This past weekend was WILD. I had the honor of going to THREE different shows, at THREE different venues and I don’t think I have ever felt happier in the presence of such incredible music and talent. Each night I could feel the passion ignite inside my heart, serving as an instant reminder of how much I LOVE music.
Let’s first talk about NIGHT ONE. On Saturday, February 17, 2018, I had the honor of seeing the band PVRIS on their North American Tour at Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, New Jersey. Despite driving through a snowstorm to get there, I knew it was going to be a great night when the indie-pop band, Cherry Pools, opened up the show with one of the best performances I have seen from an opening band in a long time. My friend and I were absolutely blown away by their performance. Not only was their stage aesthetic pleasing, but their sound was unlike anything I have ever heard before. The singer, Martin Broda, had a voice that took me into another universe and my friend and I agreed that if, The 1975 and Chase Atlantic, had a baby it would be Cherry Pools. Therefore, do yourself a favor and AT LEAST go listen to their latest single, “Are You In Love?” I promise you will have no regrets. After Cherry Pools, Detroit pop artist, Flint Eastwood, took the stage and commanded the crowd unlike any other female vocalist I have ever seen before. I had seen her previous with PVRIS before a few months ago on PVRIS’ last headlining tour, but her growth is substantial as she thrives off of the crowd and delivers powerful performances of songs like, “Monster” and “Glitches.”
Last but certainly NOT LEAST, PVRIS came on stage and immediately took the room by storm as they opened with, “Heaven,” their lead single off of their 2017 album, All We Know Of Heaven. From the first stroke of the piano of, “Heaven,” to the final beat of the drums in, “No Mercy,” which ended the set, I was immersed in everything this band and show had to offer. I had always been a fan of PVRIS’ unique attention to aesthetic as a band, but their particular stage set up this time around made me feel like I wasn’t even at a Starland Ballroom show (which was an amazing experience). I felt like I was transported to their own world and that is something I never felt at a show before, especially at a venue I have been going to since I was in middle school. I was especially engaged in the frontwoman, Lynn Gunn, and her angelic, yet some kind of mix of angelic and gruff badass, voice. I had chills throughout each song, but one that stood out to me particularly that night was their stripped down piano version of, “Same Soul.” It was so beautiful, I really think there were tears in the eyes of many besides myself in that room during that song. Overall, amazing show, definitely the best I have seen from them so far. One for the books for sure and a new personal favorite.
Now NIGHT TWO. On Sunday, February 18, 2018 I was given the opportunity by my newly acquired internship at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, to assist at Of Mice & Men’s Defy Tour show. First of all, I just need to start by saying that it has been a LONG TIME since I listened to Of Mice & Men, but I figured this would be a good first show to help out at since I was practically obsessed with them back in my middle and early high school years. Also, I knew Blessthefall was their direct support and I always wanted to see them live, but never got the chance, so it is fair to say I seized the opportunity and it was GREAT. I am really happy I got to be a part of that show, even if it was just handing out flyers before and after the performance.
It is safe to say I was very impressed by Blessthefall’s performance and I am also extremely glad I finally got to see them because they were fantastic. Leader singer, Beau Bokan’s, command of the crowd and stage reeled me in from the start. However, I think my favorite part of their set was when Beau got a young kid to crowd surf to him to give him a high-five and demanded the crowd bring the kid back to his father… AND IT HAPPENED. Definitely one of the most unforgettable moments for not only me, but especially for the kid. If he is not taking over the music world in the next 15 years with his future rock band, I will personally feel disappointed.
As for Of Mice & Men, I felt like I was in middle school all over again and it was fantastic. Right before the show I tried to prepare myself by listening to their new album, Defy, which they wound up playing a lot of songs off of. Now when I say WOW, I mean WOW. They were unbelievable. From the instruments, straight to the vocals, everything was so clean cut and I immediately felt invested in their performance as they opened the show with the title track off their new album, “Defy.” I honestly loved them even more live, than on their records this time around. As a vocalist myself, of course one of the first things I listen to (or most people listen to) at a live show are the vocals and I was floored by Aaron Pauley’s voice live. It sounded SO good. I could feel every note he hit pierce my soul and he was honestly so on point. It was really unbelievable and impressive, of course I didn’t expect anything less, but they exceeded my old middle and high school expectations. Another thing I noticed was how the crowd changed for them. Back when I listened to them more, the age demographic was definitely around 15 to 26… MAYBE 30. It seems like now even people in their 50s are rocking out to their music and that made me genuinely really happy. That just proved to me that music is so universal and it was cool to see they had sparked another crowd’s interest over the years, besides the one that grew up with them.
Last, NIGHT THREE. On Monday, February 19, 2018, I bought tickets the night before to see the co-headlining Get Free Tour which featured, Silverstein and Tonight Alive at the House of Independents in Asbury Park. The two openers for this show were two New Jersey natives, Picturesque and Broadside. Unfortunately because of class, I actually missed Picturesque, but luckily I made it right in the middle of Broadside’s set. Funny enough, for some reason I did not realize I knew Broadside until the very end of their set when they played a song called, “Coffee Talk.” When they announced to the crowd that was the song they were going to be closing with, I actually turned to my friend in laughter and was like, “I like coffee, I will probably like this song!” Little did I realize that song had been on one of my playlists for weeks on repeat, so I instantly flipped out when I finally put the two together. It was really fun to sing along to and I really enjoyed the part of Broadside’s set I was there to see. I definitely plan on listening to all of their albums now sometime this week because they were so tight and fun to be in the presence of.
Right after Broadside, Silverstein took the stage and the crowd went WILD. I think just about everyone in the crowd had to be Silverstein fan because I never heard the crowd roar so loud at the House of Independents. My friends and I were near the front and right next to us, a huge mosh pit broke out as soon as the music started. I never had actually seen Silverstein live before, so I was excited for the experience and let me tell you, I LOVED every second of it and would 100% do it again if they come back around again. The band is widely known for their songs, “My Heroine,” and, “Smile In Your Sleep,” which of course I love too, but I was really happy they performed a few of my favorites off of their newest album, Dead Reflection. Two of my personal favorites of the night were definitely two songs from that album called, “Retrograde,” and, “Afterglow.” The band’s overall performance and stage presence was insanely immersive and even if you didn’t know all of the words to every song, you wanted to be part of it and the Silverstein experience. They were a complete 10/10 and again, I would love to see them when they come back to New Jersey again one day.
Finally, the last band I saw over the past three days was a band I had watched ever since their second EP, Consider This, dropped in the United States. Now they are currently on their fourth studio album, Underworld, which was recently released on January 12, 2018. This band is called, Tonight Alive. I had seen them quite a few times before, but never in a headline setting. They were always great, but they never shined as bright as they did to me that night at the House of Independents. The lead singer, Jenna McDougall, was always a role model frontwoman to me, she really touched my heart in so many ways that night and made me happy to be a woman in music. She commanded the stage unlike any other frontwoman I have ever seen. In fact, she moved and danced around so much, I started wondering to myself how anyone in the world had that much stamina to sing as flawlessly as she did and move around THAT much. I was also thrilled they played a balanced amount of new and old songs, especially since I was a super fan of all of their older material like, “The Edge,” and, “Hell and Back.” The experience felt so personal, as I basically had Jenna McDougall singing near my face and I felt like the crowd and myself were in tune with everything she had to say in her lyrics, and the words she spoke between songs. Personally, I definitely felt the most captivated during their special broken-down acoustic performance of, “Oxygen.” I could feel my heart well up inside and overall, seeing Tonight Alive was just such a refreshing and inspiring experience. If I could, I would relive that night to feel the positivity and energy throughout the room that night all over again. I can’t wait until Tonight Alive comes back to New Jersey again, hell, I will travel beyond if I have to. Seeing both, Jenna McDougall and Lynn Gunn, this weekend really brought me back down to Earth as an aspiring woman in the music industry. These two women are two of my heroes.
If you are ever given the opportunity to see any of these bands live, DO IT. I promise you won’t regret it, or even if you just go give them each a listen. The experience is worth it. Shows give me life. It was a weekend of incredible music and talent and I really can’t wait to continue going to shows throughout the rest of 2018. There is MORE to come.
It all starts with music.
–Kelli ♫
Special thank you to Anthony Vito Cosentino Photography for letting me use his photos of Silverstein and Tonight Alive, as well as Natalie Merlo for the “No Mercy” PVRIS snippet.
Myze Music 