Concert Review
October 2, 2024
Lou Rochdi on iPhone -- this is a sign we need to hire some photographers 👀
Last week, I hopped on an 18-hour flight from Singapore to New York just to catch the All Things Go festival in Maryland! With barely six days off between two tours, I somehow decided to fly in the wrong direction, enduring the world’s longest flight just to witness what is arguably one of the best festival lineups of the decade. If you’re not the target audience – Gen Z and millennial women, most likely queer – you might not fully appreciate the brilliance of it. For an independent festival with just a 20,000-ticket capacity to feature such a range of established and fast-rising artists who have defined the music scene over the past year is truly exciting. Add to that the intentional curation of queer and female artists, earning the festival its nicknames “Gaychella” and “Lesbopalooza,” and you've got a lineup that's nothing short of top-tier.
I rarely go to shows just for fun – working 70+ shows a year will do that to you. So, heading into this, I couldn’t turn off my touring professional brain, no matter how hard I tried. Consider this a heads-up: this isn’t your typical concert review. Expect industry lingo, uncanny observations, and lots of opinions.
The weekend really kicked off on Friday with the unexpected announcement that Chappell Roan had dropped out, just 36 hours before her scheduled performance in New York. Chappell is arguably the fastest-rising pop star of her generation, with a trajectory that mirrors Britney Spears’ explosive rise. All eyes are on her – both for better and for worse. All Things Go landed right between her Europe and US tours, a very busy month, and she decided to skip on these two shows for mental health reasons.
Things have gotten overwhelming over the past few weeks and I am really feeling it. I feel pressured to prioritize a lot of things right now and I need a few days to prioritize my health. I want to be present when I perform and give the best shows possible.
- Chappell Roan, about the All Things Go cancellation in 2024
During the weekend, several artists addressed her absence and showed solidarity, but one sentence from Del Water Gap during his Sunday set really hit me:
This is my last hour of live music for the next year, then I get to be a person again.
- Del Water Gap, All Things Go, Merriweather Post Pavilion, 2024
Like others, I was saddened when I first heard the news, but as a roadie I completely understand Chappell's decision. It’s so easy to lose yourself on the road. A different hotel every night, living out of one suitcase you constantly pack and unpack, poor sleep in a bus bunk with 12 to 16 other people, the lack of privacy, and the constant need to engage with others. After weeks on tour you forget which day of the week it is and the country you’re in, your body is in survival mode and you simply don’t feel like yourself anymore. Throw in the added pressure of fame, and it’s not hard to imagine how overwhelming it must be. Fame on the comfort of home is one thing; fame on the road is another beast entirely.
Chappell’s decision to cancel All Things Go undoubtedly upset fans who traveled miles and spent their hard-earned money to see her. It’s okay to feel disappointed, frustrated, even angry. But I urge everyone to understand the intense pressure she must be feeling. No artist cancels a show lightly or without reason.
To clarify – I’m no audio tech, just a production coordinator who loves picking the brains of my favorite front-of-house, monitor, and system engineers. I have massive respect for the crew behind this festival. The stages are close together, changeovers are nearly nonexistent, and with doors opening at 10:30 a.m., those overnight load-ins must have been brutal. Huge shoutout to the crew and production managers at Merriweather and on the touring teams. But from a fan's point of view, I have to note that the sound wasn't quite up to par.
The main issue: inconsistent sound levels and PA coverage. At the back of the crowd on the Chrysalis stage on Saturday, we could barely hear the shows – having a conversation at a normal volume was easy and during Remi Wolf’s set when clapping started we could not hear the music. Yet on Sunday, David Kushner and most acts were clear, even from the back of the crowd.
On the Pavilion stage, the further left of the house you went, the more tightened the frequency range. Sitting on the extremities of the lawns during Maisie Peters and Laufey’s sets, it felt like we were missing the low frequencies (subs) which was not the case when standing in the center. It felt like the PA didn’t cover the full width of the venue, and while my guess is that they limited the left to avoid overlap with the sound coming from the Chrysalis stage, it really dampened the listening experience.
This is the one area I hope to see improve for next year. To be able to enjoy the full musical experience these talented artists and teams have to offer, sat comfortably on the (muddy) lawn.
Enough with the tech talks, what about the music?
Maisie kicked off her set 20 minutes late, citing some technical difficulties. When she finally took the stage, she explained that the only way she could perform was doing an acoustic set. My guess? A playback rack crash. Now, before you get defensive about the term "playback" let me clarify: it’s not what you might think. Around 90% of artists today use playback to enhance their live performances. It doesn’t necessarily mean recorded vocals, which some might view as inauthentic.
No budget for a pianist? Just keep the keys on a playback track while playing the other instruments live. Have a quirky whistling sound recorded in the studio that can’t be recreated on stage? Have it on a track. Playback allows emerging artists without the budget for a full band to still deliver a rich sounding show. While that wasn’t the case for Maisie on Saturday, she and her band improvised a beautiful all-acoustic set highlighting some fan favorites from her first album like ‘Love Him I Don’t’ or ‘Psycho’. Many artists might have pulled out, feeling they couldn’t meet their own expectations, but Maisie pushed through. She put up a show no matter what, made it extra special for the fans, and we have to admire her for that.
Talking about playback – Hozier's set stood out for having no playback tracks, which is RARE, even for artists with the budget for a full band. Let me share with you a trick for spotting playback: even if it looks like every sound is coming from an instrument on stage, artists may still have a click track (a metronome-like sound) in their ears, keeping the tempo steady. That track comes from – you guessed it – a playback rig! If you clap along and notice the tempo is super consistent, that’s a sign playback is in use – or the band are wizards.
With Hozier, however, clapping along reveals an entirely different story. His tempos aren’t always regular (and not just because of his love for the 5:4 time signature). There’s a lot of natural push and pull – accelerations and decelerations within a song – which is the mark of a lack of playback. The result? Every sound has to be produced live on stage, which means the need for a LOT of instruments and musicians. Hozier performed with a full ensemble of nine instrumentalists and vocalists backing him.
Needless to say, my classically trained ears were in awe of the live arrangements. Hozier’s songs sound incredible on record, but his musical director, Alex Ryan, deserves huge credit for translating those recordings into dynamic live performances.
I could go on about the stage design, video content, and lighting, but we’ve got plenty of other amazing shows to talk about. That said, I’ll be back at another Hozier concert the first chance I get.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from Jack Antonoff, but I definitely didn’t think he’d be rocking generic in-ears. For a Grammy-winning producer, you’d assume he’d have the fanciest custom-molded in-ears money can buy, but no! After stalking a few of his performances online, it turns out he reps the Shure SE425 or SE535 generics night after night. No shame in that – it’s oddly fascinating and proof you don’t need the most expensive gear to deliver an incredible performance.
If you want to hear music like Jack, here’s the link:
Personally, I use the lower-tier model, the Shure SE215, to hear our tech and artist talkbacks every night.
Jack is an unbelievable performer. From the audience, it feels like he’s truly living every note, as if the music is running through him in a nearly transcendental way. His band is equally captivating, with the sax players, Evan Smith and Zem Audu, stealing the show. Their energy and interactions make the performance so much more engaging. As my friends put it: #BringBackSax—the most underrated (and sexiest) live instrument.
When someone’s got theater and film acting credentials, it shows. With Reneé, it’s all about how effortlessly she flirted—not just with the live audience, but also with the handheld camera feeding the content on the back screen. No matter your romantic preferences, she probably made you blush at least once during her set. Her stage presence, audience interactions, and sheer confidence are unmatched.
Let’s also give a round of applause to the camera operator on stage during Reneé’s set – he did what needed to be done.
Her musical theater background also shines through in her stunning vocals. She’s easily one of the weekend's top vocalists, right up there with Janelle Monáe and Sammy Rae.
Rachel was originally set to perform at All Things Go, as part of her U.S. tour supporting Remi Wolf. However, she had to drop out due to financial reasons. In other words, support tours come at a cost, one that labels either cover or don’t. It seems Rachel’s label wasn’t willing to take that financial risk, forcing her to cancel both the tour and her All Things Go appearance. This was disappointing, especially since her latest album What a Devastating Turn of Events is one of my top three releases of the year. Not only are the lyrics rich but the instrumentation also complements the unique tone of her voice so well, making the ballads a sweet (yet sad) delight for the ears. I was really looking forward to seeing her talent shine on that stage, and I can't help but wonder about the decision-making behind her label’s lack of support.
This situation highlights a crucial issue for emerging artists—the cost of touring. After the loss of revenues due to the streaming rise, industry talk made it seem like touring was the one reliable income stream for artists. At least that’s what I was taught in college by music execs. But after joining the touring world post-COVID and working on budgets, I’ve realized that most tours are far from profitable. They often rely on label (tour) support or the gamble that merch sales can cover the costs.
I still have so much to say about ATG 2024 – between Laufey’s magical orchestral performance, MUNA’s impromptu and somewhat tribute set in place of Chappell, Janelle’s jaw-dropping costumes, the unexpected revelation that is Del Water Gap (I know, I’m late), and of course, my personal heart’s favorite: flipturn’s gorgeous live version of August. There aren’t enough words to capture it all.
Overall, this lineup was simply incredible, with artists who genuinely cared about putting their best foot forward with the Maryland crowd. And even though my working brain never quite switched off (as you can tell), this weekend was an absolute blast, and I’m already looking forward to next year’s lineup.
However, amidst the excitement, it's important to address some significant concerns surrounding crowd control (or the lack thereof) and the potential safety risks involved. While ATG has certainly gained popularity over the years, the growing interest from fans highlights the urgent need for proper infrastructure to safely accommodate such large crowds.
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