If you’re anything like me, you can’t think of anything better on a warm spring Friday night than catching a great show, especially at a cozy little venue. Case in point: I had a recent opportunity to do just that when AWOLNATION stopped at San Francisco’s Regency Ballroom for the penultimate show of their Phantom Five Tour.
The evening began with Hawaii’s own Makua (Rothman), a professional surfer turned musician. I wasn’t sure what to make of him: on one hand, he was dropping F-bombs right and left (fine by me) and seemed to be trying hard to project an image of “motherfuckin’ ROCK AND ROLL!!” But on the other hand, there were moments of clear Aloha spirit, complete with Rothman having the lights turned up so he could see the crowd putting their “shakas” up. I’m sure this combination could work for some, but I just couldn’t connect with either side, and frankly, I just felt the poor guy was really trying too hard, and it just wasn’t working. I really felt like I didn’t need to feel like he was cool, because he seemed to think quite highly of himself. There was a moment, though, with Rothman covering part of Jane’s Addiction’s “Been Caught Stealing,” that I thought was interesting. And more importantly, at the end of the day, I did get the impression that Rothman is a lovely person. I like to be one of the first ones to dart out so I don’t get stuck in the crowd. As I enjoyed the tail end of AWOLNATION’s set, I noticed Makua standing near me, enjoying himself. I didn’t approach him, but he did smile at me, stranger to stranger, and I decided that while his music may not be my cup of tea, he appeared to be a good guy all the same, which matters more in many ways.
Up next was Bryce Fox, who came off as a golden boy singer-songwriter. I didn’t connect strongly to his music, but he had a great voice, and it was fun to watch from the balcony as fans near the front sang their hearts out to his songs. At one point during Fox’s set, he had technical difficulties that caused him to have to stop the song. Fox was unflappable, not letting the moment bother him in the least. He shook it off, started the song over, and went on as if nothing had even happened. I was impressed, and overall would rate his set as quite enjoyable, even if I didn’t run right home to add his catalog to my personal music collection.
Finally, it was time for AWOLNATION. To date, I’d only caught them once before (at BottleRock back in 2015), and I was looking forward to seeing them again, as they’ve had a few singles in the past decade that I’ve enjoyed. What struck me fairly early on was wholly unexpected: he gave me bona fide Freddie Mercury vibes. I first noticed this early on in the set, within the first handful of songs.
One particularly nice moment came during the band’s performance of “The Best,” which was a great performance of a song with truly relatable lyrics. (“I’m hardly perfect, I’m barely good” and of course, “I just wanna be the best.”) There’s a juxtaposition between the earnest, striving lyrics of the song, and the way frontman Aaron Bruno carries himself: he’s quite comfortable in his own skin; ultimately, it makes him quite fun to watch.
Before beginning the band’s current single, “Barbarian,” Bruno asked the crowd to join him in a “nice big singalong,” which they were happy to oblige. This created a nice moment with some truly wonderful energy, coming from the crowd, the music, and from Bruno himself. It all culminated in a sum that was indeed greater than its parts.
The Freddie Mercury-like vibe I picked up on earlier in the set reared its head two more times that evening: it wasn’t just Bruno’s style, or his voice, or the overall sound of the band. There’s something about Bruno that really embodies Mercury’s spirit. At times, I saw it in his physical presence on the stage; at others, I heard it in his vocals. I think it’s safe to say that Queen is one of Bruno’s influences. And for what it’s worth, if I’m saying someone reminds me of Freddie Mercury, it could only ever be complimentary: Queen is my favorite band of all time, and this isn’t something I would ever say lightly. It surprised me, too, but it was a happy discovery nonetheless. I was also happy to see Bruno take a moment to truly bask in the applause: he’s earned it.
Toward the end of the show, the crowd sang along to “Not Your Fault” without being asked. I’m a sucker for these moments, especially when I can witness them from above (when I’m up in the balcony), as was the case that night. It’s a really cool thing to look over the entirety of the crowd to see them all singing along the same words to one song, as one voice, and everything feels in harmony, just for that moment. That never gets old. After “Knights of Shame,” the band left the stage, their regular set having concluded. Within a few moments, however, they were back for a short but spectacular two-song encore of “Panoramic View” followed by, of course, the song that put them on the map, “Sail.”
It was a great night, and I thoroughly enjoyed the performance. I ducked out just as the final song was ending, happy to have had a solo night out with some great live music. You can find the setlist here.
