That Time I was a VIP
I was lucky enough to win VIP tickets to see Colony House at the Bowery Ballroom. The VIP experience included a signed poster, group photo with the band, and getting to sit on a bit of their soundcheck. I showed up early to the venue, got my poster, and then it was time for soundcheck. The band took some requests from fans to play songs outside the set list and answered some questions. After that, it was time to wait around for the show to start.
Concertgoers tend to be friendly. In general, sharing a space with people passionate about the same thing brings people together. The fans at this concert were extra friendly. Later on, two fans introduced themselves to me after seeing me snapping shots. They told me it was their fourth time seeing Colony House. That’s some dedication! They can be very generous, too.
While I was waiting in line for the doors to the stage area to open, the couple behind me offered me an extra vinyl that they had. I gladly accepted even though I have yet to get a record player to play it on. I now had an extra souvenir of a memorable experience.
Opening for CH was Fleurie, an artist with a strong leaning toward the soundtrack side of music. Many tracks in Fleurie’s discography have an atmospheric quality that make them a good fit for various TV shows and movies.
The majority of her set consisted of songs that were very atmospheric and airy with an acoustic feel. However, her last song was her newest single that was an abrupt 180 degree turn from the rest of her set.
“Supertropicali” is an upbeat bubblegum pop tune that sharply contrasts with the rest of her discography. Despite the change in vibe, the crowd loved both the soundtrack style songs and the new upbeat track. Doing a quick breakdown on the lyrics before the start of the song, Fleurie got the entire crowd singing along to the chorus. Seeing the change in style from previous releases, it’ll be exciting to see what Fleurie releases next and what direction she’ll take.
We did get to see her again during the Colony House set. One of the songs played was “Automatic,” which features Fleurie, and she came out to join them for the song. Colony House’s set was fantastic! The crowd was really engaged and sang along. For a few songs, the audience participated directly for the call and response, shouting the lyrics.
An important aspect to CH’s performance was their stage presence. While each member plays an instrument and has their own space on the stage, frontman Caleb Chapman does a great job of moving around and using the entire stage to his benefit. Going left to right, instead of staying in the center stage, he engaged the crowd and made all parts of the audience feel seen.
I really enjoyed this concert. The crowd was super nice and engaging and both Fleurie and CH were great performers. I can see why others had seen them multiple times! I might have to start counting the times I’ll see CH.
You can listen to Colony House here and Fleurie here. You can see photos from the show here.