On April 18th, Alvvays came to San Diego to perform at The Music Box. The band released their critically-acclaimed sophomore album, Antisocialites, back in September and came to town after performing at Coachella a week before. Alvvays has always been a band i I have heard much about and after finally listening to them through Antisocialites, I was immediately enamored with them. Normally with indie pop bands live, you will have an enjoyable time but nothing usually stands out between seeing them in-person and listening to their album. Alvvays was an exception.
Despite the show being on a Wednesday night in Downtown San Diego, the show was sold out. I do not go to The Music Box too often so my friend taught me a concert hack and took me to the balcony section on the third floor of the venue, which I thought was only for VIPs previously. The opener was Frankie Rose and her sound was reminiscent of the 80’s. Her songs sounded like a mix between synth pop and new wave. At first, I was not too much into her set but soon I got into it as well as the crowd.
Alvvays came on fifteen minutes after and I was wondering how their music would be live. Their sounds on their albums were full of echoing vocals and distant instruments but that doesn’t seem to translate well live. The band started off by playing “Hey” and then followed with “Adult Diversion”. They were fun songs and got the crowd dancing around. I was hooked onto their set after they played “In Undertow”, one of my absolute favorite songs from them with this video being a main reason why.
The banter in between some songs were just fantastic too. Molly Rankin, the lead singer, had the crowd laughing with her talking about how she wouldn’t want to be a tortoise because they can’t swim. She even talked about how she saw a rabbit eating by her hotel’s swimming pool. The crowd definitely helped energize the band and Molly even commented how the crowd has the energy of a “Friday crowd” despite the show being on Wednesday.
One of my favorite moments of the night was when the band played “Marry Me, Archie” as I watched atop from the balcony and the whole crowd is just jumping up and down while some were even moshing. The song is another one of my favorites and it just sounds incredible live compared to the studio version. It was a memorable show and this concert solidified my love for the band even more. If you have the chance to see Alvvays, you need to take it.
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