Knuckle Puck & Real Friends Concert Review

Knuckle Puck & Real Friends Concert Review

By Kevin Lei

White Oak Music Hall became a haven for pop-punk enthusiasts as Knuckle Puck and Real Friends took the stage for a joint concert last Thursday night. The two bands are currently on a co-headlining tour across the United States. Despite the fact that it was mid-week, the two bands were able to garner an impressively sized audience.

Openers One Step Closer & Arm’s Length helped to set the tone for the rest of the night as they rocked out on stage. I was particularly impressed with the Arm’s Length set; they wore their emo influences on their sleeve, but their stage presence was infectious. I could see them being excellent successors to Real Friends and Knuckle Puck. One Step Closer’s sound was more hardcore, and their explosive performance energized the crowd ahead of Knuckle Puck’s set.

In order to make time for the other co-headlining band, Knuckle Puck had to keep their setlist relatively short. They played for just under an hour, but were able to play a breadth of songs from their catalog. This included classic tracks from their earlier albums like “No Good,” and “Want Me Around.” They also performed some songs from their latest studio album released a few weeks ago, Losing What We Love. Lead singer Joe Taylor acknowledged the fact that many fans might not have heard the new songs before, but from the energy of the crowd you would not have been able to tell. The band’s stage presence and the collective vigor within the room made it easy for anyone to enjoy themselves even if they weren’t familiar with much of the band’s recent releases. Before leaving the stage, Knuckle Puck finished off their set with a few fan-favorites like “Pretense,” “Gone,” and “Untitled,” which the rest of the fans and I greatly appreciated.

During the intermission before Real Friends, I noticed that many Knuckle Puck fans left the venue. However, those that stayed were rewarded with an exceptional second half to the show. I wasn’t a huge fan of Real Friends before attending this concert, but I was astounded by how engaging they were as performers. A lot of this was chalked up to the charismatic personalities of the band members. Real Friends played a wide range of songs from their discography, including a few singles from their latest album There’s Nothing Worse Than Too Late, which was released in early 2023. The band even performed a rendition of “Happy Birthday” to celebrate bassist Kyle Fasel’s birthday (happy birthday Kyle!). Towards the end of the set, lead vocalist Cody Muraro came off the stage and stood in the middle of the crowd to sing “Teeth,” one of the band’s most emotionally potent songs. This definitely tugged on my heartstrings and was by far my favorite moment of the concert. Real Friends also played a cover of Jimmy Eat World’s “Sweetness” and two fan-favorites, “Get By” and “Late Nights in My Car,” to finish off the show.

My Thursday night at the Knuckle Puck & Real Friends concert was full of fun surprises and unbridled energy; I was incredibly grateful to be in attendance. The two powerhouses of pop-punk put on an entertaining show that was mostly exciting and at times emotional. The show also felt very welcoming, and I think that anyone, regardless of their familiarity with pop-punk or emo, could have found something to enjoy. Afterwards, I was left exhilarated and exhausted, but also convinced that pop punk is very much alive and kicking.

Ripe Concert Review

Ripe Concert Review

By Rachel Bui

The 6-piece band Ripe, hailing from Boston, ended their tour at a small venue (about 300 people) Sunday night, though this did not indicate the following this band has achieved (the band has performed at venues like MGM Music Hall and Brooklyn Steele). What was interesting was that people in the crowd were equally excited for the opener HOKO as they were for Ripe. Both bands were to perform a sold-out show that night.

Openers HOKO brought a liveliness that a typical main act would garner up. The band translated their experimental pop sound to a live band act seamlessly, and their performance did not disappoint. Lead singer Nathaniel would periodically hop from the stage into the crowd to hang out with the audience while singing; this interaction with concert-goers felt natural and laid back, the general vibe that the band gave off. A favorite song of their set was “Hellogoodbye.”

After a much needed stage reset to accommodate the headcount increase in performers, Ripe hit the ground running with their beloved cover of “Lola,” originally sang by The Kinks. From there, the tracks continued to get everyone dancing. Between the soulful style of singing and the incorporation of live brass, the dance/funk band kept the energy levels up. While some audience members may have been disappointed that the band’s setlist of the night did not include tracks they shouted requests for, towards the end of the night, lead singer Robbie Wulfsohn did sing snippets of songs that were requested.

Not only did the band have great stage presence, they also had light-hearted stage interactions with each other. They had the hallmarks of a band that truly have fun together, and it seemed like they enjoyed being on tour throughout the experience. Before their encore tracks, they brought back onto the stage HOKO to perform a cover of “Tubthumping” by Chumbawamba.

Ripe performed “Good Intentions” once returning to the stage, and then sent the crowd off to feel a “Little Lighter” with their final song. Overall, both HOKO and Ripe are recommended bands to see live to enjoy their presence as well as musical performances.

alt-J Concert Review

alt-J Concert Review

By Alexa Scott

Few albums changed the indie music landscape as much as ‘An Awesome Wave’ by alt-J did when it debuted in 2012. With its seamless transitions from track to track, the album succeeds in immersing the audience in a unique sonic experience with its weird nonsense-esque sounds, which somehow transform into clever references the more you listen. Despite how dense and meticulous each track is, each song is catchier than the last, a feat to be recognized and applauded.

So, when I heard alt-J was coming to White Oak Music Hall in the middle of November for an anniversary tour, I knew I had to be there. And by the looks of the sold out sign on the door as I walked in, so did every single alt-J fan in the greater Houston area. The venue was packed, with people left standing in the middle of the open doors leading into the space (this I think was largely due to the crowd’s unwillingness to crowd together).

There’s something uniquely special about anniversary tours, not only do artists get to revisit past work and long-time fans get to reminisce about the first time they heard the band, it also gives artists full freedom over setlists, to hell with playing recent tracks. alt-J clearly took advantage  of this, playing the entirety of ‘An Awesome Wave’ from start to finish and wrapping up with some fan-favorites from other albums. 

Right off the bat, I was wowed with the light production for the show. Combined with the heavy building bass of songs like “Fitzpleasure,” it created an otherworldly atmosphere. Largely due to the layout of WOMH Downstairs, alt-J frontman Joe Newman was consistently bathed in streams of red beams of light timed with drops that made for a really cool visual experience. 

I was a bit disappointed to see an overall lack of energy from the band as a whole. Other than the occasional breaks between songs to talk to the crowd, there was very little that differentiated one song from the other in terms of what they were doing. This meant that for popular, fast paced songs, the momentum from the crowd was there, and it was awesome. But for more dramatic, slower songs like “Bloodflood,” it felt lackluster. Maybe this is part of a larger conversation of comparing bands to past versions of themselves, but it was tough to see. 

All in all, I’m glad I got to catch alt-J on their tour. After this brief stop in Texas, alt-J is headed to Canada before coming back to the US to wrap up their An Awesome Wave Anniversary Tour.

George Clanton Concert Review

George Clanton Concert Review

By Gustavo Raskosky

George Clanton (a.k.a. Mirror Kisses, ESPRIT 空想, and Kid’s Garden) performed live in Houston on October 18th, 2023, at White Oak Music Hall with accompanying acts: death’s dynamic shroud and Frost Children. This was the backend of George’s “Ooh Rap I Ya” tour. On my way to the venue, I decided it’d be wise to listen to the openers as I had not previously heard of them. I had roughly 45 minutes of time-on-bike to peddle through some of their hits. Death’s dynamic shroud reminded me of something I’d listen to in the background of a work session or on a film soundtrack. Experimental electronic vaporwave music best describes their sound. Their work is as dynamic as their name; however, their live performance is much more like an infamous 2000s band energy coming to life with a side of lo-fi DJ who couldn’t stop headbanging to the beat. The aforementioned DJ, Tech Honors, kept his head bopping to the rhythm of the tracks and had more energy than just about any of the audience members during their set. Second place during the set went to James Webster, their singer, who displayed plenty of passion in his guitar and vocal performances. Despite the passion James displayed and Tech’s eye-catching headbanging, the performance wasn’t as memorable as what was to follow.

After a brief intermission, Frost Children took the stage and raised the crowd’s energy exponentially with their hyperpop sounds. Their songs, “FOX BOP” and “FLATLINE,” visually amplified the crowd’s vibe; however, it still seemed like the crowd wasn’t all in. I think most of the crowd had a singular mission to hear their favorite electronic musician (George Clanton) and was taking their time to digest the rest. Fair enough – as Frost Children presented plenty of new sounds that would take time to digest if you weren’t accustomed to it. I loved their on-stage presence. At one point, they began mentioning a variety of sights they saw in Houston, then stuttered on one location… beginning their
next song, “OBSESSED.” At one point, Lulu and Angel (the duo behind Frost Children) came within arm’s length of the audience to let some of them play on their keyboard. Their eccentric personalities and youthful energies came as a welcomed change of pace to how the night was going.

It was finally time for the man, myth, and legend George Clanton to take the stage. He humbly showed up on stage roughly 15 minutes before his start time to set up and test his instruments. As the crowd chanted his name, he remained focused on connecting his power supplies and messing around with lighting. He opened with “Livin’ Loose,” one of my all-time favorites off his 2018 album “Slide.” The energy of the venue shifted. Surrounded by two piles of retro televisions, some smoke, and a few lasers, George put on some stylish glasses and looked like his inner kid was having the time of his life. Everyone looked to be in a fused state of elated peace and high anticipation. The energy wasn’t ever too high, nor was it low. It remained “neutrally euphoric.” Throughout his performance, he also passed into the audience section to throw some water around and high-five some fans. George ended his set with “I Been Young,” solidifying George’s internal Peter Pan showcased earlier in the performance. I left the venue feeling a bit more inspired than I did going in – not because of the rollercoaster ride that is a typical concert experience, but because it felt like George was someone who could continue his passion for music, jamming out and having fun with a somewhat-carefree attitude. He’s having fun livin’ loose, and it’s a beauty to see (and hear).

In Conversation with Brian Jonestown Massacre’s Anton Newcombe

In Conversation with Brian Jonestown Massacre’s Anton Newcombe

By Devin Gonzalez

We recently had the opportunity to talk with the Brian Jonestown Massacre’s frontman Anton Newcombe about their tour and their latest album, “The Future Is Your Past,” which was released in February.

How has the tour been going, and how does touring feel now compared to when you were starting out?

“I think that people are a lot less skeptical with what it is that I’m trying to do. I think when we first started, like when I first went to Iceland, everybody’s like, ‘you’re just here to fuck our women or some shit bullshit, right?’ And then people were saying like when we play, what is this The Monkees? There was no point of reference. But I think now we found ourselves in a really interesting space with a diversified audience of people that like the music and also of all ages, even when it’s people bringing in their friends for the first time or something. It’s like a really good space because most concerts even no matter who it is, a lot of the audience, they’re crossed arms and they’re just skeptical of everything they’re witnessing live because I think it’s the product of hypernormalisation where people don’t know what to think about anything. Whether it’s the dumbest person in the world running for president or whatever. They don’t know what to think or they’re just tired of thinking. So I think we really lucked out. It’s been really positive and heartwarming. For the most part, I can just do what I want without battling idiots.”

Have you noticed if your audience has changed (with new, younger fans in the crowd) or do you feel like there still remains a strong demographic of longtime psych fans that go to shows?

“We’ve always had a really mixed crowd. Always, from the beginning: from original hippies to the youngest people we could get in the door, and that’s never changed.”

“It’s really cool to see in a city when there’s all kinds of people, old people, children, instead of just like, oh, wow, we’ve got this ‘.com’ thing and everybody’s just some jerk. Yeah, that’s a bunch of money for two weeks and the rents are all too high and it’s all Airbnbs and another group of assholes who come in and leave every day. It means that your city’s alive. You know, wherever you see all types of people, like for instance, in the Hispanic community or whatever you see that’s happening, that means the city is actually alive and living. It isn’t like some dead zone that places get, that’s a beautiful thing and I’m very thankful.”

Do you find yourself getting inspired by traveling around the world getting new experiences, or do you mainly get inspired when you have to sit down in the studio seeing what flows out of your mind?

“When I was a little kid, I knew very quickly I didn’t want to be like anybody I’ve ever met, or like any of my friends. So I already had the inspiration in me to be myself. So I don’t need inspiration. What I need to do is never forget what my core values as a person are and my techniques. See, it’s like I told my 10-year-old that you don’t need to learn and memorize everything. What you need to do is figure out how to answer the question that you’re asking, or to know where to look for the answer. It’s like most of the people walking around in the Western world and many other places have a computer in their pocket called a smartphone that’s more powerful than the computers that were used to put people on the Moon. But they don’t ever do anything with it. But the thing is, it’s a very powerful tool if you’re very inquisitive. Even Google, as horrible as it is, can be really really a powerful tool if you love learning. And I certainly do.”

How do you see your sound evolving over time? Or do you envision yourself trying to explore more of your ideas such as in your new album (“The Future Is Your Past”)?

My sound evolves because part of it is experimental and the other part is totally traditional. What I understand from where I come from, you know, I was born in 1967. So between my parents’ record collection, everything that happened, I watched all that stuff and I closed my ears at the right time and opened them up back again. My only goals are to carry on. Not picking on old people or anything, but you know, there’s people like the Rolling Stones who they’re now in their 80s doing this thing that doesn’t resemble anything. But it’s a big show, you know, it’s entertainment. And they certainly are professionals and people are there for it. I don’t want to be that person. What I want to do is prove to other people that it’s a ridiculous notion to think that manufactured teenagers are where it’s at. It doesn’t matter if they’re hip hoppers or whatever. That is not actually the pulse of anything. That’s the pulse of big business. Like for instance, in the 60s. The people that were producing and making up the wild sounds and making everybody sound so good, they never, ever asked 13 year olds what they wanted. However, if there were some hot shit teenagers ripping it up, it doesn’t if it was in surf music or anything else, they would make 10 of those. Doesn’t matter if it’s psychedelic or anything else, they go ‘we better get on this train very quick’. So it was a 50/50 balance and it’s very important in politics and everything else, not a deadlock, but that people consider those things. 

You often post your music on your YouTube channel before you actually release it on streaming platforms, or on shelves. What’s your motive behind this? 

So say like, your band’s gonna be this big thing and you’re hiding your big premiere of your song for Pitchfork or whoever, right. And they put it out on their social media. Within five minutes you’re off the fucking screen, all your money and all the king’s horses. I watched everybody’s records sink below the sand. What I do is I interact with the works in progress and if I don’t release it, so what. If I mix it and it’s better and I finish singing the words correctly, fine. But people can interact with it. It’s more in our world. It’s an observation that I made because I’ve been using computers as long as people have been using the internet. I understand how it works and how it actually works. Not to manipulate it to like help get an edge up on somebody else or rescue somebody else. But I understand how it works and how discovery works. Rather than selling something, I’m more interested in building culture.

When it comes to finding band members or potential people to collaborate with, do you try to find people that have a similar energy or people that could go along with your thought process?

I will teach anybody I care about everything I know about music, or life, art, perceptions, ways of seeing. And that doesn’t mean that I’m being like a cold guy. It’s kind of the only way there’s ever been. But it doesn’t matter if you’re making oak beds or brass beds, or teaching somebody to intern. You’re gonna teach them everything you know about your craft, and it doesn’t always work out. It doesn’t matter if you’re a plumber and you take a teenager in for a summer job or not. It’s not going to be everybody’s gig. That’s exactly the way I do it. Exactly like somebody who’s a plumber that you would call and find some kid who wants to work or some person wants to try it and I try to teach them what I know that works. Every aspect right down to work is play. Then it does not feel like it’s work. So you’re not just harboring resentment over every little thing you do grumbling and then bitching about why your life doesn’t work. But treat everything that same way. 

 

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. The views, commentary, and opinions expressed during the preceding editorial are solely those of the person(s) expressing them and not necessarily those of the faculty, staff, or administration of Rice University.

The Brian Jonestown Massacre’s album “The Future Is Your Past” is available wherever you stream music.

Photo taken by Aurelien Guichard from London, United Kingdom – Brian Jonestown Massacre, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22318710

Del Water Gap, Warehouse Live, Houston TX – 10/14/2023 

Del Water Gap, Warehouse Live, Houston TX – 10/14/2023 

By Sindhuja Darisipudi and Harshitha Pelaprolu

Following almost two years touring, Holden S. Jaffe, better known as Del Water Gap, returned to Houston for the second solo show on his I Miss You Already + I Haven’t Left Yet (IMYA+IHLY) tour only two weeks after the album’s release. Playing at Warehouse Live’s intimate 450 person capacity studio, Jaffe imbued the room with his vivacious energy for an unforgettable show.

The show opened with a contrasting but complementary tempo, with opener Kristiane, alongside her bassist Kelsey, delivering soft indie pop reminiscent of Gracie Abrams and Clairo. Highlighted by her newest album’s lead single “Wish I Could Be Your Girl,” Kristiane’s set cultivated a comforting and welcoming atmosphere.

Del Water Gap’s set bursted with energy from the start, beginning with “NFU” off his new album. Strong lighting flooded the stage and set the tone for the electric spirit that came with the show that followed. The rest of the set was composed of songs both from IMYA+IHLY and from parts of his older discography, all of which were sonically complimentary, so no energy was lost in transitions. The backing tracks throughout the show were immersive and infused the room with energy, all without being overwhelming or drowning out the artist’s crisp and captivating vocals. There were also several moments in which the band was able to stand out with solos and riffs, creating a sound unique from the album as heard via streaming. Jaffe’s energy throughout the show was entirely met by the crowd’s ardent singing and dancing. Throughout the first portion of the set, upbeat songs were punctuated by softer ones, each flowing seamlessly into the other despite the difference in sound.

A little over halfway through the show, Jaffe played “Beach House,” marking a transition into a continuous set of upbeat songs. The artist later shared that this song was his favorite to play on tour, which was evident in the energy he brought to the stage during its performance. This second act was accentuated with a fan favorite “Perfume,” where Jaffe joined the crowd to dance, along with two lead singles off IMYA+IHLY, “All We Ever Do is Talk” and “Coping On Unemployment.” For an encore, Jaffe first played a serene “We Will Never Be Like Anybody Else,” slowing the pace of the show one last time to focus attention on beguiling vocals, gentle music, and the intimacy of the setting. The show ended with his breakout single “Ode to a Conversation Stuck in Your Throat,” reestablishing the same electric and dynamic energy that the show began with.

Alongside an enveloping sonic experience, Jaffe curated a unique visual experience as he supplemented standard concert lighting and fog with a set consisting of an old CRT TV, rotary phone, and old fashioned nightstand clock. Throughout the set, the TV was lit with visuals that Jaffe had released alongside IMYA+IHLY. Most notable were the “Quilt of Steam” visualizer and several music videos from throughout his career, all of which are evocative of old footage taken from a coming of age film.

Del Water Gap cultivated an extremely unique visual, sonic, and social experience throughout his show, culminating in a performance guaranteed to please any indie rock or indie pop fan. Jaffe demonstrated not only an ability to produce exceptional music in his genre, but also to create a truly engaging and vibrant experience.

ACL 2023 Weekend 2 Review

By Alexa Scott

There are few things that bring me as much joy than ACL Music Fest in the fall. The feeling of anticipation starts creeping up on you far before you walk through the lit arch. I would argue it even begins before the trek to Austin. It happens the moment the schedule drops – suddenly you have to be tactical, artists are pitted against each other in epic listening sessions, breaks are planned, and sacrifices are made. Whether all of that planning largely goes out the window once you arrive is another story entirely. 

At least that’s how the trip to Austin started for us anyway. 

For us, ACL kicked off with Kendrick Lamar’s performance on the American Express stage. Following Week One’s late start, Kendrick was much more punctual, starting only 4 minutes after his scheduled start with “N95” from his 2022 album “Mr. Morale and the High Steppers”. The audience was packed, elbow to elbow, shoulder to shoulder, if anything this delay only served to increase the already tangible anticipation throughout the crowd. 

“Is anybody alive right now?” Lamar asked, the crowd roared in response. Lamar’s prolific and diverse songwriting career has garnered a huge following since his debut in 2011. His songs have become anthems, which was clear by the roars the start of every song garnered. As for his masked dancers, they were cool, but let’s be honest – it was hard to focus on anything but Kendrick’s hypnotizing bars.

On Saturday morning, we were ready for more action, but not without a crucial purchase – shoe inserts. With our feet prepped, we dove into the festival.

Ok, now we were ready.

Our first musical adventure of the day was with Sincere Engineer, a Chicago-based punk band. We only caught one song, but it rocked.

Up next was Declan McKenna, whom I’ve loved since he first released “Brazil” in 2017. Walking out with eclipse glasses and hair cut into a mullet, it was clear, this dude was cool. His first song “Why Do You Feel So Down?” was perfect to start. His energy was clear, belting the lyrics to every single song as the crowd sang along. His growth as an artist has been both metaphorical and literal. His identity as an artist began as a teenage sensation with his album “What Do You Think About the Car?”, and although some critics were quick to label him a “one hit wonder’ the release of his 2020 sophomore album, quickly proved them wrong. McKenna closed the set with “British Bombs,” the visuals behind him showing news clippings of British funding of various armed conflicts.

After the closing of McKenna’s set we wandered over to the covered Tito’s stage of Sudan Archives. We were initially confused by her being placed on the smaller covered Tito’s stage but it soon became extremely evident this was the perfect decision. Her tracks on Spotify make it sound like she’s an RnB artist – THAT IS NOT THE CASE. She’s like an electric violin goth R&B heavy bass vibe; she absolutely shreds the electric violin. Whoever is mixing her tracks is playing the biggest game of “Gotcha!,” I’ve witnessed. The audience was absolutely captivated by her presence, swaying with the heavy bass. At one point she stood on the railing and sang to the crowd. All in all it was entrancing, breathtaking, and a thing of fantasy.

After a quick falafel break (shoutout ACL media lounge) we were ready to make our return to Tito’s stage for twin duo Tegan and Sara. Although we didn’t stay for long, their charisma was evident. Apparently they used to dream about opening for Alanís Morisette, so it was really cool for them to be playing at the same time, on different stages. But apparently also some sort of sick joke to pit the Canadians against each other (at this point I learned that Alanis Morissette was Canadian).

We wandered our way to T-Mobile an hour before the start, and it was already packed. Noah Kahan walked out on stage sporting dutch braids and a jean jacket that said “Young Blood” on the front, a reference to his “Busy Head” album from 2018. Playing songs exclusively from his most recent album “Stick Season”, he had the crowd singing along for the entire show. For “She Calls Me Back,” he brought out special guest Mumford and Sons, whose velvety voices had the crowd sobbing when combined with the already heart wrenching lyrics. By the time the set ended the sun had gone down and night had befallen Zilker Park.

It was time for Foo Fighters. By this point the festival was packed, but on the bright side it was easier than ever to reach the Foo Fighters crowd. For the record, I love Dave Grohl, always have always will, so I must admit my review may be swayed by this fact. First and foremost this was the definition of  absolute rock and roll, a term I have only ever used to describe seeing Darkbird, an Austin based band last year. Foo Fighters would play the beginning of a song pause, Dave would talk to the crowd, some shredding would occur then then continue playing the song. This formula had the crowd roaring. At different times during the set he would pause the music and direct that the lights on stage be flipped around and shined onto the crowd. During the band introductions, the keyboardist for Santana came out and played a bit alongside the keyboardist for us – this dude played at the original Woodstock and yet wasn’t missing a beat. 

By Sunday we were achy but begging for more. After all, ACL only comes once a year.

Dope Lemon kicked off Sunday’s set with some lemonhead and cat visuals and jams to make us all feel like cowboys in the Texas heat. With songs like “Rose Pink Cadillac” and “Stonecutters,” the sun felt hazy and the vibes were good. 

Del Water Gap was next on the T-Mobile stage. The highlight of the show was when he started climbing the side railing of the stage. Getting pretty far up and waving his arm around, he takes the trophy for most altitude gained during a performance by far. 

We aimed to catch all of M83 but by the time we pivoted to the Honda stage, the set was underway. It was fantastic. They obviously played “Midnight City” and the crowd went crazy. That’s the great thing about ACL, energy can be found deep from within when a good song comes on.

Then it was time, the final set of our time at ACL, it was time for Hozier. Similar to my disclaimer regarding Dave Grohl, one is appropriate here as well: I love Hozier. With that being said, his set was beautiful and everytime he said anything with his Irish accent the crowd swooned. Playing a bit of a mixed set, he sampled from his entire discography hitting everything from “Cherry Wine” to “Eat Your Young”. He even brought on a special guest for “Damage Gets Done”. Just as the sun was setting, the set ended with “Take Me to Church.” It was the perfect ending to a great weekend. 

See ya next year ACL!

Sound on Sound 2023

Sound on Sound 2023

By Rachel Bui

The night before the Sound on Sound festival, torrential rain poured flooded parts of the tri-state area, leading the organizers to delay the start of the festival the next day and cutting 4 acts from the lineup last minute. Hours leading up to gates opening, I entered festival grounds to witness staff worked diligently to make conditions bearable. This included adding gravel and plastic walkways to mitigate the mud and water from the storm. The efforts, though not perfect, did help. Other logistics included improved sound (an aspect that was heavily criticized by festival goers last year), though the use of subwoofers was at times excessive.

Standout performances (besides the headliners) were Lord Huron and Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats on Day 1, and Snacktime and Hozier for Day 2. Both Lord Huron and Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats were energetic performers that were enjoyable to listen to live, Snacktime couldn’t help but make me dance with their funky jazz set, and Hozier created an almost spiritual experience that was a treat to witness.

Day 1 headliner Red Hot Chili Peppers had an explosive entrance to their stage, opening with “Can’t Stop” (and they never did, with their liveliness). From there, they kept their energy high, and the chemistry on stage between members was incredible. The Red Hot Chili Peppers were quite a few people’s main reason for attending the festival, and they did not disappoint.

Day 2 headliner John Mayer in contrast had a more mellow set, playing solo on his acoustic guitar the whole time. The decision to have a stripped down setup made sense, when you consider that this festival was a sort of homecoming for him, as he grew up in the area where the festival took place. Sprinkling in some antidotes of his time growing up in Connecticut between sets, his return to the state of Connecticut charmed both fans and those unfamiliar with his music. It was a touching end to the weekend-long festival.

With Sound on Sound starting to top the learning curve, I believe this will be a fun Northeast festival to make time for.

Lil Yachty’s Field Trip Tour 9/29/23

Lil Yachty’s Field Trip Tour 9/29/23

By Rachel Bui

Lil Yachty is currently embarking on his Field Trip tour around North America. With his latest album exploring new territories for him musically, it was evident that it would be an interesting experience to see how he would combine the tracks from his latest album with the rest of his discography for the set.

The set started off with his live band, The Silver Sisters (an all-black-and-female group of musicians), coming on stage before him. He introduced the band almost right off the bat before starting his first song. I couldn’t help but notice the amount of respect he expressed towards these women, and he conveyed a sense of reverence for those providing a foundation for his tour overall.

The way that Yachty structured his set was to bookend the second act (filled with his hits) with his most experimental tracks to date for the first and third act. The performance was a blend of effortlessly cool attitude and hyped energy, two qualities juxtaposed within his act. Overall the execution of his show was seamless, a great feat that most likely wasn’t easy to achieve. The young rapper has demonstrated that he is not limited to one particular genre, and it will be interesting to see what he comes up with next.

BABYKLOK Tour Review

BABYKLOK Tour Review

By Rachel Bui

When I arrived to the venue for the show, the line had spanned the parking lot and was beginning to double on itself, and there was excited chatter in the air. The line ended up being so long that the show was pushed back 20 minutes, just so that everyone could enter the venue and not miss the show. The anticipation was infectious, and I knew it was going to be a good night.

The show opened with Jason Richardson, an impressive metal guitar soloist. His presence was so commanding, I honestly have forgotten if there was anyone else on stage with him, or if he was playing with a backtrack. Though there was no vocals as part of his set, I was still intrigued. Since the concert I’ve added him to my playlist, and I was glad that he was part of the show.

To those unfamiliar with the band, Dethklok started as a fictional band featured in the Adult Swim cartoon, Metalocalypse. Perhaps as a result of this, Dethklok’s performance had a peculiar setup. If you’ve ever been to a Cinefilm concert (the soundtrack is performed live while the film is playing in-sync in the background), then Dethklok’s performance was like the metal version of that. Cartoons played on the screen as the band performed, and the lighting on the band themselves was intentionally dark so that you only see the silouette of the band. As someone who is admittedly not a metalhead, I found myself still entertained by the concept.

Finishing out the night was BABYMETAL, described as a 3-piece “Japanese kawaii metal band.” I enjoyed their act the most, as their lyrics were upbeat and catchy, an interesting foil to the metal track. As they sang and danced across the stage, I was entranced by the production as a whole, from the well-practed choreography to the stabilized vocals to the ever changing light design. Standout hits include “Pa Pa Ya!!” and “Gimme Chocolate!!”