LISTEN UP – X Ambassadors is the most underrated band, I swear. Even before the concert last night at Red Rocks (which is AMAZE bee tee dubs), they weren’t really on my radar, besides the songs I knew from the radio (i.e. Renegades & Unsteady). I am completely floored & flabbergasted by them.
First of all, let me give all my praises to the man behind the keyboard. I am LIVING for him. As I said above, I went in completely not knowing who X Ambassadors is & who is in the band. To my utmost surprise, the keyboard player was led out by the lead singer (who is also his brother) while maneuvering a walking stick. Yes, he is BLIND. Emphasis on the BLIND because what a true talent to be able to push past something that would most likely hold others back, get on stage, & ROCK OUT playing a show of probably 9,000 people. I was seriously so impressed – jaw to the floor the entire time. Not to completely focus on his disability because he is obviously is more than that but I am just here to give my many praises because he’s pushed past the boundaries of the “norm.” I have never personally seen that before at a concert & the only other artist I know of is Stevie Wonder. Again, I AM HERE TO PRAISE THIS MAN.
*disclaimer: I don’t remember their names & again, trying to keep it authentic here & not just google up all the facts*
Okay, now that I’ve gotten that out of the way – let me just discuss the openers:
Allan Rayman: So I didn’t know who he was before & still not sure how I feel about him. I am not here to be negative but to give an honest review. Myself and the strangers around me (as I again went to another concert alone) agreed that we liked his sound (has some grit to his voice) but actually watching him perform gave me the heebie jeebies. Okay, I’m being over dramatic but it was definitely weird. There were some moments where he was just laughing into the microphone; which reminded me of that Gorillaz song, Feel Good Inc. (had to google that one, oops) from way back when. Props to him but not my cup of tea for live performances.
MisterWives: I have all the positive things to say about their live performance (have seen them plenty of times before this as well). They bring SO MUCH energy to the stage & not to mention the lead singer, Mandy, has THE most amazing voice I’ve heard – video below to prove my point.
Playing their first ever show at Red Rocks, it was an iconic performance. They performed some songs off their last album, such as, Coloring Outside the Lines & Drummer Boy (which Mandy wrote for their drummer, Etienne – they just got engaged within the past year: S’CUTE) as well as some oldies but goodies, Reflections (holy tbt) & Our Own House.
A cool part during their set while performing Imagination Infatuation, the entire band lowered to the ground to the tune of “a little bit softer now” then BOOMED back up to the tune of “a little bit louder now” – as you can hear, the crowd was cheering ’em on!
During their final song, Our Own House, they rocked out on some drums – love these kinds of added bonuses in a performance. The video shows it A.L.L.
Alright, alright, alright (Matthew McConaughey voice) – back to the headlinerz, X Ambassadors, babay. To note: this was their first HEADLINING show at Red Rocks. && it was hoppin’. I only knew a few of the songs, but was having a grand ole’ time. The lead singer could hit notes I didn’t even know existed. The high range he could go to was unimaginable.
It also felt at times I was being taken to a church/choir show (in the BESTEST way possible). There were 3 background singers who brought that added pizzaz to the show, singing background vocals to put some umph into each song X Ambassadors performed, as heard below during Renegades.
Something I unfortunately didn’t get on video was a transition between songs, where the lead singer was introducing a new song – preaching not to be afraid to be yourself, don’t give a f*ck what other people think of you & that they accept everyone, whether you are black, white, Christian, Muslim, LGBTQIA, & so on. I was clapping THE entire time. I love hearing inspiring speeches such as these. He said they are with us. No matter what. Standing for what’s right. I WAS THERE FOR IT.
Let’s also talk about how they performed half of their set while it was raining. Spewing directly onto the stage & soaking the band. Talk about FREE-ZING (as I was). You would think the crowd would have dispersed because of the rain, but it appeared that everyone stayed put to enjoy the amazingness of their set. I unfortunately did not plan well & left a few songs early because I could not feel my feet! First Red Rocks concert & did not expect to be freezing my arse off. However, walking out of the venue hearing the crowd soar & scream & cheer for the end of their set, I had a huge smile on my face because of the night I just had. It was pure bliss…
And then…the Post Concert Depression set in…
