girlhouse @ Union Transfer - Philadelphia
August 19th 2023: girlhouse @ Union Transfer - Philadelphia, PA
girlhouse - Photos Courtesy of Carolyn Lederach
girlhouse and Yoke Lore kicked off the Holy Havoc tour in Philadelphia on August 19th. Lauren (aka girlhouse) celebrated the release of her fourth ep, the fourth ep, earlier this year. She’s truly an enchanting artist to watch, giving a flawless vocal performance and endearing stage presence. I’ve been looking forward to catching girlhouse live since the release of “concussion”. I can say they do not disappoint!
Olivia O'Brien @ The Moroccan Lounge - Los Angeles
August 8th, 2023: Olivia O'Brien @ The Moroccan Lounge - Los Angeles, CA
Olivia O’Brien - Photos Courtesy of: Nicole Ditt
On August 9, Olivia O’Brien brought her second of four LA takeover shows to the Moroccan Lounge. The sold-out crowd was advised to wear their most unhinged clothing items to the show. Fans arrived in both homemade and store-bought items, attempting to showcase just how unhinged they truly are. The newly independent artist included a variety of her music as part of her setlist. Her sultry voice melodically glided through each song and she wore her heart on her sleeve for several emotional ballads. Fans went crazy for some of her older songs, such as “Fuck Feelings,” “Bitches These Days,” and “Sad Songs in the Summer.” Some of her newer music, including the incredibly vulnerable “Born with a Broken Heart,” was met with supportive cheers from the entire room. Recent upbeat single “i should’ve fucked your brother” got everyone jumping up and down in the 200 cap venue. As part of the encore, Olivia came back on stage to sing her first big hit, “i hate u, i love u,” with a little help from special guest, gnash. As he emerged from the side of the stage for his verse on the hit song, the crowd absolutely lost it. If you are looking to support an artist with natural talent, desire to put on the absolute best show possible, and relatable lyrics, look no further than 23 year old Olivia O’Brien!
Yellowcard @ 713 Music Hall - Houston
July 25th, 2023: Yellowcard, This Wild Life, Story of The Year, Mayday Parade @ 713 Music Hall - Houston, TX
Yellowcard - Photos Courtesy of: Brittaney Penney
On Tuesday, Yellowcard came to Houston for the first time since 2016 and the fans were ready to dance and sing along to their favorite songs.
Opening the show, This Wild Life, came out and announced that they were the Hot Topic Mumford & Sons, which made the entire crowd laugh. The two-person band was personable and got those who came out early to join in with a chant during one of their songs later in the set. Story of The Year came on next and really set fire to the stage. Their stage presence is incredible and we even snagged a shot of a young fan sitting on her parent’s shoulders singing along!
Mayday Parade was up after SOTY and played a good mix of their older tracks and their newest. Although one of their recent singles only came out last week, everyone seemed to know the song and sang along. It was a beautiful moment for the band and the fans to share.
Yellowcard finally came onto the stage and this moment was what everyone was waiting for! Starting out with ‘Way Away,’ the fans were ready to jam out. Not only are Yellowcard incredible performers, but their lights and production were also on point. Each member had the perfect amount of spotlights and time as the focus. We were very impressed. Ending the show with ‘Ocean Avenue’ was a genius choice as it is the 20th Anniversary of when the song originally came out.
All in all, we had an amazing time at the show and hope Yellowcard will keep touring in the future, so we can keep catching them when they come by our city!
This Wild Life, Story of The Year, Mayday Parade
Fitz and The Tantrums @ Iroquois Amphitheater - Louisville
July 20th, 2023: Fitz and The Tantrums, Sub-Radio @ Iroquois Amphitheater - Louisville, KY
Fitz and The Tantrums - Photos Courtesy of: Emily May
Fitz and The Tantrums brought their Let Yourself Free Tour to Iroquois Amphitheater on July 20th, in support of their latest album Let Yourself Free, and it was a party from start to finish! There was a crowd of fans lined up before the doors, waiting to get inside to get their seats, get food and merch, and dance the night away. Starting out the evening was Washington, D.C. pop rock band Sub-Radio. These guys had a super fun and upbeat energy, with singer Adam Bradley jumping around the stage and engaging with his fellow bandmates! There was plenty of crowd interaction, as well, with Bradley leading everyone in sing-alongs, crowd participation, and just chatting with everyone between songs, making everyone laugh at one point when saying how his hair was going through the 5 stages of grief in the heat. Telling a funny story early in the set, he said how “Last time we played here, it was in a bar downtown in 2019. There was actually a fight while we were playing and we had to evacuate the bar momentarily because of shattered glass. This is much better!”. Performing songs from their 2016 album Same Train // Different Station and their newly released EP Past Selves, as well as some singles, they had the crowd dancing along and having a great time! “I am a queer man,” said Bradley about halfway through the set. “I’m bisexual and came out at 27, which is a long time to wait. I am lucky to have a supportive family, friends, and bandmates. I have a support system, but not everyone does. I knew a lot of people growing up who struggled to find a community to accept them. This next song is about that. If you are a queer person who has found a community to come out to, I’m happy for you. If you haven’t, I see you. This song is called “Cool”.” Bradley later gave the crowd a challenge. “Try to figure out what our drummer Michael is doing in this next song and copy it. It’ll be about 3 1/2 minutes. I don’t think anyone will get it right!”, as Michael proceeded to then do a series of snaps, body taps, and hand/arm movements. “Did anyone get it right?”, asked Bradley after the song. He then joked that if anyone did, for them to come and claim their prize at the merch table after the set. These guys really had the crowd in a fun mood after their set and ready for the evening ahead.
Closing out the evening was LA indie pop band Fitz and The Tantrums! “How are ya’ll doin’ tonight Louisville? We’re going to need a lot of crowd participation!”. Starting things off with “Sway”, “Heaven”, and “OCD”, they had the crowd singing and dancing with their hands in the air. It was a major party vibe! Michael Fitzpatrick (lead vocals/keys) and Noelle Scaggs (co-lead vocals/percussion) were dancing around the stage throughout the set, sometimes separately and sometimes in coordinated and choreographed moments of dancing together. Saxophonist James King (who also plays flute/harmonica/keys/percussion/guitar), bassist Joseph Karnes, keyboardist Jeremy Ruzumna, and touring drummer Blair Sinta rounded out the songs nicely. Fitzpatrick and Scaggs are so much fun to watch together on stage and they really make sure to engage with the crowd and make sure everyone is having a good time. Towards the middle of the set, Scaggs asked everyone to put their hands in the air and form a heart with their hands, saying “This next song is dedicated to each and every one of you” before the band launched into the crowd favorite “Out of My League”. She later asked “Louisville. Where are all my ladies at?” before singing “Fool”. Fitzpatrick then asked the crowd for help on the next one, “MoneyMaker” and the crowd did not disappoint. “I’m loving your energy tonight! Thank you for being here.”
Ending their set with “The Walker”, the band left the stage briefly before coming back out for a 3-song encore with Fitzpatrick telling the crowd “Ya’ll want more? Everyone’s passed out in the back so ya’ll gotta make a lot of noise for them!”. He then asked if any of the children in the crowd would want to come up on stage for a song, with him directing them on where to go and who to talk to come up. They then sang “MoneyGrabber” with a stage full of kids, singing their hearts out and having a great time! After the song, once they had all left the stage, Fitzpatrick told the crowd the band’s origin story. “I had a dream that felt like destiny. I knew I was destined to be on stage singing for you and went to school for music and was in two bands and put out an album with each and no one cared. My dad sat me down and said maybe it’s time to be realistic and get a job. So I decided to be responsible and get that job and worked a couple of months and then said no! I don’t want to do this. I started Fitz and The Tantrums at 38, released the first album at 40, got our first number 1 song at 42, and I am now standing here at 53.” He then joked with the crowd, saying “I know what you are thinking. Damn, he looks good!”. “I know there are people here tonight desperately trying to hold onto their dreams. I had to wait until my 40s, so don’t give up! This next song, from the new album, is about that.” They then launched into “Ahhh”. With one final song, they closed out the evening with many a fan favorite, “HandClap”. They had the entire crowd singing along at the top of their lungs and when the lyrics “I can make your hands clap” were sung, the crowd clapped along each time! It was a really fun way to end the set and the evening. It was a truly fun and unforgettable evening!
Sub-Radio
Underoath @ Old Forester's Paristown Hall - Louisville
July 18th, 2023: Underoath, The Ghost Inside, We Came As Romans, and Better Lovers @ Old Forester’s Paristown Hall - Louisville, KY
Underoath - Photos Courtesy of Emily May
Underoath and The Ghost Inside brought their co-headlining tour to Paristown Hall on July 17th to a packed venue! This was Underoath’s first-ever co-headlining tour and The Ghost Inside’s first tour since their return, with fans being very visibly excited for the evening ahead. Opening the show this evening was new hardcore super-group Better Lovers, on their first-ever tour, and comprised of Greg Puciato of The Dillinger Escape Plan, Jordan Buckley, Clayton Holyoak, and Stephen Micciche of Every Time I Die, and Will Putney of Fit For An Autopsy. Full of energy with plenty of leg kicks, jumps, and hair flips, Puciato thanked the crowd early on for coming out, saying this was one of the first few shows the band had played and how happy they were to be on this tour. In addition to unreleased tracks “Punk” and “Croc”, the band performed their 4-song EP God Made Me An Animal, released on July 7th, and a really incredible cover of Soundgarden’s “Rusty Cage”. As the band was launching into their final song, Puciato joked to the crowd that “This is an old one”. These guys performed an incredibly fun set and no doubt will no doubt have plenty of new fans by the end of this tour.
Next up was the metalcore band We Came As Romans. These guys have incredible energy on stage and having formed in 2005, have amassed a dedicated fan base, with the ones in attendance this evening singing along to every song! There were platforms at the front of the stage for the band members to stand on, allowing them to stand tall above the crowd and engage more directly with the fans. Talking a bit about losing bandmate Kyle Pavone in 2018, going through the stages of grief, and feeling a wide range of emotions (happy, sad, hopeful), singer Dave Stephens told the crowd that it is ok to feel your emotions and to reach out for help if you need it. That there is no shame in needing help. Starting their set off with “Darkbloom”, they performed an 8-song set that included “Daggers”, “Wasted Age”, and “Cold Like War”. Towards the end of the set, Stephens told the crowd “We’re gonna take it back a bit and sing a song from Tracing Back Roots (2013)”, before launching into “Hope”. “I wish we had more time to talk,” said Stephens as they were nearing the end of their set. “I wanna give a shout-out to Underoath and The Ghost Inside. What a dream it is to be on this tour. I hope you guys are as excited for them to take the stage as we are! Thanks for having us in your city and showing up early.” They ended their set with “Black Hole” and left the crowd buzzing with energy!
Next up was co-headliner The Ghost Inside. Being their first tour since making their comeback, you could feel the excitement, both from the crowd and the band. Starting out the set with “Avalanche”, from their 2014 album Dear Youth, the band tore through a 14-song set list with lots of energy and with fans screaming along to each and every song with a passion. Performing older songs such as “Faith or Forgiveness” from their 2008 album Fury and The Fallen Ones and “Engine 45” and “Dark Horse” from 2012’s Get What You Give, to newer songs like “The Outcast”, “Pressure Point” and “One Choice” from their latest album The Ghost Inside (2020), they had plenty of songs for both newer and older fans alike! Early in the set singer Jonathan Vigil asked how many people had seen them before, to which there were a lot of cheers! “Wow! Thank you so much! We released an album in 2020 and we want you to sing along!”. He later told the crowd “I know I’ve said it already, but it means a lot that all of you showed up tonight and are hanging out and having a good time. A week ago, we released a new song called “Earn It”. Sing along if you know the words!”. He went on to talk a bit about the band’s horrific bus crash in 2015 and how they’d had no expectations that they would ever be back on stage, but how “People like you supporting bands like us is the reason we are back so thank you!”. It was clear the band was happy to be back on stage and were grateful for their fans’ enduring support. It was an emotional and intimate moment in the set that highlighted how far the band had come and how happy their fans were to have them back. “It’s been a while since we could tour and be a band again. It’s good to be back out on tour and see familiar faces. We always remember Louisville! You guys always go hard in the pit but take care of each other. There aren’t a lot of cities like that. It’s a great first tour back, especially being with a band like Underoath!”. The band ended with “Aftermath” from their latest album and the fans were singing along until the very last note!
Ending the evening was Underoath. The band performed a 12-song setlist that encompassed their career, with hits both old and new and some deeper cuts sprinkled in. The crowd was ready to go wild from the first note, with the energy of the band feeding the crowd’s energy. Singer Spencer Chamberlain was jumping and dancing around the entirety of the stage throughout the set, a bundle of energy that saw him engaging with his bandmates and the fans, at one point getting down from the stage to stand at the barricade and sing amongst the fans, causing a frenzy of excitement. Starting out their set with “Take A Breath” and “Writing on the Walls”, the band blew through a set list that included “Breathing in a New Mentality”, “It’s A Dangerous Business Walking Out Your Front Door”, “Casting Such A Thin Shadow”, and “You’re Ever So Inviting”, to name a few. Chamberlain chatted a bit with the crowd, saying early in the set how the band hadn’t played Louisville in a really long time and thanked everyone for coming out". The band then performed their new single “Lifeline (Drowning)”. He later said how there are a billion things going on, as it’s summertime, but everyone chose to be here tonight! “We’re going to throw it back a bit. This one is called “Reinventing Your Exit””. With a career spanning over 2 decades and 9 studio albums, the band has cultivated a passionate fan base who have followed them through their career, which included disbanding in 2013 and reuniting in 2015. Although they haven’t performed in Louisville for many years, the vibe tonight was one of sing-alongs, dancing, a bit of crowd surfing, and most of all a lot of fun! They ended their set with “A Boy Brushed Red Living In Black and White” from their 2004 album They’re Only Chasing Safety, a great end to a great evening!
The Ghost Inside
We Came As Romans
Better Lovers
Louis Tomlinson @ Ascend Amphitheater - Nashville
July 18th, 2023: Louis Tomlinson @ Ascend Amphitheater - Nashville, TN.
Louis Tomlinson - Photos Courtesy of Bridget Craig
Louis Tomlinson, a previous member of the band One Direction, put out his second full-length album as a solo artist, Faith in the Future, earlier this year. His world tour promoting his album came through Nashville and stopped at the Ascend Amphitheater. The crowd loved singing along to fan favorites such as The Greatest and Back To You. One highlight of the show was the fan interactions during the songs Chicago and Copy of a Copy of a Copy. Tomlinson also sang a cover of Where Do Broken Hearts Go, a song performed by One Direction.
This particular tour stop was postponed by severe weather, which unfortunately cut one of the opening acts’ set. Fans were lucky enough to see the Berlin-based rock band Giant Rooks open the show - the band’s first date supporting Louis Tomlinson. The rest of the show went off without a hitch.
Giant Rooks
Yung Pinch @ Old National Centre - Indianapolis
July 21st 2023: Yung Pinch @ Old National Centre - Indianapolis, IN
Yung Pinch - Photos Courtesy of Asia Austin
Yung Pinch, from Huntington Beach, California, had the Deluxe Room at Old National Centre filled with excited fans who had been waiting anxiously for this night to come. On Friday, July 21, 2023, doors opened at 7 pm sharp, and fans quickly rushed to the barricade to secure their spots for the thrilling night ahead. Yung Pinch had two openers, “MoonLander” from North Carolina, who did a nostalgic transition of ‘Replay’ by Iyaz, and “RILEY” from Los Angeles, California, who face-timed his wife and daughter mid-performance. Following them, Pinch had his DJ Gloupjake, known for his work with Lyrical Lemonade, play a few songs for the crowd. All of them did a very good job of getting the crowd hype before the main event.
As Yung Pinch, AKA “Beach Boy” took the stage, the crowd became louder than ever and Pinch brought an immense amount of energy the entire room could feel even in the back of the pit. Performing fan favorites such as “Perfect”, “20 Years Later”, and “Nightmares”, and having a mic stand wrapped from top to bottom in flowers and string lights, the crowd was singing every lyric nonstop, prompting Gloupjake to admit that Indianapolis was probably the best crowd on tour thus far. As a first-time attendee at a Yung Pinch concert, he most definitely exceeded my expectations and I’m very excited to see what he continues to do in the future.
Horsegirl, Iceage, Water From Your Eyes, and Lifeguard @ Central Park SummerStage - NYC
July 20th 2023: Horsegirl, Iceage, Water From Your Eyes, and Lifeguard @ Central Park SummerStage - New York City
Horsegirl - Photos Courtesy of Edwina Hay
On Thursday, July 20, 2023, Horsegirl, Iceage, Water From Your Eyes, and Lifeguard performed at Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage at Rumsey Playfield in Central Park. All four acts have one thing in common: they’ve all released music on the same record label that’s based in New York City, Matador Records. The show was free to attend, for all ages, and was one of the highlights of their schedule this season.
Chicago’s Lifeguard, who began their tour with Horsegirl tonight, just released a pair of EPs on Matador Records (Crowd Can Talk EP and Dressed in Trenches EP) and kicked off the show at 6 PM. The young band was full of energy and was a great start to this highly anticipated show.
Water From Your Eyes released their Everyone’s Crushed album at the end of May on Matador, and their set featured songs from that release. The duo of Nate Amos and Rachel Brown were joined by an additional guitarist, Al, and seemed to have many fans in the audience who were eager for their early evening set.
Copenhagen’s Iceage went on next at 7:41 PM, and the last performance of theirs I caught was in 2019 in Queens and Central Park’s outdoor stage seemed to fit them well, with many people near the barricade dancing and singing along during their set. Singer Elias Bender Rønnenfelt barely stood still during their performance. Immediately after “High & Hurt,” Elias declared, “We love you, New York.”
Horsegirl, who I last saw in March opening for Unwound, closed the show when their set began just before 9 PM. The second song of their set was brand new, and Penelope mentioned her brother, Isaac Lowenstein, of Lifeguard, while on stage. Before starting their second brand new song, Horsegirl announced they were recently in their hometown of Chicago working on their second album. During “Billy,” Horsegirl brought out the trio of Lifeguard to assist them on the final song of their set.
Throughout the show, a t-shirt gun was used to launch t-shirts into the audience, and was done by a member of a band who wasn’t performing at that moment. For Lifeguard, Nora of Horsegirl shot a t-shirt to a lucky audience member who was near me, proudly whipping it around in the air after catching it. During Water From Your Eyes, Kai of Lifeguard used the gun, in Horsegirl’s performance, Nate of Water From Your Eyes shot shirts into the audience a few times before the show came to an end. The venue also kept fans cool by having their security team occasionally spray water but simultaneously needed more than just one water fountain/bottle refill station located in a somewhat hidden spot, which was a noticeable change compared to last year. Between the strong bill and venue inside one of our city’s most famous public parks, Thursday night was a stellar way to spend a warm July evening in New York City.
Horsegirl
Lifeguard
Water From Your Eyes
Iceage
