Wilderness Politics Tour (The Complex- 10/23/15)

I had been looking forward to this show for a really long time, even before it was announced I was waiting for an opportunity to see The Griswolds for the first time and see New Politics- one of my favorite bands- for the third time. When this tour was announced I actually cried, quite a bit to be honest. This tour gave me a reason to live in some ways, not to be over dramatic, but I was in a really bad place and then when this was announced I was able to focus on better things and look forward to something amazing. My greatest fear was that it wouldn't reach my expectations, but it was amazing and I cried multiple times throughout the concert.

LOLO was the first opener, and she was just amazing; I don't really know how to put it into words, it was just so good. She came out on stage with one guy- Josh- and they played some kickass music. He just had a guitar, some sound pedals, and a laptop; she just had her voice. There was just so much energy and emotion that it was almost overwhelming; even though a lot of the crowd didn't seem to know her music, she was able to get everybody into it. I had two main favorite songs she played- though they were all spectacular- the first was a cover of Halo by Beyoncé and the second was her original song Heard It From a Friend. She just gave it all she had and I absolutely loved it. 

The second opener had me in tears before they were even on the stage; by the time The Griswolds stepped onto the stage I was hyperventilating and I was having a small panic attack. Before they came on the stage, their tour manager, Danny (who has also been lovingly nicknamed Stoopid Danny), was setting up their equipment and I yelled "I love you Stoopid Danny!", and this led to him flipping me off- my only regret is not getting a picture of it. When the band stepped on the stage- while Kung Fu Fighting is blasting through the speakers- they started playing and in that moment I felt completely overwhelmed and filled with happiness; I think I was actually made of moonbeams and just exploding with utter perfection- if any of that makes sense. It was everything I thought it would be and more; the crowd was into it, I was screaming every word, and I was so close to catching a drumstick but I guess my life would've just been too perfect at that point so something must go wrong. It was still one of the best shows of my life and I still feel sort of numb from it. I continued to yell at them as they were cleaning up and they all at least glanced in my direction; I told Chris that I had bracelets for him and he told me he'd be at merch, and I yelled at Lucky "do the pose!"- if you don't understand this, look up "lucky west af" on Twitter and you'll get the idea- and he laughed but did not do the pose. 

The New Politics show was also one for the books. They have put on an amazing show every time I've seen them, but you could tell that they felt more comfortable on stage and were confident. I don't really know what to say, they were spectacular and I was screaming the whole time and was a nervous wreck because I wanted to see their whole set but also was so desperate to meet The Griswolds. My highlight of the night came when they played Tonight, You're Perfect, because David Boyd- lead singer- came into the crowd and grabbed my hand; I was crying and screaming, I couldn't believe he was holding my hand, and I just kept thinking "hold on! Don't let go no matter what!"- later I also touched his butt, yet (as you can imagine) that was a lot less romantic and special. I felt, for the first time at one of their shows, like I was something good and that their songs might actually be about me- though, just so everyone knows, I understand and accept that they are not- and that is a big step in me feeling like I'm something good and worth loving. New Politics have been there all through my Dark Age- for lack of a better term and comedic relief- and I'm glad because the bands that have helped me through are the ones I know I'm always going to remember and treasure. They're a great group of guys who seem to genuinely love their fans, and even if it is all a show- like my brothers and dad think- it makes me feel like I matter, and I think it does the same thing so other people and I don't want anyone to feel how I have felt before. This band has helped me more than I'll ever be able to thank them for, but I'm just going to keep saying it- thank you David, Søren, and Louis for existing. 

The other headliner was Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness, and Andrew McMahon is a spectacular performer who has surrounded himself with other talented individuals. I listened to his whole performance, but for a lot of it I was outside trying to meet The Griswolds. He is absolutely amazing live though; he created an amazing atmosphere- with visual props and his energy. He played stuff from all three of his groups: Something Corporate, Jack's Mannequin, and- his current group- Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness. I can't believe how crazy people got during some of the slower songs; there were people more energized during his set than at some of the more hardcore shows I've been to, but it was just fucking awesome. I love how people are able to just get into the music they love, no matter what.

As I mentioned before, I was trying to meet The Griswolds, and right once I went outside I saw Danny Duke- guitar and keyboard- and Tim John- bass-; as you may assume I immediately freaked out. I got pictures with them and talked to them for a bit, and told them about yelling at Stoopid Danny- to which Danny laughed and Tim said, "oh yeah, he hates that. Keep doing it though!" I was really, really happy. I also met Hot Jay- merch sales person extraordinaire- and got a picture; after that my dad said,"he's the lead singer, right?" I was so confused until I realized he thought Jay was Chris then I kindly corrected him saying he was the merch guy, to which he replied, "why the hell did you want a picture with him?" And I just had to shake my head and say "because he's Hot Jay, he is important" my dad knows not to question me sometimes- this being one of those moments. Jay also informed me that Chris and Lucky were at a bar down the street from the venue- which my dad said (and Chris later confirmed via social media) is a gay bar-, so I did what any sane person would do: stand out in the cold to see if they ever show up (I did make friends with two other sane people though so that was fun). After waiting for a very long time, they finally came back...then went directly inside the venue. So then we waited a bit longer, and Danny (Duke) came outside again and I proceeded to explain to him how Lucky had ignored me yelling for him to come say hi to us and he said "I have no idea what any of that means, but ok", so I explained again- this time slower and in words I knew even a drunk Aussie would be able to understand- but he just smiled and nodded and said "I don't know where he is" and walked away. So we waited some more, and FINALLY Chris came out and I got meet him- I took pictures for like eight people- and I have him my bracelets (mentioning that one of them I had originally made for Danny Duke, but when I asked if he wanted anything as a present when I saw them, told me "anything not bracelet or food related"), then Chris did an amazing impersonation of Danny saying he didn't want bracelets while u put the bracelets on his wrist, and then I said "I've tweeted @ you a bunch of times" to which he replied "I know! What, did you think I didn't recognize you?" I nod, and he says "well, I guess a lot of people do tweet us, but for the past day- well, couple of days- we've been talking about Utah and you've been telling us all the info." We then talked about the two other Autumns that are apart of our stan and the dankness of the Great Salt Lake. I bought a vinyl after that and got it signed by Chris, then I went outside and found Lucky with Josh from LOLO. I talked to them for a bit and got pictures with them and had Lucky sign my vinyls and gave him a bracelet- which he put onto his backpack- and I had a poster that they both signed, and Josh signed his name next to LOLO (+Josh), which I loved. I got hugs from all of The Griswolds, signatures from two, and pictures with all of them. It was good.

If all that wasn't enough, I still had a meet and greet with New Politics. They were rushing people through and it wasn't amazingly personal or anything, but it was still amazing. I think that David may have recognized me- either from the show, the last meet and greet I went to, or maybe even social media- but that could've all been wishful thinking. They were all really nice and the picture I got turned out SO good! I waited outside- in the cold again- until they were done and tried to get all of their signatures for my poster, but I only got David's and Søren's, but Søren was super nice about it and tried to get Louis to sign it, and even though Sprout, their tour manager, was telling them they had to leave they quickly signed my poster then left. They are awesome guys, and I love them. 

And if all that wasn't enough, Andrew McMahon was outside the venue to sign stuff and meet fans. I got a picture with him, talked to him a for a little while, and he signed my poster. He didn't have to stand out in the cold, and meet people or take the time he did to actually talk to each person, but he did and that's just fucking awesome.

LOLO's Website
The Griswolds' Website
New Politics' Website
Andrew McMahon's Website

WARNING: I'M ABOUT TO SHARE OPINIONS THAT ARE UNRELATED TO MUSIC AND COULD BE CONSIDERED CONTROVERSIAL. I'M ALSO GOING TO  BE GOING INTO SOME DETAIL ABOUT VIOLENCE AND POLICE BRUTALITY.

I know this isn't a political blog, and some of you may never want to read my blog again, but I feel like I need to bring this up. I have kept this seperate from the rest of the post, so there is no confusing what I'm saying with any of these musicians- once again, ALL OF THIS IS MY OPINION and I'm only relaying what I saw; if you have a problem with what I'm saying take it up with me, don't drag others into your argument. 

There was a TECH N9NE concert going on at the same venue as the Wilderness Politics show, just across the lobby area they have. There was a lot of people who seemed to be under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol- to be completely fair, I did not administer drug or breathalyzer tests, so I cannot be 100% sure about this but you can tell when someone is wasted. As you can imagine, some people were getting pretty rowdy and causing some issues; I saw security escort a lot of people out of the venue. Most of these people were relatively cooperative and didn't cause problems, but one guy that I saw- only about three yards away from me- did get a little aggressive. He said that he didn't want to leave- at this point PD got involved- but they said he had to, then he started swinging his arms around and two uniformed members of the Salt Lake City Police Department pushed him onto the ground and hit his head against the cement- twice. After that he seemed a bit out off it, just repeating "why y'all gotta be bitches?" over and over as they led him to their cop car. I assumed they had taken him to the station, but when I was on the other side of the cop car I saw the man, handcuffed and passed out in a puddle of his own vomit, and he seemed to be foaming at the mouth. While I understand the actions they took at the beginning, I don't think they needed to hit the man's head into cement- which could've possibly led to severe, permanent damage- and I don't think they should've left him there. He did eventually get medical attention, but that was around 45 minutes after the original incident, and I was standing there while he was passed out for at least 10 minutes; that could be the difference between someone living and dying.

After both concerts had let out, there was another altercation. This one started out just more worrisome than violent; I'm not sure about all the details, but I heard people say they found the couple- a young man and a young woman, who looked to be in their early twenties- who were passed out on the side of the venue. The rest I was a witness to: they called an ambulance- which arrived within five minutes- and when they tried to take they girl out of the guy's arms- she was completely unresponsive, while he was drifting in and out of consciousness- he would hold on tighter to her and say "no, don't take her! I need to help her!" When the paramedics did finally get her out of his hold, she seemed to be waking up and she wasn't cooperating; I'm not sure whether it was a paramedics or PD, but after about thirty seconds of her moving around- not letting them put her in the stretcher- they pushed her up against the fence- with quite a bit of force, and she is a small girl. Someone was also holding down the man, though with not as much force as what was used on her. When they finally did get her on the stretcher they aggressively tied her down and carted her away, and I believe the man was arrested. 

I'm not saying what these people did was right, especially not using illegal drugs, but I feel like we need to be able to trust the people who are out there the "serve and protect". Even when someone is a criminal, they are still human; we can't just say that since someone did something wrong that they don't deserve to be treated with respect. I know they are just trying to do their job, but the largest part of their job is to keep people safe, not put them into more danger. I'm sorry if I offended anyone, but I felt that it needed to be said- but, no matter how you feel, thank you for reading, because I feel this is really an important issue that needs to be addressed in our country.

Wiped Out!- The Neighbourhood

When I heard The Neighbourhood for the first time I was immediately drawn in; they have such a unique sound and I absolutely adore the voice of Jesse Rutherford's, the band's lead singer. I've seen them live twice since then, and I'm absolutely pissed that they didn't come to Salt Lake City on The Flood Tour- I also wanted to see Bad Suns (for the third time as well) and Hunny (for the first time). Their shows are like nothing I've ever been to, because people are so rowdy, yet still so chill- and there is also the very distinct scent of Mary-Jane which makes it that much better. 

The song Single is my personal favorite- at least for the moment- because it's so mellow and a little different than the rest of the album. It starts with what sounds almost like a children's xylophone, and that continues throughout the song paired with a mellow guitar and drum machine. "Baby, I can't help but call her that, even though I shouldn't say it. I might never get her back, but I don't mind being patient, yeah. Can you let your baby be my girl?" It's a guy asking the father of the girl he loves if he can be with her; I think this song is just the right amount of sweet and sexy, and it sounds to fucking good, too. 

Wiped Out! is their second full-length album, and I'm absolutely in love with it. I wasn't sure what to expect from this album, but I'm very happy with the end result. They had quite a few other songs that were released between I Love You and this album- three EPs, a mixtape, and their song, Honest, was feature of the soundtrack for The Amazing Spider-Man 2- so I wasn't sure if they would have a lot of quality songs on this album, but it is has ten completely spectacular songs- and an eleventh, A Moment of Silence, that is just 30 seconds of complete silence. Wiped Out! is an all-around banger.

Each song has a very obvious hip-hop influence to it, but there is also an alt-rock sound present mixed with a Cali-inspired, beachy vibe. As I mentioned before, this band is unlike any group that is making music right now. I absolutely love the layers of sound in each song, especially in Baby Came Home 2 / Valentines. There is a lot of emotion and meaning behind all of the lyrics, and I can't believe that it's not getting more publicity. My favorite instrumental aspect of this album is the guitar; it's played in a way that conveys the meaning of the song and sounds absolutely flawless with each and every song. 

Daddy Issues is an absolutely stunning piece of music. The lyrics are so meaningful and- like all truly powerful lyrics- give you the feeling that you're really getting to know the artist. The chorus- "Go ahead and cry little girl, nobody does it like you do. I know how much it matters to you; I know you got daddy issues. And if you were my little girl, I'd do whatever I could; if run away and hide with you. I love that you got daddy issues, I do too."- talks about him finding a damaged girl that he just wants to do everything he can to protect, because he relates to her; in the bridge- "Go ahead and cry little boy, you know your daddy did, too. You know that you're mama went through, and you gotta let it out soon, just let it out."- you hear more of his side of the story. This song is- to me- about finding your other half that is just as damaged as you are, and they know how to love you because they know they pain you've felt. 

If you ever have the opportunity to see The Neighbourhood, I'd highly recommend it. I can't help but dance when I listen to them. They have fans from many different backgrounds, and you get the teenage fangirls along with grown men who love rap music- though it usually seems to be more of the former. They are a badass group of guys that are doing what they love and I think that's fucking awesome. 

The Neighbourhood's Website
Buy Wiped Out! on iTunes

Disgraceland- The Orwells

My dad was the one who played The Orwells for me the first time, and it is very rare that my dad plays a band from this century that I haven't heard before. What is even less likely is my dad being as excited as he was to play a song and he really took it personally when my mom said she didn't care for them, but I was immediately hooked. I think why he likes them so much is because they sound a lot like the Pixies and bands like them- my dad loves the Pixies. He bought this album on iTunes and I listened to it all the way through at least thirty times within the first week of owning it.

This is The Orwells' third studio album, and the talent of these guys is really incredible. I don't understand how this band is still so under the radar when they sound better than so many bands that are on the popular charts; I understand that they don't play pop music and their sound is a bit more aggressive, but if music is good, it's good. They did have their song Who Needs You featured in an Apple commercial, but I feel like the editing lost the meaning of the song; the song is about saying no to the status quo, but they made it about being patriotic and shit like that. The song was saying what the advertisers wanted them to say, instead of what the band actually stands for.

There's a lot of heavy guitar, oppressive bass, and angrier vocals; they have a very 90s, grungy sound. The Orwells know how they want to sound, and that is something that you don't really find on very often. Even with all of the influence from other bands that you can hear in their music, there is still that little bit of an x-factor that makes it their own. 

Their song Blood Bubbles is a bit more somber that other stuff on the album; it opens with the most beautiful guitar that continues throughout the rest of the song. There is a constant drumbeat across the whole song; it's simple, but yet matches with the rest of the song seamlessly. "She screamed now for help, but nobody came, so she picked up my gun, and put it to her brain. She begged, she begged, she screamed, said 'God, give me help,' then she decided to do it herself"; you can tell based on those lyrics what the song is about; this song has special meaning to me because I've gone through the same things as the girl in the song; luckily, when I screamed out for help, my parents talked to me, and I started seeing a counselor (like a therapist). I'm very happy to say that I am in a lot better place, but for anyone reading this that feels the way I felt just know that, no matter how cliche or stupid it sounds, it gets better- even if it doesn't seem like there is a light at the end of the tunnel just keep moving and eventually there will be. 

I hope that The Orwells come out with some new music really soon, because there is so much potential for this band. Even though this album is superb, there is always room for growth and improvement, and this band could take over the music industry if they just put their mind to it.