Girl at the Rock Shows

Like so many other nights where I cover two shows, I felt myself straddling two different worlds. I was lost in a world of youthful nostalgia at the 7th Street Entry (the more intimate of the two venues). Emo-leaning pop-punk and angsty tones highlighted my town in there and left me with a sense of fiery passion in my gut. It was energetic but also got me all kinds of lost in my head (both in good and bad ways). Although one of the oldest in the audience, I had a great time but was ready for something a bit more mature, a bit more refined, and elegant, and that’s exactly what I got as I shifted to First Avenue’s mainroom for the rest of my Sunday night.

Elegance was the name of the game with opening act Jordan Mackampa. Jordan is a thirty-year-old with a true story to tell and one of the most gorgeous voices to deliver it. Born in Zaire (in the Congo) and then raised in London, Jordan’s voice is full of soul and life experiences. Those experiences range from love, loss, heartbreak, and triumph but those are all tales as old as time. Honestly, like any great singer-songwriter or solo act, Jordan had a way with words, but it was the way he presented those words to the excited yet respectful audience that really hooked me. There was never a point when Jordan was performing where I felt stressed, rushed, or, really, anything of the sort. He was calm and deliberate with every word he sang, every note that passed by him and his band. It had this sense of elegance behind it that I could not shake, and I was utterly lost for words for most of his set.

Don’t get my words mixed up here. Although there was definitely a sense of elegance and restrained power with everything Jordan did, there was also that signature feeling of passion. One of my favorite moments of Jordan’s set was when he and his fantastic backing band opened the set up with “PROUD OF YOU.” Honestly, I hadn’t heard this song before seeing him open with it, but I instantly fell head over heels in love with the positivity it brought to the entire room. Jordan’s phrases throughout this song are fairly simple, but they hit like a ton of bricks. “I just wanna tell you that I’m proud of you, even on the day you don’t feel good.” I know damn well that those words were not directed towards me or even fired in my direction, yet I felt that Jordan did feel proud of me in this odd way. Okay, maybe I’ve lost it completely, and maybe trying to do two shows in one night after having two nights off has me a bit loopy, but, really, I can not understate how beautiful Jordan Mackampa’s set was and how badly I already want to witness his genius and beauty again sooner rather than later.

I know, boo to Spotify. I know the company isn’t great for artists at all, but if I’m being honest, that’s where I consume music of my music, and, truthfully, Spotify is the only reason I was at First Avenue on Sunday night. I remember I was flying to Washington, D.C., for a family reunion over the 4th of July. I couldn’t decide what to listen to, so I put on that “DJ” feature and just let random music play on my Spotify. That’s when it happened. For some reason, my “DJ” decided to play “Atlas” by The Dip. Although half asleep, this song shook me to life, and I listened to it at least half a dozen times before pausing the “DJ” playlist and digging into more from The Dip. I knew instantly it wasn’t my typical thing as far as style but, for some reason, “Atlas” acted like a gateway drug into my new found obsession with The Dip.

The Dip was formed in 2013 by a bunch of music students at The University of Washington in Seattle. I feel like you can kind of feel that with their sound. It’s a bit all over the place, with everyone clearly bringing their own signature flavor to the band, but at the same time, it was quite obvious that everyone on stage on Sunday night was trained and trained well. The way the members respected each other’s time in the spotlight while coming together to create bombastic choruses that had you singing and dancing around, whether or not you had heard the song before, was truly just one of the many highlights of my time spent with The Dip on Sunday night. From jazz to a groovy, more funk-inspired vibe and all the way to little dabbles in the folk world, The Dip played around with everything you thought you knew about music while giving you super approachable and easy-to-enjoy sounds.

On top of having so many different influences come through loud and clear throughout the music of The Dip, you also got a range of dynamics. I truly can not say enough about the musicianship of this band. Although all of their songs seemed to lean into the infectiously boppy side of things, there was no denying the ups and downs that truly make those songs glitter. Although I have been spending time with this band lately, after seeing them perform on Sunday night, I realize that I still have a lot more from their four full-length album discography to discover, and I can not wait to do just that today.

The vibe in First Avenue was much different than that at the 7th Street Entry on Sunday night. Whereas the Entry felt super youthful and almost “too young” for me, First Avenue felt more mature and refined in an almost “too mature” way for me. Either way, dabbling in both of these worlds on the same night and seeing that, regardless of whether it was a younger or older show, both hit me like a ton of rocks. It told me that, although it was a lot of work, checking out both shows was the right way to spend my Sunday night.

Line Up:

Jordan Mackampa

The Dip

Venue: First Avenue

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing Notable

Average Age of the Crowd: 42

Crowd Surfers- 0

Stage Divers- 0

Mosh-ability- 0 out of 10

Broken Bones- None Spotted

Spotted Flying Through The Air- Nothing

Fights- None Witnessed

Pukers- 0

Passed Out People- 0

Idiots Taken Out By Security – 0

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

Jordan Mackampa – 0

The Dip – 0

Celebrity Sightings – None

Overall Score – 8 out of 10

Show on Deck — Dehd / Gustaf

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