Unfortunately, my plan was to be able to post some videos from the concert that I took to put in my blog post and my photo album, but I need premium to be able to do that. I don’t feel like upgrading it just for this instance. So I can’t post the snippets but oh well. Just imagine them playing their silly little instruments on the stage.
This is a concert I went to alone, which I do pretty often. Especially if I know I am the only invested in whatever band or artist I am seeing. Something about not being tied down and the fluidity of being able to leave when I find fit is a nice experience from time to time. I think concerts are best enjoyed with friends, but I enjoy taking myself out on little dates too.
This is one of my most anticipated shows this year, as I have really gotten into Penelope Road in specific. Penelope Road is an alternative/indie band that as caught some wind recently. I have heard that they gained some popularity due to Tik Tok, which I have since deleted so that was not how I know them. I ended up coming across them on my discover weekly on Spotify, with their single “Tired of Love”. I like that song a lot, but the band at that point hadn’t released much music on their Spotify, and even now their discography isn’t extensive. It was easy listening to go through what they have currently put out, and I found I enjoyed most of if not all the songs they had released. It looks now that currently they have 2 ep’s and a bunch of singles.
Spotify notifies me of when artists will be around locally on tour. After discovering them, pretty shortly after I found out the were coming to Rochester. It felt perfect, as I had just gotten into them so it was no skin off my shoulder to attend their show in which they were openers.
For my first concert at the Kodak Center, I found I enjoyed the venue! Unfortunately I chose a spot that was right at the intersection of seats where a couple of ushers stood, meaning for about 10-20 minutes into the show, people would show up late and be completely clueless on where to go and stand right in front of my seat, completely blocking the concert going on ahead of me. That wasn’t super fun. Though now I have a better idea of what to do next time I am getting tickets at that venue.
In terms of the show overall, it was pretty great! Both acts sounded great, and put on great performances. Penelope Road was obviously my favorite given that the point was going there for them. But I was surprised how much I liked the discography of Lake Street Dive as well. It has made me want to comb through their stuff too. Both bands lean into soul a lot, with Lake Street Dive being a little more funky in nature. Penelope Road is what I would consider to be more focused on a general alternative or indie sound.
A tangent here, but even though I was alone at the concert, I was sitting next to a couple. When Lake Street Dive started playing “Hypotheticals” (One of the only songs I actually new and liked from them beforehand), she started squirming with excitement, in which her boyfriend seemed to join along in. It was very cute, and the two of them added a whimsy to my night as they were getting into it. I love when folks aren’t afraid to be excited about things, I think people get too self conscious about how they are perceived by others. I have learned to not give a patootie, and they seemed to not either. Given all this, Hypotheticals remains my favorite song Lake Street Dive performed that night.
A stand out performance from Penelope Road however was their cover of “Everybody Wants to Rule The World” By Tears for Fears. I wasn’t expecting this one at all. This isn’t a song released on Spotify, but damn I wish it was. I am a huge 80’s classic pop fan. They did an amazing job with it. I didn’t get the sense that there were a lot folks there for Penelope Road, so it is kind of a given that the crowd may be a little more rowdy for a song they know. But I feel like the energy was so good it got people pumped. I love when it goes full circle like that, one of my fixation bands playing a long time fixation song of mine. Felt like a kid in a candy store.
Outside of the cover, my favorite song they performed was “Out Tonight”. That has probably become my favorite song of theirs, it used to be “Tired of Love”. They sound pretty similar to their studio recordings, so if you ever get to listening to those, you will probably get a similar experience. Out tonight is just one of those songs you put on when you need a “sad boy vibe” injected in your day for whatever reason. The vocalist’s switch between the lead singer and the piano player. Both have wonderful voices in person, and it was fun seeing them riff off each other.
Overall this show was fun, funky, and fresh. Well worth the night, and hope they come back at some point in the future. I would like to take other people see them next time.
Next and final concert I have for the year is Djo. Of course I will have a post about that and you can hear all about it.
Thank you all for reading! I know a lot of my posts recently have been music based, but I do enjoy documenting my experiences at these things. I find it to be like a little time capsule for myself. And of course a good yap session about bands that not everyone else is into.
I Hope you’re doing good out there. Till Next Time!
-Erin
Orbitedbyerin 