A few pros about this particular concert before we get started:
- Much less driving!
- Climate control!
- Punctuality!
- A burly gentleman blocked my view, but proceeded to tell me to feel free to let him know if he was making me uncomfortable. He then offered to buy me a drink. I took him up on neither but I appreciate this conduct. Normalize not being an asshole to the people behind you at concerts. So, to this burly man, I say thank you. Wherever you are.
And the cons:
- I’m still old and everything hurts always!
With these items out of the way, I present my thoughts on what was, in fact, one hell of a show. The mere assemblage of the three artists in question felt very “why the hell not?” as the vibes presented were very distinct. This was directly reflected in the eclectic nature of the audience.
We arrived at like 6:54pm. I had been operating under the assumption that doors would be opening at 7:00, but it turns out that was actually the start time. Snail Mail hit the stage at like 7:05. And, while she herself had many complaints in regard to the sound mix, I thought she sounded pretty great. She also had some great “high talk” about how if she shaved all her hair, stripped naked, and got in the fetal position, she would look like a raw turkey. Probably true, I guess.
If you aren’t already listening to Snail Mail, now is a great time to start. She’s got 2 albums and they’re both great. There’s no backlog or archive panic to worry about. Her set was less than 45 minutes and it ruled. Get in on the ground floor, kids.
JPEGMAFIA was a tonal departure, trading in sad gurl indie guitar rock for a pretty high energy hip hop set. This is a man who can make some of the most experimental and avant garde tracks in recent memory and can also do an acapella cover of “Call Me Maybe” in the same set, while sampling Edge’s theme song from 1998 WWF. Needless to say, he is a man after my own heart.
I think, I THINK, that JPEGMAFIA was probably the act that most of the crowd was there to see. I saw a lot of merch. I saw a lot of energy spikes at the time he hit the stage. This was another short set, with highlights including “I Cannot Fucking Wait Until Morrissey Dies” because, as long time readers know…. yeah. He closed with a cover of Denzel Curry’s “Vengeance” or “VENGEANCE | VENGEANCE” as it were.
A thing you’ll notice about me if you go to concerts is that I spend considerable chunks of time checking setlist.fm to see how soon I am going to be allowed to go home. This habit is greatly exacerbated during GA shows because, to reiterate, everything hurts, all of the time.
Even though I was consulting my phone every 20 seconds, I fucking dug Turnstile. One of the first things I noticed when we entered the venue was that the stage was super high relative to most comparable shows. I didn’t bring a tape measure or anything, but I’d wager this stage was probably north of 5 and a half feet tall. My first thought was “this will likely preclude wacky stage diving antics.” I was, unfortunately, correct in this regard. If you watch any Turnstile concert video, there’s always a ton of folks rushing the stage, doing goofy hardcore dancing* and proceeding to stage dive. We didn’t get that, likely because a fall from that height onto concrete would cause great bodily harm.
I instead had to make due with a great musical performance (and the speakers being cranked to blast Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody”). Dane mentioned to me, and I assume he will mention in his own review, how well structured the set was, opening with “HOLIDAY” and closing with “TLC,” an excellent opener and an excellent closer.
In between, we got most of the hitz in a set that was balanced toward the band’s 2021 album, “Glow On.” That’s okay though, because that album slaps. Also, the crowd could not for the life of them carry a tune when trying to sing along with “TLC.” It was not so much that they were on the wrong beat as it was that they were scarcely on a beat at all. Do better.
Overall, I had a wonderful evening.
My turn! Man, this concert was nuts, we had a blast. We are still entirely too fucking old for this.
Brandon hinted at this, but I have always wondered who and how tours are put together -- how are acts decided on? Are they friends prior to tour? Did Snail Mail call up Peggy and say "hey let's tour we need a headliner?" I am still confounded, but nevertheless, I was super excited about seeing all of these acts together.
If you live in KY or are near the Louisville area, I highly recommend you stop by Old Forrester's Paristown Hall, as it is a great, spacious and very accommodating venue. They have lots of bourbon there, which I only slightly partook in as I was recovering from a weird virus (no, Brandon was not infected). The stage is fifty feet off the ground, so there isn't a truly bad seat in the house.
Lindsey from Snail Mail has to be a Capricorn, because only Capricorns would stand up on stage and actively perfect the sound mixing even into the final song. Like Brandon said, she sounded fine to me *shrugs*
Peggy was the initial draw of this concert for me, although I was excited to see Turnstile shred. The fact that I got to see "Jesus Forgive Me For I Am A Thot" live is still processing, and it was great to see JPEG play a lot of his older hits off of Black Ben Carson and Veteran. Next time I see him live, my head shall be shaven, so that I too can enjoy "BALD!" to its fullest extent. I am a coward, but would love to mosh for just one concert, if only to see JPEGMAFIA jump into the pit right in front of me.
Turnstile was everything I could've hoped for -- not to harp too much on setlists, but there is a craft to planning out a show. I've been to bad concerts before where there are weird valleys and huge peaks, and none of it makes sense. Turnstile clearly knows what the fuck they're doing, coming out with the absolute whopper of a track, "HOLIDAY." The 45-year old man in front of me started punching wildly and I knew my days were limited, but I was too enveloped in the face-melting.
Another thing I have to give to Turnstile -- every aspect of the band is enticing and truly entertaining. Not every band has a truly widespread pool of engaging personalities, but there was so much to look at during Turnstile's set. Everyone is into the music, as it should be, but not always possible.
And the transition between songs is wild too. There's a constant fuzz as they recuperate from the outpouring of chaotic energy which leaves the audience asking, "what the fuck is coming next??" More chaos! And yes, "TLC" is a perfect closer. Amazing set, I haven't seen a band do a drum solo outside of the Grateful Dead in years. 11/10.
*OT, here’s some classic YouTube:
Our backs hurt, our knees are broken. As with last time, in the comments below, give us some good, low-key GA concerts that are within an hour of Lexington, KY, and we'll consider making the trip.
- Slone & Ritter
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Thanks for yelling at us!