Kilby Block Party Day 3 Shows Off Weezer, St. Vincent, Wallows, & More
As I have attended more concerts in SLC, there is no doubt that people shout “Take your shirt off!” very early in anyone’s set, it is genuinely disturbing sometimes. Montell Fish, an American singer, himself said “You guys are supposed to be religious, I don’t know about this ‘take your shirt off’, definitely not taking it off mindset”. It can be easy to tell if someone is from Utah at a show because some Utahns are definitely one to say “Take your shirt off” starting during one of the first few songs at any male show, and continuing the rest of the set.
iDK HOW (but they found me) had some of the best stage presence that I have ever seen. They reminded me of All American Rejects both in their genre, mannerisms, and how they interact with their fans. This show also had some of the best fans, one individual almost throwing himself over the barricade as he see-sawed his body, holding onto the rail for dear life. The lead singer, Dallon Weekes, has done some pretty remarkable things in his career. He was a part of a Salt Lake City based indie-pop band called the Brobecks, later he was the bassist/background vocals/keyboardist for Panic! at the Disco, and now he is the lead singer of iDK HOW. The band's full name is I Don't Know How But They Found Me, but referenced on their website and social media as idk how. Weekes brought out some old bandmates from Brobecks during his performance, ensuring pure nostalgia for everyone who has known him since the beginning. One girl that was in front of me a good majority of the show was basically talking to Weekes the whole time through song lyrics and eye contact of course.
Weekes performed a song that was a letter he had written, the verses were read straight from the letter by another bandmate, while the choruses were sung by him and the rest of the band. He continued to check in with the audience that the sound for each instrument was coming through saying, “The first rule of rock and roll is they don’t let you hear what's going on out there”.
What a way to close out Day 3. Wallows AND Weezer?!?! Wallows said they have always wanted to play Kilby Block Party and were amazed by the mountains like the other performers who played at the lake stage. About one-third of the way into their set, Dylan stood at the barricade singing along with fans when he put his microphone from the crowd and one girl in a white t-shirt and sparkles on her face absolutely stole the show. She knew every single word and proceeded to put the brightest smile on Dyans face. The pure light from someone knowing his lyrics like that girl did was unmistakable.
This band is very involved with their fans, Dylan Minnette (lead singer), Braeden Lemasters (bass), and Cole Preston (drums) were all talking to the audience while on the stage. Each member presents to be extremely musically inclined, four songs in, Cole and Dylan switched instruments for around ten minutes, that is not something that I have seen happen at many shows. Dylan not only went to the barricade but he hopped over it to walk through the croud almost all the way to the sound booth, delaying the start of the next song because of how far he got into the audience. One fan was able to bring his dark blue electric guitar into the festival and got Braeden to sign it during the show! Wallows are one of the most fan devoted and engaged bands I have ever seen perform.
Lets just say that Weezer did not disappoint on Saturday night with their almost two hour long set. They presented their show as a space journey, the screen at the back of the stage showing images representing planets and space, interludes describing where in the journey they were, lights reflecting those stages. They started with a mashup of songs from their first album, also known as the “blue album”, transitioning into their third studio album, known as the “green album”, following through with album after album. This audience, along with Devo and New Order, was extremely diverse in matters of the ages of fans attending the set. Artists often have a way of transitioning through songs in their performance, usually through corny puns or stories, but Weezer didn’t do this. Weezer was able to without the usual tactics and same more time with the dialogue separating each era of their music, savoring the time they spent performing.
It is a beautiful sight to see when an audience can sing every word of a song back to the artist, that “I made it” moment, is something that both sticks with them and becomes a core memory for those who get to witness such a monumental moment. Though not all of the moments at the festival were THE “I made it” moments, they were periods of time where all other worries subside and music becomes an agent of pure happiness.
Review & Photos by: Miriam Wasden
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