Song Spotlight: The Opera's Crystallized

I took off to Zebulon on Memorial day to catch Hysteria (you can read my Hysteria NFV Song Spotlight here). Now I didn't want to head out for the full four band line-up. I've mentioned this in past blog posts, but I'm trying to put a quota on the numbers of nights I go out each week. I was partially successful at this during the early part of the year, but April onwards has fallen apart. I'm just too addicted. After listening to Hysteria's single that they were celebrating, I decided I was heading out even though I knew it would bust my quota for the week (already knew I wanted to head out on Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday). But it is a holiday Monday, I rationalized. I knew the approximate start time for Hysteria (they were the last band up), but decided I should at least see two bands.

The Opera at Zebulon

The opening band for me was The Opera. I was immediately mesmerized with what they call their art-punk sound. I'll also throw in a touch of Industrial. The band is fronted by Tyler Dozier who also releases music as Lady Dan. Since The Opera only has one song currently released on Spotify, I decided to look up Lady Dan. Talk about a 180 degree different. Lady Dan is a singer-songwriter country band (this based on the 2021 album I Am The Prophet). 

The Opera at Zebulon

The Opera had Tyler going on a scream fest while the band backed her with hypnotic synth and guitar body shacking beats. Tyler spit out the lyrics in staccato fashion. You knew it would happen and it did, there were numerous times where she went out onto the floor to engage the audience. If she wasn't in the crowd, she just might be found on her back with arms spread wide across the venue stage. Above them, their band name was projected on the screen. Their band name and background were constantly switching colors at intermittent beats with the intent to imbed the name deep into your brain.  

The Opera at Zebulon

Anyways, at some point during the set they mentioned they were from Austin. Well, I immediately sent Austin's Lauren Lakis an Instagram DM saying that I came across this awesome band called The Opera. After sending that DM, I decided I should just see if they might have interacted together already. Oops, I noticed that The Opera played their very first set with Lauren Lakis. 

The Opera at Zebulon

Setlist (I was told these song titles might change): Makes Sense, End of an Aisle, You Can Watch, Bloom, Undertow, I Want This to Last, Crystallized, Cinderblock.