Girl at the Rock Shows

Something was off on Wednesday. I don’t know how to explain it, but something was off. After scrolling through my social media while waiting for the show on Wednesday to start, I realized I wasn’t the only one feeling that. Everyone seemed just to be having one of those days, but luckily, I had a hell of a show to help snap me out of it and keep on going. If you were one of those people having an off day, I hope you too could feel some live music in your soul to help cope.

Chicago-based Worry Club was the first of the epic four-band bill to grace the Varsity Theater stage. Although unfamiliar with this act, they instantly hooked me with their heart-on-sleeve lyrics and dazzling emo-drenched instrumentation. There was something so raw and honest about everything that this band did that it was almost an overly emotional way to kick off the night However, after the day I had had, that was exactly what I needed. Don’t get me wrong, this band is full of jokesters. Throughout their quick thirty-minute set, they made plenty of jokes, including mentioning how the venue felt like the Titanic Ballroom. Although I’ve spent many nights in this venue, I never caught onto that but, as I looked around at the round windows that were covered in blue to keep the sunlight from coming it, it clicked and I think it’s a thought that I will never be able to shake. Their jokes may not have always landed, but the heart they put into the banter with the growing audience and themselves was just the cherry on top of a perfect opening set.

Phoenix, Arizona-based Sydney Sprague was up next. Although I have seen Sydney’s name before, I have never really spent much time digging into her music. That changes now. Sydney and her band came to the Varsity Theater stage with a flawless performance that was filled to the brim with heart and passion like the other bands of the night. Sydney’s sound is very much in the vein of acts like The Maine and Charlotte Sands with the maturity that she shows in her performance, but she has just a little extra edge and angst to her that made her music so easy to fall in love with. Another thing that was easy to fall in love with was her personality. Although she and her band didn’t have much time on stage, she was able to call out keyboardist Chuck for being the only member of this four-piece act that had not worn stripes on stage. She urged the audience to boo Chuck and, as the modestly sized audience did just that, you could see an almost mischievous smile creep across Sydney’s face. There were many moments throughout Sydney’s set like this where you really saw her personality shine. Still, the magical part was the way she fit them into such a professional and flawless performance.

Oso Oso was the third act on Wednesday night and I wanted to love this band so badly. Like the previous three acts, their sound is raw and highly emotional. Vocalist Jade Lilitri has a way with words that will cut you to the core while delivery them with such a sense of a emotional power that it will knock you straight on your butt. Honestly, the best comparison I could make here is Brand New but that’s more regarding the power that comes with Oso Oso’s music, not necessarily the sound. Sonically, I could see this band being compared to The Early November but, again, that’s not a great comparison as it really only applies to the tenderness behind Oso Oso’s sound. I was loving the sound but, like I eluded to, there was something here that didn’t quite hook me and that was the performance. Don’t get me wrong, Jade and the other players on the stage gave every note and beat their whole heart, but something felt a bit lackluster. After just a couple of tracks, everything started to blend, and the lack of movement on stage made me realize just how exhausted I was. Again, I want to make sure I’m clear on this- Oso Oso sounded good. No– they sounded flawless. They just lacked a sense of energy that I was really needing for this epic four-band line-up.

I bawled the first time I heard Spanish Love Songs’ new album ‘No Joy’. I remember it vividly. I was sitting at my desk at my day job looking for something new to listen to and decided it was time to check out ‘No Joy’. I had been reluctant as Spanish Love Songs’ previous albums were so good that I didn’t think anything could top it. The first couple of lines of the opening track on this album were good, but it was when vocalist Dylan Slocum sang the line, “But don’t write yourself out of the equation.” The song goes on and then the lines, “We hit the ditch and flip, suddenly my wrist is broken / I ask if you’re okay with your head wide open / You smile for my benefit, ’cause no you aren’t” hit me like a truck. I honestly don’t know what came over me, but I abruptly shot out of my chair and b-lined it for the bathroom to have a good cry. It’s been a long time since an album has hit me in such a way but Spanish Love Songs did it with every song on their latest album and I had been dying to see them perform it live.

I loved hearing all of those new songs that have become a go-to in my life as far as my daily playlist. I felt everything from sadness to rage to joy as they played through these songs that mean everything to me right now. I felt the same as the band dug into their back catalog consisting of four other albums. Spanish Love Songs could have been on that stage playing “Baby Shark” over and over again for an entire hour, and I would have felt emotional about it. There’s just something about this band that hits you hard whether you’re into the lyrics like I am, or are more prone to falling for the emotion that someone can put into an instrument. You get it both with this band creating a truly spectacular way to close out my Wednesday night.
I’ll be honest, I want to tell you about every single song that this band played on Wednesday but that has never been my style so why would I start doing that today. Spanish Love Songs makes sad music for sad people but puts a cover of angst on certain words and phrases just to make sure they hit a bit harder. It may not have been the most exciting show I’ve been to but between the flawless sounds radiating off of the stage and the way the modest audience was shouting to every word like their lives depended on it, this was a show that hit me harder than most. I so wish I could say more and expand on that, but I just can’t.

Every once in awhile, a band comes along and hits you– hard. For me right now, that band is Spanish Love Songs and being able to feel their passion right in front of me on Wednesday night was everything that I needed and more than I could have ever asked for.

Line Up:

Worry Club

Sydney Sprague

Oso Oso

Spanish Love Songs

Venue: Varsity Theater

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing Notable

Average Age of the Crowd: 38

Crowd Surfers- 0

Mosh-ability- 3 out of 10

Amount of Beer Spilled On Me While Walking Around- $0

Broken Bones- None

Spotted Flying Through The Air- Nothing

Fights- None

Pukers- 0

Passed Out Kids- None

Idiots Taken Out By Security- 0

How Many Times I’ve Seen These Bands Before (or at least how many times I can remember)-

Worry Club – 0

Sydney Sprague – 1

Oso Oso – 2

Spanish Love Songs – 3

Celebrity Sightings – Brent of Fate and Chaos

Overall Score- 9.8 out of 10

Show on Deck- First to Eleven / Daytona Beach 2000 / Brooke Surgener

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