Every teenager’s dream is to attend a concert in person to be under the bright lights, to listen to the blow-your-ear-drums music, and of course, to see your favorite band. I just recently went to my first concert, and here’s a little rundown and review of how it went.
Summer Salt is a Dallas, Texas native band made up of duo Matthew Terry, the vocalist and guitarist, and Eugene Chang, the drummer. Their music is bossa nova-esque with elements of pop and a dreamy eclecticness. I immediately fell in love with their most popular hits: “Sweet to Me,” “Candy Wrappers” and “Driving to Hawaii,” and among others. So obviously, when I heard they were going on tour and had a Los Angeles date, I had to indulge in this fantastical music experience.
To set the scene: imagine you’ve been driving for one and a half hours through LA traffic and finally make it to the Regent Theater, a pretty small venue that consists only of a standing room, and a balcony for seating and drinks. The line moved pretty quickly, and after getting checked by security, I was inside along with my best friend. A little tip: look up the bag policy of your concert venue beforehand because I had to leave mine at the box office!
Once we were inside, we immediately rushed as close as possible to the barricade guarding the stage. We made it to the second row; practically close enough to touch the band members on stage. Setting up took a while, but once it hit 8 p.m., Brooklyn-based indie rock musician who unexpectedly has a British accent, Covey (Tom Freeman), rocked the stage. I personally wasn’t too into his music, but he knew how to engage the crowd. He had some funny anecdotes that led to him throwing teeth into the crowd and even had us chanting “Fuck that guy! I wish he were dead!” before the second opening act came on.
After Covey came Breakup Shoes, an indie four-man band from Phoenix, Arizona. Their music had themes of intertwining love and nostalgia with more of a soft, laid-back feel. Coming into the concert, I thought I wouldn’t know any of their songs during the opening act until Breakup Shoes played their hit song “Unrequited Love (& other cliches).” As their most streamed song with over eight million streams on Spotify, any indie lover is bound to have heard it, and trust me, it was even better live than you could imagine.
Around two hours had passed since the show started, and everyone was itching for Summer Salt to take the stage. They opened with “Sweet To Me,” one of the most iconic and dreamiest songs in their discography. Every song they played after was amazing and unbelievable to see in person. Especially for my first concert experience, I’m happy it went so well with both the band and the crowd. Concerts can get rowdy, but thankfully, the crowd at Summer Salt matched the vibe of the music: laid-back and chill.
Just when we thought the concert was over, everyone screamed “Encore!,” as every crowd does near the end. Of course, they came back on stage and played a few more iconic hits before leaving. The concert ended with a bang, and we all ran off to the merch line where I purchased a beautiful tour poster.
I now have videos to last me a lifetime, and when I close my eyes, I still see those bright lights and feel the ringing in my ears. If you want to learn more about the bands I saw in concert, check them out on Spotify! And of course, look into concerts going on locally and experience it for yourself!