night out was pop artist Mazie, who released her debut single “no friends” in 2020, which exploded online and earned her widespread acclaim and following of fans. She is like a bundle of light and fun-hearted energy on stage, laughing, smiling, and bouncing across the stage as though there is no other place she would rather be. She exudes such a fun energy that it was hard not to feel happy and joyous in her presence, and as she sang her songs, many in the crowd sang along, and those who did not know the words still danced and jumped up and down, enjoying her songs and energy. Chatting with the crowd between songs, whether it was talking about the song meaning, introducing her band, or asking the crowd “Are you a jumping kind of crowd? I guess I’ll have to see for myself”, she no doubt made plenty of new fans this evening and had the crowd ready for COIN!
As COIN came out on stage, the entire crowd exploded into a sea of cheering, screaming, and clapping. Singer Chase Lawrence is a bundle of energy on stage, and had the crowd singing and dancing along from the first lyric sung. With a kaleidoscope of colorful lights throughout the set, to screens at the back of the stage with different colorful scenes and images, their stage production was amazing. With a setlist that included tracks such as “Dreamland Sequence”, “Into My Arms”, “Growing Pains”, “Babe Ruth”, “Crash My Car”, and their brand new single “Chapstick”, the crowd was singing along to every song at the top of their lungs, with a few sing-alongs led by Lawrence throughout the set. Early in the set, Lawrence grabbed a bouquet of yellow flowers from a fan at the barricade, holding the flowers often throughout the night. Towards the end of their set, Lawrence thanked the crowd for making them feel special and told the crowd that the band was in the midst of writing and recording new music for next year! Leaving the stage briefly at the “end” of their set, they came back out saying “You’re still here!”! They ended the set with “Sagittarius Superstar” and “Talk Too Much”, capping off what was an incredible fun evening that left the euphoric energy of the evening lingering long after the music had stopped!
Mazie
Coin
The Fiery Furnaces & Fred Armisen @ Brooklyn Steel - Brooklyn, NY
Photos courtesy of Edwina Hay | November 13th 2021
Fred Armisen:
In May 2011, The Fiery Furnaces performed during the Primavera Sound Festival in Barcelona, Spain, and the group featuring siblings Eleanor and Matthew Friedberger would go on hiatus shortly after that performance. Fast forward to ten years later, they would reform and conduct their first live set in a decade at the Pitchfork Music Festival in September 2021 and go on a brief tour which would take the band to Brooklyn, NY to Brooklyn Steel, Chicago IL’s Thalia Hall, and Los Angeles, CA to El Rey Theatre in mid-November.
Their concert at Brooklyn Steel on Saturday, November 13th began with comedian/musician Fred Armisen starting at 8 PM. He did jokes involving music such as not knowing how to dance or move when listening to songs in unusual time signatures (Slint’s “Nosferatu Man” was used as an example of this), or illustrating the history of punk via the drums starting in the 1970s through 2000s, and demonstrating how it seems like the drummer who played on Diana Ross’ “I’m Coming Out” didn’t know the song he was playing on.
The Fiery Furnaces, now expanded to a six-piece band, took the stage at Brooklyn Steel at 9 PM. Eleanor and Matthew Friedberger were joined by bassist Brian Betancourt, keyboardist Emily Lee, and drummers Noah Hecht and Cameron Wisch. The group performed songs spanning their catalog and executed them in different arrangements than their records. Eleanor thanked the audience for joining them in person for the show while understanding that not everyone who wanted to attend could due to the pandemic. Some fans traveled from out of state to attend the show and they were appreciative of them being there. The evening ended with “Chris Michaels” from their 2004 album Blueberry Boat, with Eleanor throwing her setlist into the crowd after the song was over.
Fiery Furnaces:
Alexander 23 @ The Foundry - Philadelphia, PA
Photos courtesy of Carolyn Lederach | October 9th
It’s been an interesting few years for Alexander 23. I for one was super excited to finally catch one of his live shows. If his internet presence is any indication of what his shows might be like, it’s bound to be a good time.
About this time last year, we saw the rise of his lockdown love song “IDK You Yet”, which is now up to about 300 million streams. He’s also been busy not only working on his own sad bops, but also working with artists like Olivia Rodrigo, Quinn XCII, and Jeremy Zucker.
You can tell from the joy on all the fans’ faces everyone else was also beyond excited to see Alexander live. With neon sign in tow the show in the small Foundry walls became a fun sing-a-long that makes me look forward to seeing Alexander live in larger rooms in the near future.
CHVRCHES @ Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom - Chicago, IL
Photos and words courtesy of Emily Nava | November 19th 2021
As live music has returned to stages in the past few months, new challenges have come with it as artists strive to stay safe and healthy on the road. Shortly before the CHVRCHES concert at the Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom on November 19th, band member Iain Cook tested positive for COVID-19. Despite this unfortunate circumstance, CHVRCHES' touring technician, Dave Simpson, filled in for the night and the show went on.
Opening act, Donna Missal, delivered a soulful and powerful performance that built up anticipation for CHVRCHES' set.
CHVRCHES opened their set with a song from their new album Screen Violence called "He Said She Said" and continued with older songs such as "Forever" and "Leave A Trace". Throughout their performance, CHVRCHES delivered high-energy but also vulnerability with their newer songs such as "Good Girls" and "Final Girl".
CHVRCHES captivated a nearly sold out crowd that night and I am sure fans would agree that Chicago cannot wait to have them back.
All Time Low @ Paristown Hall - Louisville, KY
All Time Low recently brought their current North American tour to Louisville, KY to a packed crowd! Starting the night out was pop-punk band Meet Me At The Altar. A whirl of fun and upbeat energy, they had plenty of fans in the crowd singing along from the first note! Performing a variety of songs from their catalog, including a few from their latest EP Model Citizen, they also performed a short medley of covers halfway through their set, asking “Are there any emotion kids in the building? Of course there are! We’re gonna play some covers and we want you to sing along!”. The crowd proceeded to sing along to covers from Jimmy Eat World, Limp Bizcuit, New Found Glory, and LIT. Taking about how they are an all female band, singer Edith Johnson told the crowd how growing up they didn’t see a lot of female bands and were sad about it and wondered why not do it themselves? Also this evening there was a 7 year old fan in the crowd named Zoe, whose birthday it was, so the band had everyone shout Happy Birthday! It was really fun set to start the evening out with! Next up was Nothing, Nowhere, the stage name of singer, rapper and songwriter Joseph Edward Mulherin. A mix of emo rap, trap, and indie rock, he and his band had the crowd dancing along throughout the set with their infectious energy. Moody lighting and a connection with the crowd made it a fun and engaging set!
Headlining this evening was Maryland emo pop punk band All Time Low. Having formed in 2003, they have gained a strong and loyal fan base over the years, with their 8 studio albums and fun and energetic live shows. Playing songs this evening from their extensive catalog, they also performed tracks from their latest album, 2020’s Wake Up, Sunshine. Asking the crowd if there was anyone for whom this was their first show since live shows started back, they proceeded to say “Feels good doesn’t it? Thanks for being here! It feels good to be back on a stage!”. They started things off with “Do You Want Me (Dead)?” and performed tracks throughout their set that included “Some Kind Of Disater”, ““Damned If I Do Ya (Damned If I Don’t)”, “Once In A Lifetime”, “Life Of The Party”, “Monsters”, and “Nightmares”. Towards the end of the evening, they talked about how there was so much love in the room this evening and how they could feel it coming off of everyone and how when they play shows, everyone in attendance becomes a collective family for a while. They then talked about how love is love no matter who you love! They ended the evening with “Dear Maria, Count Me In”, capping off the evening by shooting off a massive confetti cannon, sending colorful bits of confetti throughout the crowd! It was a fun way to end the set and left people buzzing long after the music ended!
MEET ME AT THE ALTAR
NOTHING, NOWHERE
ALL TIME LOW
