New Music Alert: WILD's "Friend Like You"

I listed WILD as one of my favorite new bands of 2018. They're out with a new single called "Friend Like You." It is a tribute to long term friendships with lyrics like, "Been through hellfire and glitter. The sweet and the bitter . . . Thick as thieves, it's been you and me." Yes, those are friends we all love dearly. 

The music has their genuine cheerful pop. With The Mowgli's deciding to call it quit, WILD easily can be a substitute to fans of that band. The music just flies with vocals and music coasting along like a road trip along a curving highway. 

Photo taken at School Night

Online Quarantine Sets: Version 102

I'm not sure this has ever happened on at School Night (online or live), but I previously saw all three bands / musicians that were scheduled on this particular Wednesday night. I was excited to watch this one online, because of the three on the schedule.

Up first was X. Ari who I first saw on WFNM Instagram Live. For her WFNM online set, she had some technical difficulties and so I was eager to catch another set. This set was pre-recorded at what looked to be the Resident in the Art District of Los Angeles. She had a pop - rock sound that would fit perfectly on the Sunset Strip. She bounced around that stage like there was a full on party going on. At points, her vocals hit so high that I'm sure the classic breaking of glass was happening. One other thing I noticed was that the drummer was slamming his set like he had waited 15 months to do so. 

X. Ari

Up next was Rituals of Mine. I previous saw them at The Echo where they opened for Y La Bamba. What a contrast, which is why I so remember this band. Y La Bamba has a folk sound while I say Rituals of Mine had a doom punk sound. I will say that for School Night they appeared to take down their sound just a notch. Their set had a mix of hard core punk and poetry, especially as she sang out, "Stay in my lane." I loved how they had brief breaks between songs where their band name popped up on screen that conveyed a Matrix feel. 

 

Rituals of Mine

Closing it out was BIIANCO. Well, I've seen BIIANCO plenty of times and for years in prior iterations. I just can't get enough of those interpretive dance moves and projected visuals. What I loved about the video? I loved how at times it was just a touch out of focus as the camera worked on regaining focus. I can't wait to see BIIANCO live again.

BIIANCO

Online Quarantine Sets: Version 101

With live music coming back, I'm not sure how many more of these online sets I'll be catching. Who knows, maybe I'll catch one or two more. 

Anyways, on to School Night's online sets. Julia Wolf opened it up this past Monday night. Her music had this Asian vibe to it. Even with that Asian vibe, her music lyrics were a mix of Italian and English. So hey, I'd call it world music, taking inspiration from various music genres around the globe. She played her set sitting on her bed with her tracks on the computer and a microphone held close. 

I loved how she had brief discussions before each song, providing insight into the music. One song was about her sister. Another about someone who unfollowed her on Instagram, but kept on viewing her Stories. 

Also, got to give props to the bedspread and pillow visuals. The bedspread had flower prints. The pillow had a skeleton.

Julia Wolf

Jubel is a duo from Stockholm, Sweden. I have a love affair with bands and musicians from Sweden -- such as Final Child. I love the way Jubel played with the camera angles during their pre-recorded set. Shots from the top. Shots shooting up from the ground. Shots that were level. It was like watching a music video.

Their songs had dance vibes. One song also had some Puerto Rican dance vibes. That song was a vacation song that had the waves washing across the imaginary beach shore.

Jubel

Online Quarantine Sets: Version 100

I find it hard to believe, but this is my 100th Online Quarantine post. Though I have enjoyed watching these online sets over the months, I am feeling eager to see some bands / artists play live sets. It looks like live music is starting to ramp up in Los Angeles. I might be heading out sometime this month of June, but definitely in July.

Meanwhile, I tuned into School Night on Monday night (I definitely can't wait to catch a live night of School Night). Soran opened it up from Montreal, Canada. The band started with some funky jazz beats. One of their songs did a shout out to someone named Emma, "Will I ever lose you?" was sung with adult contemporary passion.

A random thought that came to mind as I watched the band play was that, "I don't even find it strange to see full bands together any longer. In the past, I might be like, what's up with the full band playing together in this COVID-19 era?" 

Felukah's set came in from Egypt. It was just her and backing tracks as well as the smells of incense. Well, maybe we weren't able to smell it, but we could imagine it as whiffs of smoke drifted across the screen throughout the set. She played her set in a room that had bookshelves filled with books and magazine. She sat on a rug and sang her RnB sounds. For her song "Heliocentric," she had the candles out. 

Rebounder closed it out from New York. Their set was played at a venue called Baby's All Right. The stage looked like it was made from a steel beam that was taken from a long ago torn down bridge. The back wall had a disco feel to it. The video of the set had a 1970's hand held film grain to it. As for the sound, there was a rock beat with pop undertones. The vocals had a dreamy quality. Their friend Silver Sphere came in for a cameo, singing the cover "Everything Is Embarrassing" by Sky Ferreira. Her vocals brought an emotional kick to the lyrics, "You're only one step closer to the door . . . maybe if you'd let me be your lover." 

Online Quarantine Sets: Version 99

What drew me to School Night on Wednesday was Alicia Blue. I've gotten to catch her live in the past and always enjoyed her sets. For this online set, her music hit some country notes with a high level of confidence. Then she smoothly transitioned to Lisa Loeb influenced vocals. In the middle of her set, she sang the song "Queen of Echo Park," a tribute to Lauren Ruth Ward. As for the stage, there were lamps placed in strategic locations. It gave the set a country feel. 

Alica Blue

Monjola came on next from Ireland. He played out in the living room of his house. His band played the set sitting on two sofas. He sang the set sitting on the shoulder of one of the sofas or occasionally standing next to the sofa. In front of him was a coffee and corner table. The two tables had 2 computers, wires, synths and speakers atop. Yes, a bit of musical messiness. His music mixed in rap and soul with tweaks to his musical progressions. For one of his songs, it looked like he sped up the video to 1.5x. 

Monjola

Sofia Valdes came up next from Panama. She did just a single song called "Silhouette." Though it was just one song, I didn't feel cheated as I was able to catch a longer set a few months back on School Night. She did her song just with a guitar and her vocals. Her vocals just blew the online audience away. She mentioned that her mom was cooking in the kitchen. A touch of home live. 

Sofia Valdes

Closing it out was Emily Vu. She played her set in the back yard of a recording studio. She wore an Oklahoma City jersey. Ouch to all Lakers fans. She did a full set with lyrics that got shot out in the smoothest style. 

Emily Vu

Online Quarantine Sets: Version 98

I am slowly approaching 100 of these online quarantine set reports. Let's hope I stop at or around 100. As can be seen via my recent quarantine reports, my favorite 2021 hangout is School Night. This past Monday night, Cannons opened it up with a, "Hey we're Cannons." Then they went into their set, starting out with some distorted sounds before settling into their dreamy pop music. Their guitar and bass playing has a haunting hypnotic tone. Their set was recorded at The Bourbon Room, which they mentioned was supposed to be the set for the Rock of Ages play. The play was shut down due to the start of COVID-19. The Bourbon Room had the red lights flooding the stage -- such anti-photographer light.

Cannons

Up next was the band Gilligan Moss. My first thought was: this is going to be interesting. They recorded their set out in nature (someone's back yard, maybe). There was a bird feeder above the band, hanging from a tree branch. One wore a fisherman's hat. They played on a rug while sitting on two wooden chairs. My second thought was: this is a real artsy sound. Then to make it even more interesting, a couple dogs came over and then ran off and then came back into view again. Their music reminded me of Mickey Hart's (drummer for the Grateful Dead) solo work.

Gilligan Moss

Valentina Cy closed it out with a true live set. She had a most enthusiastic personality as she talked to host Chris Douridas. Then when she started to sing I (along with many others in the chat) were blown away, "Where did that voice come from?" There was a blues quality to her voice with a light touch on the guitar. For one song, she had a friend snapping their fingers off stage to keep the beat. 

What did I notice: she wore red / white boots that had a cowboy circus quality to them.

What did I notice next: She mentioned during her Q&A that people used to think she had a chipmunk high voice and that she worked hard to lower her voice. This sort of explains why many of us were saying, "Where did the voice come from?"

Valentina Cy

Online Quarantine Sets: Version 97

A Monday night and a Wednesday night and it was a School Night for me. Monday started after a lengthy delay. There were technical difficulties that reminded me of the first School Night. I wasn't the only one. A joke was made in the chat about Bevan who hosted the first School Night of 2021 and had to deal with serious technical issues. When the Internet issues were resolved, Elissa Mielke's video played. Her chords had just a touch of the discordant while her vocals had a Bonnie Raitt quality. Her set also included backup vocals that gave the set an Enya touch. 

Elissa Mielke

Fan Club Wallet came on from Canada. Elissa Mielke also is from Canada though she lives in Los Angeles. They played their set on a baseball field. Their music had an 80s indie rock feel. They were a two piece band that intertwined the breezy with garage rock. Another song had a party sound to it that included the recorded sounds of a vocal group as the two piece sang, "C'mom Be Cool." Moment of the pre-recorded set was when the lead singer wished she had some water. The drummer pointed out that there was some water just out of reach, but she declined to grab it due to all the wires that surrounded her. It was mentioned during the interview that Canada is still in lockdown.

Fan Club Wallet

Jayo came up next. He only had one song, but it was a witty song. The song combined comedy with a mix of pop and RnB. And a love for the "hoodie." That song also has some catchy hooks. During the interview section, it was mentioned that he was once a substitute teacher. 

Jayo

ONR closed out the night. It was a repeat performance from one of my favorite sets from 2020. Just beautiful Scottish music that reminded me of the British Wave that hit the United States in the 80s. 

ONR

On Wednesday, I was very eager to catch Francisca Valenzuela, but as happens every so often -- work interfered. Someone decided to call me up after 6 p.m. Shouldn't that be against the law especially when I'm waiting to watch Francisca Valenzuela? Luckily, I was able to catch her final pre-recorded song as well as a video follow-up of Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt." Just a touch of her set, but so worth it.

Francisca Valenzuela

Online Quarantine Sets: Version 96

The reason I wanted to catch School Night this past Monday night was because Sad Alex was hitting the stage. I previously saw a short live set at the geometro party back in early 2020. It was one of the last times I went out to catch music (not the last, but close enough). Then going through my photos recently, I came across a photo I had taken of her. I decided to see if there was any new releases and was lucky enough to see that there was a release out called "California Queen." It is a tender pop song filled with wistful vocals. Her School Night pre-recorded set was done out on her Glassell Park home's patio. There was a wood fencing and shades hanging to keep out the sun. The patio was filled with green plants. Her pre-recorded set was only two songs, but she started off with "California Queen." Then she dug a knife deep into the backs of two individuals with the song "I'm Glad You Found Someone." It sounds like a song that deals with a friendly break-up, but no, it is a song that goes viciously after both the ex-boyfriend and his new girlfriend. During her live Twitch interview she played an additional song live called "Out of Focus."

Sad Alex

Lionel Boy came up next from Long Beach. His pre-recorded set had some cool pop vibes. The melodies had this floating feather in a calm wind quality. Add in the fact that he grew up in Hawaii and you get some sun kisses from up high. I got to give props to the flautist who gave the melodies additional beauty.

Lionel Boy

Ural Thomas and the Pain closed out the night for me, coming in from Portland. His music took the Blues sound into a cheerful direction. His back-up band carried the best melody vocals. 

What I noticed: the room they played in was in all white -- floor and walls. Ural was dressed in white. His band was mostly dressed in black or other dark colors. It made for an interesting contrast of two basic colors.

Ural Thomas and the Pain

Online Quarantine Sets: Version 95

Ruby Fields hit the virtual School Night stage recently. It was recorded before not just a live audience of a few close friends, but inside an Australian venue. Yes, this will soon be happening in Los Angeles come around June 15th. As mentioned previously, the return of live music is already being planned out in Los Angeles. We only need to remain jealous for just so much longer. It was just fun watching a band freely playing across a stage. The bass player spent time playing it up with the drummer. The guitarist took in the vibrations in front of his amp. The vocal strained just a touch. The crowd was cheering between songs. And the video quality was just a touch grainy to give it that old school hand held video feel.

Ruby Fields

 

S.G. Goodman was up next from Kentucky. She was playing in her living room. Her window blinds were open so one could see cars driving past. And there was a decorative metal Christmas tree by the fire place. Wait, what? The video had been done months ago and School Night had just aired it.

Her vocals had that Kentucky accent and worked well with her folk country sound. Her song "Milk and Honey" had the following lyrics, "Don't call me honey, it don't change nothing when you say it." She sang those lyrics with patience to let the words' impact hit the audience with her sorrow and pain. 

S.G. Goodman

Haiva Ru closed out the night for me. It was actually a repeat showing from 2020. Yet, I had to watch it, because I loved the set so much. And then, okay, I was fooled big time in 2020 by that taped video. How? I had no idea back when I first saw the video that she played all the instruments: guitar, bass, keys and drums. I'm just not sure how folks are able to do this. I mean, how do you make sure you're starting to sing at just the right moment. I guess videos can be delayed and such to align things up, but then you have to sing and play at the same pace throughout the song. This is just something I'd never be able to do. Well, I guess that's why they're talented musicians and I'm not.

Haiva Ru

Online Quarantine Sets: Version 94

School Night this past Monday started off with Allie Buckley. I came across Allie Buckley back in 2018 during her residency at the Bootleg Theater. I recall her having those who were also on the bill with her that night join her on stage for various songs. One such person who opened was Johanna Samuels who wasn't ready when called upon and out went the call, "Johanna? Johanna?"

Her School Night set started with the sounds of an electronic organ coming out of her synth. I noticed how she loves playing chords and letting those shine. Her vocals had a combined gospel and country sound. Her eyes smiled at the camera whenever she took a looking at the virtual School Night audience that was watching the recording. One of her songs was about her boyfriend who went to Peru to take ayahuasca. 

Allie Buckley

Ai Bendr came up next. She's an Ann Harbor, Michigan native who is currently living in Los Angeles. She opened her set with the song "Runaway." For me, there was an interesting contrast going on. She wore a Snoop Dogg t-shirt while she played a ukulele for a song that had a definite beach vibe. She later switched to keys on her next song where the lights were shaded blue to keep with the moody tone of the song. I loved her after-set interview where she showed off a solid level of confidence. It wasn't an arrogant level of confidence, it was an internal level of confidence. 

Ai Bendr

Merci Mercy closed out the set from Australia. Her music had a timeless sense of poetry. Her vocals included the occasional drawl. She played her personal favorite song called "Something You Like." The song started off with a soft country folk sound and then turned into a pop sensation, "I wake up, we break up, without any make up." 

Merci Mercy

Online Quarantine Sets: Version 93

It would appear that my online quarantine sets have been largely restricted to School Night over the past month. Well, got to say the sessions are worth my time. Brooke Annibale opened this past Wednesday night by playing a set in t-shirt and jeans. I always take a look at the surroundings and for Brooke Annibale, her living room had two windows: one with curtains and the other with blinds. She had what looked like a The Beatles' poster on her wall. And candles decorated a table. Her music had folk flair. To end her set, she played a song called "Street Lights" to celebrate an album that she released a decade ago. When she finished the song, she did a camera walk off. 

Brooke Annibale

Brooke Annibale came from Rhode Island. The next band up came to us from Australia, The Sunday Estate. A full 5 member band playing in a studio. Their set had a rock pop sound to it with lyrics such as "I don't want to die." I loved those vocals that were just a touch high and at times those vocals turned into forceful preaching. Being from Australia, the discussion with the School Night host, Chris Douridas, turned to COVID-19. Interesting fact is that Australia just started allowing standing music gigs. Up to recently, they only allowed sitting shows. 

The Sunday Estate

Neil Frances closed out the night. They're a four member band from Los Angeles with some dance vibes. Their first song had me thinking of Eddie Murphy's "Party All the Time" hit. They then slowed it down with a more adult contemporary, jazz vibe. 

Neil Frances

Online Quarantine Sets: Version 92

I got another opportunity to catch a couple artists play School Night on Twitch. Up first Caroline Kingsbury  She had an 80s new wave rock feel. I was thinking Annie Lennox and Eurythmics. Liv Slingerland was backing her up in the pre-recorded video. Her final song of the set was called "Massive Escape." She sang it from her diaphragm and punched those beats while mugging the camera. What did I notice about her stage: cowboy hat, large decorative fan and a stuff animal.

Caroline Kingsbury

Cian Ducrot was up next from the UK. He did a live interview with the host and he was just a touch sleepy. Why? It was 2 a.m. for him. One interesting fact is that his background is classical flute. Also, he is from Ireland who now resides in London. His music is classic Hotel Café singer-songwriter. His pre-recorded set started off in his garden with his guitar before he headed into his studio to play the rest of his set on his keyboard. His last song hit those discordant keys. 

Cian Ducrot

Online Quarantine Sets: Version 91

After taking a lengthy break from their online presence, School Night finally returned for the first time this year. They changed things up a little from their 2020 shows. Instead of just having pre-recorded shows, they included some live interviews. Also, instead of having just one show a week, they are aiming to have 2 shows a week. On Monday, their host was Bevan, a musician out in the UK. It didn't exactly go over all the smoothly due to technical glitches, but he took it all in stride. The night started off with him singing one of his songs. I noticed that he sings at a higher pitch than his talking vocals. 

Then up came Kings Elliot. She's from Switzerland who is currently based in London. Her music had a meditative feel to it. The room that she used to record her music had electric candles to help with that feel. Her keyboardist played with a light touch. Her music had that feel of watching a movie where the lead character walks down a road and slowly disappears in the distance after having learned a philosophical truth. "I'm Getting Tired of Me" was the title of one of her songs. 

Bevan

Kings Elliot

During her set, plenty of technical issues popped up. During her first pre-recorded song, Bevan's live voice could be heard. And then when he attempted to interview Kings Elliot, his Internet connection was so bad as well as the fact that this might have been his first time on Twitch that it all fell apart. For parts of the time, only one of them could be heard and Bevan actually had to message questions over. Technological issues made it all very amusing. 

Interlaced in all this was Mamas Gun, a band also from the UK. They had an 80's vibe mix of R&B and pop. I feel like they could do a perfect cover of "On My Own," Patti LaBelle's song that featured Michael McDonald. The five members of the band were playing from different locations. I am always impressed how people are able to play together from different locations. I suppose I shouldn't be due to the fact that there is something called the Internet, but I am still shocked. I mean, when I'm on Microsoft Teams or Zoom, it doesn't exactly seem like ideal situation and yet musicians are able to play music together from different locations.

Mamas Gun

On Wednesday, Chris Douridas of KCRW took over the reigns from Bevan. The glitches had been worked out. The night started off with a make good to Kings Elliot and they brought her back for a non-glitchy interview. Opening the night on the music front was New Dad from Ireland. As with Kings Elliot, they were available for an interview with Chris. When asked what time it was in Ireland, they said, "Half One." I think Chris was totally unsure what that meant so he said, "12:30 a.m." Someone in the comments said that it was 1:30 a.m. So now those of us in America know how those in Ireland give the time. This might be useful should I ever take a vacation in Ireland. Their music had a gothic rock sound, but was off-set with a stage that used vibrant colors. In the background, I noticed that they had a "The Simpsons" blanket. Nice to also know that "The Simpsons" are watched in Ireland. We got to learn that their band name was generated by using Band Name Generator. 

New Dad

Up next was VIAA. I am very familiar with this US based musician, having seen her a couple of times. Also, of the bands / musicians that I saw over the two nights, she was the only US based artist. And then, just as I was settling in to watch the set, I got a work call via Microsoft Teams. Shoot. Anyways, I missed much of music except for her final one, which was about an aversion to social media. I just love her vocals. I also caught the fact that she was doing the interview from Dayton, OH. I hope she hasn't permanently moved from Los Angeles.

VIAA

Quarantine Online Sets: Version 74

Home School is always an enjoyable hour -- now in the middle of the day.

Sofia Valdes opened it up with a full band -- who all wore masks. Her voice had lullaby vocals with just a touch of soul crooning. Her accented English singing had her music sounding like sweet syrup. One of her song titles was "Amsterdam." I do love that city.

Sofa Valdes

Foreign Air definitely mixed it up in this line-up. They performed their set in a workspace that had the vocals echoing throughout the building, I'm sure. It was pure experimental music, taking inspiration from the range of 60s rock to 80s college radio to heavy metal. Their opening song was layered above samples of "Que sera, sera." I noticed that one of their electronic kits was above a booked titled, "The Animator's Survival Kit."

Foreign Air

Closing out the afternoon was Charlotte Jane with some country/folk vocals. Her set was done on a balcony, overlooking her city. Off in the distance one could see a body of water. Birds flew past on occasion. And it was a bit cold as she had to warm up her hands when shifting to the keyboards. She happened to mention that it was weird doing a livestream and that her non-emotional plants were her audience. She also mentioned that she had been to School Night in the flesh before and hoped she would be able to play live in the future.

Charlotte Jan

Quarantine Online Sets: Version 69

Home School (of School Night) is switching their start times to 3 p.m. (PST) on Tuesdays instead of 6 p.m. (PST). Since that is in the middle of the workday for me, hopefully I'll be able to "sneak" off from my at home work situation to watch some sets. They really know how to select musicians and bands.

Eli Smart had an encore screening of his set which was from Episode 8. They're currently in Episode 12. Since I wasn't able to catch that episode, I was happy to watch the set. He played from Kauai, Hawaii. He and his band played on a hillside overlooking the ocean. And all the vegetation around him was green. That's Hawaii. The set was approached in that casual Hawaiian way. There was a pickup truck with Eli and another band member playing on it. Three other individuals joined along the sides to round out the band. The most interesting thing to mention about the set has to be directed at the drummer. He sat on a lounge chair and his drums were carboard boxes. That's right, cardboard boxes, both the snare and bass drums. The carboard box for the bass was stuffed with a wrapped up blanket (or similar item). It should be noted that the cymbal was a real cymbal. For the last song, I loved the lingering twang being left by the guitar.

Eli Smart

Matilda Mann played in the exact same room as Thomas Headon (who played a few weeks back for School Night). What did that mean, she was playing her set from London. When Headon played his set, I figured it was his living room. I guess it is more likely a recording studio or record label studio. Her first song was about a person who is just better at doing everything. She called it her petty song. The next song was inspired by binge watching Gossip Girl and getting to see episodes where wealthy 17 year-olds get to fly off to Paris whenever they feel down and out.  So is Gossip Girl a big deal in the UK? Or just for her? I watched Gossip Girl so I'm not judging. Her music has a lullaby quality to it that fits in with an awesome British accent. 

She had a great conversation going throughout the set saying things such as:

"Sorry for the awkward hair that keeps flying into my face."

"Things don't come easy, but that's good, because that just means you need to try harder."

She mentions that she is scheduled to play a London gig on April 29th. Hmm. I really doubt Los Angeles venues will be opening up by April. 

Matilda Mann

Haiva Ru closed out the set. Their set was in what appeared to be a living room. All the furniture was removed so that all four band members could play without interference from immovable objects. The keyboardist had this intense look and determined way in how she played. Of interest, the keyboardist had 2 synths and a piano. I loved those pitch perfect vocals. The sound had a New Age feel to it. The band also played Chris Isaak's "Wicked Games."

I have to say that there was a strange situation going on with the video. Whenever the drummer played, the video would shake. Now that might not seem strange depending on the floor's stability; however, it only shook around the drummer. So on both sides of the drummer the video was always steady and solid, but around the drummer the video would always shake. I found that strange. Maybe it had nothing to do with the drummer, but was just a malfunctioning video recorder where the glitch just happened to be where the drummer was. 

An online comment by miekekramer stated: "ethereal!" That sounds like a good way to describe the music.

Haiva Ru

Quarantine Online Sets: Version 68

Time for some Home School. Almost Monday started it off with some alternative pop jams. I previously caught them on WFNM's Instagram Live. The WFNM version was in a room of some sort. The Home School set was done on a full stage (they used the Belly Up venue in San Diego) and was pre-recorded. Due to this, it really had a concert feel to it. What was similar between the WFNM and Home School sets was that the band has a real playful style. While listening to their set, I started thinking of the Pet Shop Boys.

Almost Monday

ONR came to us from Scotland. They played their indie pop set out in the countryside of Scotland. Soaring vocals that sped across the open fields. Listening to their set had me wanting to go back to Edinburgh and hang out at some of their local venues.

ONR

Jac Ross closed out the night. What perfect tenor vocals that had me thinking Stevie Wonder and Lionel Richie. He appeared to be playing his set at home. He hit those keys with great confidence. Behind him was a photo of three kids. The kid in the middle was doing a backflip just above the knit cap of Jac Ross. It really made it look like the kid was flipping over the singer.  

Jac Ross

Quarantine Online Sets: Version 63

Got to drop by Home School (School Night) on a recent Tuesday night. The headliner was Renforshort. She did her set at the El Mocambo music venue in Toronto. She is perhaps best known for her song "afterthoughts," which was on the Disney+ movie "Clouds." That song has a tender pop sound to it. Considering the song was for a Disney movie, it gives one certain assumptions about her. However, she came across like a young pop version of Garbage's Shirley Manson. She also had an "I Don't Care That I'm A Pop Star" look. 

What I noticed: She was very careful about crossing her legs when taking a seat on a stool. 

Lyrics of the set: F*ck I love my friends.

So perhaps her stage presence is the I Don't Care attitude, but as soon as she hit her last notes her face just lit up in a huge smile as she said good-bye.

Renforshort

One of the openers was was Thomas Headon. He had a real casual approach to his set. His set was played in what looked to be a living room. He sat on the arm rest of a couch. His guitarist sat on the couch. And a percussionist played next to the couch. He came to us playing from London, England. His music nailed some pop rhythms. 

Lyric of the set: My friends said I should just forget about you, but it is hard to do so when you're still wearing my cloths.

Comment of the set from the audience: Cool music but don't put dirty sneakers on the sofa! #illcleanyouup.

To end the set, he said to the audience, "Get home safe." Ha ha, he obvious forgot that everyone was likely watching from home.

Thomas Headon

Opening the night was Sycco. Though she didn't mention it, I'm assuming she was coming to us from Australia. She loved to hit her lyrics with a perfect syncopated beat. I loved how the keys and drums hit those beats. And when the keyboardist switched to his guitar, he turned it into the sounds of an organ. There was a tropical sound to her music.  

Comment of the set: I just got the madness de javu . . . and it is totally unexplainable.

Sycco