miashyperfixations

[miashyperfixations]

JOSHUA BASSETT: THE GOLDEN YEARS TOUR

18.01.2025 @ O2 Institute, Birmingham (1,500 Capacity)

Written Jan 2025

Joshua Bassett is an artist I’ve been a fan of for a long time now. He’s one of the few artists these days that I didn’t find through social media. I first became a fan after seeing him as ‘Ricky Bowen’ in Disney Plus’ show ‘High School Musical: The Musical: The Series’, and since then it’s been a hell of a ride hearing all of the songs he’s released since. He’s an insanely talented songwriter too, with writing credits on all of his songs, (which includes  a debut album, ‘The Golden Years’, 4 EPs, and 5 other singles since 2020), as well as some of his character’s songs on HSMTMTS.

The show opened with fellow American singer-songwriter, Thomas Day. I had never listened to his music before and I was pleasantly surprised. His newest release ‘underwear’ came out the day before the show, and he also played an unreleased song called ‘sleep when we’re dead’ , which the crowd seemed to love. His high energy and constant moving around the stage built up anticipation and energy beautifully. He was the perfect opener for Joshua.

Joshua himself is an incredible musician with even more stunning vocals. The California native started acting from a young age, and this is heavily reflected in his performance, with unrivaled energy bouncing around the stage like the true theatre kid he is, especially in ‘Would ya tell me’.

As with any other concert there were a few songs with dedicated elements. Before the third song of his set, Joshua invited two fans onstage to teach him a line dance that the three of them then performed during the song (‘Circles’), and During ‘different’ Basset walked around the edge of the room’s floor standing area shaking hands and interacting with members of the crowd who wouldn’t usually get that experience.  Many artists, as they grow, lose touch with their fans and only focus on releasing music, but Joshua shows just how much he cares about his fans and wants to keep interaction with them alive - its known that he voluntarily stays behind in between the venue and his tour bus to meet the crowd of fans that gathers after almost every show instead of just walking straight past them with a wave.

Of course, I can’t not mention the drama and speculation surrounding Bassett's career, but at the end of the day, he’s doing what he loves to an audience who loves him for it. He’s very open about the struggles he’s been through, to the point at which certain songs and speeches during the concert almost felt like a group therapy session. His song ‘Lifeline’ centers around making amends with the people you care about, even if you don’t want to  in a beautiful way, because you never really know how much time you or your loved ones have left. Similarly, songs like ‘All in due time’ & ‘Look how far you’ve come’ discuss personal growth and being proud of yourself, no matter the obstacles that may still be in your way.

Having been a fan of Joshua for so many years now, finally seeing him live was everything I dreamed it’d be. I played his ‘Sad Songs In A Hotel Room’ EP quite a lot during a particularly hard time in my life so hearing both ‘Lifeline’ and ‘All in due time’ live was something I’d wanted to experience for a while now, and it didn’t disappoint. The entire tour gives off good vibes & a sense of togetherness I haven’t seen in many crowds before, and seeing how much his songs mean to so many people was an incredible experience.

[miashyperfixations]

CHRISSY COSTANZA & VOILÀ: THE SPIN THE BOTTLE TOUR

20.11.2024 @ Academy 3, Manchester (470 Capacity)

Written Dec 2024

A little late but here we are, my last concert of the year! I couldn’t be happier that it was VOILÀ alongside Chrissy Costanza on the sold out UK/EU leg of the Spin The Bottle Tour. I don’t think I’ve fallen for a band as hard or as fast as I did for these guys. The completely independent rock duo, based in the US, have been on my radar for quite a while, however I only started listening to their music properly earlier this year, as a soundtrack to my A Level revision. It’s safe to say I was hooked immediately, I haven't stopped listening to them since.

The Spin The Bottle tour was probably the concert I was looking forward to most this year. Undoubtedly, when I booked the ticket I was a fan of VOILÀ more so than Chrissy, and I still am, but she’s become a more permanent part of my listening rotation now too. Manchester is an iconic city in the rock music genre, not to mention this was my first concert at Manchester Academy. Ironically, the building Academy is in is the University of Manchester Student Union building and as an MMU student I couldn’t help but feel like an imposter.

As a co-headline tour, the two acts didn’t have a changeover, instead Chrissy & Gus (VOILÀ’s lead singer) switched back and forth for segments of the show, with Luke (VOILÀ’s lead singer) and a drummer onstage throughout the whole hour and a half set. The opening song was a collaboration between the two acts, ‘Caught It’ which is on VOILÀ’s 3rd album, and then closes with another collab ‘Seven Minutes In Hell’, from Chrissy’s ‘VII’ EP (a personal favourite of mine).

Chrissy Costanza is best known as the frontwoman of the American pop-rock band Against The Current. The band were named a Rock Sound 25 Icon this year as a part of the magazine’s 25th anniversary celebrations. Her debut solo EP ‘VII’ was released earlier this year and this tour marked her first (co-)headline shows. And she absolutely killed it, Chrissy clearly belongs on stage. Every song was given 110%, her energy was infectious.

Alongside her solo songs, Chrissy performed one ATC song (wildfire) as well as songs she has recorded for the League Of Legends video game soundtrack. This particular niche type of songs are a personal favourite of mine, with driven basslines and a musical storyline creafted by expert instrumentation behind powerful vocals. She also performed an acoustic medley of songs that have meant a lot to her over the years. As the frontwoman of a touring band, Costanza has experience playing shows in the UK, and several times during the set she hyped up Manchester as a home-away-from-home & her favourite UK city, of course the crowd went feral at this and kept up with her energy the entire show. 

VOILÀ are a Los Angeles-based pop-rock duo with lead singer Gus Ross moving over from the UK, and guitarist Luke Eisener hailing from Wisconsin. This tour is the band’s first, and it’s clear to everyone that both members of the band having their first hometown shows on the same tour was something special that they’ll never forget. As I said before, I haven’t fallen for a band as quickly as I have for VOILÀ, and I’ve also never become a fan of a band and seen them live this fast before. Every one of their albums is a detailed piece of work that ties together beautifully whilst also having numerous tracks that stand out from others, perfectly encapsulating their take on the pop-rock genre. I love that they are an entirely independent organisation, self-producing all of their releases and heavily involved with their fans too. In the lead up to the show, I met so many amazing people on their discord server and was able to meet most of them at a pre-show hang just before the gig too.

With this being their first tour, the setlist was something that fans discussed in detail before the tour started as they already had 2 1/2 albums released and the rest of the 3rd has been released since. The second half of their third album ‘Glass Half Empty’ was released the day before the London Show, which was also the final UK date of tour.

Due to this, cuts had to be made and some songs were sacrificed, but the band made up for it by introducing a surprise song. Taking inspiration from the tour’s name, they had a wheel they would get someone to spin every night and play the song it landed on - whether it was a Chrissy song or a VOILÀ one was all up to chance.

The first (and only) song that played after the set ended was South Arcade’s ‘Stone Cold Summer’. South Arcade are another of my favourite bands, and I’ve seen them a few times too. Funnily enough, I’m seeing them at this exact venue next year. There was also a post-show meet & greet, for the discord crew and a select few, thanks to one of the band’s crew members, Sutton. He was able to get both VOILÀ & Chrissy to come back out into the venue hall and give a brief meet & greet session. Security was quite tight about getting us out, so we took pictures in groups and I didn’t get to give them my usual spiel as a music production/live sound enthusiast. However, they were able to sign the door times I pulled off the wall as well as my art cards that I designed and printed for the band’s 2022 release ‘Happy Never After’. They each signed their favourite song on the album with Gus signing ‘Cursive’, an explosive collaboration with Kellin Quinn of the iconic American rock band ‘Sleeping With Sirens’ and Luke signing ‘Hush Now’, one of my personal favourites as well, heavily inspired by Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet. Sutton also gave us some spare packs of trading cards that were available at the merch desk (I ended up buying another one anyway) that we all opened and discussed, as well as hanging out after security kicked us out of the room. Trading Cards were something I’ve never seen before at a concert and I think it’s a really cool idea. Cards ranged from common ones like songs, albums & videos, to rarer ones like certain well-known crew members (including Sutton himself) & access to exclusive content.

Even though I spent way too much money on merch, I don’t regret it at all. I met so many amazing people and was introduced to such a welcoming and inclusive community, that it sometimes feels like a dream - I couldn’t have asked for a better experience. Six months ago I had never heard any of these songs, but now they’re my favourites. Every single one of their songs means so much and hearing them live is something I’ll remember forever. Here’s to another year of concerts!

[miashyperfixations]

MTV EUROPEAN MUSIC AWARDS 2024

10.11.2024 @ The Co-op Live Arena, Manchester (23,500 Capacity)

Written Nov 2024

Earlier this month, I was able to go and watch the MTV EMAs live for free through my university. This was an experience I never would have imagined happening to me ever, so doing it so early into my career journey was so exciting. 

Being admitted into the venue almost 2 hours before the start time, I was able to fully take in how much effort and logistics truly goes into live broadcasting. It was so fun and interesting to be part of a live broadcast event as an attendee with an eye for these kinds of things. We were also able to see stage setups going up and down from where we were and it was truly fascinating to be able to watch the absolute military operation that was the stage switchovers in between acts whilst the cameras focused on the presenter or other aspects. Le Sserafim’s setupalone was a mission, with a whole extra 3-tier step pyramid stage being put together piece-by-piece on the middle stage, for a full production alongside backup dancers.

As MTV Superfans, we were treated with a side-stage view in the back half of the arena, meaning we were directly across from the celebrity seating area with the centre ‘H’ stage in between us, whilst still having a pretty great view of the main performance stage at the end of the arena. Seeing so many amazing acts in one night was unreal. Benson Boone opened up the show from his floating piano and went on to win the first award of the night (Best New Artist). ‘The Warning’ live was an absolute dream come true, and those pyrotechnics? Amazing. RAYE was a complete powerhouse with her orchestral medley of  ‘Escapism’, ‘Oscar Winning Tears’ and ‘Body Dysmorphia’ with a choir backing her. I was blown away. She was definitely the highlight of the night for me. Other performers included Teddy Swims, MTV Global Icon Award-Winner Busta Rhymes, THe Pet Shop Boys, & Shawn Mendes

This experience gave me a lot to consider when it comes to my future career. The multitude of job roles involved in a production like this is endless, and certainly gave me a lot to think about when it comes to deciding what route to go.

[miashyperfixations]

CAMERON SANDERSON: PLACE YOUR BETS TOUR

07.11.2024 @ The Peer Hat, Manchester (120 Capacity)

Written Nov 2024

Cameron Sanderson is someone who I’ve been a fan for, for quite a while now. He was the first independent artist I listened to back in 2020 - during the pandemic when I started to broaden my horizons in music taste. Not just in genre, but looking at the big 3 labels vs independent labels & artists.Cameron is one of those hidden gem artists who've flown under the radar for most of their career, but have been there a while.

He started out posting covers and originals on youtube in 2010. And although he’s been at it for quite a while, his first full-length project ‘This Is The Film’ was released at the start of this year, following his two major EPs ‘If we were a film, we’d be a sad one’ (2021), and ‘I saw the film, it was a tragedy’ (2021). 

Sanderson’s first tour ever was opening for RØRY alongside South Arcade, who are one of my favourite bands. This is actually how I found out about them!! Since then he’s done 2 headline tours, with this being his 3rd, and last tour for a little while. Most recently played at the indigo at The O2 in London opening for Walk Off The Earth, a Canadian indie pop band. 

If it wasn’t clear, I’ve been wanting to see him live for ages, and after missing the last two tours, I decided that I simply needed to go to this one. Cameron was, as always, a high-energy host and his backing band just emphasised this tenfold. It was my first concert on my own, and I think that it was a good choice for it. Small gigs are more than often, nicer and have more meaning to them, so experiencing the talent of an independent artist was a pretty good way to go. It truly shows how much he loves music in every single song he releases, especially when you realise that he writes and produces every song himself, and has no team behind him other than those at the gigs, including his parents!

Independent artists make up such a huge proportion of the music industry, and so many rarely make it so it's nice to be a part of their journey(s). Everyone had to start from somewhere. You can really tell with these kinds of artists that they truly love what they do, and their fans love them for it too. This whole experience reminded me why I’m attending university for Event Management. Being in a small room full of people who have taken the time out of their day to come to see such a small artist just shows how much music means to some, and I can't wait to be a part of this industry soon.

[miashyperfixations]

TAYLOR SWIFT: THE ERAS TOUR

16.08.2024 @ Wembley Stadium, London (92,000 Capacity)

Written Oct 2024

No matter the album, or tour, it’s always a dream to see Taylor Swift live in concert. This highly anticipated run of 5 London dates fell towards the end of her world tour, with only a few North American dates at the end of the year afterwards. The entire tour spans from March 2023 to December 2024 with 149 dates - this was the 128th night of the tour, the 5th London show overall but night 2 of this Wembley run, having done 3 earlier shows in June as well. I am glad we went to these August shows over the June ones as the hype was at a peak because people knew what to expect and in some ways, it was easier.

I have seen Taylor live twice before, on the Reputation Stadium Tour back in June 2018 in both Manchester (Etihad Stadium) & London (Wembley Stadium), so I kinda knew what to expect in terms of her and how she performs. Even back then Taylor’s tours were a full-on production - The Eras Tour is no exception. The woman knows how to put on a show. She truly is a theatre kid through and through, just with an insane budget.

There were many times during each era’s song set I  just took in the set and props. I was in awe. Not just because this is what I’m going to study, but because it’s crystal clear to everyone just how much effort goes into this show. It ran so smoothly with no hitches or even hiccups that I can’t not commend every crew member on the tour. Purely thinking about the logistics for each individual set gives me a headache, let alone the whole show! Even the outfits are complex, she has set bodysuits, jackets & dresses for each Era’s set, sometimes multiple! Whilst the actual outfits don’t change, the colours do rotate every show so it’s fun to try and guess which ones she’ll wear. A surprise to everyone was that she debuted a new ‘Midnights-Era’ bodysuit at our show, which was fun, but also a little confusing to notice in the moment!

I absolutely loved when, during both the ‘Fearless Era’ and ‘Speak Now Era’ sets, that the band got to come out and have their moment. It’s clear that they love what they do (who wouldn’t?) and it’s such a full-circle moment especially for those like Paul (Sidoti, Guitar) and Amos (Heller, Bass) who have been there since the start of Swift’s career. Of course, there are certain aspects that also change every night. A highly anticipated change is Kam during ‘We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together’ where during the original song, Taylor would say “...like ever!”, at the end of the spoken bridge, Kam gets the line. And he says something related to the city/country they’re in. For example, in Liverpool he said “eee, get on your bike” in a scouse accent, or in Melbourne, “Like naur” was the line . On our night, it was “what a knobhead!” , which, I think, was one of the best choices he could’ve made! Another special thing that happens during the ‘Red Era’ set, is that Tyalor’s team chooses someone from the crowd (mostly little kids) to receive her ‘22 Hat’ that she wears on stage during the song ‘22’. It’s such a cute experience and a once-in-a-lifetime moment that I’m sure those chosen will remember forever.

During the ‘Folklore/Evermore Era’ set, there were a few moments that stood out to me. It’s tradition for the audience to maintain a comically long applause after the song ‘champagne problems’, and on our night it lasted for around 4 minutes. It was so loud, and so long, that Taylor exclaimed “You win Wembley night two!”, once she was finally able to talk, she also shared that her parents were at the show and that she could “...guarantee my parents were just recording that on their phones. [...] Every time I have a sad or bad day from now, not only will I have the video in my mind but I'm going to revisit that moment". It lasted so long, that immediately after those comments, she launched straight into the next song, which happened to be ‘august’. This is a song that I was highly anticipating, and not just because it also happened to be August at the time. It’s one of my favourite songs from ‘Folklore’ and it then directly transitioned into the bridge of my favourite song on the album, ‘Illicit Affairs’. THis rendition of the song was also heavier, and more powerful than the softer  recorded version, which I absolutely loved. One of 3 songs from ‘Evermore’ on the setlist is a particularly meaningful song called ‘marjorie’ dedicated to Swift’s grandmother, an Opera singer who died when she was young. Hearing a song like this that I can somewhat relate to in a city that means so much to was an emotional rollercoaster but I definitely wasn’t the only one crying, it is a very emotional song.

Similarly to her last tour there is a dedicated part of the setlist every night, where Taylor sits down to sing two songs not on the setlist.  I remember at the date we went on the Reputation Tour, she played ‘So it goes’, a Reputation album track and the only one that wasn’t on the setlist then, meaning that I was among the first audience to hear the whole album live, and I think that’s pretty special. During the Reputation tour, it was one song on the acoustic guitar on a B-stage at the back of the stadium, but here on The Eras Tour, it’s one on acoustic guitar and one on the piano, and they’re often mashups. It became such a phenomenon over this tour, that fans started keeping track of which songs she had/hadn’t played and whether or not they could hear their favourite songs by the date they were going to. The night before our show one of Taylor’s longtime friends, Ed Sheeran, came out during this part to sing a mashup of all their collaborations over the years, so I thought we weren’t going to get anything super major for our surprise song set, and I didn’t really have any burning desires for a specific songs. The first song genuinely surprised me as she played ‘London Boy’, (an album track off of her 7th studio album ‘Lover’) because she’d never played it in front of a  live audience before and I didn’t think she ever would, considering she’s no longer together with the person she wrote the song about. So hearing ‘London Boy’ in London was amusing. The second surprise song shocked me. She played a mashup of ‘Dear John’ (off of ‘Speak Now’) and ‘Sad Beautiful Tragic’ (off of ‘Red’).  I don’t think we were the only people to experience this, but there was a moment during both piano songs where we knew what the song was, and we were singing along, but couldn’t place the song title till a few lines in! Before The Eras Tour, Taylor hadn’t played ‘Dear John’ in almost 11 years, since the ‘Speak Now’ tour in 2011-12. She sang it for the first time on this tour in Minneapolis, and this was the only other time on the tour that she played the song. It’s a massive fan favourite at over 5 minutes long. The slow piano power ballad mixed perfectly with ‘Sad Beautiful Tragic’, another album track, but for another album. ‘Red’ was the first Taylor Swift album I listened to. After my sister got it on CD for her birthday, it lived in the car from that point onwards, and even now when one of the songs comes on in the car, we all stop and sing along. STB is one of my favourites off the album, so I was extremely happy we got to hear it live.

There were so many mums and daughters (including us!)  there together enjoying the show and it was so wholesome, to bond over something wonderful so much so that you’d make a day of it. There were also many dads at the show, some reluctant and on their phones and others fully immersed into being a ‘Swiftie Dad’. The whole show is just the peak of girlhood. It’s a fun and interactive experience for all ages and I could tell that so many core memories were being made that night. The swapping of friendship bracelets didn’t stop with the show either, even on our way out, we swapped so many and gave some to security who asked for them - vendors, merch sellers, and even some of the on-duty police officers had some on! 

Seeing Holly Humberstone, Paramore and Taylor Swift all in one night was without a doubt, the highlight of my summer and the perfect closer before I start my life as a uni student, hopefully venturing into this exact industry for my professional career.

[miashyperfixations]

PARAMORE (OPENING FOR THE ERAS TOUR)

16.08.2024 @ Wembley Stadium, London (92,000 Capacity)

Written Oct 2024

Paramore are absolute icons in the music industry, Starting out as a pop-punk band from Tennessee in 2004 with their debut album, the band has grown into an international favourite, experimenting into multiple other genres such as new wave/synth-pop in 2017 with their 5th album ‘After Laughter’ and post-punk/alternative in 2023 with their 6th album ‘This Is Why’. Williams & Taylor Swift have been friends for years, since both of their careers started (almost), and have stayed so throughout their crazy careers (Williams was featured on a Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) Bonus Track) so sharing a stage must be pretty special to them as well as their shared fans.

It was phenomenal to see one of my favourite bands of all time opening for one of my favourite artists of all time. As I'd seen Taylor before, I think I was a little more excited to see them than her. We missed out on tickets for their last UK tour back in 2023, but I now know that I won’t be making that mistake again! Seeing ‘Misery Business’ live was mind-blowing, and a truly amazing experience I’ll never forget. One of my favourite songs of theirs is a more acoustic-feeling rock ballad called ‘The only exception’. When the band played it, it was focused on Hayley & Taylor York (the band’s guitarist, and Hayley’s boyfriend) at the end of the catwalk with just her and his acoustic guitar, and it was a special moment that you can tell meant so much to them and everyone else in the stadium that knows how long it took for them to get here.

I also love that they kept their setlist like Taylor Swift’s and played songs from all/most of their albums, especially as they were an opener.  It was a real fan-service to those (like us) who had never seen them live before, despite being huge fans for a long time. Similarly to Swift, Paramore also had a surprise song within their set that they changed out/rotated every night - we got ‘Crave’ which is one of my favourites off of ‘This Is Why’ and it’s one that really shows off Hayley’s unique and insane vocal talent.

Paramore really were the perfect opener for this tour, they’re pros in the music industry, they know what they’re doing. My only regret was not going to see them sooner. Their songs are well-known in the general public enough to hype up the crowd, but still remain a special set for those that are fans.

[miashyperfixations]

HOLLY HUMBERSTONE (OPENING FOR THE ERAS TOUR)

16.08.2024 @ Wembley Stadium, London (92,000 Capacity)

Written Oct 2024

Holly Humberstone is a British singer -songwriter… one of many London openers announced a few weeks before, the others including: Sofia Isella, Suki Waterhouse, Maisie Peters, RAYE, (with METTE, Benson Boone & Griff for the earlier London dates).

Holly won a BRIT award in 2022, as a BRIT rising star and has slowly gained traction over the years since, she also opened for Olivia Rodrigo’s Sour tour in 2022.

Although I’m not a fan of Holly, I do really like her music and her artistic style. In a kinda weird and cool way I kinda have a connection to Holly’s drummer because I saw their band (in which they also drum),‘Carpark’ open for Beth McCarthy back in June 2023 at The Sunflower Lounge in Birmingham. Before the show, we went to visit family, and their house backs onto the stadium site. As it was earlier in the day, we ended up being able to hear Holly’s soundcheck from their garden, hearing 3/6 songs on her setlist, and it was the most magical start to a perfect night. 

I absolutely love hearing ‘London is lonely’ in London, but hearing any British artist in Wembley is iconic and I’m so glad it was her.

[miashyperfixations]

PALE WAVES (OPENING FOR PVRIS'S OIL & WATER TOUR)

25.06.2024 @ The Irving Plaza, New York (1,200 Capacity)

Pale Waves are a pop-rock band hailing from Manchester, England, forming after meeting each other at university in the city. They’ve been on my radar for quite a while, but I didn't start listening to them properly until this year, when I had long periods of time to sit and do coursework. The band basically soundtracked my revision during exam season.

I was more excited to watch them than PVRIS to be honest. It was a bit awkward at first, when Pale Waves came on and @artbyamixx & I were the only ones singing along, but at that point I didn’t care. The band was absolutely amazing. They played songs from all three of their current albums, as well as their most recent release ‘Perfume’, which is the lead single for their fourth album, coming out this September. The second single of which, ‘Glasgow’, came out a week ago. I love that they did this, as it really shows their musical journey over the past few years. Their debut album is comparable to indie-pop sounds like the 1975, but they then progressed to a classic pop-rock feel for their sophomore album (‘Who Am I?’) and then a full-on punk-rock aesthetic for their third album ‘Unwanted’ back in 2022.

Seeing Pale Waves was a dream come true, and to be in New York to experience it was just the cherry on top. Tickets for their next UK tour went on sale recently, but I haven't gotten tickets yet, so who knows? Maybe I’ll be seeing them soon.

[miashyperfixations]

PVRIS: OIL & WATER TOUR

25.06.2024 @ The Irving Plaza, New York (1,200 Capacity)

Written July 2024

My first concert abroad!! What the actual fuck??? This was without a doubt the most sudden we’ve ever bought concert tickets, and I don't think either of us regret it one bit. My sister and I are HUGE fans of Pale Waves. Me especially in the past few months, and it just so happened that they were opening for one of my sister’s favourite bands. In New York. Whilst we were there. It’s a no-brainer. Right? (Yes, it was) I looked as a joke for any concerts that week, the week before we left, just because why not? But when we saw that PVRIS were playing with Pale Waves as an opener, it wasn’t a joke anymore. Although we did wait till the day before to buy the tickets (🫣). I didn't know any of PVRIS' songs going into the concert but I was excited either way

The first opener was an artist neither of us had heard of before, a Mexican artist called ‘Bruses’, and she’s definitely gained fans in both of us. Her electro-pop songs have a clear rock influence that made it so much fun to jump and dance around. It was also my first ever mosh pit, which was exciting, and I don't think I could've asked for a better first mosh pit experience. I didn’t even realize that Bruses was actually in the pit, too, until the end!! 

The second opener was one of my favourite bands called ‘Pale Waves’, from the UK too. I’ve wanted to see them live for a while, having just missed out on their last UK tour as I only started listening to their music right after it. I was more excited to watch them than Pvris to be honest. They killed it and I loved every second of their set.

By the time PVRIS came on, I had left @artbyamixx in the front few rows and found a nice spot at the back to sit in and rest, especially after two days walking around the city. From my spot, I was able to sit and watch PVRIS’ whole set and I think it was a nice way to be introduced to a band my sister loves so much. I’ll definitely be checking them out properly in the future.

It means so much to see 3 sapphic artists all on the same night, and especially in pride month at such a historic venue. We had so much fun watching all 3 acts and it was honestly just the best night ever.

[miashyperfixations]

ARTIO (OPENING FOR HONEY REVENGE'S EUROBEEAN TOUR)

22.05.2024 @ The Deaf Institute, Manchester (250 Capacity)

Written June 2024

Artio is a band that has been on my radar for a while now , having seen them for South Arcade back in September. They released their debut album, Babyface, earlier this year, and  it’s definitely one of my favourites this year, so far. I was first introduced to Artio via @artbyamixx around this time last year when they released their ‘Pyrokid’ EP, and although I don’t actively listen to them as much, they’re without a doubt, some of the most talented people I’ve ever met. They’re based in the north of England, which is refreshing nowadays with a lot of successful artists moving down to London for their career. 

For their set, they played a few songs from their album, as well as a few from the ‘Pyrokid’ EP, which I really enjoyed as ‘Hush Money’ is one of my absolute favourites of theirs and seeing it live for the second time was unreal [clip in above video]. Rae’s vocals blow me out of my mind every time I hear them, their vocal capacity is so crazy and I’m in constant awe of them.  I had already heard all of the other songs before when they opened for South Arcade but hearing ‘Head In The Sand, Finger On The Trigger’ live was unbelievable. It’s so fun to see bands on stage actually enjoying themselves and with such high-energy stage presence, it’s clear that this band loves what they do.

After Honey Revenge’s set, Jai & Ieuan were hanging around and selling merch, so we went to talk to them, before meeting Devin & Donny. @artbyamixx had bought her empty box of sertraline medication and asked for the entire band to sign it, which they did happily [3:11 in this youtube tour diary video], as it is also a song title of theirs. During which, I was also able to chat to Ieuan a little about music production as he is the main producer on the Babyface record. The album is one of my favourites music production-wise. I absolutely love how most of the songs flow into one another and keep themes - it’s hard to tell where some songs cut off!! 

The band have plans to open for American artist, Mothica, when she comes across the pond for her headline tour in the autumn. I should probably try and go to see Artio at a headline show sometime soon, I’ve seen them twice now, both times opening for another of my favourite bands. They’re all extremely talented and I’m sure that there’s great success in the future for this band.

[miashyperfixations]

HONEY REVENGE: THE EUROBEEAN TOUR

22.05.2024 @ The Deaf Institute, Manchester (250 Capacity)

Over 3 weeks late but better late than never! Honey Revenge has been my favourite band for a little while now, so seeing them live at The Deaf Institute, with another of my favourite bands, Artio, was such a special night. This concert fell right in my 2-week long break in the middle of my final exams, so it was a no-brainer. The tickets were bought as soon as they went up for sale, in my college’s library, whilst I should’ve been studying. 

The band was in town for Slam Dunk on the weekend, so were playing some warm-up shows in the week across the UK. In this small tour, they weren't coming to my home city, so Manchester it was, we’ve been to quite a few shows in Manchester now, specifically this venue too. Classic Manchester, it was a very rainy day but it didn't matter to me, they're my favourite band and I was determined to see them live - Honey Revenge are the only band I'd do a 5-hour commute for (BOTH WAYS!).

The set itself was incredible as always. It always amazes me how singers can keep up such energetic vocals for entire sets, and rock singers, especially Devin, just adds to that. Accompanied by their touring band, Tay on bass & Matt on drums, it’s clear that they have fun on stage. There was even a circle pit during 'Distracted’, which I wasn't expecting AT ALL, considering their songs are pretty tame compared to other rock bands on the scene right now. But that’s what makes them stand out, it’s the kind of music that you can dance to, headbang to, and cry to, and I love them for it. Their several synchronized high-kicks over the course of their set only emphasized this. We were in a similar spot to last time, on Donny’s side of the stage so we were able to watch their insane guitar solos from RIGHT THERE in real time and it was absolutely amazing. The setlist was a little different to the last show as they didn’t play every song in their discography, with only 2 cut out though, so most songs were played.

At the time of the show, they hadn’t released anything new since the last time we’d seen them live in December, however they did play their (then unreleased) new track ‘Recipe For Disaster’ in full [see above video]. They’ve since released this song alongside the announcement of ‘Retrovision: The Extended Edition’ to be released in early August. Even though the song was only released on the 24th of May, it was still my top song of the month (🫣) - It was ON REPEAT for the whole weekend. 

In between sets, we bought merch from both bands and had a chance to chat to both merch sellers for both bands as they were both friends of the band and not just a random crew member. After the show, we were also able to hi to one of the band’s team crew, and Devin’s boyfriend, Kyle who is also a musician, he was really cool and gave us some solid advice for venturing into the music industry. It was fun to meet Claire again, a photographer friend who has worked with Honey Revenge before as well as South Arcade back in March.

Once the show was over, Devin & Donny came back out to say hi to everyone whilst their crew packed down. We first chatted to Jai & Ieuan of Artio who had also come back out, but eventually we were able to talk to Honey Revenge themselves. I wasn’t able to go back in and meet them last time, due to the gig being in the upstairs of a bar and I was under 18, but to my surprise, they remembered this and were greatly appreciative of us waiting so long to meet them this time! As we were some of the last people in there, we were starting to get ushered out, but they still made sure to have a full conversation with us as we wanted to talk to them more about the scene and the industry as well as tell them what big fans we are. It was so incredible to finally meet and have a conversation with them having been a fan for so long and they also made sure to take a photo with us and sign the poster I'd bought earlier. Devin also encouraged me to talk to their sound guy as I’d mentioned that this is what I want to do after education!

This night was EVERYTHING and more. This band is without a doubt, one of the biggest, and best, newcomers to the scene in recent years. With plans to go on Idobi Radio’s Summer School Tour this July, and no doubt more plans afterwards, I can’t wait to see what the future holds for Honey Revenge.

[miashyperfixations]

OLIVIA RODRIGO: GUTS WORLD TOUR

"Obsessed" live from Utilita Arena, Birmingham (10.05.2024)

My jaw was hanging open for this entire performance and looking back, I don't blame myself one bit.

[miashyperfixations]

FOUND HEAVEN - CONAN GRAY ALBUM REVIEW

05.04.2024 • Pop • 13 Songs • 36 Minutes • 2024 Republic Records

★★★★☆

FAV SINGLE: Alley Rose

TOP 3: Fainted Love, Alley Rose, Winner

Synth pop is back. Following his sophomore album ‘Superache’, Conan Gray released his highly anticipated 3rd album this April. The Japanese-American singer has shifted from his previous singer/songwriter aesthetic to that of a glam pop icon, although his exceptional songwriting and storytelling abilities still shine through, most notably on tracks like ‘Alley Rose’ and ‘Winner’.

Overall, this project is very reminiscent of Queen and ABBA, with clear Bowie & Elton John influence, especially on tracks like ‘Forever with Me’ and ‘Lonely Dancers’. It’s an album of love and heartbreak, taking the listener on a rollercoaster of emotions over half an hour. Unlike his previous two, this record was not produced by Dan Nigro (Olivia Rodrigo, Chappel Roan, Caroline Polachek), but instead primarily by Max Martin, who worked on, Taylor Swift’s original ‘1989’ album in 2014, The Weeknd’s ‘The Highlights’, and more recently, Ariana Grande’s new album ‘Eternal Sunshine’ - the man is a pop legend. He knows what he’s doing.

The first and lead single, Never Ending Song, set the tone for this album back in May. It’s a vibrant synthy sound, aided by energetic drums to fully showcase Conan’s lower register vocals. The record overall gives off an 80s new wave synth vibe but also sounds like it should be in a 2000s movie soundtrack. Especially with well-received tracks like ‘Bourgeoisieses’, a fun rage song with rhythmic drive, and a synth bassline underneath seamless chorus vocald for added effect. Multiple layers reflect the multiple layers of society the song acknowledges, with Conan sings about the different classes of people and how he wanted to belong in a higher class when he was younger.

The piano ballad ‘Winner’ acts as a beautiful album closer, with even more stunning stacked vocals to really get the message across. Tissues are definitely needed for this one. He’s really started to return to his singer-songwriter roots whilst still managing to keep elements of this new sound such as electric guitar chords in time with the piano and dramatic drums to keep a rhythm and dramatise the song further on top of his hard-hitting, gut-wrenching lyrics.

I think overall I still prefer Superache, but this is an exceptionally well written & produced record. The experimentation has paid off greatly, and Conan suits this style very well. Many male artists these days stray towards performing with a band and stick to standing with a guitar so it’s refreshing to see a gen Z male artist that isn’t afraid to dance around a big stage and have fun with their fans. Conan also has plans to go on tour across Australia, Asia, North America & Europe later this year with support from British popstar, Maisie Peters & American alt pop duo, Between Friends. Having peaked at No. 4 on the UK album charts and No. 2 on the US Top Album sales chart, it’s obvious he’s going to be one of the next big names in pop.

[miashyperfixations]

South Arcade: The Arc Angel Tour

Olivia Rodrigo: The Guts World Tour

Artio (Opening for Honey Revenge's Eurobeean Tour)

Honey Revenge: The Eurobeean Tour

Pale Waves (Opening for PVRIS's Oil & Water Tour)

PVRIS: The Oil & Water Tour

Holly Humberstone (Opening for The Eras Tour

Paramore (Opening for The Eras Tour)

Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour

Chrissy Costanza: The Spin The Bottle Tour

VOILA: The Spin The Bottle Tour

[miashyperfixations]

OLIVIA RODRIGO: GUTS WORLD TOUR

10.05.2024 @ Utilita Arena, Birmingham (15,800 Capacity)

Written May 2024

Fucking amazing as predicted. Guts is easily one of my favourite albums so to see the whole thing live was an absolute dream come true. I’ve been a fan of Olivia since she was on ‘High School Musical: The Musical: The Series’ on Disney plus. ‘All I want’ is still to this day one of my favourite songs of hers and watching her grow so fast over the last 3 years has been so fun. Her shift from being expected to progress into the next big pop girl but instead, becoming this punk-rock princess is such a brave move that paid off well, she’s slowly helping to bring punk back to wider audiences whilst still remaining such a strong and proficient songwriter. I like to call it glittery punk.

Olivia is truly a phenomenal performer and her ability to sing so many softer sad songs & high energy pop-rock songs back to back is unreal. It’s what I love about her. Similarly to Emlyn (another of my favourite pop girls at the moment), she’s just as much of a mess and she is a bad bitch and it just shows the incredible duality of a popstar. 

I couldn’t go to see the Sour World Tour in 2022 and even though this tour fell just before my A level exams, we still managed to get tickets - it was the perfect night to let loose before my first exam in the week afterwards. My sister had gotten the tickets (thank youuu @artbyamixx) and we were right up in block one, in the top corner side-stage, meaning that we were in front and slightly above the wing where Olivia started/performed countless songs, my favourite being “obsessed” & “so american'’. It’s also where she got on the quarter-moon that floated around the arena for “logical” and “enough for you”. 

I cried at “making the bed”. Even at my first listen, it was the song that spoke out the most to me from the whole album and the one I most related to. Watching my videos back, you can definitely tell too. I was also extremely excited to see “obsessed” live and we were right in front/above the side of the stage wing that she performed this song on because there is a camera embedded in it. (I’ll post some of that video in a separate post) My jaw didn’t close for the entire song, you can hear in the videos that I hardly even sing along because I’m so in awe and focused on Olivia.

Her entire band was a spectacle to watch too. Something I love about Olivia is that her band is made up of women and non-binary musicians, which is amazing in the pop-rock landscape she’s shaping for herself. They were all skilled musicians in their own right and they were all hot too, so it wasn’t a bad view. If you weren't getting gay panic from Olivia (which is impossible, I checked), you definitely were from her band.

After the show we made our way to the lower bowl to get a picture and ended up saying hi to a team member who was walking past, and just told them we really appreciate what they do, from a prospective technician/live event professional to a real one, and he seemed to like the compliment.

It’s been fascinating to watch Olivia grow as an artist in such a short time frame, she’s such an amazing performer. It can only go up from here and I can’t wait to watch.

[miashyperfixations]

BABYFACE - ARTIO ALBUM REVIEW

01.03.2024 • Alternative/Rock • 11 songs • 33 minutes • 2024 Slam Dunk Records

★★★★★

FAV SINGLE: Babyface/Head In The Sand

TOP 3 : You set my home on fire • Temple • You’re not my home

Artio released their debut album this month, and it’s hard to remember that they’re still newcomers to the industry. I love how they aren’t afraid to say what needs to be said. They are unapologetically themselves, and it's hard not to praise them for it. The Leeds-based band have a very distinct sound - even their more stripped-back songs suit them perfectly. Not just their sound overall but their front person, Rae, has such a unique set of vocals that they aren’t afraid to use - their powerful vocals drive the album to become the masterpiece that it is and are enhanced by genius instrumentation throughout.

I've been a fan of this band since the release of their ‘Pyrokid’ EP last May, so I've been following them from start to finish for this whole album cycle and they’ve nailed it. The first single, ‘Sertraline’, was released last July and was a collaboration with (also) Leeds-based non-binary artist, STRAIGHT GIRL, and it really set the tone for the whole album. A call-out to governments, especially here in the UK, not giving out correct mental health support to future generations and not focusing on who they should be. Following this, both ‘Wallflower’ and ‘Head in the sand, finger on the trigger ft. FLASCH’ were released in late 2023 before the title track ‘Babyface’ alongside the album announcement in January. Quite a few songs on the records say a lot more once you listen again properly to the lyrics - not only are these sonically pleasing, but they say so much more. Such as the latest two singles, which centre around the trans identity in today’s society and what it means to be queer in such an unfriendly environment that criminalises the whole community for just simply existing.

The overall production of the album is amazing. Some tracks effortlessly blend into each other, but when anyone who knows anything about music production knows it wasn’t effortless at all! Especially in ‘I’m So Sorry’ where it brings in elements of the next song, ‘Wallflower’ towards the end. The sheer ingenuity of bringing Wallflower’s chorus vocals as distant backing vocals that lead into an outro that then directly and effortlessly blends into the wallflower intro so much so that you can hardly tell exactly where the cutoff between songs is absolutely ingenuous. It shocked me so much that I had to pause the music to get over it before continuing listening. My favourite song, production-wise, has to be ‘You’re Not My Home’. It’s a simple, stripped back acoustic guitar song that isn’t heavy on instrumentation , instead using effects such as heavy reverb and echo as well as distortion to add dynamics & depth to a beautiful set of lyrics, making an electro-rock masterpiece. (okay, production appreciation rant over)

This is honestly the first time in a while where I’ve genuinely had trouble narrowing down my favourite tracks - they’re all so good!

The band have plans to play Slam Dunk later this year on the same stage as some of my other favourite bands such as Honey Revenge & Pale Waves as well as opening for Honey Revenge for a few shows beforehand, but should they announce a headline tour anytime soon, I’ll definitely be there.

[miashyperfixations]

SOUTH ARCADE: THE ARC ANGEL TOUR

12.03.2024 @ O2 Academy 3, Birmingham (250 Capacity) ⚠️ TW: some flashing lights in video ⚠️

Written March 2024

First concert of the year and there’s no better way to kick it off than South Arcade. Having seen them just 6 months prior, I knew that it was going to be a good night and the Oxford-based band did not disappoint. Imagine if a 2000s pop it girl made rock music and you get South Arcade, a British rock band slowly breaking onto the scene. It’s a classic ‘pop diva has an emo phase’ sound and it’s absolutely wonderful to hear in real time. Having been on 2 tours already this year, they’re quickly becoming one of the acts to look out for in the coming years.

I had been in contact with the band about potentially coming to the gig beforehand to observe/help out as work experience - that didn't end up happening but they put me on the guestlist instead! I was still able to watch change-over in between sets though as we were at the barricade for the whole gig and it was interesting to watch because I actually knew what each crew member was doing and why.

The first opener was a heavy rock/metal band called Tropic Gold that I’d not heard of before, but I will definitely be checking them out at a later date. They were phenomenal. The second opener was a singer called Beren Olivia who had heard of but not yet listened to her music. Her set was just her and her guitarist, which meant that we got a nice, calmed down acoustic set of her punchy rock-influenced pop songs, including a part-cover of ‘Sugar, We’re going down’ by Fall Out Boy. I didn't realise till after the gig that she recorded backing vocals on one of my favourite songs, 'Every Heart but Mine' by Dylan, who I've gone to see in concert twice.

South Arcade blew all expectations, as expected tbh. We got to hear one of my favourites of their songs, ‘Nepo baby’ live as well as 2 unreleased songs, including ‘Riptide’ which is more than likely to be the band’s next single. To be able to hear covers of sk8er boi AND I kissed a girl in the same night was completely surprising and I thoroughly enjoyed every second of it. Cody’s incredible drumming skills are enhanced by Harry & Ollie on Guitar and bass with just enough room to aid Harmony’s unreal vocals. It’s all the y2k nostalgia in a rock show but with clear modern rock elements coming through. 

@artbyamixx had gotten the band to sign an in-progress zine in September, and managed to get finished copies to hand out to friends we had met last time and to the band members when we got the chance to talk to them after the show and they absolutely loved them. Each page corresponded with a single of theirs (the most recent ones) and she’d even hand-sewn stitches onto a picture of a heart on one page!

It’s crazy that in just under 6 months, the band are playing shows at venues over double the size, they’ve grown so much in such a small amount of time and I can’t wait to see what the future holds. At this rate I’ll be going to every one of their headline tours!