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CONCERT REVIEW - SUMMER SCHOOL ORIENTATION NIGHT @ FROGTOWN BREWERY, LOS ANGELES, CA (06.01.24)

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Summer School Orientation Night wasn't just a show, it was a heartwarming community experience. Where fans got to interact with the artists they love and be around plenty of dogs too. It felt more like a college BBQ party rather than a traditional show, which is fitting of the name summer school in all honesty. Orientation Night was a celebration of the beginning of the summer school festival tour.  The lineup consisted of a mixture of bands and DJ sets. The lineup being Pretty Ugly, EZRA, Letdown, and DJ sets by The Home Team and Scene Queen.

The first artist to kick up Summer School Orientation Night was Pretty Ugly. The lead singer's aesthetic felt like Zelda from The Legend of Zelda but make it punk. They have a good sense of humor and a lot of energy and sick moves up on stage. Them having fun on stage definitely made the audience excited as well. There was even a point during their set where everyone was clapping together with the band. Although one of the most wholesome moments was when everyone turned to see the lead singer's mom smiling in the crowd. "LALALA" was one of their songs that has a beat that gets stuck in your head and if you ever had a toxic relationship that you don't know how to get away from, you'd relate to this song. Pretty Ugly has a rebellious kick to their music that will make you feel nostalgic for early Paramore and Avril Lavinge and playing Pretty Ugly's music on repeat.

After Pretty Ugly was Ezra, which honestly was one of the highest energy sets that night. Ezra also had multiple guest artists come up on stage for different songs. One of them being Jomie, who has a song called "Another Sad Song" with Ezra. Ezra's music has a sad and poetic feel to it, where all of the lyrics will have you contemplating your life.  It was really cool seeing the audience jump around with excitement for all of the songs. "Better on Mute" had powerful lyrics such as “mute what's on my mind” and captured the feeling of what it's like not knowing how to talk to someone really well. "Tightrope" also was a song that will emotionally hit you right away especially if where you're at right now in your life isn't where you pictured yourself to be. The bright lights on stage that lit up Ezra, matched the vibes of the songs. The band backing Ezra had sick energy moving on stage as well and people in the audience were even blowing bubbles.  It was a set filled with sad songs but sad songs you can still dance and get energized to.

After Ezra was Letdown, which is one of the bands that will be playing the rest of the Summer School Tour. They were playing a stripped down set without their drummer but their music still had powerful energy to it. Their song "Hate Myself" was a song that fits an acoustic sound really well, in it's unique way it made the lyrics resonate more. Lyrics that powerfully conveyed the message of what it feels like to live the cycle of the same annoying things over and over again everyday. Meanwhile, their song "Letdown" showed what it was like being in a relationship where you're constantly fighting with lyrics such as “why do we always fight when it rains”.It was also refreshing to see both guys from Letdown smiling and having a good time up on stage. It was one of those sets where it would have you thinking about a lot of things in life. I look forward to seeing them as a full band but acoustic has its own charm to it. You can always hear the vocals clearly because the sound doesn't overpower the words and flows along with them.

Up next were the DJ sets starting with The Home Team. Another band that will be on the official Summer School TourI believe this was their first time DJing as well but they still killed it. A lot of the people there are big fans of The Home Team, so of course the fans were there to bring on the energy no matter what. It was fun seeing them play songs from other artists in the community but also songs that people may not know as well. For example, "Fiction by Polka Dot Stingray" was a song I hadn't heard before but now like. The Home Team easily got fans hooked on artists they hadn't heard before. Their commentary was also fun to listen to and the red and blue lights matched the band.  Between the fist pumps in the air, the smiles, and the overall energy they gave, you can tell The Home Team was having a blast on stage. This led to the audience having fun and dancing along too. There was even a circle of people dancing with each other.  You could tell The Home Team loves their community and the music scene. Even just from a DJ set it makes you want to see them perform again. I can’t wait for the day that I see them perform live as a band.

Finally the last performance of the night and DJ set was Scene Queen, who’s also new to DJing and an artist on the Summer School Tour. Now a lot happened during this particular set, which made it especially fun. One of the highlights was all the girls line dancing and doing a sick job at it. To the point that Scene Queen made a joke and also a compliment about feeling out staged during her own set.  She even performed some of her own music and had people dancing along on stage with her.  She did a perfect song for Pride month that you had to have been there to get the full enjoyment from it. She did a popular song from 30OH!3 and songs from Nickleback that a lot of fans were enjoying. She put on "Year 3000" by the iconic Jonas Brothers, which had Patrick Gilchrist from Not My Weekend running up to the stage and dancing along with Scene Queen. She also jumped into the crowd during one of the songs and danced along with one of her fans  as well as put on songs that people recommended.  She would do dances in a way where it matched the lyrics while also having charismatic energy to boot.  Her energy was contagious.  Scene Queen is 100% an artist you don’t want to miss seeing live.

Summer Orientation Night was a hit and the type of event where you can go to it alone (that’s what I did) and leave it making a bunch of new friends and an overall better feeling about life. Strangers were dancing with each other and bonding and getting to become friends too. It was a night where you could have a chill conversation with one of your favorite artists and get to know them as well.  A lot of bigger names were there but everyone still talked to and treated each other with respect despite whatever their status is in the scene. There were no walls that night, just bridges and I’m sure that’s just a reflection of how amazing the tour is going to be. Plus all the dogs were nice too especially the star of the night, Frankie, Nick Major from Idobi Radio’s dog who knows how to make anyone’s day better.  It couldn’t have been a better night.

 

Toren Brown

Photojournalist - Los Angeles

Website: www.instagram.com/xneyon Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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