August 7, 2015 I was given the opportunity to see Young Rising Sons, Hunter Hunted, and CRUISR at the Highline Ballroom in New York City. Now, I’ve been going to concerts since I was 12 years old—my first show was seeing Angels And Airwaves at the now-closed Roseland Ballroom—so, arguably, I have “seen it all.” Yet, this past Friday, I was impressed by the sheer fervor that these three bands had to present.
I had never been to the Highline Ballroom before. Upon making my way to the venue from the subway, I walked past the projects and a Western Beef supermarket before getting to the front doors. I went up a flight of darkened stairs to the general admission floor and flew to the front of the crowd to see CRUISR.
Sometimes, you’ll get an opening act who really does not want to be on that stage (I went to see Wild Nothing at the Music Hall of Williamsburg and their opening act, Journalism, stood on stage like a deer in the headlights—motionless and scared). However, both CRUISR and Hunter Hunted were not these types of openers. Both bands came on stage with a swagger and such an intense energy that it rattled you to the core (and trust me, it wasn’t solely the bass).
CRUISR
At first glance, CRUISR appears to be a gaggle of frat boys with their tank tops and backwards mesh caps looking for the nearest game of beer pong or flip cup. Yet, armed with their guitars and synthesizers, CRUISR, seemingly effortlessly, played out what I like to call “tasty indie-pop.” The crowd, which was most certainly a gaggle of young teenage girls, knew every word to their songs. When they weren’t jumping up and down, throwing their hands in the airs, they were pulling down at their shirt collars, screaming out the lyrics to CRUISR’s wonderfully anthemic tracks.
I always find it funny that each band makes a specific effort to let the crowd know that they “love New York.” CRUISR was no different. By song three, they professed their love for us.
I know you love us. We’re New York.
By the end of their set, I was thoroughly impressed. It’s not very difficult to create catchy indie-pop, but CRUISR crafted such tracks that separate them from the overwhelming mass that is the indie pop genre. They have a certain versatility that shows that they can play a tiny show like the Highline Ballroom or play a massive show in a stadium.
Hunter Hunted
I preface this entry with initial horror solely because one of the crowd members cried out that she “hated ‘Uptown Funk’.” My only question is: why do you hate fun so much?
I had heard of Hunter Hunted prior to coming to this show. Last summer, I had discovered their song, “Keep Together,” and had it on repeat for an excessive amount of time. I was genuinely very excited too see what Hunter Hunted had to deliver.
In short: I knew it was going to be a good show when they walked out on stage to “I Want It That Way” by Backstreet Boys.
My only complaint about their set was their heavy reliance on electronics. On record, their sound is refined and clean, but live—the crispness of their brand of indie pop seemed to have gone missing.
CRUISR had proven that you did not need to have your ribcage rattled by excessive bass to create an anthem for young kids. The violinist provided respite from the pounding bass. Towards the end of the show, Michael Garner, the lead singer, informed us that he and Dan Chang had been making music for ten years and had just released their first official album together. They did an acoustic guitar and ukelele cover of their song, “Lucky Day.” Given the constant banging the bass did against my head, this acoustic cover was well-needed. Despite my grandma tendencies during their set, I well-enjoyed Hunter Hunted.
After the show, I had the pleasure of meeting Dan Chang on my way out. He’s a sweetheart.
Young Rising Sons
At first, I was nervous about Young Rising Sons. Their microphone was adorned with an American flag and, I don’t know, excessive patriotism should make anyone nervous, if you ask me. All of those thoughts immediately dissipated when they walked on.
Headbands were very popular with the four-piece.
Upon the first note from the guitar ringing out, the crowd was already dancing. Upon the lead singer walking up to the microphone to sing, the crowd was already roaring back to Young Rising Sons—the voice of the crowd almost overpowering the band.
Young Rising Sons, like all indie-pop groups, have a good bassist holding their songs together (I was particularly fascinated that the bassist was actually moving as most bassists I’ve seen have generally been an unmoving boulder). Their sound has been refined where your whole body is not rattling by their sound, but vibrating pleasantly.
This show, Young Rising Sons were filming a music video for their song “F*cked Up.” They did not play the song immediately after this announcement which I was pleased about. Generally, when a band makes an announcement like that, the crowd becomes artificial and exaggerates its actions. The band generally follows suit.
However, “F*cked Up” did not come until later in the set. It was nice to see that the attitude of Young Rising Sons and the crowd was all organic. Towards the end of the night, the crowd had broken up to dance. Individuals danced with themselves and some danced with complete strangers. It was a unity I had never seen before at a New York show.
I was particularly impressed by their cover of “I’ll Melt With You” by Modern English. While maintaining the integrity of the original, they made the song intrinsically their own.
To be honest, at the beginning, I wasn’t sure if I was going to like them. However, by the end of the show, I found myself dancing with random people from the crowd with a large smile on my face (proving that you’re never too old to be listening to a certain band). Their songs are sun-stained, stadium-ready three-minute bursts of fun. There’s nothing not to like.
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