I’ll be upfront from the forefront: I was a weird attendee walking into this show. Vacationer, the dreamy pop brainchild of Philadelphian Kenny Vasoli, takes my “I really SHOULD be a superfan” opinion, and it’s by no means alone in the category.
A proper example of what I mean took place during the sixth grade. My REALLY (yeah… really) down-to-earth friend Cat and I were sitting on the bleachers of our middle school’s dimly lit gymnasium. I think we were both going through an overly mellow singer/songwriter phase because the conversation got to Colbie Caillat to whom Cat described a phenomenon: “I love everything about Colbie, but for some reason I just don’t love her. She’s my type, but she’s just no John Mayer.”
You were right Cat. Neither of us ended up marrying Colbmeister.
But, in all seriousness, this unexplainable lack of fandom happens a lot with my cutesy at-the-beach taste. In theory, Vacationer “checks” all my boxes: wavy, electronic, nautical-themed, only half-ambiguous album art, and the list leads toward the ocean.
I mean really! The group’s only listed “band interest” on Facebook is “chilling out.” I like chilling out…That is something that I like. But, despite all that is good and right, I’ve never tapped into a craze for Vasoli’s music. I blame my ears. They’re generally hard to make “click.”
With that said, appreciation for a performance-well-done was still an option at the Sinclair’s doors that Monday night. I thought about how a true Vacationer fan would perceive the show, what determined success regardless of taste, and Colbie Caillat…her too (but not too much). All in all, the group’s artistically full set and lovable disposition made for a crowd-pleasing success to end its Fall tour.
The mood was set with Sylvan Esso playing lightly over the room’s speakers, which helped increase my party-of-one comfort level. Blue lighting dominated the stage while a bright orange globe atop an amp dominated visual attention. Before I could commend the “color blocking” too much, Vacationer trotted on stage, all smiles.
“Here’s the vibe. Let’s trip,” said Vasoli as antique videography projected onto the white surface behind the band. There were several colorful options to focus on from the start: the intriguing cliff & wave video, the Sinclair’s ever-fruity lights, moon phase diagram tattoo on keyboardist Matt Young’s shoulder, and, of course, the effervescent frontman himself (presumed from AP’s pre-show interview with Vasoli). Young and carefree, Vasoli snagged the title of “happiest man I’ve ever seen on stage” before the first chillwave chord was even played. Later, his constant leaping and dancing only reinforced the award. The stage? His playground. The bass? His toy that he knew the ins and outs of.
Tracks off Relief, the group’s most recent album released last June, comprised the first half of the set with older jams starting a healthy six songs in. Good news: the crowd took to almost everything. One credit Vacationer deserves is that of song-by-song effort. In the live setting, each song sounded like a crowd favorite and was performed as such. From the overtly pleased, tank-topped girls around me, I noticed a pattern of equal popularity between songs one to pre-encore. Regardless of the album’s lack of play on my personal streaming account, the songwriting behind Relief was definitely to thank here.
Impressive playing also helped uncross my indifferent arms throughout the show. Vacationer’s songs are involved to begin with, begging a wide range from Vasoli’s voice and creativity from each instrumentalist. I stood in the perfect spot for appreciating the pluck & roll variations of the lead guitarist and the drummer. The two didn’t just successfully cover songs but elevated them, allowing vibes to float from tunnel-of-love to almost video game-inspired. I know. That was a lot of hyphenated adjectives. Bear with me.
But, perhaps the most impressive moment of the show came when Vasoli leaned into his mic and described Vacationer’s encore policy.
“We’re not in the business of wasting anyone’s time here,” he said, proceeding to speak out against the social norm of crowd “I love you”s followed by the bashful return of performers on stage. Speaking to this view, Vasoli asked the audience if they wanted a few final jams, promising not to be (too) offended by those who wanted to leave early. As a critic of encores myself, I quickly developed a new appreciation for Vacationer. Vasoli and his comrades are considerate, perceptive and ultimately grateful to their fans. Music aside, this crew took hold of my respect more than any other live band I had ever experienced. The performance was genuine as were the inter-song quips.
Openers Brick + Mortar made a similarly likeable impression but through universal humor and emotional vulnerability. The electro-rock duo from Asbury Park, New Jersey got comfortable from the onset with extremely casual dialogue deserving of direct quotation:
“I know none of you know who the fuck I am,” said bass/vocal-ist Brandon Asraf. “But, now that I’ve tricked you all into being my friends, come closer.”
Other notable lines included the following:
“If you haven’t noticed, I only have one other band member…because I’m fucking annoying.”
“Hello. I love weed and pizza.”
“This is the only love song I ever wrote, and it didn’t work. I wrote it for my girlfriend of six years, and she left with the rent money, a new penis, and, worst of all, THE DOG.”
“You’re all basically my collective therapist.”
“It’s all a trick you see. When a singer stops and talks too much, he’s really just fat.”
And, my favorite:
“Go out. Get as high as you want. Get drunk. Feminism. Dicks. But, just make sure you make a positive change in the world before you leave it.”
The entire set was a conversation with that token hilarious but secretly broken-hearted friend left to build a future on feelings alone. In less ambiguous terms: Asraf left no “friend” in the dark. Personal introductions to emotional tracks such as “Terrible Things” and “Bangs” added rare levels of insight into songwriting inspiration. The small crowd was also treated with the upmost hype. With “HEY” poster in hand, Asraf got all of us participating in the rhythmic singing of “Move to the Ocean” and simultaneously made me regret having not listened to Brick + Mortar before. I was a big fan walking away.
All in all, Vacationer, Brick, and Mortar (I know that’s tastefully incorrect) proved an important point: enjoying a show and completely loving an artist can be mutually exclusive. One, the other, or both result in good jawn.
