TNCN 2
I love live music and so should you
Music is invigorating, electrifying, galvanizing; live performance amplifies the listening experience. Being able to see an artist play their music on their own terms as it was meant to be played gives me a greater appreciation for them and what they’re trying to do. Every time I listen to their music afterwards, I am changed. Whether it’s because I notice new stuff within their songs that I didn’t before or maybe because I am slightly more deaf, it’s always different. And rarely will I enjoy a concert and not immediately go home and listen to more of the artists’ music. Especially openers. I guess this is kinda an opener appreciation post? Also, just so I don’t have to mention it every time, all these bands were good and I would recommend seeing if you have a chance. Anyways, here’s some music from the concerts I’ve been to this year and from two concerts I’m excited for this fall:
Sonder - One Time Weekend
If there’s any band here you should check out, it’s One Time Weekend! Maybe I’m biased because I know someone in the band, but they genuinely do put on a great performance. I saw them this year opening at Boston’s House of Blues. It’s tough being an opener: when I tried to see them open in 2021, the venue listed the start time wrong and I missed them. But this time around in Boston I made sure to get there as early as possible and they killed it. The energy in the crowd was some of the best I’ve ever experienced, opener or not. If you like jamming and guitar solos, please check them out on Spotify or, even better, in-person!
Anaphylaxis - PUP
I have an axe to grind here. Fuck PUP. I mean it! I don’t actually, but I’ve seen them 3 times and they haven’t played this song once. It’s about thinking you’re going into anaphylactic shock after being in close contact with someone who takes your breath away and gets your heart going. As someone who struggles with anxiety, hypochondria, and supernumerary thoughts about death, the idea of freaking out and feeling weird while being unsure if it is all in your head or caused by an external stimulus is incredibly familiar. If I see PUP again, they better fucking play this song or we will have real beef. OK, now I promise the rest of these songs I have actually seen performed live!
Oxygen - Beach Bunny
Beach Bunny toured with PUP and, while I was primarily going to see PUP, I do like Beach Bunny too. After being in the middle of the crowd for PUP, I was spent. Jumping around with all my fellow sweaty PUP fans took a lot out of me and I certainly needed some “Oxygen.” God, I fucking hate the way I write. But yeah, it was nice to get out of the pit to relax and sing along with some cool Beach Bunny tunes like this one.
Awake - Sad Park
It’s always fun when you think you don’t know the opener but then you kinda sorta half-recognize their songs. I had heard some Sad Park before I saw them open for Cheekface (weird but cool pairing btw), but I had just forgotten it. Nevertheless, Sad Park are a band I probably would not have enjoyed as much if I didn’t see them live. But I did and I love a good opener. I love emo music and, while some bands rub me the wrong way for being overly-aesthetic/nostalgia-focused (won’t mention names because I wanna keep this positive and I don’t wanna shit on what others might enjoy), these guys seemed very earnest, played pretty damn well, and were interested in making sure the crowd was into it (which is really tough as an opener).
Pledge Drive - Cheekface
Maybe the most accessible concert I’ve ever been to. Like, genuinely, the vibes were immaculate. They are good with the crowd, respectful of your time, and quite funny. It’s hard for me to imagine anyone not having fun at a Cheekface concert. Except maybe transphobes, so I’ll rephrase that as “it’s hard for me to imagine anyone cool not having fun.”
Pledge Drive is a great song with groovy, sparse instrumentation and a clever second verse that is one of my favorite from last year.
Chaos Reigns - Gladie
I didn’t think I knew Gladie. Then the band came onstage and started playing. I immediately recognized the singer’s distinctive voice: she was in Cayetana! For those unaware and not as cool (or lame, depending on your point of view) as me, Cayetana were a band from Philly that I first heard in 2017 when their second and, unfortunately, final album released. “Scott Get The Van, I’m Moving” and “Bus Ticket” are some of my favorite Cayetana songs. But, anyways, back to Gladie. While the singer, Augusta Koch, is the same, this band has a noticeably different sound. I’m now upset that I wasn’t aware of Gladie until they opened for Jeff Rosenstock last week, but I will definitely be listening to them.
Persephone - Sidney Gish
After Gladie, Sidney Gish was the second opener for Jeff Rosenstock. Completely different vibe right away. No band, just her, her guitar, and her pedal/effects board. Awesome to see an artist craft their own soundscape through recording/sampling themself. Again, seeing an artist live gives you a great feel for who they are. I am now a Sidney Gish fan for sure and this song is BEAUTIFUL.
You, In Weird Cities - Jeff Rosenstock
Jeff Rosenstock! Excellent in concert! Has a great new album out! As I told Theresa while we walked out, I love Jeff Rosenstock because he sweats as much as I do. Maybe I would have picked another song for this playlist, but after Jeff took off his guitar, grabbed his saxophone, ran up into the balcony, and played his un-miced sax during this song, I had to pick it. Plus, this is an absolute banger about being depressed and missing all your friends until you hear their voices and are overcome with emotion. That’s how I would describe a lot of Jeff’s music actually: chaotically overcoming your depression and the trappings/failings of the modern world with glorious, manic outpourings of emotion that overwhelm you, sometimes to tears. If you don’t take
The Devil in My Bloodstream - The Wonder Years
Onto the two concerts I am excitedly waiting for. The Wonder Years are a band that have been around me and grown with me for my entire adult life. This album, The Greatest Generation, came out in 2013 and I loved it. I bought it on CD the week it released, I had a poster of it too. As a 24-year-old now, I am very excited to see it performed in full at this 10-year anniversary show I’m going to. It definitely shows some of its age in that is pretty easily identifiable as early 2010’s pop-punk. But it might be the best pop-punk album of the 2010’s.
While this is certainly an album that needs to be listened to all the way through to truly understand, this song exemplifies a lot of what I have loved and still do love about this band; The Wonder Years are willing to take risks and push their own musical and lyrical boundaries to express profound emotion. Opening a pop-punk song as a piano-driven ballad was bold and I think it pays off as Dan Campbell’s lyrics build to try to find understanding and meaning on a long, lonely road trip across the Midwest.
Obviously, this song, this album, and this band really appealed to me as a teenager but I cannot express how impressive it is that they have continue to grow as I have. The last 3 albums they have released since have all been staples in my life and I often revisit them. Dan may be my favorite lyricist ever and I don’t mean to get too sentimental but this band means more to me than I can describe.
Your Cat - Slaughter Beach, Dog
I mentioned them in the previous TNCN and I just wrote what I’m sure are unbearably long essays about every other band so I will end this off shortly. Good band. Good song. Social interaction is weird and harder after college. I love choruses but chorus-less songs are cool too.
Hopefully this isn’t a fucking bore to read. It probably is and, in that case, I hope you at least enjoy the music. Maybe I will actually advertise that I’m making these on my insta story or something. Would it hurt more to have nobody read this or to have lots of people read this and realize how lame I am? Or how bad of a writer I am? I guess most people already know both of those things though and, even if they didn’t, they definitely know now after reading all this shit… but if you did read this, let me know. If you like any of this music, let me know, please. If you didn’t like it, don’t let me know, actually. And, because I’m not really gonna proofread and my mind goes in a million different ways all at once sometimes, sorry for the poor spelling and/or grammar. Thanks for reading, I do genuinely appreciate it!