Girl at the Rock Shows

My music taste is eclectic to say the least. From jazz-rap to Norwegian black metal– I’m all over the place, and I like it that way. I love how my playlists can go from Backstreet Boys to Gwar in the blink of an eye, and I love shows that replace that. Although the change in genre throughout Monday night’s show at The Underground Music Venue wasn’t that extreme, it was extreme, and it made the night feel like three adventures in one, which, after a manic Monday, was just what I needed.

Dallas, Texas-based Waiting 4 April was up first. This band seemed to split the difference between a nostalgic emo sound and something a bit more intense at times and something a bit more tender at others. Frontman Colton Ray definitely has a set of pipes on him, and he was quick to unleash them on the young crowd that had flocked right in front of the stage. Although a new band to me, it was clear that I had been living under some sort of a rock. I loved the way there were so many people in the audience singing along to the words and, towards the end of the set, pushing their way through the beat. Sonically, I really latched onto the nostalgic emo side of this band. That makes sense because, as you’ll find out, I was at this show because of pure nostalgia when it came to the headliner. Although I appreciated the nod to years gone by, I feel like this band needed something a bit more to make it clear that they weren’t just re-hashing an already done sound, they were creating their own. I saw glimmers of that as you could hear many other influences creep into their sound, but overall I just felt they could have done a bit more sonically to really carve out a path for themselves. Either way, I was impressed with the way Waiting 4 April warmed up the crowd and set the stage for what was to come while standing out on this super diverse line-up.

After visiting the emo-drenched world of Waiting 4 April, it was time to dive into a more hip-hop-based sound with Whitney Peyton. It wasn’t the music of Whitney that got me hooked; it was her endless amount of energy. Honestly, it reminded me a bit of JoJo Siwa. I know that may not sound like a compliment, but it absolutely is. I just felt Whitney’s performance breathe a sense of life into me that I didn’t think I could feel after such a crazy-packed Monday. When it came to Whitney’s raps, I loved the way that they seemed to take a nod from what Waiting 4 April had given the audience. In the instrumentation behind her quick words, there was this edge of angular guitars and rock influence that made her set fit, but those raps that she was spitting through the microphone made her feel like a drastic right turn from what had previously been on the stage. I’ll be the first to admit that Whitney Peyton’s sound wasn’t 100% my thing. There was something almost a bit too youthful about some of what she was doing, and I just feel like I couldn’t connect to her like I do other people in this genre, but again, that energy that she gave me was perfect and absolutely kept me entertained and engaged throughout her time on stage.

So, if you’re reading between the lines, clearly this wasn’t quite the show for me thus far. The music was fine, and the energy was on point, but I just didn’t fall into the two openers in the way that I typically fall into live bands. Honestly, I felt a bit too old to be here. I couldn’t relate to the words and had a hard time fitting into the audience, who had clearly spent a lot of time curating the perfect outfit to wear out to the show, but none of that mattered as the headlining act Millionaires took the stage.

I have a lot of guilty pleasures when it comes to what I listen to, but Millionaires may be my guiltiest. It started off as a joke. Their explicit lyrics sung over an electropop background annoyed all of my friends when I discovered this band, and I used to play their music just to annoy people, but the more I did that, the more I fell in love with this group. Their sound, although absolutely obnoxious, was catchy and would give me energy on even my most exhausted days. Their words, although at times downright brash and out of control, have this very IDGAF (that’s “I don’t give a fuck” for you old people), and that’s absolutely something I can get behind. When you take that infectious energy of the instrumentation and add the IDGAF attitude that comes with the lyrics, sprinkle in the almost bratty persona of front-woman Melissa Marie Green, you are left with a truly unforgettable and fun night.

I got to hear all of my favorites on Monday night. This show was actually the final night on this ‘Super Sweet 16′ tour, which was celebrating sixteen years since the release of Millionaires’ ‘Cash Only’ album. Truthfully, this is the only album I really know from Millionaires, but if you ask me, it’s their best. It has songs like “Stay The Night”, “Party Like A Millionaire”, and “Prom Dress” on it. To say these songs are certified bangers would be an understatement, and it was an absolute blast to hear and see them performed live on Monday night. We didn’t just hear the hits from ‘Cash Only,’ we got to hear a little bit of everything, including my all-time favorite song from Millionaires, “Just Got Paid, Let’s Get Laid” from their 2009 EP of the same name. I also got to hear some songs that I had never heard before. Maybe they were new, maybe I just missed them as I was a fair-weathered fan of this band at best, but, regardless, each song hit straight to my head and my feet. This was not a set where you could just stand there and take it all in. Millionaires’ energy made you dance, made you groove, made you act a fool, and, honestly, that’s exactly what I did.

I know it’s not super cool to like a band like this. Okay, that sounds bad, but I think you get what I mean. This is a band for the youths, and I am far from a youth at this point. They sing about partying like they’re 21 and about money, boys, cars, and drugs. It’s not my scene at all, but at the end of the day, I’m not more than a thirty-something scene queen that refuses to give up my crown, no matter how hard I try to hide it from the public, and it was just so fun to remember that life can be fun. You don’t have to take everything so seriously. If you want to sing fun songs with lyrics like, “After the show, no one will ever know, I want to touch your microphone”, just freaking do it. Who cares? The world wants us to button up. The world tells us that there’s a point where singing along to crude innuendos and songs about partying like a millionaire is something we have aged out of, but why? I had more fun on Monday night than I have at so many other shows, and it’s because of the IDGAF kind of energy and the way I was able to just let go and be myself.

Life is too short to be serious. Have those guilty pleasures and support them. Drag your friends along to see bands that you know aren’t traditionally good but that make you happy. You’ll be surprised how quickly other people fall into the trap and, in no time, they will stop feeling like guilty pleasures and more like just pleasures.

Line Up:

Waiting 4 April

Whitney Peyton

Millionaires

Venue: Underground Music Venue

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing Notable

Average Age of the Crowd: 18

Crowd Surfers- 0

Stage Divers- 0

Mosh-ability- 1 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 People- 0

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

Waiting 4 April – 0

Whitney Peyton – 1

Millionaires – 3

Show on Deck – King Tuff / Caution

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