by cami liberty
photo by cami liberty (taken october 2019)
For the past eight (nearly nine) months, we have all been experiencing what feels like a lull in time. If you work in the music industry, or are just a lover of attending live performances, you have especially felt this way. With venues empty, tour buses off the road, and meet and greets cancelled, we’ve all had to make adjustments with the COVID-19 pandemic. Many events have moved to online, and thankfully Yungblud has given us a full global digital “The Weird Time Of Life” tour to celebrate the release of his forthcoming album weird! (releasing on December 4th).
The New York City date was last night, and the show started off with a bang. UK-based Wargasm took the stage with their high energy, giving us a three-song set. Though I did experience a bit of buffering on my end, it still didn’t distract from the fact that it almost felt as though we were watching the show from the same room. After a summer without festivals, I was left with the energy that I would only get when attending Warped Tour, or the newer Sad Summer Festival.
Next the stage was set with old TVs producing static as the lovely Royal & the Serpent’s vocals struck through with her song “Choke” off her latest EP get a grip. Royal immediately engages you with her strong personality and moves.
Following “Choke,” projections of different patterns began flashing on the wall as Royal grabbed her guitar. The sound of soft rock reminiscent of the 70s filled the air as the song “Warn You” began with sirens ringing in between the choruses, and later a captivating guitar solo.
Royal’s songs were all catchy and showcased her beautiful voice throughout her set, including her duet with Yoshi Flower as well as closing with her hit “Overwhelmed,” which is currently in the Top 10 at Alt Radio.
After a short two-minute break, the moment we had been waiting for arrived. Yungblud entered the dark stage announcing, “This is a song about a person I love,” which started off his hit “strawberry lipstick.” The set had a full production with Adam Warrington on guitar and Michael Rennie on drums, flashing lights changing throughout the song before transitioning into the brand new song “ice cream man.”
Following was “weird!,” the lead single and title track of the new album. The song was first released back in April, and the lyrics “Come hold my hand / hold it tight / we’re in a weird time of life” still ring true with the current state of the world. It was bittersweet to hear the song live, making us long for the day when we can sing those lyrics at the top of our lungs together, with these hard days behind us.
Songs “mars” and “cotton candy” were next, also newly released off the new album. It was clear that even though there was no physical live audience, Yungblud was still out to give the same powerful, unique, and energetic show he always does. It’s not just the singer himself too – we have to send out a big thank you to the entire team that helped put this on, including the fantastic camera operators that caught all of the up-close moments that made us all feel like we were all front row (and this time we didn’t have to camp out).
photo by cami liberty (taken october 2019)
Things started to calm down then as Yungblud was handed his acoustic guitar, giving us a brand new track, “it’s quiet in beverly hills.” He mentioned that he wrote the song when he was feeling low and felt as though he was around people that didn’t have his best interest in mind, and he adds that it was his fans that helped him and brought him back. We can’t wait until the album releases on Friday and we can replay this song over and over!
The set came to an end with one final new track, “teresa.” The singer started out on the keyboard with soft vocals before Adam and Michael joined in and they really started to rock out. “As long as I watch over you, you don’t need to run,” were lyrics that rang out over and over.
Despite it being a virtual concert, Yungblud’s passion never wavered. Whether he’s performing at an arena or is performing for an online crowd, he is 100% present. He draws you into his songs, words, and music. The only thing missing from the show was the screaming crowd, floor shaking from all of the energetic jumping, and the iconic water spitting from the singer (perhaps that won’t be returning in the near future).
So a big thank you to Yungblud and his team for putting on this tour in a time where we miss live music dearly. We were delighted to be introduced to Wargasm and Royal & the Serpent, and it gave us a small sense of new normalcy. After all, there’s nothing that feels like home quite like a Yungblud show.