Nightly at 9:30 Club
BY LIZ BAUMMER (SHE/HER)Nightly took on Washington DC at the 9:30 Club on Saturday 11/11, bringing along with them Young Rising Sons and Knox. Both opening acts for Nightly’s tour are top tier artists both in music and in performance. With Young Rising Sons taking the stage only twenty minutes after door opened, I was beginning to get nervous that the long line of people would miss out on Young Rising Son’s performance, but the venue swiftly moved everyone inside and the crowd pressed up to the barricade in anticipation. The energy Young Rising Sons brought to the stage was electric. They performed hits such as High, Oblivious, and Tomorrow while putting on an incredible show. I personally love when musicians come to the edge of the stage to play their guitar right over the audience and Young Rising Sons did just that. Additionally (as a hockey fan), I was particularly excited when the drummer came out sporting a Washington Capitals shirt for the performance. Overall, young Rising Sons put on an impressive performance especially considering they had played in Arizona the night before and New York the night before that. You would never be able to tell they had spent the last two days flying across the country and back again by the level of energy they brought in their performance.
Next to take the stage was Knox, an artist who I am a big fan of outside of concert photography. Unfortunately, due to tight time constraints Knox had to cut several songs from his set that night, but I don’t think anyone who was present felt like they missed out on anything given the caliber of performance Knox brought to the stage. Knox pulled out some of my favorite songs including Sneakers, Not The 1975 (my personal favorite), and unreleased hit Girl On the Internet (released today, Nov 17!!!!!!). Aside from a stellar performance, I think it is so important to acknowledge the care Knox clearly has for his fans. As I was preparing for the show, I got a notification that he was live on Instagram. Intrigued, I opened the live as I packed things into my camera back for the night, and I was touched by what I saw. Knox was sitting on the sidewalk outside the venue talking to and playing songs for the fans outside the venue. Knox apologized profusely for the shortened set before taking audience requests, encouraging everyone there to gather closely into a circle. While this might not have been part of the “official” concert, in my opinion acts like this really set artists apart. Investing in your fanbase and showing your appreciation for them is always the right choice. This preshow act, coupled with a stellar performance, made this Knox concert one I will remember for a very long time.
As I expected, and documented in my album review of wear your heart out, Nightly’s music truly comes alive in concert. The music on the album is already amazing but put Nightly on stage with fans in the crowd and the music is elevated beyond belief. There’s something special about Nightly’s stage presence coupled with a packed crowd. One of my favorite moments was the opening of their performance where they picked up the phone booth phone on the stage which played an automated message introducing the band before they broke out into their first song, the title track wear your heart out from their sophomore album. While this may seem small, I am of the firm belief that thoughtful, unique details such as these can stick with fans long after the performance is over. Their members move around the stage, consistently coming up to the edge to interact with fans and occasionally the photographers. There were multiple performance highlights for me including their performance of my boys. As I explained in my album review, this song is a such a touching ode to platonic love, something we don’t see often enough in music and art forms. Watching that platonic love celebrated on stage made the song even better and was such a heartwarming part of the evening. Another exciting thing Nightly did was have their drummer come center stage to play whiskey part 2 on guitar. It was so cool to see their drummer celebrated in this way when oftentimes drummers don’t get as much crowd interaction due to the drum sets being stationary instruments. Overall, Nightly delivered an electric performance. From great audience interactions including taking a fan’s BeReal and drawing a fan’s next tattoo to a collaborative performance of miss when you missed me with Knox, Nightly is a must see in concert for any fan of their music. If you love their album, you’ll be blown away by how alive their music comes when they are onstage in their element.
