By Molly McCoy
Something electric was in the air on Saturday night as the Bleachers kicked off their “From Studio To Stage” tour in Salt Lake City. The venue, about 20 minutes outside of the city, had no deterrent for fans as they flocked to the outdoor venue. With a capacity of 7,000 the venue was filled to the brim with eager fans ready for the energy the night held.
Starting off the night was the band Samia. I hadn’t heard any of her music before Saturday but definitely added some songs to my playlist on my drive home after the show. Samia was a perfect opener as she fits in the Indie genre while still being original to her own sound. She was super cute as she danced around the stage and interacted with the crowd. Her first song “Pool” was a crowd favorite and the crowd fed into her energy as she performed. My favorite song of the night was her final one titled “Is There Something In The Movies.” With clear but melodic vocals, she is not one to miss!
During the break between sets I went to the merch table to see what they had for this round of touring. The last few times I had seen them I wasn’t able to buy any merchandise for one reason or another. This time I was ready. With multiple options for everyone, it was hard not to overspend. Afterwards I headed back to the photo pit to talk to fans. One girl traveled all the way from Virginia to see them perform, others were getting ready to follow them around for a few shows. Needless to say, there was a lot of love for the Bleachers throughout the crowd.
Bleachers took the stage around 8:30, and instantly the crowd came alive. They started their set with “Am I Right On Time” from their new self-titled album. I felt like I had to keep my head on a swivel trying to capture the energy on stage as well as the energy emanating from the crowd. Following their first song were two of my favorites from the album “Modern Girl” and “Jesus Is Dead”. It’s always fun to be in the photo pit during some of your favorite songs because you get to absorb the energy in the venue a little differently. Jack Antonoff, the frontman of the band, connected with the crowd on a very personal level, his ability to feed off the energy of the crowd was very unique. It resembled those moments when you are with your best friends, late at night, continuously building on each other’s energy. This particular night felt like you were hanging out with thousands of your closest friends.
One of my favorite things about Bleachers is how much fun they have on stage. It’s apparent to everyone in the venue that they love what they do and it shows in their performance. All members of the band were climbing on the stage risers throughout the show to perform their parts, creating an ample view for the patrons in the back of the venue. Personally, I think that nothing makes a concert more enjoyable then knowing the artist is enjoying themselves as well and Bleachers were sure to make it known they loved what they were doing.
About halfway through the set they slowed down some to play a slower acoustic version of “Dream of Mickey Mantle” and, a little later in the set, a solo acoustic of “45”. I loved this take of the song as it really honed in on Jack’s vocal talent in a more intimate way. If you have any background of Jack Antonoff you will know that he is not only an incredible performer but is the music producing guru behind a lot of popular albums from other artists. What makes these acoustic performances special is that it gives the audience the opportunity to appreciate his underlying skill apart from the production that goes along with live concerts.
A few highlights of the evening included; the band talking about how much they love coming to Salt Lake City. With Jack telling the crowd that “they came to Kilby Court, a popular small venue downtown, and never forgot the love the crowd showed them.” Later, before starting their widely popular song “Roller Coaster”, Jack gave a heartfelt message to the crowd about being on the tides of change and the uncertainty that those feelings can bring, but if held on to can lead to something great. He reminisced on how when the band was first starting out touring they always knew they had a home at Kilby Court in Salt Lake City.
Before going into the live debut of “Ordinary Heaven” Jack told the crowd that they don’t normally do encores as they like to leave everything on stage. Unfortunately, as the song progressed Utah experienced its version of the 2024 dust bowl and as the song ended the band announced that they were told they were not able to continue the performance due to hazardous weather. Something I found quite sweet was how badly Jack tried to make something work. He asked a couple of times if he could just play an acoustic song or two. When that request was denied he looked over the crowd before thanking everyone for coming one last time and leaving the stage.
While the show may have been cut a little short the night will live on for fans until the next time Bleachers return. Despite the wind, dust and rain, fans were ready to hold out until the end. With this being the start of the tour there are numerous shows across the U.S. Take this as a sign that this is a tour you are going to want to attend. With quite a few shows already sold out be sure to get tickets now so you don’t miss out on the magic that is Bleachers’ From Studio to Stage.
